Child Farm Safety

Scottish Agriculture is the proud home to many farming and crofting families, where multiple generations farm the land, producing food and sustaining the landscape and local rural economies. It's also a relatively dangerous occupation and the juxtaposition of people (often including children) and machinery/livestock/environmental hazards means that farming can be at the same time one of the best and worst places for family life.

It is widely recognised that the traditional farming model should be sustained in Scotland and much work is underway to help support young people into farming and to provide opportunities for the next generation - but this needs to be accompanied by a modern approach to Health & Safety.

This project seeks to raise awareness of key dangers on farms, and provide materials that can help guide parents' discussions with their children and other visiting children on Farm Safety.

Play the fun interactive games and use the worksheets along with your children. Take advice from Derek Hanton on how you can foster safer working practices and asafety culture on your farm or croft.

If you want more information about Farm Safety please contact FAS helpline on 0300 323 0161 or email advice@fas.scot

Frequently Asked Questions

Derek Hanton from SAC Inverness has advised farmers on improving their health and safety and helped draw up health and Safety plans. Here he answers some questions and helps advise parents on how they can use the FAS resources to help increase their own children’s health and safety awareness on farm.

Q. What are the key things you have to consider about health and Safety planning when the farmers or crofters have children?

Q. What about friends of the family children visiting?

Q. The interactive quiz below is all about animals. We want children to get experience of handling animals to help with their stockmanship skills however it can be very dangerous. This video can help start conversations with farm children about safety around animals. How do you think is best for families to discuss farm safety?

Q. What changes to livestock buildings can be made to keep children safer on farms? For example bull pens with vertical bars?

Q. What age do you think children should be supervised up to when handling animals?

Q. In the quiz there is a clip of a newly calved cow what ‘no go zones’ do you think there should be for children on a livestock farm or croft?

Q. We have questions on identifying animals emotions what key warning signs do you think parents should teach their children in animal behaviour?

Q. What are your top 3 tips for parents keeping their children safe on the farm around livestock?

Interactive Learning

Click on the image below to be taken to an interactive video for use with your children.

Learning Aims:

Help you and your child discuss the dangers of livestock and what rules you have for their and others safety
Help children identify animal emotions and behavior, to understand animals are sentient
Introduce ideas on how to make our farms and crofts safer for children and everyone else. Fostering a health and safety mindset at an early age.

You can access further information on how to use this tool here.