Risk Assessments

[Hey Joe]

Hi. I am lucky enough to be working with adults who have severe mental and physical difficulties. Our outdoorcentre has many activities from animal husbandry, hydroponics, gardening,walking and many outdoor crafts. I have recently added fishing to our list of activities and have managed to buybeg and borrow bits and pieces to get started.

Before we can proceed however I must submit a Risk Assessment to which end I would appreciate the advice of you great contributors given some of our team will be in wheelchairs and others do not always forsee dangers so clearly.

Your Advice as to possible problems & solutions will be most appreciated.

Many Thanks

Heyjoe

 

[Dave Smith]

Have you tried these guys?

http://www.bdaa.co.uk/

 

[Wobbly Face (As Per Ed)]

Heyjoe,

I too work with adults who have a learning disability and take them fishing. Those I have taken do not have any profound physical disability. My main concern is the use of sissors, knives (out of the question) and hooks (geting them stuck in fingers, barbless are a must).

A lot of venues now have disabled pegs which are slightly larger and have a stop board or barrier along the water's edge to stop whealchairs from gonig in. Also access to these have been improved. Waters without such facilities can be used as long as the banking is flat for ease of access. It also hepls to fish venues with ready made pegs, carp/bivvy pegs are good to use as they are large and you can have several people fishing and have room for yourself to supervise.

A lot of clubs are also doing disable pegs, the clubs can claim the money back that they spend on these pegs though they will have to meet certain regulations.

Good luck.

 

[Specihunter]

Get in touch with the Angling Trust they can give all the advice needed . They can also put you in touch with other or organizations who can help.

 

[Hey Joe]

Hi Again.

Many Thanks for all the info all advice is most appreciated

Bivy Peg areas many thanks for the great tipwe could have two or three persons if permitted in such a spot. All tackle will be set by carers. We have covered toilet emergencies hopefully andare looking to get roped flotation rings (lifebouys) just in case.

Thus far from a previous wildlife exploration the only person to get wet was me sliding ingloriously like a bull seal on my back into four feet of stagnant water and yes the group all want to go again hoping I will repeat the feat.

Thaks Again

Heyjoe

 

[Peter Jacobs]

Hey Joe,

The Countryside Alliance recently published a guide on how to prepare a Risk Assesment for fisheries. The format and content would be just as useful for you.

Take a look on:

http://www.countryside-alliance.org.uk/images/stories/pdf/2009_angling_risk_assessment.pdf

Hope this helps.

 

[Ian Gemson]

Hello Hey Joe

Each risk accessment is undertaken at the venue where the event is being held and based upon the venue you are holding the evenat at and the risk that you might face.

When accsessing ahazard you need to deceide "Who might be harmed"

Draw up an action list, ask your self can i get out of the hazard, How can I control the risk, How can I control the risk and prevent access to the risk also you might need to issue protective equipment and provide welfare facillities (First aid)

here is a normal selection that is commonly found at most venues but by no means exhaustive

Hazards

1) Slips trips and Falls

2) Deep water

3) Flora & Fauna

4) Sharp Hooks

5) Scissor

6) Casting

7) Dog mess

8) Cold weather

9) Hot weather

etc etc

Once you have documented all of the risks you have spotted you need to then list an appropriate set of instructions or actions you will undertake to cover the risks ie

Deep water "Student warned of danger, Instructor has life preserver and instruct student of location and application"

With a proper HSE risk accessment undertaken you have shown due diligence in yourapproach to the organisation of the event.

The only other question is are you or anyone a level 2 PAA of NFA qualifed angling coach ?.

 

[Hey Joe]

Hi Peter & Ian Many Thanks for the great advice and taking the time to help me out..

Ian in regards to the PAA/NFA qualification that is another new can of worms so to speak which I had not considered.

Due to the nature of the difficultiespresented by our group ie restricted sight, restricted mobility, limited attention spans, special needs/behaviours & the need for signing actions conventional coaching could be a real problem andI do not hold such NFAconventional coaching skills / qualifications. This is now something I must look into. My skills are very much people skillstochannel their individual abilities and recognise their limitations obviously the safety aspects are paramount and cannot be compromised.

Your kindness means a great deal it is so very easy to overlook the obvious and take for granted the right thing will be done at all timesonly torepent in hindsight.

Thanks Again.

Heyjoe

 

[The bad one]

Could I strongly recommend you contact the Oldham Owls Disability Sports Club

here

They have a national reputation for disabled sports including angling.

 

[EC]

Joe,with regards to the risk assessment, whatever authority, council or group you work for should have a standard risk assessment form/s that needs to be filled in prior to any trip. It's basically common sense thereafter mate, do a recce yourself to the chosen water/s, but doask advice from those groups mentioned above.

At this point you have no need to worry about formal coaching qualifications. If you were approaching a youth club orschool then yes, in order to get through the dooryou'd need the qual's and CRB etc.

I'velots of experience oftaking out groups of kids fishing, soif you need any advice drop me a pm.

 

[Hey Joe]

Hi . Many Thanks to all you great guys. Due to the nature of the job CRB's are standard and although we are a small charitable trust our standards have to be maintained at the highest level.

