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Preventing Accidents In Elementary Schools
When parents drop their little ones off at school, they are entrusting their precious children to the care of school employees for the next seven hours. Although not all accidents can be prevented, basic safety policies and procedures can be put into place. Elementary school administration and teachers can do a lot to help their curious little students prevent getting hurt accidentally while under their care. Here are some tips and suggestions.
-- Always have hall monitors on duty. There are seldom times when school hallways are completely empty: there are always classes going to and from the gym or to lunch, and a child always needs to go to the bathroom. Having an aide monitoring the halls during the day can prevent the types of behavior that lead to injury: running in hallways, horsing around in the bathrooms, putting pencil tips in hallway power outlets, etc.
-- Make sure that hallways are free from obstacles. Imagine this scenario: the district drops off that long-awaited shipment of copy paper and the forklift deposits the load in the hallway in front of the office. Or this: extra folding chairs from the auditorium are temporarily put outside the auditorium doors waiting to be taken to Mrs. Smith's classroom down the hall.
Young children seldom look where they are going, particularly when they are distracted by their peers or trying their hand at walking backwards when they're not supposed to! Unexpected hazards in the hallways invite a trip and a potentially serious fall. Make it a standing policy to keep all hallways free of obstacles and hazards.
-- Make sure there is adequate supervision on the playground during recess times. Most school districts have policies already in place for teacher's aide to student ratios during recess, but in some cases it may be best to have extra help on the playground. If two aides are in charge of supervising a large area, having a third frees one up to micromanage potentially hazardous games or activities a little more closely.
-- Keep docking areas, custodial closets, and kitchens locked at all times and strictly off limits to children. Although a well-meaning teacher may want to send a 1st grader to a custodial closet for emergency cleaning supplies, she may not take into account that there may be more toxic items kept therein.
-- Have the custodian keep a sharp eye out for potentially dangerous slick floors during inclement weather. Having good quality floor matting by each exterior door can really help to prevent accident falls and keep children from trekking unwanted mud or water all over the school.
About the Author For the highest quality in Custom logo floor mats for your school, supermarket, or business, contact the professionals at Expert Floor Matting, Inc (http://www.efmi.com). Art Gib is a freelance writer.
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