Positive Risk Taking
Joseph Gibson
Sense Scotland
Outdoor Activities Co-ordinator
Why am I here?
• Talk last year… discussion of risk
• My background
Outline
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Introduction
Risky Activities…
Aspects of risk
Assessment of risk
Risk of not taking risks
Case Study
Aspects of risk
• Risk equation
Hazard =
Something which has the
potential to cause harm
Risk =
The likelihood of that harm
occurring and the severity of
the outcome
Risk Equation
Risk = Likelihood x Severity
Crude example
Rock climbing is low likelihood but high severity
Risk = 1 x 10 = 10
Scrambling is higher likelihood but lower in hazard
Risk = 6 x 4 = 24
Aspects of risk
• Risk equation
Types of risk
• Risk equation
• Perceived/actual risk
Perceived vs. Actual risk
Perceived risk is how the risk involved in
an activity is felt by the person doing the
activity, whilst actual risk is the risk that is
present in reality.
Aspects of risk
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Risk equation
Perceived/actual risk
Objective/Subjective risk
Physical and Psychological risk
Risks to whom?
Risks to whom
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Service user
Staff (lone working etc.)
Members of the public
External professionals
Aspects of risk
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Risk equation
Perceived/actual risk
Objective/Subjective risk
Physical and Psychological risk
Risks to whom?
Risk of what?
Risk of what
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Injury
Discomfort
Humiliation
Fines
Prison
Aspects of risk
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Risk equation
Perceived/actual risk
Objective/Subjective risk
Physical and Psychological risk
Risks to whom?
Risk of what?
Cultural differences
Some context…
Health
or Safety ?
The cost of not engaging with adventure
activities
Marcus Bailie
Head of Inspection
The Adventure Activities Licensing Service.
The Human Cost
Total deaths per year for all ages
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130,000
120,000
100,000
30,000
20,000
10,000
6,000
4,000
350
3,500
6
150
All cancers
All heart attacks
All smoking related illnesses
Obesity and unfitness
All alcohol related illnesses
All accidents
Suicide
Accidents in the home
Accidents at work
Road Traffic Accidents
Rail crashes or derailments
Adventure activity accidents
..and for our 13 million young people
In total 1,400 sudden or accidental deaths per year
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450
400
140
125
100
90
80
65
50
3
1
Road Traffic Accidents
Undiagnosed heart disease
Suffocation
Poisoning
Suicide
Drowning
Fire
Falls
Murder
School visits
School adventure activities
Types of Risk Assessment
• Generic: A general RA where the hazards
and control measures are relevant to all or
the majority of persons carrying out or
involved in an activity.
• Individual: A RA which takes in additional
hazards etc which are only relevant to an
individual involved in that task. This may be a
staff member or service user.
• Specific: A RA which deals with a one-off or
rare activity or event.
5 step Risk Assessment
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What are the hazards?
Who might be harmed?
What are the current control methods?
What further control methods are
required?
5. Review the assessment regularly.
Things to consider within
these steps…
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Activity
Environment
Equipment
Group
Individual
Who should assess risk
• Teams rather than individuals
• Person being assessed (if appropriate)
• People with relevant knowledge or
expertise
Assessment of risk
Purpose to highlight, minimise and
manage potential areas of risk - not a tool
to prohibit activities taking place.
Why take risks with our
service users?
Continuum of aims
Leisure
Fun,enjoyment,
relaxing,
letting the
activities speak
for themselves
Physical
Burns off
energy,
increases
co-ordination
and motor skills
Education
or therapy
Use activities
in structured
way towards
predetermined
therapeutic or
educational
aims
Why take risks with our
service users?
• Opportunity for meaningful, authentic,
dramatic experiences - communication
development
• Build and develop self-awareness and selfconfidence
• Develop physical attributes
• Exposure to a wider range of learning
opportunities and stimulating environments
• Provide the opportunity to “live” life - chance
for adventure and psychological high
Do we need to take risks?
• Is there other ways we can achieve
these things?
• Activities as journeys or narratives
• Too much focus on activity and less on
process
Case Study
Fred
• Early forties
• Profoundly deafblind
• Uses between 10-20
functional HOH signs
• Enjoys finger spelling
• Enjoys being outside
Activity
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How to explain to Fred???
What would his understanding be???
Physical risks
Psychological risks
Risk to our relationship???
• I would climb with Fred on same top rope
Environment
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Low single pitch crag
Large flat safe area below crag
Easy safe path back from top of crag
Easy route ideal for beginners
Equipment
• Helmet and harness of concern due to
Fred’s history
• Investigated and played with equipment
in a relaxed atmosphere the evening
before the climbing day…
• Practice to give idea of system
Group
• Fred one of two service users with three
staff plus centre staff.
• Each service user climbing would climb
with two staff supporting with one
member of staff supporting the nonclimber.
• One service user climbing/abseiling at a
time.
Individual
• Scaffolded ‘climbing’ to increase
understanding
• Observed and discussed scaffold
sessions to assess
• Relevant medication to hand
If we are going to do risky
activities, how can we manage
them?
• AALA - on its way out but still a good
mark of best practice
• Break down activities then scaffold back
up
• Risk assess and review regularly
• Assess and re-assess aims, objectives
and benefits, is this the best activity?
Security is mostly a superstition. It does
not exist in nature, nor do the children of
men as a whole experience it. Avoiding
danger is no safer in the long run than
outright exposure. Life is either a daring
adventure or nothing.
(Helen Keller,
http://www.wisdomquotes.com/001106.html)