This resource explores the 10 actions you can take to create a culture of safety in early childhood programs. Each science-informed injury prevention strategy prioritizes children's safety and well-being. The chapters in this resource feature short videos, implementation tips, and helpful resources you can use to put the actions together.
What is a culture of safety?
A culture of safety is when everyone in your program embraces the belief that children deserve the right to be safe and works together to make this happen. This includes managers, administrators, teachers, home visitors, transportation staff, kitchen staff, maintenance staff, consultants, contractors, volunteers, and families. Children are safer when everyone works together to improve the safety strategies they use in homes, centers, and the community.
When a program creates a culture of safety, everyone intentionally looks for hazards. When they find a concern, they immediately address it before someone gets hurt.
In a culture of safety, no one ignores safety concerns. It is a culture where staff know they can talk about safety concerns, mistakes, and close calls. Program leaders support a culture of safety by establishing policies and procedures, training staff, and committing to ongoing monitoring and improvement.
Culture of Safety Introduction
View the transcript
Culture of Safety Introduction
Narrator: A culture of safety is when everyone in your program embraces the belief that children have the right to be safe. This means everyone understands their role in ensuring programs are safe places for children. This includes all staff, such as teachers, transportation staff, kitchen staff, maintenance staff, consultants, managers, administrators, and home visitors.
Many injuries are predictable and preventable. If someone sees water on the floor, they can predict that a child might slip. Whose job is it to identify and take care of potential hazards? Well, it's all of ours.
Starting with program leaders. Staff do a daily scan of indoor and outdoor spaces to make sure that they are safe for children. They tell maintenance staff right away if they find a hazard. Maintenance staff fix issues in a timely manner, and children cannot access the area or equipment until it is fixed. Program administrators follow up to make sure safety issues are resolved.
Injuries are often a result of factors related to children, adults, and the environment. You can prevent injuries by planning and taking precautions related to all three factors. This means you understand children's behaviors, make sure adults know how to keep them safe, and maintain safe environments where children can thrive.
Imagine if a child runs out of the playground because a gate didn't close properly. If staff discuss what happened together, then solutions will follow. It might mean a new gate latch or additional staff to supervise children until it can be fixed.
Programs can also use back-up safety measures to prevent injuries. A gate with a secure latch is one safety measure, but an injury is even less likely when programs use several approaches to preventing injuries. Staff can inspect a safety latch daily to make sure it is working and use active supervision to teach and enforce safety rules.
The 10 actions to create a culture of safety can help you combine strategies to keep children safe. Each action is a science-informed injury prevention strategy that prioritizes children's safety and well-being:
Use Data to Make Decisions; Actively Supervise; Keep Environments Safe and Secure; Make Playgrounds Safe; Transport Children Safely; Report Suspected Child Abuse and Neglect; Prepare for Changes that Affect Safety; Model Safe Behaviors; Collaborate with Families about Safety; and Know Your Children and Families.
These actions should all be used together and will help us create a culture of safety for children.
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Injury Prevention Principles
Understanding these basic principles — which apply to all 10 actions to create a culture of safety — is key for staff to prevent injuries:
- Injuries are often the result of factors related to children, adults, and the environment. Plan safety practices and take precautions related to any or all three factors to prevent injuries. For example, when a child is learning to walk, the adult can stay close and remove anything in the environment that could now be a safety risk.
- Injuries are predictable and preventable. Learn about the most common types of injuries for young children and take steps to prevent them. For example, since falls are the most common cause of injury for young children, programs can make sure they have impact-absorbing surfacing on the playground. Staff can stay close to children playing on an elevated structure.
- Redundant systems keep children safe. Using more than one strategy to prevent an injury helps keep children safe. For example, to make sure a child is never left alone, two adults count the children before and after moving from one location to another. Then they double check the area to make sure they leave no children behind.
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Last Updated: September 23, 2025