The Willows is committed to maintaining a safe environment for all young people, staff, volunteers, and visitors. A clear and consistent approach to recording and reporting accidents, injuries, near-misses, and incidents is essential to fulfilling that commitment — both to protect individuals and to identify patterns that can help prevent future harm.

This policy applies to all accidents, injuries, near-misses, and incidents that occur on site at The Willows or during any activity connected with The Willows, regardless of how minor they may appear. It applies to young people, staff, volunteers, visitors, and any other person present during a session.

This policy should be read alongside the First Aid Policy, Health & Safety Policy, and Risk Assessment Policy.

For the purposes of this policy:

• Accident: an unplanned event that results in injury or ill health to a person, or damage to property or equipment.
• Near-miss: an unplanned event that did not result in injury, ill health, or damage but had the potential to do so.
• Incident: a broader term covering accidents, near-misses, and any other unplanned event that requires recording — including behavioural incidents, property damage, or situations that posed a risk to safety.
• Dangerous occurrence: a specific category of near-miss defined under RIDDOR (see Section 6) that must be reported to the Health and Safety Executive.

Nicola Bevan, as Lead Practitioner and the person responsible for health and safety at The Willows, is responsible for:

• Ensuring that all accidents, near-misses, and incidents are recorded promptly and accurately.
• Notifying parents, carers, and referring schools of any accident or incident involving a young person.
• Making any required reports to the Health and Safety Executive under RIDDOR.
• Reviewing accident records regularly to identify trends and take preventative action.
• Ensuring that all volunteers and additional adults understand their responsibility to report accidents and incidents to Nicola immediately.

All volunteers and additional adults are responsible for reporting any accident, near-miss, or incident to Nicola Bevan immediately, however minor it may appear.

The following must always be recorded in the accident log:

• Any injury to a young person, however minor — including cuts, grazes, bruises, sprains, bites, scratches, or falls.
• Any injury to a member of staff, volunteer, or visitor.
• Any near-miss that could have resulted in injury or harm.
• Any incident involving an animal that posed a risk to a person's safety.
• Any situation where a young person's behaviour placed themselves or others at risk of harm.
• Any damage to property or equipment that resulted from or contributed to a safety risk.
• Any situation where emergency services were called.

When in doubt, record it. It is always better to have a record of a minor incident than to overlook something that later proves significant.

All accidents and incidents must be recorded in the accident log as soon as practicable after the event — ideally on the same day. Each record must include:

• The date, time, and exact location of the accident or incident.
• The full name and role of the person(s) involved (young person, staff, volunteer, visitor).
• A clear description of what happened — what was taking place, how the accident or incident occurred, and what the immediate outcome was.
• Details of any injury sustained and its apparent severity.
• Details of any first aid given, by whom, and at what time.
• Whether the parent or carer was contacted, by whom, and at what time.
• Whether emergency services were called and, if so, the outcome.
• Any witnesses to the incident and their names.
• Any immediate action taken to make the area or activity safe following the incident.
• The full name and signature of the person completing the record.

Records must be factual and objective. They should describe what happened and what was observed — not opinions, assumptions, or interpretations.

Parents, carers, and referring schools must be informed of any accident or incident involving a young person. The following applies:

• Minor injuries (small cuts, grazes, minor bruises): parents or carers must be informed verbally at the end of the session or by phone before the young person arrives home. A written record will be available on request.
• More significant injuries (injuries requiring first aid beyond basic wound care, or any injury where there is uncertainty about severity): parents or carers must be contacted by phone as soon as possible during the session. The referring school must also be notified.
• Serious injuries or medical emergencies (injuries requiring hospital treatment, loss of consciousness, suspected fractures, or any situation where 999 was called): parents or carers must be contacted immediately. The referring school or local authority must be notified on the same day. A written incident report will be provided within 24 hours.

Certain accidents and incidents must be reported to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR). Nicola Bevan is responsible for making any required RIDDOR reports.

Reportable incidents include:

• The death of any person as a result of a work-related accident.
• Specified injuries to workers (fractures other than fingers/thumbs/toes, amputations, loss of sight, crush injuries, burns, scalping, unconsciousness caused by head injury or asphyxia, any injury requiring resuscitation or admittance to hospital for more than 24 hours).
• Injuries to a young person or member of the public that result in them being taken directly from the site to hospital for treatment (not just for a check-up).
• Dangerous occurrences — near-misses from a defined list including the collapse of lifting equipment, accidental release of a biological agent, or structural collapse.
• Occupational diseases where a medical professional confirms a diagnosis linked to work activity.

RIDDOR reports must be submitted online at hse.gov.uk/riddor or by calling the HSE Incident Contact Centre on 0345 300 9923. Reports must be made within 10 days of the incident (or within 15 days for over-7-day incapacitation injuries).

A copy of any RIDDOR report submitted will be retained alongside the accident log record for the relevant incident.

The accident log is stored securely on site and is accessible to Nicola Bevan at all times. Accident records are treated as confidential and handled in line with The Willows' Data Protection Policy.

Accident records relating to young people are retained for a minimum of 7 years after the young person's placement ends, or until the young person reaches the age of 25 — whichever is later. Records relating to staff or volunteers are retained for a minimum of 7 years. Records involving a RIDDOR-reportable incident are retained indefinitely.

Parents, carers, and young people (where appropriate) may request a copy of an accident record relating to them or their child at any time by contacting Nicola Bevan.

Accident and incident records are reviewed by Nicola Bevan on a regular basis — at minimum termly — to identify any patterns, recurring risks, or areas where practice or risk assessments should be updated.

Following any significant accident or incident, Nicola will carry out a review to consider:

• Whether the risk assessment for the relevant activity was adequate and up to date.
• Whether any changes to practice, supervision, equipment, or the environment are needed.
• Whether any additional training is required.
• Whether the incident needs to be shared with the referring school or local authority as part of the young person's wider support.

Any changes made as a result of a review will be documented and reflected in the relevant risk assessment or policy.

This policy will be reviewed annually, or sooner following any significant accident or incident, a change in staffing, or a change in relevant legislation or guidance. The policy owner is Nicola Bevan.