As I push to my threescore years and seven it is often the case "yesterday I was uncertain today I'm not so sure" that is why your kindness means so much to ensure I do not overlook anything and I am aware of the work of others. All your advice is being followed up.

Thank You Again

Heyjoe (Greg)

 

[EC]

Let us know how you go on Greg!

 

[The Piker]

Most of the posts have covered the subject in great detail..

In my last job i was a risk asscessment officer...

The thing is where do you stop,when you get down to the nitty gritty almost everything

can be a risk,its not easy...

As secretary of a wildfowling shooting club,i have had input on our risk asscessments..

Try to cover all dangers again its not easy..Small things like wet leaves,wet paths.

You should also have a first aid person with qualification,not just competent..Don"t forget first aid kit..

It might be a good idea to get in touch with your insurance company to discuss it with them,make sure you are covered...

 

[Andy Fielder]

It appears to be a mandatory requirement to have both public liability insurance and professional indemnity insurance if you intend to perform any coaching or training facility in virtually any sporting discipline, including angling. This was certainly the message drummed into myself and the rest of the group who sat the ADB level 1 coaching course. As also stated previous, having a L2 coach would also be a mandatory requirement -L1 coaches can only assist (not teach) and even then, only with a L2 coach present.

The issue of insurance cover/liability is a minefield, and, with regards to angling,the only way to get around it seems to beby becoming a L2 coach, (thereby allowing you to take out an insurance policy) or failing that, get one to do the coaching for you.

Many thanks to the interfering $£%*&^ Labour Government for creating the domineering and oppressive Nanny State in which we now find ourselves. Thanks a bunch - and thank **** it won't be long before we see the back of your sorry buttsonce and for all!

(PS - if anybody knows a way around this, I'd be pleased to hear about it)

 

[Hey Joe]

Dear Andy.

Many Thanks I will be following up all you say.

I hope I do not incur the wrath ofour moderatorsit is however exactly as you state in everything we have become so intent on offending noboby we have destroyed the very fabrics of the system and we are left with a society for those who squeal the loudest. This is none more so than in my job we are so inundated with ever increasing pettiness & petty rules it is often impossible achieve the goals soughtand who loses out the very lovely folk I want to help.

Greg

 

[Andy Fielder]

Greg,

I heartily applaudyour efforts, and I hope I haven't dampened your enthusiasm. However, I feel that the issue of responsibility, and your personal protection against anyclaim, must be addressed before you start out.

I, too, thought that getting myself involved in bringing angling to others would be something I could be personally proud of, and I'm only talking about ordinary folk - certainly no-one with anything like the problems you described in your first post. To this end I was directed to the ADB, and informed that enrolment in their course was the only legitimate way with which I could achieve my aim. I had to be 'qualified' to Level 2 standard in order to be able to purchase the Government-decided neccessary insurance policies. I was also informed that persons holding the forerunner of the ADB qualification (the NFA levels 1 & 2) would have to retake the ADB course or forfeit their right to teach, instruct and possibly earn a living from angling tuition. (I wonder how that has progressed?)

The course was a long, longweekend of mind-numbing, bureaucratic namby-pamby, (not the fault of the course presenters, I hasten to add!) with virtually no time dedicated to the actual process of going fishing or teaching people how to fish - that all comes with the extraordinarily expensive Level 2 course, apparently!

I left the course with a subsequently-sent award saying I was now a Level 1 coach. Since then, I have heard absolutely nothing from the ADB, except to ask if I wanted to enrol for Level 2. The only 'constant' from all this is that I cannot teach people to fish by myself, either for free or for financial gain, because I cannot obtain the required insurance cover. The ADB (and therefore the Govt) wants its pound of flesh (actually its £700+) before I can proceed -and its this point that I object to.

With regards to yourself, I expect you are already more than familiar with how bureaucracy can make a total interfering mess of even the most well-meaning and sincere of projects. However, both you and Imust have the correct legal cover. We are leaving ourselves open to claim and blame if we don't. To get it, you've got to be licensed to L2 by the ADB - apparently that's the only way. I would advise you to contact the ADB (you can do it via the Angling Trust website) and get your own situation clarified.

As I said, if anybody reading this knows of a way around this, or can offer any alternatives, then I'd be so very pleased to hear from them.

Finally, all the best to you Greg, both for your project, and for your efforts in bringing a disadvantaged group of people intoour welcomingworld of angling.

 

[Bob Roberts]

Greg,

If you look at the bottom of my April blog (www.bobrobertsonline.co.uk) you'll spot a piece about the Yorkshire Carp Study Group junior school that will be held at the end of May run by Keith Napier and friends. Keith used to organise the Carp Society junior carp schools, too.

I spent many a long evening with Keith writing H&S documentation, Risk assessment documents, CRB checks, etc,back in his Carp School days and he will have kept abreast of all the latest developments. I'm pretty certain he'll be a good man to speak with.

The contact details you need are in the blog.

Good luck, I hope it helps in some small way.

Bob

 

[Hey Joe]

Hi Bob. Many Thanks I will be following up your links. Please accept my sincere thanks for taking the time to write to me it is most appreciated.

Best Regards

Heyjoe. (Greg)