Safe Environments

1 Providing a Safe Environment Indoors and Outdoors High-quality environments can help keep children safe from injury. This lesson focuses on ways preschool teachers can ensure indoor and outdoor environments are safe for children. 2 Providing Safe Toys and Materials Safety is a major priority in preschool classrooms. Unsafe toys and materials can put children at risk for injury or illness. This lesson focuses on checking toys and materials for safety and identifying unsafe toys. 3 Maintaining Safe Adult-to-Child Ratios Following standard ratios and group sizes greatly helps keep children safe. This lesson will help you understand why ratios are important, what ratio is right for your program, and how to solve common problems. 4 Supervision and Accountability Indoors and Outdoors Although it is critical to provide safe materials and a safe environment, your supervision is the most powerful tool you have to keep children safe. This lesson focuses on ways to provide appropriate supervision both indoors and outdoors. It also addresses ways to maintain accountability for children’s safety. 5 Teaching Safety Rules Teaching children how to be safe is an important part of your job. Designing effective rules can be an important step in helping keep children safe. In this lesson you will learn about why rules are important, the characteristics of effective rules for preschool children, and strategies for teaching rules to young children. 6 Safe Sleep for Preschool Age Children Rest time is important for young children. This lesson will describe ways to make sure preschool children are safe while they rest. 7 Child Abuse Prevention, Identification, and Reporting Child abuse and neglect put children at risk for injury and even death. As a teacher, it is your responsibility to (a) know the signs of abuse and neglect, (b) prevent child abuse through parent education, and (c) report suspected cases of child abuse or neglect. 8 Preparing for Emergencies Emergencies can happen any time. Being prepared for potential emergencies can help you keep children safe and stay calm during stressful situations. This lesson will focus on helping you plan, organize, and practice evacuation/ emergency procedures in advance. This includes contingency procedures such as tornadoes, terrorist threats, epidemics, and other emergencies. 9 Responding to Injuries Despite your best efforts to keep children safe, injuries can happen. You must be prepared to respond quickly when a child or staff member gets hurt. This lesson will help you recognize different events that can cause injuries in early childhood programs. Then, you will learn how to keep children safe by getting medical attention. 10 Special Considerations for Trips Away From Your Program Trips away from the classroom are excellent ways to help young children learn. Trips present some risks, however. This lesson will help you learn how to prevent and respond to safety problems on trips away from your program. 11 Vehicle Safety It is our job to keep children safe in the classroom and when they are on the move. This lesson will help you ensure vehicle safety rules and procedures are followed when transporting children.