MU 2.4 Contribute to children’s and young people’s health and safety © Laser Learning Limited under licence to Pearson Education Limited Printing and photocopying permitted. WASH YOUR HANDS

MU 2.4 Contribute to children’s and young people’s health and safety © Laser Learning Limited under licence to Pearson Education Limited Printing and photocopying permitted. Why is it important? Washing hands properly is one of the best ways to prevent the spread of infection. Did you know that it has been reported that around half of men and a quarter of women don’t wash their hands after using the toilet?

MU 2.4 Contribute to children’s and young people’s health and safety © Laser Learning Limited under licence to Pearson Education Limited Printing and photocopying permitted. Soap Ideally use liquid soap. Only use alcohol gel when soap and water is not available or in addition to soap and water if there is an outbreak of diarrhoea and vomiting.

MU 2.4 Contribute to children’s and young people’s health and safety © Laser Learning Limited under licence to Pearson Education Limited Printing and photocopying permitted. Rub hands together Spend at least 20 seconds (and up to a minute) rubbing the soap over the whole hand. Pay attention to finger tips, between fingers and thumbs, palms, wrists and back of the hands. Did you know that germs love the environment of a wet nail brush and this may increase the germs on your hand?

MU 2.4 Contribute to children’s and young people’s health and safety © Laser Learning Limited under licence to Pearson Education Limited Printing and photocopying permitted. Rinse Rinse hands under running water. Rinsing hands in a sink or bowl of water may simply re-contaminate the hands. Avoid using the same water for several people.

MU 2.4 Contribute to children’s and young people’s health and safety © Laser Learning Limited under licence to Pearson Education Limited Printing and photocopying permitted. Dry thoroughly Ideally use paper towels to dry your hands. Cloth towels may re-contaminate the hands (especially if the person before you didn’t wash their hands properly before drying them). Make sure your hands are completely dry – wet surfaces transfer more germs than dry ones.

MU 2.4 Contribute to children’s and young people’s health and safety © Laser Learning Limited under licence to Pearson Education Limited Printing and photocopying permitted. Extra precautions Consider turning off the taps with the paper towel you have dried your hands with. This will prevent germs that were on your hand when you turned the tap on being transferred back. Be a good role model for handwashing and encourage others to do the same.

MU 2.4 Contribute to children’s and young people’s health and safety © Laser Learning Limited under licence to Pearson Education Limited Printing and photocopying permitted. Activity Search on the internet for posters about washing hands, or create your own. Consider whether the information is for adult staff or for the children or young people you work with.