First Aid Training

Oh Dear! I have asked a relative who is also a solicitor about this and she has gone through my insurance and pointed out that no where does it say I haxe to have an official accident book. Also as nannies are not self employed our employer's would normally be responsible for insurance. Surestart did not require public liability insurance but Ofsted do! I asked them if I needed to keep an accident book and was told there was no lawful requirement for nannies to do so.

I do of course keep a record of any accidents (of which there have been few in my 28 years as a nanny!)

I am more interested in providing good quality care than writing six pages in duplicate about little sam's grazed knee.The world has gone MAD!

I keep all things in the bathroom up very high so even I can't reach and I supervise the children I mind.

I keep chemical/polishes/dishwasher stuff in the garage on shelf above washing machine and NO CHILD is allowed in the there on their own as it opens onto the drive and then onto the close roadway. OFSTED were fine with this when I had an inspection.

As far as felt-tips and crayons in the lounge are concerned the child would be strung up by its feet if it was caught drawing on my suite!

Yes spoke to my insurance company they said you do not need to keep an accident book. Also spoke to a solicitor who said dont worry about it especially if you were insured at the time, if not insured keep an accident record if it was a hospital visit just to cover yourself.

Paula, deft needs common sense!! I am a nanny though so the advice from morton michel is different for me, as I work from the childs home and not my own.(although accidents can happen anywhere.)
If anything major happens shall record it and get parents to sign and keep for the next 20 odd years!!

morton michel sell self copying accident records...... I have them in my childminders folder.

NCMA told me to keep all child related records until that child reachers 21.

I guess I will be keeping a lot of paperwork over the years 20 - 30 years then!

Morton Michel told me that you have have to inform then of any accidents that require professional treatment (so not little grazes, bruises etc). I guess it comes down largely to common sense

I have spoken to morton michel(insurance company) and with ofsted.
Neither of them have heard of this for Nannies. Ofsted says child minders should keep records and oddly enough say to be kept for 2 years!
Insurance said that if a claim was made then if you were insured at the time of the accident then you will still be covered 20 years from then.
So in the future if any child in my care has an accident which is more then a minor graze to the knee,then for peace of mind I will keep a record of it and a copy of my policy no for the insurance.

cinpin - i would register, but neither mb/db companys use the voucher scheme, so no point

but from the hassle friends say about it, im glad im not

though who knows in the next job

I am with you nanny7 it has gone mad. Iam going to carry on as I am untill someone tells me otherwise. I went into nannying to
look after children not to do admin work.

Blondes I wish i did not need to be ofsted registered hope you can carry on as you are it is a complete waste of time Ihave always wworked with out it untill now, its only so my boss can claim back tax.

Won't any duplicate book do, nick? Agree about the cross, date, initial. I suspect the NCMA do specific forms for childminders.

I suspect if I were ever responsible for a serious accident I'd also follow the same procedures I would for suspected child abuse and deposit a sealed, postmarked copy with a lawyer or in a safe deposit box in a bank.

But the law reflects the fact that the damage is to the child, not the parents. It's impossible to tell whether an injury sustained at the age of 2 will prevent them becoming a pro footballer later. That can only reasonably show up at 18 or so and the statute of limitations on personal injury is 3 years. It's possible to sue earlier on the child's behalf, for example if negligence caused a serious injury requiring lifelong care, but some things just won't make their true effects known until later on.

And actually the UK had a history of litigation well before the US, the US just has a legal system which allows unrelated precedents to be given more weight so in effect it's easier to sue. Plus whereas all hospital treatment for an injury in the UK is free, in the US you either gave to claim on your insurance which puts your premium up or pay out if your own pocket which many people can't afford so that's another reason see why taking up legal proceedings is more common.

Not playing outside when it snows is an example of health and safety gone mad though - any balanced risk assessment should show that proper precautions bring the risk down to acceptable levels.

It has gone mad!!! following the USA in lets sue for anything!! we used to play in the play ground when it snowed, can't do that anymore!!! I never said Nannies should be different!! just that as I haven't heard of it before that I would look into it!!
Agree that it just takes one incident.
But really the law should be that if the parents don't take action immediatly after it has happened then the grown up children can't complain/sue many years later!!!

I wouldn't say it's gone mad as such - people are just quicker to sue, which has resulted in tighter safety regulations and most insurance companies look for any excuse to avoid paying out, so I personally err in the side of caution.

