Think Safe and Keep Safe
The majority of volunteers supporting Friends of Tawd Valley will be involved with activities through another organization, e.g. a youth club or millennium volunteers. All volunteers should follow our guidance for Health and Safety, but also adhere to the policy and practices of the organization through which the volunteering activities take place.
Whilst volunteering on behalf of Friends of Tawd Valley, volunteers must not:
X Work unattended with children or vulnerable adults.
X Lift heavy loads.
X Use dangerous chemicals or substances.
X Give clients your address, phone number or email address.
X Take on more than you can handle. You can always say no.
The following guidelines will help you to prevent injuries to yourself and others:
! Report anything that seems dangerous, faulty or damaged, prevention is the best cure.
! Learn how to work safely and obey safety rules.
! Always use any protective clothing and equipment which is provided.
! Machinery and tools must only be used after training and with permission.
Talk to your team leader if you have any concerns about your health and safety.
Our guiding principles for Health and Safety
- Volunteers can expect that any service or provision provided for them by Friends of Tawd Valley will take place in a safe, healthy and supportive environment.
- Adequate care to reduce the level of risk to acceptable levels will be taken by Friends of Tawd Valley for volunteers.
- Volunteers will be encouraged to be aware of and understand the need to control risks within their volunteering environment.
- Training provision will raise the awareness of health and safety issues for volunteers and of their personal responsibilities.
- Volunteers will be provided adequate supervision and leadership.
- Friends of Tawd Valley staff and the staff of other organisations working with young volunteers on a one-to one basis, will take account of health and safety issues for themselves and for the young volunteer.
- Volunteers will have opportunities to feed back on unsatisfactory environments.
- Volunteers and other organisations involved in volunteering for Friends of Tawd Valley will receive a copy of the health and safety policy and guidelines.
- Friends of Tawd Valley through its volunteering opportunities provides an understanding of the personal health and safety of the volunteer and for those around them.
- Friends of Tawd Valley will provide staff that are sufficiently resourced and competent to ensure as far as reasonably practical the health and safety of Friends of Tawd Valley volunteers.
- Friends of Tawd Valley and its volunteering partner organisations will take appropriate and timely intervention to ensure that a volunteers health and safety standards do not become unacceptable.
- Friends of Tawd Valley and its volunteering partner organisations will take adequate care to reduce the level of risk to their volunteers.
Every activity includes risk
We want your volunteering to be without risk of injury or ill health and so it is important that your activities be checked to ensure safety.
Risk Assessment
All activities carry a risk factor, but you can reduce the risk of injury or ill health by looking at your activity and thinking about what might be unsafe or could affect your health.
Risk assessment allows you to identify any risk to health or injury, then to provide the means to reduce or avoid the possibility of harm.
It is important that you take responsibility to ensure your volunteering environment is safe and your actions are conducted in a safe manner.
In the event of an accident whilst volunteering, the details must be recorded in the accident book by your team leader.
This policy was approved at the Friends of Tawd Valley committee meeting held on February 2022.
