Chapter Contents
Home Security
Exterior doors
The exterior doors to your home should be sufficiently safe to prevent a break-in when the door is locked.
In addition, please ensure that your front door cannot be opened from the outside without a key.
For reasons of fire safety, it is important that family members can leave the home quickly in an emergency. Make sure the front door keys are kept near the front door, preferably in a key cupboard. Do not leave front door keys hanging in the door lock, even on the inside as this is a security risk.
A child lock may be needed on your exterior door to prevent young children from leaving the home unaccompanied, if this could put them at risk of harm.
CCTV
You may choose to install a CCTV system and/or camera doorbell as a security measure to prevent crime on your property. If you own the home, you do not need anybody else’s permission to fit CCTV cameras. However, if you rent, you will need written permission from your landlord or the owner of the property. Ensure that the camera only captures images within the boundaries of your property. If it works beyond this limit then you must ensure that you are compliant with the Data Protection Act 2018 and GDPR.
We do not advocate the use of CCTV cameras within the home. For the vast majority of homes, they are unnecessary and undesirable. If you feel that there is an exceptional reason for using CCTV within your home, please discuss this with your supervising social worker. If we are in agreement with your request, we will need to obtain the agreement of children’s placing local authorities before CCTV can be used in the home.
Read our CCTV Policy for more information.
Hazard Awareness
Within our own homes we may become complacent about slip, trip or fall hazards. Because we are aware of that loose carpet or trailing cable, we automatically step over it or avoid it; however, when other people enter our home they will not be aware of it and therefore will not take appropriate precautions. Also, children will often forget safety advice, e.g. not to run through the kitchen.
The age of the child and their capabilities will influence the level of risk. You should bear this in mind when considering the risks of falls e.g. could a child…
- Fall out of bed or from a chair?
- Fall from a window or balcony?
- Be more at risk from obstructions?
Changes in floor level can sometimes cause problems and extra care should be taken where children are playing with ride-on toys such as tricycles or using wheelchairs.
You should also consider the risk of things falling onto the child or the child running into things, e.g:
- Obstructions at the child’s head-height such as shelves, coat hooks, tables and sharp corners on furniture.
- Large glazed areas the child could run into.
- Furniture such as tables.
- Items which can fall upon a child e.g.
- items placed near the edge of the table, which curious children could reach for and pull down.
- saucepans on the hob that could be pulled if the handles are within reach.
- Toy chest lids without anti-slam protection.
- Furniture which could fall onto the child if not fixed to the wall.
- Overloaded shelving/racking etc. Missing or loose fixings may cause items to collapse or fall.
- Glassware, china or heavy ornaments accessible to child.
General Safety advice
- Fit stair gates to prevent young children falling downstairs, preferably the retractable style. Avoid gates which have a bottom bar over which someone could trip and fall downstairs.
- Use double-sided tape under rugs to prevent slipping.
- Use anti-slip mats in baths and showers. Also provide a mat for the bathroom floor if it is slippery when wet.
- Improve the lighting in the home, especially on areas such as stairs (use a 2-way switch so that the light can be operated at both the top and bottom of the stairs).
- Stairs and any ramps should not be too steep. They should have non-slip surfaces.
- Ensure handrails are available on all staircases. These should be secure and at a suitable height for the child.
- Balustrades must be of adequate strength and their heights sufficient to prevent a fall over them. Gaps in balustrades must be no wider than 10cms. There must be no horizontal bars or other parts which children could climb.
- Don’t place furniture, which children could climb on, near windows or balustrades on landings or balconies.
- In children’s bedrooms and communal areas where there is a risk of falls from windows, use limiters to restrict the window openings to 100mm or less.
- Clean up spills and debris straight away. Remove damp leaves and other vegetation from pathways.
- Never leave babies alone on any furniture – beds, tables, sofas, cots with sides down, or changing tables. Avoid bunk beds for children under the age of 6 or who are more at risk of falling.
- Don’t overload pushchairs with bags as this could cause them to tip or collapse.
- Don’t leave ladders/stepladders accessible to children.
- Avoid using baby walkers if there are changes in level and never use baby bouncers on raised surfaces.
Internal Doors
Most internal doors do not need to be lockable, and children must never be locked in a room. However, certain rooms may need to be locked for privacy and/or safety reasons:
- Bathroom doors need to be fitted with a privacy lock. It is important that the lock can be overridden from the outside in an emergency.
- If a room contains equipment or materials that could pose a safety risk for children, the room should be locked when not in use. This may include a home gym or cellar. The key should be kept out of reach of children.
If your home has a balcony, please ensure that the balcony door is kept locked if nobody is on the balcony or in the room that leads to the balcony. If the balcony is purely decorative, and the doors serve as a window for the room, then the door to the room that leads to the balcony may need to be lockable to prevent access by young children.
You may use baby gates on internal doors to prevent access to rooms by young children. This might include the door to the kitchen.
Internal glazed doors must contain safety glass. If the door was constructed prior to 2005, please check that the glass is safe, and take professional advice to make it safe if needed.
