Farm Safety Week

Did you know our school nursing teams play an important role in promoting farm safety?

During #FarmSafetyWeek we want to recognise the work they do to keep children and young people safe.

This year they have delivered safety awareness sessions to over 3000 pupils in 18 rural primary schools.

We work in partnership with the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland to promote child safety on farms and we’re an affiliate member of the regional Farm Safety Partnership.

This checklist for parents can help to make farms as safe as possible for children:

• Have a safe and secure play area
• Prevent children from playing in or around farmyards and livestock
• Make sure vehicles have good all-round visibility
• Prevent children aged under 13 from riding on tractors and farm machinery
• Restrict quad use and provide suitable safety equipment
• Secure all heavy wheels, gates, heavy equipment and stacked materials
• Ensure your slurry lagoon is securely fenced to prevent children from gaining access and make sure tank covers are always in place
• Keep children well away when mixing slurry
• Keep track of where family members are playing or working and when they are expected back
• Make sure everyone washes their hands before eating and drinking
• Keep chemicals locked in a secure store when not in use
• Make sure that guards are in place to prevent access to dangerous parts of machinery
• Make sure all family members know what to do in an emergency
• Prepare a list of emergency contact telephone numbers

15th July 2024