Harbourside's Risk Assessment

Risk Assessment  Regularly carried out by members of staff

Risk Assessments need not be complex or worrying

 An assessment of the risks that might be met by gymnasts and coaches should have the aim of preventing the risks or reducing them.

 5 Steps to Risk Assessment: An assessment of risk is nothing more than a careful examination of gymnastics activities and the aim ultimately is to make sure no one is harmed or hurt.

 Don’t be put off by some of the words used:

Hazard: Means anything that has the potential to cause harm.

Risk: The chance great or small, that someone will be harmed by the hazard.

 Step 1 – Look for the hazards - Walk around the gym looking for what could reasonably be expected to cause harm to people in your facility. Ignore the trivial and concentrate on significant hazards, which could result in harm to people in your facility.

 Step 2 – Decide who might be hurt and how - Think about gymnasts, coaches, parents, cleaners (anyone who might be in the facility).

 Step 3 – Evaluate the risks arising from the hazards and decide whether existing precautions are adequate or should more be done

Even after all precautions have been taken, usually some risk remains. What you have to decide for each significant hazard is what the likelihood is of the risk occurring and what is the likely consequence if it does occur.

 Step 4 – Record your findings - A simple risk assessment form has been designed for your use; this will focus your attention on significant risks that require some action. This process is not something that coaches should worry about unduly, it is simply a tool to help coaches make their clubs safer places and to protect the gymnasts and coaches using their facilities.

 Before any coaching session starts we ensure that;

  • A proper check was made

  • You considered all the possible hazards

  • You dealt with all the obvious significant hazards

  • The precautions are REASONABLE and the remaining risks are low.

 

Step 5 – Review your assessment procedures on a regular basis

We do risk assessments all the time, when we go in to a gymnasium or training area; we are all continuously on the look out for things that are potentially dangerous and we take precautions almost without thinking about it. So don’t over react, this form is a means of formalising the process and is here to help you.