Keep children safe on farms

Why children are at particular risk on farms

Children face heightened risks on farms for several reasons:

• Curiosity and unpredictability: Children are naturally curious and may not understand or respect danger. They can appear suddenly in unexpected places
• Size and visibility: Small children are difficult to see from tractor cabs and can be hidden by machinery, bales, or terrain
• Physical limitations: Children lack the physical strength, coordination, and reaction time to escape dangerous situations
• Lack of experience: Even farm children who have grown up around hazards may not fully understand the risks or may become complacent
• Familiarity breeding complacency: Parents and family members may underestimate risks because activities seem routine
• Desire to be involved: Children want to participate in farm life and may resist being excluded from activities

The HSE notes that people often believe farm children understand farm risks - but the reality is that most children killed on farms are family members who live there.

The legal position: children as residents, visitors, and workers

The law treats children on farms differently depending on their role:

Farm as a workplace

Under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, farms are workplaces. Employers and self-employed persons must:

• Ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of employees and anyone else affected by work activities - including children
• Assess risks to young people (under 18) specifically under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999
• Provide information to parents of young people about risks and control measures

Farm as a home

When children live on a farm, the workplace does not stop at the farmhouse door. Farm children have constant access to workplace hazards. The duty to protect them from work activities applies whenever and wherever those activities take place.

Farm as a visitor attraction

If you welcome visitors - whether for open farms, educational visits, pick-your-own, or farm shops - you have specific duties to protect them, including children. Additional guidance on visitor safety is covered later in this guide.

Age restrictions: the law on children and farm machinery

The Prevention of Accidents to Children in Agriculture Regulations 1998 sets out specific prohibitions based on age.

Why the under-13 prohibition exists

Children under 13 are at extreme risk from farm vehicles because they:

• Can fall from cabs, steps, or moving machinery
• Can be thrown against controls or cab structures
• Can interfere with controls causing vehicle to move unexpectedly
• May jump off or try to climb on while machinery is moving
• Are invisible to drivers when near or around large machinery

Case example from HSE: A 3-year-old child was run over by a tractor rolling a silage clamp. The child had been carried in various tractors over the day but was let out near the silage clamp area. Despite adults watching, the child moved onto the clamp and was run over when the father reversed. The father was prosecuted for putting his son at risk under HASAWA and for carrying the child in the tractor under the 1998 Regulations. He was fined a total of £600. The child survived with serious injuries.

Age 16 - road driving begins with restrictions

At age 16, a person with a category F driving licence can drive an agricultural tractor:

• On roads only (not the full range of farm work)
• With a maximum width restriction of 2.45m for both tractor and any trailer
• Trailers must have a single axle or close-coupled double axle

For full, unrestricted tractor driving on roads, a person must be 17 with a category B licence, or hold a full category F licence.

Under 16 - what they can NEVER do

Regardless of training or supervision, children under 16 must never:

• Drive, operate, or help to operate any self-propelled machine other than permitted tractors (for 13-15 year olds)
• Drive, operate, or help to operate any equipment with cutting, splitting, or crushing mechanisms
• Use any chemical application equipment
• Drive ATVs/quad bikes for agricultural work

Other hazardous activities for children

Beyond machinery, children must be kept away from numerous farm hazards:

Animals

• Cattle with calves: Cows are particularly dangerous when protecting calves. Never allow children near cows with young calves
• Bulls: All bulls should be considered dangerous. Children must never be in fields or enclosures containing bulls
• Pigs: Sows with piglets can be aggressive. Boars are unpredictable
• Horses: Can kick, bite, or trample. Children need supervision around horses
• Even apparently docile animals: Large animals can injure children simply by moving unexpectedly

Water hazards

• Slurry pits and lagoons - toxic gases and drowning risk. These must be securely fenced with childproof barriers
• Ponds, streams, and ditches - drowning risk especially for young children
• Grain stores and silage clamps - suffocation and engulfment risk
• Rainwater collection tanks - drowning risk

Stored materials

• Grain bins and silos: Flowing grain acts like quicksand. Children can be engulfed in seconds
• Stacked bales: Heavy bales can collapse and crush. Children must not climb on bale stacks
• Chemicals and pesticides: All agricultural chemicals must be locked away from children
• Fuel stores: Fire and poisoning risks

Heights and falls

• Barn lofts and hay mows
• Silos and grain bins
• Ladders and platforms
• Roofs (especially fragile asbestos cement sheets)

Creating safe play areas

The HSE is clear: children must not be allowed in the farm workplace. Young children should enjoy outdoor space in a secure, fenced area away from working areas.

Essential features of a safe play area

• Secure fencing: The boundary must prevent children from leaving and stop farm traffic and animals from entering. Gates must have childproof catches that young children cannot operate
• Away from traffic routes: Locate the play area well away from where vehicles operate, load, or turn
• Visible from the house: Ideally, the area should be visible from the farmhouse for easy supervision
• Activities to keep children occupied: Provide enough play equipment and activities to reduce the temptation to leave
• No access to hazards: Ensure no access to machinery, chemicals, water, or animals from within the play area

Supervision requirements

A secure play area reduces but does not eliminate the need for supervision. Young children still need regular checking. The play area gives you a known, safe location while you work nearby.

Any access to work areas by children under 16 - for example, for education or learning about farming - must be:

• Planned in advance
• Fully supervised by an adult who is not simultaneously doing other work
• Risk assessed for the specific activities involved

Family farm considerations

Family farms face particular challenges because children are constantly present and want to be involved in farm life. However, family circumstances do not change the law or the risks.

