On 20 February 2009 the DCSF launched Safe at Home: The National Home Safety Equipment scheme. Safe at Home is being delivered by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA), which will work with local partners to provide home safety equipment and practical home safety to the most disadvantaged families in the 141 areas with the highest accident rates.

Safe at Home was a commitment in the Children's Plan and is worth £18m over three years. It will aim to provide equipment for over 100,000 families and deliver home safety advice and information to a further 500,000 families.

More information about Safe At Home is available on the RoSPA website.

Guidance for practitioners on reducing accidents in the home

Accidents in the home are the biggest cause of injury to children under five. Tragically, around 500,000 under fives every year are admitted to hospital after an accident at home. More tragically, many of these accidents could have been prevented by taking simple steps.

To help parents of young children and the practitioners who work with them keep children safe from accidents at home the Child Accident Prevention Trust (CAPT) has produced:

• Accidents and child development: An easy-to-use guidance booklet for any practitioners involved with the safety, or care of children. You can also download this document or order hard copies for free from the ECM Online Publications page (reference DCSF-00255-2009BKT-EN), or download from the following resource and practice page.
• How safe is your child at home?: A short leaflet for parents and carers, covering common risks to children in the home and how they can be reduced. You can also download this document or order hard copies for free from the ECM Online Publications page (reference DCSF- 00254-2009LEF-EN), or download from the following resource and practice page.

Priority review of accident prevention amongst children and young people

The Priority review of accident prevention amongst children and young people covers injuries and deaths of children and young people under the age of 18 in England. Undertaken jointly by the DCSF, the Department of Health (DH), the Department for Transport (DfT), and by researchers from the University of Surrey and the University of the West of England, the priority review included a literature review, interviews with a wide variety of stakeholders and visits to local areas to look at different practices in child injury prevention.

To download a copy of the Priority review of accident prevention amongst children and young people, please go to the ECM Online Publications page or to the following resources and practice page.