We know that when you drop your child off each morning, you trust us to keep them safe. At Nightingale Primary School, we take that responsibility seriously. Children need to climb, run, experiment and explore - it's how they learn and develop - so our job is to make sure they can do all of this safely. We carefully assess every activity and environment, from the playground to the classroom, and put the right safety measures in place. Our staff are trained to spot potential risks and respond quickly if needed. This page gives you an insight into how we manage health and safety, so you can feel confident that your child is safe, happy and free to learn and play.
Below you will find some the following documents to help you to understand how we assess risks for key activities:
- Our playground risk assessment
- Our climbing wall method statement and most recent staff assessment certificate
- Our Forest School Risk/Benefit Analysis
If you ever have concerns regarding Health and Safety at Nightingale you are welcome to visit our
concerns/complaint page of our website for a quick and easy way to raise these with us.
Playground Risk Assessment
We understand that as a parent, you want to know your child is safe when they're playing outside. Please be reassured that we take playground safety extremely seriously. Every piece of equipment, surface and activity has been carefully assessed. We have impact-absorbing surfaces, clear zones for different types of play, and well-trained staff supervising at all times.
Occasionally, children may get a small bump or graze - perhaps from tripping while running with friends. These very minor incidents can happen even with excellent supervision, and they're actually an important part of how children learn coordination and resilience. What we can promise is that we do everything possible to prevent serious injuries, and our staff are always on hand to comfort your child and provide first aid if needed. We use an online system called Medical Tracker to inform parents/carers if their child has an injury. We also use this to track whether there are any areas of the school where injuries are occurring more frequently than we would expect so that we can monitor risks appropriately.
Below you'll find our playground risk assessment. Please do speak to any member of the senior team if you'd like to understand more about how we manage playground risks.
Climbing Wall
Our climbing wall provides children with an exciting challenge in a safe, controlled environment. We take safety extremely seriously: we have a method statement that guides all use of the wall, and every member of staff who supervises climbing receives annual training from a qualified professional instructor who assesses and signs off their competence. The wall itself and the attached auto-belays are also inspected annually to ensure they meet safety standards. Children use appropriate safety equipment and are taught proper techniques before they climb. While climbing is challenging by nature, we ensure that challenge is carefully managed so your child can build confidence and skills safely.
Below you will find the climbing wall method statement and latest staff certificate.
Forest School
Forest School gives children wonderful opportunities to learn through nature, develop practical skills and build confidence - all while using real tools, exploring outdoors and sometimes sitting around a campfire. We know this might sound adventurous, but please be reassured that Forest School is one of our most carefully managed activities. Every session is led by a qualified Forest School leader with specialist training in outdoor safety. Before introducing any activity, we carry out a thorough risk-benefit analysis - weighing up potential risks against the significant benefits for children's learning and development. Children are taught proper techniques for using tools and understanding fire safety, and forest school trained staff are trained in outdoor first aid. Below you'll find our detailed risk-benefit analysis, which shows how we balance challenge with safety to give your child an enriching outdoor learning experience.