Apricot Centre for Wellbeing
Huxhams Cross Farm,
Dartington,
Totnes,
TQ9 6AA
01803 762253
info@apricotcentre.co.uk www.apricotcentre.co.uk
Accidents and Incidents Policy
The Apricot Centre follows the guidelines of the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR), the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) and the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) for the reporting of accidents and incidents. Child protection matters or behavioural incidents between children are not regarded as incidents for this purpose and there are separate procedures for these below.
1. Legal framework
1.1. This policy has due regard to the following legislation, including, but not limited to:
• The Children Act 1989
• Equality Act 2010
1.2. This policy will also have due regard to the following guidance:
• Guidance for Safe Working Practice Document (2015)
1.3. The Apricot Centre will implement this policy in conjunction with our Safeguarding Policy, Health and Safety Policy, Behaviour Policy, Positive Handling Policy,
2. Roles and responsibilities
2.1. All members of staff at the Apricot Centre have a duty of care towards young people, and must respond to accidents and incidents around young people responsibly for their overall wellbeing.
2.2. The Wellbeing Service Manager is responsible for overseeing the Apricot Centre Wellbeing Services approach and response to accidents and incidents occurring as part of the overall Apricot Centre service.
2.3. The Wellbeing Service Manager is responsible for ensuring that all staff are aware of their responsibilities in the circumstances where there has been an accident or an incident affecting a young person or any other service user or staff member.
2.4. All members of staff should be aware of the safe touch policy in relation to dealing with an incident or accident.
2.3. All members of staff have a responsibility to report any accident or incident to the Wellbeing Service Manager.
2.4. The Wellbeing Service Manager is responsible for communicating with parents/carers and ensuring that they are aware of this policy.
2.5. All members of staff will record any accident or incident on both; the ‘Accidents and Incidents Form’ and on the CRM recording system. If there is any level of safeguarding concern this will be alerted on CRM and also discussed with the manager within a few hours.
3. Reporting accidents or incidents
3.1. An Apricot Centre manager must report serious accidents, outbreaks of disease or dangerous incidents to the HSE. If you want to check that the school has done this, contact the HSE. Contact the Health and Safety Executive if there’s an accident or incident and you want advice about health and safety.
3.2 We keep written records of all accidents, incidents or injuries to a child together with any first aid treatment given. Any event, however minor, is recorded by completion of an “Accident & Incident Form”. In the case of no injury disclosures and safeguarding concerns are dealt with as ‘incidents’ according to our safeguarding and disclosure policies. However if injury is present the ‘Accidents & Incidents Form’ should also be completed.
3.3 The Accident & Incidents Form should be completed by the member of staff who witnessed or dealt with the event.
3.4 The following information is recorded on the Accidents & Incidents Form:
- Name of young person
- Date
- Time of accident or when incident took place
- Location of incident
- Person’s injured or affected
- Other person’s present
- Name of responsible staff or practitioners
- Name of young person
- Incident description
- Remedial actions taken
- Position of the injury or mark on the body map
- Name, comments and signature of person who dealt with the accident or incident
- Name, comments and signature of person who gave care
- Name, comments and signature of any witness (only if witnessed)
- Name, comments and signature of parent or carer
3.3. It is then that member of staff’s responsibility to ensure that the parent or carer is informed about the accident or incident and the Form is signed by that parent or carer on the day that the accident occurred. (The name of any other child involved in an accident or incident must remain confidential).
3.6 In the event of an Accidents & Incidents Form not being signed by a parent or carer on the same day, the service manager must be notified by the practitioner who dealt with the incident. The service manager then has the overall responsibility to make sure the parent or carer are immediately informed by telephone of the accident or incident, making a note of the time and date of the call on the Accidents & Injuries Form. The staff member in charge of the session must then ensure that the Accidents & Injuries Form is signed by the parent or carer at the next possible opportunity
3.7. Where there are safeguarding concerns or disclosures please follow the appropriate policies.
3.8 Accidents & Incidents Forms are then filed on the child’s personal record on CRM by uploading a scan or a photograph of the form onto the system.
3.9 We will report all recorded accidents involving students to the school and medical inclusion team in line with the school
4. Dealing with Accidents to Staff, Volunteers or Other Adults
4.1. The Apricot Centre keeps written records of all accidents or injuries to staff, volunteers or other adults together with any first aid treatment given.
4.2 The accident or incident is recorded in the “Accident Book” by the adult who has had the accident or if this is not possible, by the First Aider on site. The service manager must also be informed. The Accident Book is kept in a safe and secure place. It is regularly reviewed to identify any potential or actual hazards or any other issues that need to be addressed.
5. External notifications and reporting
We report the following:
5.1 For young people under our CQC commissioned service we notify immediately in the case of:
- Abuse or Allegations of abuse
- Serious injury to a young person using our service
- Incidents reported to or investigated by the policy
- Deprivation of liberty applications
- A death of a person using our service
- Events which stop our services running safely and properly
5.2 The local Environmental Health Department is informed of any food poisoning affecting two or more children or adults on our premises. We meet our legal requirements in respect of the safety of our employee and the public by complying with RIDDOR.
5.3 We report to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE):
- Any work-related accident leading to an injury to a member of the public (child or adult), for which they are taken directly to hospital for treatment.
- Any work-related accident leading to a specified injury to one of our employees. Specified injuries include injuries such as fractured bones, the loss of consciousness due to a head injury, serious burns or amputations.
- Any work-related accident leading to an injury to one of our employees which results in them being unable to work for seven consecutive days.
- All work-related injuries that lead to one of our employees being incapacitated for three or more days are recorded in our “Accident Book”.
Reviewed by Rachel Phillips 3/3/2025
Rachel Phillips 17/07/2024
Next Revision Date: July 2026
Reviewed by Amir Qureshy and Zoe Ives11.11.21
ACCIDENTS & INCIDENTS FORM (as per ACWS Accident & Incidents Policy) | ||
Date: | Time: | Location: |
Name of Person/s injured: | ||
Other person/s present: | Name of responsible Practitioner/s or members of staff: | |
Incident description: Remedial actions: | ||
Injuries mapped | Injuries described: | |
Name, comments and signature of person who dealt with the accident or incident | Name: Signed: Date: | |
Name, comments and signature of person who gave care | Name: Signed: Date: | |
Name, comments and signature of any witness (only if witnessed) | Name: Signed: Date: | |
Name, comments and signature of parent or carer | Name: Signed: Date: | |
Follow-up actions: | Name: Signed: Date: | |
Signed:
Date:
Position:
Reviewed by Amir Qureshy and Zoe Ives09.11.21
Reviewed by Rachel Phillips 17/07/2024
Next Revision Date: July 2026