RoSPA Press Office : Press Release

June 2, 2005
CHALLENGE TO MAKE PLAY SAFE BUT STILL EXCITING

RoSPA will stage the first international play safety conference on Monday (June 6) and send out a message that “areas where children play should be as safe as necessary – not as safe as possible”.

“Parents have to accept that children may get hurt when they are playing,” David Yearley, RoSPA Play Safety Manager, said today. “What we must try to ensure is that those injuries are not too serious.

“But if we make playgrounds too safe, children will find them boring and they will go to play in places which are much more dangerous. We must not remove the excitement from play.”

Experts from Holland and Denmark will be among the speakers on the theme of Protection v Risk Experience at the conference at Stratford Moathouse Hotel, Stratford-upon-Avon.

The conference will look at improving the safety of playgrounds and will promote the need for specific play areas as an alternative to children playing on building sites, railway lines, industrial premises and other unsuitable sites.

Delegates from the playground industry, local authorities and commercial operations will consider issues such as better access - especially for disabled users - better design of play equipment and the promotion of play to improve children’s health. There will also be details of a report into the current state of the UK’s playgrounds and playing fields and a call for an incident data collection system to provide more information about playground safety.

More than 38,000 children are injured seriously enough on UK playgrounds each year to have to go to hospital. RoSPA carries out hundreds of playground inspections annually, but believes there is a growing need for local authorities and landowners to be more aware of safety issues at other places where children play, but which are not necessarily authorised playgrounds.

“Sometimes there can be hazards such as overflowing recycling bins or ponds quite close to playgrounds,” David Yearley said. “At playing fields there may be equipments sheds where chemicals are stored or games may be being played alongside busy roads. Simple management measures can often be found to overcome these problems so that children can use the land without being at so much risk.

“Play should be about children having fun and learning to manage risk through adventurous activity. This is an essential part of child development and important to the future health of the nation.”