Saving Lives Not Stopping Living

email to a friend | user comments

Published: 23 March 2007

Saving Lives Not Stopping Living

Don't wrap children up in cotton wool - we are here to save lives, not stop living!

That's the message from Jonathan Rees, Deputy Chief Executive of the Health and Safety Executive, speaking to childcare professionals at The Barnardo's Annual Conference: Childhood Matters in London this week.

Jonathan explained the importance of risk & adventure in children's lives and recognising the need to manage it:

On closer investigation, many of the concerns we read about are based on myths. Conversely, when something goes tragically wrong, there is often a media and public outcry that ‘something must be done!’

It is vitally important to get a balance between the two extremes”.

Jonathan Rees continued:

"Everyday a vast number of activities go ahead without a hitch.

If we were to stop play and adventure activities we would deny children their right to learn, develop and have fun. And any gain in safety would be far outweighed by increasing rates of obesity and related disease.

HSE has consistently called for adventure and activities to continue - with the risks being responsibly managed.

It is worth pointing out that many of the concerns we read about health and safety are based on myths.

For instance: HSE does not expect risk assessments for everyday low risk activities like playing conkers and contrary to popular belief - teachers are not personally sued for damages - we cannot find a singe example of an individual teacher being sued in the past 5 years.

The Health and Safety Executive is keen to stimulate a broader debate in this area.

The HSE's 10 sensible risk principles were launched in August last year and further work has been done with DFES on its "Learning outside the classroom" manifesto.

Simple, practical advice is available on how to do risk assessments, encouraging everyone to think carefully about the right risks and not write at length about the trivial ones.

The HSE has consistently sought to learn from tragic accidents and to disseminate lessons.

We will prosecute on those very rare occasions when there is flagrant disregard for sensible precautions."

The message to children, parents, carers and teachers is that we want to save lives not stop living. Risk will not ruin childhood; but ill-managed and over protective actions could do so.

Sensible risk management IS about:

· Ensuring that workers and the public are properly protected

· Providing overall benefit to society by balancing benefits and risks, with a focus on reducing real risks - both those which arise more often and those with serious consequences

· Enabling innovation and learning, not stifling them

· Ensuring that those who create risks manage them responsibly and understand that failure to manage real risks responsibly is likely to lead to robust action, and

· Enabling individuals to understand that as well as the right to protection, they also have to exercise responsibility

Sensible risk management IS NOT about:

· Creating a totally risk free society

· Generating useless paperwork mountains

· Scaring people by exaggerating or publicising trivial risks

· Stopping important recreational & learning activities for individuals where the risks are managed, and

· Reducing protection of people from risks that cause real harm & suffering

Further information

Five Steps to Risk Assessment

Principles of sensible risk management

Education health and safety in the workplace

HELA Extranet (or HELex for short)