Why should nannies be any different to other settings in terms of meeting safety/insurance requirements anyway? If anything we're a riskier prospect 'because we're so unregulated. Whilst the vast majority of nannies are very conscientious and sensible, and the vast majority of parents not litigious it only takes one incident to scare people or make them wonder whether they can get compensation. No-win, no-fee makes it easy to at least try...

geez, the world has gone mad!!!! shall be looking into this tomo, as ofsted registered
and have never heard of this for Nannys but have for other settings!! When I was studying My nvq3 had my assesor come into the home where i worked and she asked where i wrote about any accidents, I showed her the dairy, which she said was fine and signed it off on the sheet!!!Was a few years ago so perhaps have changed since then!!!

Also I think with nannies OFSTED make it up as they go along sometimes. It's remarkably half-baked. Some nannies are told their level 3 isn't common core compliant because it's too old, others get registered without having any, they're inconsistent about 1st Aid, nannies who registered in 2007 aren't having their CRBs renewed despite OFSTED saying 3 years...

My policy for dealing with them has always been get Amy question answered in writing twice!

I will keep mine until each child reaches 22 along with the insurance policy for that time.

A child has 3 years from reaching their majority (18) to file a claim. It's stored along with other stuff that needs to be kept in a file, a plastic wallet for each year that it can be destroyed.

Nannying was easier before OFSTED because there was more choice but tbh I've always had insurance, kept accident records, had blanket consent letters etc. I work with a lot of paperwork - my contract is I think 7 pages long? - but people not doing that effectively paid my school fees growing up (father was a lawyer!).

I think nannying was a lot easier when ofsted was not involved to be honest

ditto - thank god im not ofsted registered

sure if you are you have to have a book,my friend got inspected and was asked if she had one - and she did, but nothing in it as been no accidents - got it from whs for about £2

Are you really going to keep the accident book for twenty years? Would an accident book actually make any difference? I will ring my ex boss who is a solicitor and found out about this. I cannot find anything in m y policy but will ring them tomorrow. I would have thought ofsted would have brought it up unless it is a new thing. I think nannying was a lot easier when ofsted was not involved to be honest.

Therein lies the difference between risk as in the chances if it happening and risk the outcome. Risk is based on likelihood of something happening AND potential consequences. Just because something is unlikely doesn't mean it's a small risk to take. It's like when you risk assess anything. The likelihood if a child being abducted if you leave them sleeping in a hotel room is relatively small, the consequences are huge so it's a big risk to leave them. On the other hand the consequences of a child scribbling on the leather sofa with their felt tips are relatively small (you have to clean the sofa) but the likelihood is high so leaving a child alone with felt tips is also taking a big risk.

Small likelihood, huge consequences = big risk

One in a million chance of it happening, million pound settlement for damages = still a million.

Whilst your insurer may not specify an accident book they may require you to keep a record, which means you keeping a record and not writing it in the diary because that's the parents' record.

And as for not hearing of a nanny maintaining a personal accident log - you have now! Possibly two...

I will read my insurance policy and see if you have to do this and then inform all the nannies I know.

IMO there is a one in a million chance of this happening not a big risk at all, as I have never heard of a nanny keeping an accident book.

Not a big risk not doing things by the book for your insurance? Given the time limit for a child to bring a suit against you relying on parents to keep the diary is a big risk IMO!

These days not having insurance is an even bigger risk than it used to be. Parents know it exists now and it's only a matter of time before there's a big claim against someone who doesn't have it.

I'll agree the hazardous substances guidelines are OTT but the principle is sound. One doesn't need the exact brands but a sheet of the active/harmful ingredients in each and the correct treatment procedures could be helpful.

Re COSHH substances - childminders maybe, but totally impractical for nannies - they don't know if the parents have bought a different brand of toilet cleaner. Also where retail products are involved, the packaging must clearly show actions to take or avoid in the case of an incident so a file of datasheets is neither necessary nor useful (because it will cause delay, or even worse you could refer to the wrong sheet in a stressful situation).

In my experience, Health and Safety trainers can sometimes give their own opinions and make incorrect assumptions about Best Practice in a given situation.

As for an accident book, you have to comply with the requirements of your Ofsted registration and should also comply with anything set out in your insurance (although you might find that they say you must notify them of every accident, which is obviously impractical!).

I do not think it is taking a big risk. Cannot think what the positives are either.

Nannying is changing in response to attitudes changing in society.

In many ways the changes are positive for nannies (in terms of protection) but it does require adapting the way you do things. One could choose not to, but then that's taking a big risk and I can't afford the lawsuits! If a child sues me years later I don't want to risk my insurance being invalidated so I do things by the book. Doesn't take 5 minutes to write it down, get it signed and file it with your insurance documents.