Health and Safety

The physical environment for young people must be safe and secure and protect them from harm or the risk of harm.

The manager/Service must ensure that the physical environment is maintained to a high standard and meets the needs of the young people. Any damage or wear and tear should be quickly and regularly repaired.

Risk assessments must be regularly reviewed and updated and comply with statutory requirements. See Risk Assessment and Planning Procedure.

Staff will support the young person with the relevant paperwork to read and sign, including a Licence Agreement.

This explains the guidelines to be followed around the young person’s stay/ placement with the Service.

This includes:

Accommodation settings

Properties are distributed across the borough. When selecting our accommodation settings, we ensure the location is well facilitated so our young people can access a varied range of amenities. This is inclusive of wider support in the community, educational provisions, job opportunities, healthcare and wellbeing facilities, access to transport links and unlimited inclusion and participation in communal events promoting a sense of belonging and togetherness. We ensure all premises and locations are safe and will carry out internal and external health and safety checks, inclusive of locality risk assessments which monitor local crime statistics in the area.

The accommodation provided is furnished. When moving into their property our Care Leavers are supported to make their property homely putting their individual stamp on their home. The accommodation can also be adapted in line with individual cultural needs.

Care Leavers are provided with their own door key and also have access to broadband services.

Where possible Care Leavers will be placed within an area of their choice to support them to maintain links to their family and friends. It is acknowledged the importance of maintaining networks to support Care Leavers into becoming independent into adulthood.

Maintenance

The social housing provider is responsible for the maintenance of the property. Any shortfalls in the maintenance are reported and quickly rectified. Practitioners will review the property as part of the support that is offered to the Care Leaver to ensure that the accommodation remains safe, secure and well maintained. The repair and maintenance of the property is set out in the licence agreement between the local authority and the housing provider.

CCTV surveillance and monitoring are not used in any of the properties that are provided.

License agreement

Before a Care Leaver moves into their accommodation, they are provided with a licence agreement. This is broken down into two parts, an occupancy agreement and a management agreement. 

The occupancy agreement provides the Care Leaver with terms which they have to agree to when moving into the property. The agreement also sets out what the Care Leaver should do if they are concerned or unhappy with the accommodation.

The purpose of the management agreement is to set out the terms for the provision of the Property by the Owner and Housing Support Services by the Council and set out the respective roles and responsibilities of the two Parties to ensure effective joint working and good liaison in providing the accommodation and support to the Care Leaver.

Fire Safety and Risk Management

There are basically five steps to complete a risk assessment:

1. Look for fire hazards;
2. Decide who might be harmed and how;
3. Evaluate the risks and decide whether the existing precautions are adequate or whether more should be done;
4. Record your findings;
5. Review your assessment and revise it as necessary.

See also Local Resources re Fire Risk Assessment form and name of the Health and Safety lead for the Service.

Useful Websites

Health and Safety Executive

For further information, please see Health and Safety Executive UK Fire Safety Guidance.