Special Considerations for Face Painters

Prepared by Community Fundraising, March 2016© NCT, 30 Euston Square, London, NW1 2FB. Reg. The National Childbirth Trust (known as NCT) is a registered charity in England and Wales (801395) and in Scotland (SC041592).

Evacuation plan – detailing actions to be taken by designated people in event of a major incident e.g. fire.
Presence of pushchairs and pregnant women to be considered in evacuation plan. / Discuss with the venue the best way for pregnant women, babies, children, those with buggies, wheelchair users, or anyone with a disability are to be evacuated in case of fire / security threat etc.
Are there lifts that remain active during evacuations? Volunteers to be briefed on evacuation procedures, assembly point, and if they need to sign in/out. One volunteer should lead on the evacuation process.
Understand the venue alert system (is there a fire alarm – are there different sounds for warning or evacuation messages?). Is there megaphone to give instructions?
Be aware where fire extinguishers are stored, but only the venue’s trained professional or Fire Department should operate this.
Trips, slips and falls - volunteers, parents and children at risk. / Any trailing cables to be covered with a safety mat or taped down. For NNS ensure sellers are aware of what can be kept under tables, and must be in boxes not loose.
Spillages cleaned promptly agree who to do this and control access to the cleaning cupboard (keep this locked if possible). Use wet floor signs if available – check with the venue manager.
Heavy items placed on the floor, but not blocking isles, tables to not be over-stacked.
For NNS, large sale items should be taken directly to a Reserved Area to be collected at the tills; this reduces the number of large obstructions.
Any electrical items being used should be PAT tested (Portable appliance tested) - venues will generally have all in-house items PAT-tested.
Health and Safety Plan –process for administering First Aid on-site e.g. cuts, bruises etc. / Check with the venue where the First Aid kit is kept, and how the venue administers First Aid. Any incident requiring First Aid should be recorded in an accident book along with the action taken.
No internal medication (tablets e.g. painkillers) should be given to children unless under parental supervision. Check with venue if First Aider is required to be in attendance.
Crowd safety plan – steward roles and responsibilities, consider audience profile e.g. older people, or babies and children, and wheelchairs, buggies. . / Ensure the entrance and exit points do not become overcrowded; hold people back and have a one in, one out policy if the venue reaches capacity.
Ensure the venue has accessible entry & exit points for wheelchairs and children buggies.
Children’s considerations: Child protection. Lost child policy. Access to toilets with running water. / Ensure you have a lost child policy in the event of a child becoming separated (see more on a lost child and handover policy below.
Child protection: Ensure any photographer has parental permission to photograph children.
Toilets including disabled toilets and mother and baby area for feeding and nappy changing, should have running water and all be signposted.
Children’s Play Areas:
Activities should be appropriate for the age of children involved. Information should be displayed on potential hazards (pictures better for children). / Ensure parents are with children during activities.
Those supervising children should have agreed procedures for dealing with discipline or uncooperative children that does not include corporal punishment or anything that frightens / embarrasses children.
Only parents/ carers should undertake care of sick children.
Access issues for disabled participants – emergency exits, disabled access, and provision of facilities. / Venue should have lifts/ ramps for wheelchairs.
People with impaired vision – may need to admit guide dogs.
Audible evacuation procedure and clear signage. All stewards briefed in how to approach visitors with a disability.
Ensure anyone with mobility issue including pregnant women; have enough chairs available.
Structures, marquees, gazebos, barriers, staging, bouncy castles, ball pools, inflatable structures - check before use to verify safety.
. / These structures should be assembled and deconstructed safely in accordance with manufacturer’s instructions when the venue is empty. Do not block entry/ exit points.
Exhibitor stands should be correctly weighted- particularly for outside.
Adverse weather conditions, wet weather plan. / All structures must be secured to prevent wind impact e.g. with weighted sand bags, and have a waterproof covering.
Capacity for shade in open-air sites.
Manual handling operations (how will any materials be transferred to the event) / Stacks of chairs moved using chair trolley. Always bend from the knees. Tables moved 2 per table. No pregnant volunteers or anyone with back/ mobility issues to be involved in manual handling.
Waste management (including minimisation, recycling and litter collection) / Waste should be cleared as soon as possible and recycling bins prominently situated. Agree with the venue who pays for cleaning of the venue after the hire has ended (including any outdoor space).
Food hygiene and availability of drinking water. / Ensure milk and tea, coffee, sugar, squash is all purchased fresh and well within use by date. Ensure there is adequate free drinking water available, particularly for outdoor events.
Theft / Do not allow floats at registration desks build up and remove money in sealed bags to a secure location locked away from the public.
For NNS, ensure you have a team of floor walking volunteers during the sale to look for signs of shoplifting e.g. people putting items under buggies or removing tickets etc. Ask if anyone suspicious needs help and escort them to a till.
Mark all high value items e.g. electronic toys prams and slings that with sold tape potion near to the till. Question anyone trying to remove an item without sold tape. Have a volunteer stationed with large items to assist and to ensure payment is taken immediately. Have a volunteer preventing people taking bags into the toilets and display signs to announce that random bag checks are in operation as a deterrent.

Special considerations for face painters:

Face painting should be limited to just painting cheeks or hands of children who are below the age of four (older children are fine) and always have parental permission. Ask face painters for their public liability insurance and proof that they are using a reputable brand of non-allergic, water –based face paints.

Face painters should provide information to parents about when and how to remove face paints.

Assess the risk:

The next stage is to evaluate the extent of the risk posed by the identified hazards (likelihood of harm if left unchecked).

List the control measure to minimise the risk.
Record your risk assessment findings, and revise as the nature of the risk may change during the planning of the event, therefore the risk assessment is continually updated.
Review control measures and any competencies required.
Communicate this to the relevant parties.

A simple matrix would consider the harm / severity that could result from an activity (the severity of harm):

Trivial
Minor injuries that may require first aid on-site
Major injuries that may require hospital treatment

The probability of the hazard being realised:

Unlikely
Possible
Likely

These two together determine the Risk Rating.

1= Low risk – no action necessary but additional controls are advised.

2= Medium Risk – reduce risk and implement some controls

3= High Risk - reduce or remove risk, consider not doing activity.

e.g. Minor but likely gives a rating of 3.

Keep your risk assessment as simple as possible but consider all possible risks, and get in touch with the Community Fundraising Team on 020 8752 2388 or if you need any help.

On the day:

Arrive at site, check in with venue host.
Move equipment to be set-up, to allocated area.
Unload equipment in line with risk assessment, and make sure vehicles are moved to a designated area.
Set-up structures following manufacturer’s instructions
Maintain safety controls throughout the day’s activities.
At end of the day, pack away all items brought on-site in line with risk assessment.

Lost Child Policy:

There should be a lost child point which is supervised by volunteers briefed on the lost child policy. This is where a lost child can be taken to await being re-united with their parent/ guardian.

There should be more than one person to supervise a lost child. The child should not be taken away from the venue or site in an attempt to find the parents/ guardian of the lost child.

An attempt to ascertain the child’s name and name of their parent/ guardian should be made e.g. does the child have a mobile with parent/ guardian’s number on it?

Missing child policy

If an announcement is made on a lost child, it should refer to a child “separated”, not referred to as “lost”. The announcement should not refer to the child’s personal details, descriptions or names.

If a child has not been found within 30 minutes of looking, the police should be informed.

Handover procedure:

If a child is reluctant to go with a parent, or collecting adult, seek a second opinion from the police. The parent or guardian’s signature or proof of identity needs to be obtained before handover.

Child protection:

Children under 8 years not to be left unattended. It is inadvisable for children under 8 years to leave the event unless accompanied by a parent or responsible adult.

Hazard / Risk / Who is at risk? / Probability of Risk / Harm ( 1= low, 3= high) / Control Measures / Revised Risk Rating( should be lower than probability of risk/ harm )
Busy road on-route / Walkers and children not seeing traffic / Walk participants & volunteers / 3 / Volunteer stewards briefed and present to assist at the road.
First aiders present on site. / 1
Hazard / Risk / Who is at risk? / Probability of Risk / Harm ( 1= low, 3= high) / Control Measures / Revised Risk Rating( should be lower than probability of risk)