Spare a thought for safety this Injury Prevention Day as our children return to school and nursery.
With many children returning to school and nursery this week why not spend Injury Prevention Day this Wednesday 15 August 2018 considering what steps you can take to ensure your children are safe?
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) recently reported a 28% increase in the number of children killed on UK’s roads since 2015 highlighting the importance of ensuring our children are safe during the school run.
RoSPA are calling for a renewed focus on educating parents and children on effective road safety including practical pedestrian training and the use of high-visibility gear for the school journey, especially as the nights are drawing in.
Thought also needs to be given to the potential risks children face travelling to and from school in cars and School Minibuses. Whilst for every mile travelled, people in minibuses are less likely to be involved in an accident than people in cars, with the lack of parental supervision on School Minibuses children should be educated about the importance of remaining seated and wearing their seatbelts.
Seatbelts are not the only injury prevention mechanism in a car. The Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) are using Injury Prevention Day to call upon drivers and passengers to ensure that their headrests are adjusted correctly. As APIL’s president Brett Dixon points out – “Your headrest can’t do its job if you haven’t adjusted it to fit you. It’s like leaving the batteries out of a smoke detector”.
Whilst parents can play a role in protecting their children during the school run, what steps can we expect schools to take to ensure children are protected from the risk of injury throughout the school day? The most common causes of injury to pupils in schools arise from poor supervision, faulty equipment and slips and trips caused by hazards such as spillages or broken pavements. Schools owe a duty of care to their pupils. For example, equipment should be regularly inspected and well maintained, and tripping hazards should be identified and rectified through inspection and maintenance.
If you are concerned about the state of your child’s school playground, or any other aspect of your child’s school day which you think presents a potential risk to their health and safety then we recommend that you have a conversation with those in charge, because at the end of the day, prevention is better than cure.
Daniel McGinn is a Senior Solicitor in our specialist Personal Injury team. For further information, please contact Daniel on 0800 731 8434 or email dmcginn@thorntons-law.co.uk. You can contact any member of the Personal Injury team on 0800 731 8434 or click here for more information.
