The Common-Sense Approach to Moving and Handling of Disabled Children and Young People- Easy Read

Assessing Risk

Health and safety law means employers must carry out a proper risk assessment. To do so you must think about:

• The moving and handling task, including, for example postures, weight and how often
• The setting
• The equipment
• The individual child or young person's needs
• The workers who will do the moving and handling.

The risk assessment should consider risks to the child or young person being supported, risks to the worker(s) helping them, and risks to others who may be affected by the activity.

Risk assessment should involve the workers and the child or young person and their family and take into account their wishes and feelings. All decisions should take into account the emotional, psychological and social impact on the child or young person.

The law on manual handling operations does not prohibit all manual handling.

The law says that moving and handling must be done as safely as possible, where it cannot be avoided.

The child's rights must be safeguarded when they are being supported with their moving and handling needs.

Workers should not be asked to perform tasks that put them and the children and young people they care for at unacceptable risk. Children and young people should actively contribute to their own risk assessment/care plan and workers should ask them:

• How they wish to be physically moved
• What they feel most comfortable with in terms of moving and handling
• How they can help to manage their own care each day
• What activities they want or need to do, and where
• How they can appropriately use their physical ability so they don't depend too much on equipment and support aids
• How they could/would be moved in the case of an emergency, for example in the case of a fire or if the child were to have a seizure in the pool.

Workers should know all about the moving and handling needs of the children and young people they work with, and they should be trained to use the equipment needed to support them. This means the children and young people will be able to take a full part in a wider social experience.

The Scottish Government wants to improve the well-being of all children and young people, so that they are as safe, healthy, active, cared for (nurtured), achieving, respected, responsible and included as possible.

Children and young people should also be supported to make progress with their social, emotional and mental well-being.

Your responsibility as a worker is to:

• Follow the child's or young person's individual risk assessment recommendations and use the equipment provided
• Co-operate with your employer and let them know of any problems
• Take reasonable care to ensure that your actions do not put you or others at risk
• Think about how the child/young person's well-being can be improved.

Your responsibility as an employer is to ensure the safety of your employees and others affected by their work by:

• Ensuring that risk assessments are carried out by employees who have had the relevant training and who understand the individual child or young person's needs
• Avoiding those moving and handling tasks that could result in injury, where possible
• Assessing the risks from moving and handling that cannot be avoided
• Doing whatever you can to reduce the risk, so far as possible
• Making sure that equipment used to move and handle children and young people is properly maintained and thoroughly examined every six months
• Ensuring that the moving and handling equipment, including slings and other accessories is checked before each use, according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Children and young people with daily moving and handling needs at home, in education, or in the community, must have their human rights carefully balanced with those of their workers. Through the common-sense risk management suggested in this guide, the health, safety and welfare of the children and young people and those responsible for their care will be protected.

Children and young people must not have their learning and social experiences limited because of barriers caused by moving and handling. They should be supported through improvements in their well-being to become successful learners, confident people, effective contributors and responsible members of society.

Capability Scotland
September 2012