Strong uptake for Lantra child farm safety course
© AdobeStock/LIGHTFIELD STUDIOS More than 70 farms have signed up to a new online course to help keep children safe on farms, which was launched in the October school half-term holidays.
More than one-third of those who enrolled have already passed and received their Lantra Child Safety on Farms Course certificate.
The course covers a range of areas, including children on the farm and the law, children and tractors, children and ATVs and children and falls.
See also: Opinion: Child safety on farms must be top priority for all
It also covers child safety around equipment and harmful substances, and the importance of having a farm safety checklist.
With children set to spend more time on farms for the Christmas holiday, Lantra is urging all farms to think about safety in and around the farmyard. It is urging farmers to ensure all children are kept safely away from workplace activities.
Lantra described the early uptake of the e-training course as “very encouraging” and it is urging all farmers to sign up and complete the free online course, if they have not done so already.
According to the Health and Safety Executive, eight children were killed on farms in Britain between April 2017 and March 2022. There have been three more child fatalities on farms since then.
A two-year-old boy died in an accident at a farm in Ballymoney, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, on Friday 11 November.
Hazardous occupation
Paula Smyth, director of Lantra Ireland, said: “Farming is a wonderful, but also hazardous, occupation – and it is the only high-risk industry that deals with the presence of children.
“Their health, and indeed everyone’s health, should be of paramount importance and concern, and through courses and initiatives such as our free Child Safety on Farms Course, we hope people can better recognise and avoid potential dangers on farmland.”
Part of the Farm Safety Partnership (FSP) Action Plan Targets involves promoting child safety on farms.
Lantra, who are an FSP farm safety affiliate, has developed this bespoke training course specifically for people with children who live or work on farms.
Advice for keeping children safe on farms
- Children must be supervised in yards and other operational areas.
- Children should wear high-vis clothing when near farming activities.
- If there is a house on the yard, ensure the garden is fenced off.
- Designate a time when children can be in the yard – for example, before or after work.
- Take bale stacks down in layers, don’t leave overhanging bales. Basically, don’t make a stack into an attractive climbing frame.
- Never store ladders against the side of a shed or in a building. They should be horizontally stored, perhaps on hooks.
- Remove keys from vehicles when unattended.
- Chemical stores should be secured, including between uses. All poisons and medicines should be locked away.
- Make sure water tanks are secure, and lagoons and ponds fenced off.
- Have an emergency plan in case of accident, include distance to nearest hospital, and what3words location for the farm.
- Remember – it’s illegal for any child under 13 to drive or ride on a tractor or other agricultural self-propelled machine. This includes quad bikes.
Sources: HSE/Securus Risk Advisors
