Our nursery offers a safe and secure environment for children,' says the mission statement. But what exactly does 'a safe and secure environment'
mean?
One thing is becoming clear: it does not mean stopping children from testing themselves, having adventures or taking risks.
With 'pro-risk' views and articles now appearing in the popular press and professional debates, a more balanced approach to child safety is definitely in the air. Of course, the 'safety at all costs' brigade still rears its head. But these days it's more likely to be the knee-jerk reaction of a safety dinosaur than official Ofsted or HSE policy. And everyone has his or her story of health and safety madness. My personal favourites are banning egg boxes and daisy chains. And yes, they really did happen.
Bad things happen
It is one thing to accept that we have become overprotective, but quite another to do something about it. Rejecting the myth of absolute safety means embracing two insights. The first is that risk is everywhere: it permeates every movement, every thought, every action and interaction of our lives. This means that children have from birth been in the game of managing risks, and are generally pretty good at it (and fast learners too, given the chance). The second is that, because nothing in life is risk-free, managing risks means balancing risks and benefits. So our job as adults is, as far as possible, to help children learn how to do that balancing act for themselves, not to do it for them.
What does all this mean in practice? One truth we cannot avoid - a balanced approach to risk means being relaxed about minor accidents and upsets. I would put it as strongly as this: in a good setting, bad things will sometimes happen. Turn this around, and it means: if no children ever hurt themselves or get upset, you are being overprotective.
So, when children are learning how to use a hammer, accept that they might bash themselves on the thumb. When they are playing tag in the park or playground, be prepared for them to fall over or run into each other. Do not say to yourself, 'it might never happen'. Say to yourself, 'it probably will happen, and valuable lessons will be learned as a result'.
You might think this is an extreme position. Am I really saying that accidents are a good thing? To a degree, yes - and the safety experts agree. Here's a quote from CEN, Europe's leading safety standards agency.
'Minor injuries are part of every child's learning process and are a far more normal part of their lives than is the case for adults.'
Once you think about it, this makes perfect sense. Imagine a childcare setting that claimed to offer a guarantee that no child would ever get hurt under any circumstances. How could a child at that setting ever learn to walk, ride a bike, climb stairs or chop up vegetables?
We still need to make our best professional judgements about what we think is an acceptable level or risk. And this is not always an easy task. But what should drive it is, first and foremost, a vision of what children should be able to do for themselves, and a 'scaffolding' approach to helping them progress.
If you suspect you are being a bit overprotective in your setting, why not talk about it with colleagues and peers? Give yourselves a generous time slot at a staff meeting or networking event. Start the discussion with a roundtable exploration of your own childhood play experiences - the wonderful, thrilling and even dangerous things you were able to do when you were young. This is a powerful way for people to tap into the benefits of childhood freedoms, and it unfailingly throws contemporary practice into a new light.
Take the debate forward by looking at what is holding you back from giving the children in your care something of the freedoms you used to prize so highly. Be hard on yourselves. Are the barriers really the inspectors and insurers? Or are they closer to home?
Egg box and daisy chain bans often come about not because some 'expert'
somewhere has declared them unsafe. They happen because well-meaning people have got the wrong end of the stick and left their common-sense organs at the door. With a daily media diet of tragedy and lawsuits, it is easy to become convinced that there's danger around every corner - or if not, there's a lawyer out there who will say there is, and then sue you for it.
In fact, children today are safer than at any time in history. Childcare professionals need to be robust and supportive in standing up for what they believe children need so that they can learn to look after themselves.
Sometimes it is parents who appear to insist on a 'zero tolerance' approach to accidents and incidents - especially when it is their child who has ended up in tears. But in my experience, they too recognise the need for balance, and generally accept that there is a danger in overprotecting children.
We all have different 'risk thermostats' for ourselves and for our children. A mishap seen by one parent as minor may be a step too far for a more cautious soul. Dialogue with parents can help to establish some shared values, and move people on from an insistence on absolute safety. Again, appealing to parents to recall their own childhood experiences can help them to put their children's adverse episodes in perspective.
Balanced approach
Let's look at two areas where providers can and should take a more balanced approach to risk: outdoor play, and fights and disputes. It is obvious that outdoor spaces offer rich environments for real-life challenges, adventures and risk encounters.
If you have an outdoor space, don't fall back on expensive fixed play equipment and wall-to-wall safety surfacing. Make the best possible use of the space, and your cash, by recreating something of the spirit of those wild, wonderful places you no doubt enjoyed as a child. The charity Learning Through Landscapes is a great source of advice.
If your setting has no garden or playground, make sure you pay regular visits to a local green space. The more often you go, the more comfortable your staff and the children will become. This gives them the chance to spread their wings, and gives you the confidence to let them.
Fights and disagreements can be tricky territory. Again, it is valuable to set your bearings by what will help children to resolve disputes for themselves. After all, one day that is exactly what they will have to do.
Keeping in the background when a conflict begins might just create that learning opportunity that will help children truly grasp the consequences of their actions, or work out for themselves how to fend off unwanted behaviour. So when Neema and Rachel are arguing over which one has the next go on the swing, don't just leap straight in and decide for them; hold back for a moment and see if they resolve their differences. Also, develop your peripheral vision - if children don't think adults are watching them, they are more likely to try to reach agreement between themselves and less prone to make instant appeals to grown-ups.
Real challenge
Safety is a slippery concept, and managing risk is not easy. In the words of Professor John Adams, perhaps the world's leading expert on the subject, 'It's not rocket science. It's more complicated.'
We do best by children if we accept the difficulties and challenges, rather than hiding behind unnecessary prohibitions and over-the-top risk assessments. There is something magical about how children gain confidence when given the chance to tackle something new. They can't help but bring into play all of their social, physical, intellectual and emotional competences - not to mention shed-loads of effort and energy. It is time we stopped being so coy about the value of introducing real challenge into their lives. So if you are revising your mission statement, how about the following addition: 'In our nursery, safe enough is safe; too safe is dangerous.' NW
Tim Gill is a writer and consultant with an interest in childhood, and was until 2004 Director of the Children's Play Council. He is writing a book on growing up in a risk-averse society for Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation.