Stairs
- Stair treads need to be secure, with no slip risk.
- Banisters must have a maximum 10cm (4 inches) between rails. Glass banisters must be constructed from toughened safety glass. Open stairways, with no banister, are not safe and should never be installed in a family home.
- Please ensure that all stairways have a handrail positioned at a suitable height for children.
- Fit stair gates to prevent young children falling downstairs, preferably the retractable style. Avoid gates which have a bottom bar over which someone could trip and fall downstairs.
- Improve the lighting in the home, especially on areas such as stairs (use a 2-way switch so that the light can be operated at both the top and bottom of the stairs).
- Please do not let children play on stairs as this increases the risk of a fall.
Windows and Glass
Glazed exterior and interior doors need to contain safety glass. If your door was constructed prior to 2005, please check that the glass is safe, and take professional advice to make it safe if needed.
Glass furniture has been required to contain safety glass since 2005. If furniture is older than this, please seek professional advice regarding the safety of glass surfaces. Safety glass is not indestructible, but is designed to shatter into tiny pieces if broken. Children should not be allowed to stand or sit on glass surfaces.
Upstairs windows should have safety features to prevent a fall from height. Window locks or limiters to restrict opening beyond 10cm (4 inches) will make your windows safe for young children.
Cords on window blinds or clothes, cables, etc. could be a strangulation hazard. Newly-manufactured blinds are ‘safe by design’ which means that they will either not have loose cords, or cords will be designed to break under pressure. A cleat will also be supplied in this instance to secure the cords to the wall.
Please check that your blinds are safe; If your blinds have loose cords, you must ensure that you have a safety cleat to secure the cords. We may ask you to replace old blinds to ensure safety for children.
Kitchen
You may need to use a door gate on the kitchen door if you are looking after very young children or disabled children for whom the kitchen is a high-risk area.
Some appliances and equipment in the kitchen can pose a risk to the user – or to unsupervised children. This includes things which are:
- serrated, sharp or pointed
- hot, cold or freezing
- heavy or awkward to use
- mechanical, electrical or battery-powered
When you are caring for very young children or disabled children who lack risk-awareness, you may need to keep hazardous kitchen equipment in cupboards that are locked or out-of-reach. If you have a chest freezer, please ensure it is kept locked to prevent the possibility that a young child might climb in and become trapped.
Most children will learn to use kitchen equipment under supervision as they grow and develop life skills. If a child or young person is helping you or pursuing their own activity using tools or other equipment, make sure they know how to use them safely. Have a routine with them for tidying up and putting things away.
Cooker and hob safety
- Is the cooker clear of flammable objects?
- Keep wires, cloths, and oven gloves away from the cooker top.
- Never leave pans unattended on the hob, and turn handles away from the room so that they cannot be accidentally knocked or grabbed by small children.
- Do you have a cooker guard to protect young children from hot surfaces? This is particularly helpful if you have an electric hob.
Bathroom
Bathroom doors need to be fitted with a privacy lock. It is important that the lock can be overridden from the outside in an emergency.
Baths and showers should have anti-slip surfaces, or a non-slip mat attached when in use.
The only electrical sockets in bathrooms should be shaver points. Electrical appliances must not be taken into bathrooms with extension leads from hallway/landing sockets.
Bathtime safety
Baths are the most common place for babies and young children to drown.
Babies and children can drown in as little as 5cm (2 inches) of water. Drowning is one of the common causes of child death – it’s often silent, so you won’t necessarily hear any noise or struggle.
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents advises:
“Once your child is in the bath, it’s vital you watch over them. Tragically, children have drowned when their parent or carer has turned their back for a few seconds to grab a towel. It really can happen that quickly.”
NHS Bath Time Advice
- Stay with the baby or toddler the whole time they’re in the bath. Never leave them for a moment.
- If you use a bath seat, remember that it’s not a safety device. You still need to stay with them all the time.
- Empty the bath as soon as you’ve taken the child out.
- Keep them within arms’ length at all times.
- Give them your full attention (leave phones outside the bathroom).
- Only adults should be left in charge of a child or baby in the bath (not older siblings).
- Bathe the child in the smallest amount of water possible.
- If you need to move away from the bathroom, take the child with you.
Important
- Children aged 5 or under should always have constant supervision while bathing.
- Children with disabilities and complex needs may need supervision until a later age than other children.
- Children up to the age of 8 should still have a level of appropriate supervision to ensure their safety.
- Children’s safe care plans should reference bathtime routines and make clear the level of supervision that is required at bathtime and how this should be carried out in relation to age and ability.
For further advice: https://www.rospa.com/resources/hubs/keeping-kids-safe/bath-time
Bedrooms
If you are caring for a baby, including within a parent-and-child placement, please ensure you are familiar with our Safer Sleeping Procedure.
The guidance in this section is intended to reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) which is commonly known as cot death. This guidance is based on advice from the NHS and The Lullaby Trust and must be followed during the daytime as well as at night.
