Unless you work in the Childcare Sector you’ve probably not met SIMOA, but that’s about to change, especially for families who use our Dundee setting, Fintry Mains.
SIMOA stands for Safe, Inspect, Monitor, Observe, Act. It is a child‑safety initiative promoted by the Care Inspectorate to help Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) settings keep children safe, seen, and supported.
SIMOA is not only an adult‑focused strategy. Many settings, including our own, incorporate it into children’s learning so they become active partners in safety. In doing so we are able to encouraging children to identify risks, ask them to suggest safe choices and give roles like “Safety Officer” during walks or outings. By involving the children we are able to build their critical thinking, their independence, and their risk‑awareness skills.
Now are Team in Fintry are sending SIMOA home so that families can share in their children’s learning and keep them safe while at home or participating in family activities.
What’s in the SIMOA at Home Learning Bag?
According to our Head of Quality Lesley Tait, the Learning bag is,
“A little bag filled with big conversations, playful ideas and safety thinking fun! We’ve designed the bags so that there are a range of activities that will help initiate conversations about safety, risks and ideas on how to mitigate them.”
The bags will allow families to create their own family safety mascot and design special badges. They include ideas for games and explore challenging questions such as what I should do if I get separated in a shop.
Most importantly the bags will give an opportunity for families to talk, listen and learn together.
