Nursery work involves a lot of lifting. Babies in and out of cots, children onto changing tables, high chairs, loaded trays at lunchtime and deliveries at the door all add up over a shift. This manual handling training for nursery staff looks at those everyday tasks, shows you how to assess them and sets out the steps of a safe lift. Based on the law and guidance in England.
The course is a single interactive module, backed by printable resources your setting can put to use straight away: a safe lifting poster for the places where lifting happens most, a risk assessment sheet for regular handling tasks and a weekly walk-round checklist for slips and trips.
Why manual handling training matters in nurseries
Many of the riskiest handling moments in a nursery are routine ones: lifting a child into a cot, changing a nappy, moving a high chair or carrying a tray. Because staff do them many times a day, a small change in how each task is set up or carried out makes a real difference. Good habits also need to be shared, so that everyone in a room lifts the same way and knows when to ask for help.
The course is built on the Manual Handling Operations Regulations and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) guidance that goes with them. These set out what employers must do to avoid, assess and reduce hazardous handling, and what employees must do in return. The course also covers slips and trips, because spills, cables, storage, uneven surfaces and poor lighting are part of the handling environment too.
What’s in the course
- Manual handling and the lawThe Manual Handling Operations Regulations, and the duties they place on employers and employees.
- Handling risks in the early yearsThe everyday nursery tasks that carry the most risk, from cot lifts and nappy changes to high chairs, trays, deliveries, buggies and outdoor equipment, as well as handling during pregnancy and when supporting children with physical needs.
- Assessing a handling taskUsing the task, individual, load and environment (TILE, or TILEO, adding other factors) to judge the risk and plan controls.
- Safe liftingThe steps of a safe lift, and knowing when not to lift alone.
- Slips, trips and the handling environmentWet floors, spills, flooring, footwear and lighting, and how they affect every lift and carry.
- Checking rooms and equipmentA weekly walk-round of rooms and outdoor areas, and a maintenance log for the equipment you handle.
- Assessment10 questions. Pass mark 80%. Resit as many times as you need.
What you’ll learn
- What the Manual Handling Operations Regulations ask employers to do: avoid hazardous handling, assess it and reduce the risk
- That employees have duties under the regulations too
- How to look at any handling task through four main factors: the task, the individual, the load and the environment (TILE, or TILEO, adding other factors)
- How to rate a handling risk by likelihood and severity and write a simple controls plan
- The usual fixes for common nursery tasks: cot lifts, nappy changes, high chairs, trays, deliveries, buggies and outdoor equipment, and handling during pregnancy and with children who have physical needs
- The steps of a safe lift, and when not to lift alone
- How to spot slip and trip hazards: spills, cables, storage, uneven surfaces, lighting and footwear
- Why trolleys, changing tables, high chair harnesses and buggies need regular checks and a maintenance log
Who this course is for
- Practitioners in every room who lift, carry and bend during the working day
- Baby room staff who lift children in and out of cots and onto changing tables
- Cooks, kitchen and support staff who carry trays, deliveries and equipment
- Managers and room leaders who carry out handling risk assessments and room checks
- New starters, apprentices and bank staff who need a clear, shared approach from day one
How it works
- OnlineStudy on any device and pick up where you left off.
- Interactive moduleA slide-based module you work through at your own pace, with printable resources to use in your setting.
- 10-question assessmentPass mark 80%. Resit as many times as you need.
- CertificateIssued when you pass. NFAQ accredited.
Training your team
Handling habits spread through a room, so it helps when everyone lifts the same way and reports the same hazards. Choose the number of learners at checkout, with group rates from 3 learners, or get it as part of the Training Portal for £5 per learner per month. It pairs well with Health & Safety and Risk Assessment in Early Years and RIDDOR.
Frequently asked questions
Who needs manual handling training in a nursery?
Anyone who lifts, carries or lowers children, equipment or supplies as part of their work. In a nursery that is most of the team, including kitchen and support staff as well as practitioners in every room.
Which regulations does the course cover?
The Manual Handling Operations Regulations, which ask employers to avoid hazardous handling where they can, assess what cannot be avoided and reduce the risk, and which also place duties on employees. The course links to the HSE’s own guidance, including its short free guide to manual handling at work.
What does TILE stand for?
Task, individual, load and environment, sometimes written TILEO, where the O adds other factors. They are the main things to look at when you assess a handling task. The course’s risk assessment sheet uses these prompts, with a simple likelihood and severity rating and space for a controls plan.
Are there resources we can use in the setting?
Yes. You can download a Safe Lifting in Early Years poster to display where lifting happens most, a handling task risk assessment sheet to complete for each regular task, and a weekly slips, trips and handling walk-round with a maintenance log for equipment.
Is the course practical?
The course is online. It explains safe lifting and how to assess the tasks in your own rooms, and the poster, risk assessment sheet and walk-round checklist help you turn that into everyday practice.
What happens if I don’t pass the assessment?
You can resit it as many times as you need until you pass. Your certificate is issued as soon as you reach the 80% pass mark.
