Step-By-Step Guide To Conducting A Playground Risk Assessment
Updated on: May 13, 2024
Did you know every children’s playground must have a playground risk assessment? As a public play space for children, it’s the playground owner’s duty to ensure any play area is safe for all users.
A risk assessment is designed to enable the premises owner to identify any potential hazards so appropriate measures can be put in place to guard against any accidents or injuries.
Although playgrounds are a hub of fun, there are also lots of potential hazards which could cause children harm if not identified and planned for.
According to the 1999 Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations, every owner or manager of a property or site, including playgrounds, has a duty to carry out risk assessments for the premises.
Let’s take a look at what a playground risk assessment is and how you can carry one out for your play space.
What is a playground risk assessment?
A playground risk assessment is a survey of the entire play space to ensure it is as safe as possible for children and any other users.
Playground risk assessments must identify:
- Any hazards present in the playground.
- Any harm those hazards could cause to the school / park community.
- How high the risk of the hazard occurring is.
- The measures you have put in place to decrease the risk.
- Who carried out the risk assessment and when.
Risk assessments are a statutory duty so it’s essential that the playground inspection is carried out by someone who is authorised, experienced, and trained to conduct assessments.
Playgrounds are used numerous times a day by many children so the chances of injuries occurring are high.
The person carrying out the assessment will need to be really clear about how children use the playground so they think carefully about the types of risks which could occur.
You can even choose to hire in a specialist playground inspector to carry out the playground risk assessment for you.
PlayInspectors.com has a list of accredited play inspectors from across the UK who have been trained to conduct playground inspections.
If the playground hasn’t been properly assessed and an accident occurs, you may need to refer to the risk assessment for legal processes so it’s important to ensure the inspection is carried out properly.
How often should a playground risk assessment be carried out?
Unlike many statutory requirements, a playground risk assessment officially only needs to be reviewed if the play area undergoes serious change.
However, industry good practice recommends a much more regular schedule of checks. The Health and Safety Executive suggests playgrounds and play spaces should be formally surveyed at least once a year and informally checked at least every week.
With playgrounds constantly in heavy use and children so vulnerable, it makes sense to conduct both formal and informal checks.
Informal playground checks require a visual survey to make sure everything is safe. This could be done on a daily or weekly basis with more thorough inspections taking place every quarter or even each month.
How to carry out a playground risk assessment
- Use the standard school risk assessment form for the review to ensure you survey every aspect required.
- Work systematically across the playground and play equipment thinking carefully about how likely it is that each hazard may occur and the harm which could be caused.
- Remember to consider any maintenance requirements. Damaged playground surfaces or weathered equipment could prove a serious hazard.
- Review any existing measures in place to control the risk of harm occurring. If any current measures need to be improved state how.
- If there are no measures in place you need to identify the best actions to put in place to manage the likelihood of children or other stakeholders getting injured.
You need to use the following scale to assess each risk one by one:
- eliminate the hazard
- reduce the hazard
- isolate the hazard
- control the hazard
Common Playground Hazards
Here are some common playground hazards to look out for when conducting a playground risk assessment.
- Litter: Waste packaging, old leaves and bits of twigs can easily cause nasty trips, slips, and falls so you may find it useful to set up a school litter picking team to ensure the playground is always spotless.
- Prickly Plants: Children are naturally curious so it’s important to check the immediate playground and surrounding areas for any plants which could be harmful. Scheduling a regular programme of maintenance to keep surrounding areas of garden and overgrowth tidy could be a good preventative action to take.
- Well-Maintained Surfaces: Keep playground surfaces in good condition and ensure adequate non-slip protection is in place. A programme of scheduled cleans plus frequent checks for damage and embedded objects could help to ensure the playground surface remains safe to use.
- Safe Equipment: Play equipment has lots of different fittings so it’s important to check all parts are in good working order on a frequent basis. Guidance for safety is set out in the British and European Safety Standard For Play Equipment and Surfacing BS En1176. The BS En1176 standard covers things like ensuring play equipment is bought from trustworthy suppliers, making sure play equipment is installed on the correct surface to guard against impact and more. See our exciting playground equipment
For playground cleaning and maintenance, browse our playground marking cleaning services for schools and other play spaces.
Jess Sparks
Jess is deeply committed to supporting our mission of positively impacting UK outdoor play environments to promote healthy lifestyles in children.
With a CIM Level 6 Diploma in Sustainable Marketing, Jess channels her passion for sustainability into her marketing role, using her skills to promote eco-conscious practices and raise awareness for our initiatives.
Jess’ experience within the industry is instrumental in driving engagement and supporting connections with those who require ultra-durable, high-grade playground markings both locally and internationally.
