As always, health and safety is an important consideration, especially when using new equipment. Some exercises involve touch and we always want to make sure everyone we’re working with feels completely comfortable with all parts of the activity. Follow these steps to make sure you have all the necessary Health and Safety in place before your session:
- Make sure you fill out a risk assessment form before your workshop. You can use our template which can be found in the ‘Useful Links’ section on the right-hand side of this page.
- Be sure that you have enough care home staff in the room at all times. Ideally you need 2-3 care home staff working alongside you to support you in delivering the session. Brief them on the activities, structure and Health and Safety considerations beforehand.
- Check that each participant or resident has enough space to stretch their arms and legs without clashing.
- Leave space for people to exit and enter the workshop circle without disturbing the rest of the participants.
- If using touch in your session, let the person know what you are planning to do and ask permission before you touch them. For example, when using a Flower Stick to massage each others’ hands and arms, you can say ‘If you want, we can try using the sticks to gently massage your arms and hands, would you be okay with that?’.
- If you’re assisting someone in moving a part of their body you can also check with them that it feels ok and nothing is painful.
- Ensure you always do a light warm-up and cool-down before and after every session so that no one gets hurt.