The reality of farm family life

Farmers often say:

• "I did it when I was young and I was fine"
• "They need to learn about farming"
• "I can't keep them locked up forever"
• "They know the risks"

None of these justify exposing children to workplace hazards. The children who die on farms are almost all family members - the belief that "my child knows better" is tragically common among parents who have lost children to farm accidents.

What family farms must do

1. Treat the farm as a workplace: The legal duties apply regardless of family relationships
2. Separate work and play: Create clear boundaries between where children can and cannot go
3. Never take "just this once" risks: Many fatal accidents happen during exceptional circumstances - silage making, harvest, when routines are disrupted
4. Plan for busy periods: Arrange childcare during high-risk operations like harvest and calving
5. Lead by example: If adults take shortcuts with safety, children will copy

Educational involvement - doing it safely

It is possible to teach children about farming safely:

• Walk fields together to observe crops and livestock - when machinery is not operating
• Help with age-appropriate tasks like feeding pet animals in safe environments
• Watch operations from a safe, designated viewing area - not "from the cab"
• Learn about machinery when it is stationary, isolated from power, and in a safe location

Visitor safety: school visits and open farms

If your farm welcomes visitors - whether for educational visits, open days, pick-your-own, farm shops, or events - you have specific duties to protect them.

Pre-visit planning

• Risk assessment: Assess the specific risks visitors will face and the control measures needed
• Route planning: Define visitor routes that keep people away from working areas, machinery, and livestock
• Group leaders: Ensure visiting teachers/supervisors understand their responsibilities and the farm rules
• Child-to-adult ratios: Agree appropriate supervision levels for the activities planned

During visits

• Safety briefing: Give all visitors (including children at an appropriate level) clear instructions about hazards and rules
• Supervision: Maintain agreed supervision ratios throughout
• Restrict access: Use barriers, signs, and supervision to keep visitors in safe areas
• Hand washing: Provide adequate hand-washing facilities and ensure visitors use them, especially before eating and before leaving

Animal contact

If visitors (especially children) will have contact with animals, additional precautions are essential:

• Supervise all animal contact closely
• Ensure children do not put fingers in mouths during or immediately after touching animals
• Provide and enforce hand washing after any animal contact
• Keep eating areas completely separate from animal contact areas
• Be aware of E. coli O157 and other zoonotic infection risks

Contractor and delivery driver safety

Visiting contractors and delivery drivers also need to be protected from risks involving children, and vice versa.

• Designated areas: Provide clear directions on where to park, load/unload, and wait - away from areas where children may be present
• Communication: Inform contractors about the presence of children and any specific precautions
• Keep children away: Ensure children are not in areas where contractors are working or vehicles are manoeuvring
• Supervision during deliveries: If possible, keep children indoors or in secure play areas during deliveries and collections

Emergency procedures

Despite all precautions, accidents can happen. Having emergency procedures in place can save lives.

First aid

• Ensure adequate first aid equipment is available
• At least one person should have current first aid training
• Know the location of the nearest hospital with accident and emergency facilities
• Ensure mobile phones work on your farm (or know where signal is available)

Emergency contacts

• Emergency services: 999
• Keep farm location details ready - what3words address or grid reference for emergency services to find you quickly
• Post emergency numbers prominently in the farm office and kitchen

Reporting accidents

Under RIDDOR (Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations), you must report:

• Deaths
• Specified injuries (fractures, amputations, serious burns, etc.)
• Injuries to non-workers (including children) that require hospital treatment
• Dangerous occurrences (near misses with potential for serious harm)

Report online at www.hse.gov.uk/riddor or by phone to the HSE Incident Contact Centre.

Insurance implications

Failing to protect children on farms has serious insurance implications:

Employers' Liability Insurance

If you employ anyone - including young people - you must have Employers' Liability Insurance of at least £5 million (policies are commonly written at £10 million). Unincorporated family businesses employing only close family members are exempt, but the exemption is lost on incorporation. The insurance covers claims from employees injured at work, including young workers.

Public Liability Insurance

Public Liability Insurance covers claims from visitors, contractors, and members of the public. If a child is injured on your farm - whether a visitor or a trespasser - you could face a claim. Most farm policies include Public Liability cover.

Policy conditions

Insurance policies typically require you to comply with legal requirements. If you breach the Prevention of Accidents to Children in Agriculture Regulations - for example, by allowing an under-13 in a tractor cab - your insurer may:

• Refuse to pay a claim
• Require you to contribute to the claim
• Cancel or refuse to renew your policy

Review your cover

If you have visitors (educational visits, open days, events), check your Public Liability cover is adequate and that your activities are covered. Some policies exclude certain visitor activities.

Education and awareness resources

Several organisations provide educational resources about farm safety for children:

For children

• Farm Safety Foundation (Yellow Wellies): Educational programmes delivered in schools and colleges
• HSENI "Be Aware Kids" campaign: Resources specifically for Northern Ireland
• Farm Safety Scotland: Scottish resources for farm families

For adults

• HSE publications: INDG472 leaflet and L116 Approved Code of Practice
• NFU guidance: Member resources on child safety compliance
• Farm safety courses: Many agricultural colleges offer farm safety training including child protection elements

Training for young people

If you plan to allow a 13-15 year old to operate a low-powered tractor, they should complete an appropriate training course:

• Lantra "Tractor Driving 13-15 Years Old" course: Covers safe operation within the legal restrictions
• Agricultural college courses: Many rural colleges offer young farmer safety training