This guidance is also intended to reduce the risk of accidents.
The Child Specific Safer Care Plan for children aged 0-3 years includes a safe sleeping section and your supervising social worker will discuss expectations with you.
The following are some key pieces of guidance from our Safer Sleeping Procedure. Please refer to the procedure for full details.
- Babies must sleep in the same room as their care giver for at least their first 6 months (for premature babies it is 6 months from their due date).
- The safest place for babies to sleep is in their own moses basket or cot. Never fall asleep with baby.
- Avoid using ‘next-to-me’/bedside cots.
- Babies must be laid on their backs to sleep, with their feet near the foot of the cot.
- Keep the baby’s environment smoke-free at all times.
- Babies’ sleeping areas must be between 16-20°C.
- Babies must not be allowed to get too hot whilst sleeping:
- Use lightweight bedding that is well-fitted, not loose and tucked in.
- A sheet and blanket, or a baby sleeping bag is the only bedding advised by the NHS for babies.
- Don’t cover the baby’s head while they are sleeping
- Do not position cots / moses baskets under a window or near a radiator
- Use a new mattress for each baby. Mattresses must be firm and waterproof.
- Keep babies’ sleep spaces flat and clear – no pillows, quilts, bumpers,
- Do not use cot mobiles for babies 4 months and over, or babies who are starting to become mobile.
- Do not use neck cords (e.g. with dummies and biccie pegs).
- Remove bibs before sleep.
- Travel cots must not be used in place of a standard cot for permanent or long-term use.
- Babies must not sleep for long periods in swings or bouncers.
- Babies must not sleep for long periods in car seats (maximum of 2 hours). For premature or low-weight babies, a maximum of 30 minutes applies.
- If using a baby carrier or sling, follow the manufacturer’s guidelines. Keeping the baby in an upright position is advised.
Older children
- When the cot mattress is at its lowest height and the top rail is below the child’s chest, move the child to a bed.
- Keep other furniture away from cots to prevent toddlers from climbing out. Also keep furniture away from the window to prevent young children from climbing on to the ledge.
- Ensure that heavy furniture is attached to the wall as young children may try to climb up shelves, or inside wardrobes and cause them to topple over.
The use of side rails
If a child is at risk of falling from their bed, you might need to use a side rail. There are many types, designs and sizes of side rails, all with a variety of fitting and operation methods. That, together with the range of beds and mattresses, means that you will need to choose carefully.
On selecting a bed rail the following should be considered.
- Has the supplier or manufacturer provided enough information for its use?
- Are the side rails suitable for the bed/mattress to which it will be fitted?
- Could the child climb over the bed rail and fall?
- Could the child’s head pass between the side rails’ bars?
- Is the child’s head or body small enough to pass through the gap between the bed rails and the mattress?
There is more information about bed rails here.
Read more information about safe sleep at The Lullaby Trust.
Bunk beds
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) recommend that children under the age of six years do not use the upper bunk of a bunk bed. They also caution against the use of the lower bunk as there have been incidents where toddlers have become trapped.
Most accidents involving bunk beds happen when children are playing on them. Young children will need to be supervised in bedrooms where there are bunk beds to prevent them from accessing the upper bunk, from which they could fall. Children should be encouraged not to play on bunk beds.
Weighted Blankets
Weighted blankets are heavy blankets filled with a material such as plastic pellets to apply deep pressure. They are advertised and marketed for “therapeutic purposes, self-calming and sensory regulation”.
Research into the efficacy of the blankets is, however, limited. The Royal College of Occupational Therapy has identified some safety concerns and in particular a risk of suffocation, difficulty breathing, feeling sick and an increase in temperature. The risk of suffocation makes them especially dangerous for babies and young children.
As a general principle, ISP does not promote the use of weighted blankets, and you should not use one without the consent of the child’s social worker. However, a health professional may have recommended a weighted blanket, and some children will bring one to placement with them and are accustomed to using it. The local authority can agree how it is to be used in the child’s Placement Plan.
Follow these safety guidelines when using a weighted blanket.
- Blanket used with adult supervision;
- The child must be able to remove the blanket themselves;
- Limit use to 20 minutes at a time;
- Do not cover the child’s head or neck with the blanket;
- Don’t use the blanket overnight;
- Do not roll the child up in the blanket – place it over them;
- The blanket should fit the child’s size and not drape over the edge of the bed;
- Never use a blanket to restrain a child;
- The maximum weight of the blanket should be no more than 10% of the child’s body weight.
If the child shows any of the following reactions, remove the blanket immediately and seek medical advice if there is no immediate resolution of the symptoms:
- Difficulty breathing
- Nausea or vomiting
- Increased temperature/feeling too hot
- Behavioural or physical reaction that might suggest the child is anxious
Do not use a weighted blanket if the child has any of the following health conditions:
- Respiratory problems
- Cardiac problems
- Serious hypotonia
- Skin conditions including allergies
- Circulatory problems
See the following links for professional information and advice about weighted blankets:
