Risk assessment and emergency procedures

Code Hamsters (Simple Platform Work Limited)
Version 1.0, approved 13 October 2026 by Mathew Long, Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL). Next review: October 2027, or sooner after any incident or change in the law or guidance.

1. How we assess risk

We follow the Health and Safety Executive’s five steps:

identify the hazards
decide who might be harmed and how
evaluate the risks and decide on precautions
record what we find and put it into practice
review the assessment and update it

Mathew Long is responsible for risk assessment. The general assessment in section 2 covers a normal Code Hamsters session: up to 12 children in Year 5 & 6 with one tutor, in a hired classroom, using laptops, Raspberry Pi computers and robotics kits. On top of it we complete:

a venue check (section 3) before the first session at any venue and at the start of every term
a quick check of the room and equipment by the tutor before every session
an individual assessment, agreed with parents or carers, for any child whose medical condition, disability or behaviour means the general controls are not enough
a new assessment before any new activity, kit or kind of event

Assessments are reviewed every year, after any accident, incident or near miss, and whenever something changes. Tutors read them before their first session and tell us if a control is not working.

2. General risk assessment for sessions

Hazard	Who might be harmed and how	What we do to control it	Risk with controls
Slips, trips and falls	Children and tutors tripping on cables, bags, coats or robots on the floor.	Cables routed along walls or covered. Bags and coats kept in one place away from walkways. Floor robots used in a marked area. Spills cleared at once. No running.	Low
Electrical equipment	Electric shock or burns from damaged laptops, chargers, leads or sockets.	Tutor checks every lead and charger before each session and removes anything damaged. Mains equipment inspected and tested by a competent person. No chained extension leads or overloaded sockets. Children do not plug in or unplug mains equipment. No drinks next to equipment.	Low
Batteries	Burns or fire from damaged, overheated or short-circuited batteries. Swallowing a small battery.	Tutor fits, charges and changes batteries. Swollen, damaged or leaking batteries removed and disposed of safely. Nothing left charging unattended. Coin cell batteries are kept away from children.	Low
Robotics kits and small parts	Trapped fingers in moving parts, cuts from sharp edges, small parts put in mouths.	Kits chosen for the age group and used as the maker intends. Children shown how to use each kit safely. Motors stopped before hands go near moving parts. Parts counted out and back in. Long hair tied back and loose sleeves kept clear.	Low
Screen use and posture	Eye strain, headaches or discomfort.	Sessions are one hour and mix screen work with building and testing. Chairs and screens adjusted to suit each child. Children encouraged to look away from the screen regularly.	Low
Medical conditions and allergies	A child becoming seriously unwell, for example an asthma attack, allergic reaction or seizure.	Health information collected on the registration form before the first session and checked every term. Written plan agreed for any condition that may need action. Tutor has the information and the child’s emergency medication at every session. First-aider and first aid kit at every session. 999 called in an emergency.	Medium
Infection	Illness spreading between children through shared keyboards and kits.	Sickness policy: children and tutors stay away when ill. Hands cleaned before using shared equipment. Equipment cleaned regularly.	Low
A child going missing or leaving with the wrong adult	A child lost, hurt or taken by someone who should not have them.	Register and head counts. Children supervised throughout and go to the toilet one at a time. Handover only to an adult named on the form. Unknown adults checked with the parent first. Missing child policy: police and parents called immediately.	Low
Harm from an adult	A child abused or harmed by a tutor, visitor or other adult at the venue.	Safer recruitment and enhanced DBS checks. Code of conduct. Open working: doors open or windowed, no planned one-to-one. Visitors never left alone with children. Clear route to report concerns, including to the LADO.	Low
Online harm	A child seeing harmful content, being contacted by a stranger or being bullied online.	Our own devices with child accounts. Filtered connection, used only when the activity needs it. Screens visible to the tutor. No personal accounts or personal devices. Online safety policy.	Low
Fire	Burns or smoke inhalation. Children not getting out quickly.	Venue’s fire precautions checked before first use. Tutor knows the exits, alarm and assembly point. Children briefed and the route walked at the first session each term. Register taken out. Personal plan for any child who needs help. Fire safety and evacuation plan.	Low
One tutor working alone with a group	Delay in getting help if the tutor or a child is hurt or taken ill. Group left unsupervised during an incident.	Charged phone, register and emergency numbers always with the tutor. Tutor knows how to reach venue staff. Group kept together during any incident. Emergency procedures written for a lone tutor. Children told at their first session what to do if their tutor cannot help them.	Medium
Behaviour	A child hurting themselves or others, or damaging equipment.	Clear rules agreed at the first session. Small groups. Activities pitched to keep children busy. Calm, consistent behaviour management. Parents told the same day. Individual plan where a child needs extra support.	Low
Arrival and collection in the evening	Children hurt by vehicles in a car park, or waiting unsupervised in the dark.	Parents and carers bring children to the room and collect them from it. Children are never sent out to wait. Late collection procedure in the missing child policy.	Low
Intruders and other people using the venue	A child approached or harmed by a stranger.	Room chosen so that the tutor can see who comes in. Anyone the tutor does not know is challenged. Children accompanied or sent one at a time to toilets the tutor has checked. Lockdown procedure below.	Low

3. Venue check

Print and complete before the first session at a venue, and at the start of every term.

Venue name and full address (as you would give it to the emergency services)

Room

Venue contact on site during sessions, and their phone number

Nearest toilets for children, and who else uses them

How people get into the building during sessions, and who else is in it

Sockets, cables, furniture and floor: anything to fix or avoid

First aid kit location, and nearest defibrillator

Phone signal in the room, or nearest landline

Arrival and collection point, lighting and car park

Anything else, and what we will do about it

Checked by, and date

Fire exits, the alarm and the assembly point are recorded on the venue sheet in our fire safety and evacuation plan.

4. Emergency procedures

In any emergency the tutor:

keeps the children safe first, and keeps the group together
calls 999 if anyone is in danger or seriously hurt
gets help from venue staff where they are on site
takes the register, phone and any emergency medication with them
tells the Designated Safeguarding Lead, Mathew Long, on +44 7877 742502, if they are not already there
tells parents and carers, and records what happened on the same day

Serious injury or illness

Stop the activity. Make the area safe and keep the other children together, away from the casualty.
Give first aid. Use the child’s emergency medication if they have a written plan.
Call 999 if the child is unconscious, struggling to breathe, bleeding heavily, having a seizure or a severe allergic reaction, has a suspected broken bone or head injury, or you are in any doubt. Give the venue’s full address. Send venue staff, if any, to meet the ambulance.
Phone the child’s parent or carer, then their emergency contacts.
Stay with the child. If they go to hospital before a parent or carer arrives, the tutor does not leave the rest of the group: the child goes with the ambulance crew, with their registration details, and the parent or carer is told which hospital. Where a second checked adult is present, they go with the child.
Record the accident and tell the DSL the same day.

Fire

Follow our fire safety and evacuation plan.

A missing child

Follow our missing child policy: police and parents are called immediately.

An intruder or danger outside the room (lockdown)

If it is safe to leave by a route away from the danger, take the children out and keep going.
If not, bring the children into the room, close and lock or block the door, close blinds, turn off lights and screens, and keep everyone low, quiet and out of sight of doors and windows.
Call 999 when it is safe to. Silence phones.
Count the children. Stay put until the police or venue staff tell you it is safe.
Follow the venue’s own lockdown instructions where it has them.

The tutor is taken ill or hurt

If you can, call 999 or the venue contact, and tell the children to stay together in the room.
Children are told at their first session what to do if their tutor is hurt or ill and cannot help them: stay together in the room, and call 999 from the tutor’s phone or tell the nearest adult who works at the venue.
The register, with every parent’s and carer’s number, is kept by the door so that venue staff or the emergency services can phone them to collect their children.

The venue cannot be used

If the venue closes, loses power, heating or water, or severe weather makes travel unsafe, we cancel the session, tell parents and carers as soon as possible, and provide a replacement session. If it happens during a session, the children stay with the tutor somewhere safe until they are collected.

5. After any emergency

The tutor writes a record on the same day.
The DSL speaks to the parents or carers of every child involved.
The DSL reviews what happened within five working days, updates this assessment, and reports to our insurer and the Health and Safety Executive where required.
We check how the children and the tutor are, and offer support.