RoSPA Play Safety : News
Welcome to the RoSPA Play Safety News page. We hope that you find this page and the rest of the Web Site helpful. You are welcome to use any of the articles in Newsletters but would ask for due credit on anything published. We always welcome your comments and if you have anything that you feel would be of interest to others, please let us know. Who knows, you might see it here. If you have any comments or articles you wish to be considered for inclusion,contact us at: comments@rospaplaysafety.co.uk
Sofia Office
Renovation of our office in Sofia is now complete and our Bulgarian staff have “taken possession”. The offices are in a very good central location and have already been used to hold meetings with various bodies including, Bulgarian Standards, The State Agency for the Protection of the Child and Greenspace Sofia etc.
New Training Courses - University of Technology Sydney
Designing Play Equipment and Playgrounds for Compliance - Two Day Course
Accredited Playground Inspectors Course - Operational Inspection – Level 2 (3 days)
The internationally accredited course for Australian playground professionals
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The University of Technology Sydney is happy to announce the successful negotiation of an exclusive agreement to conduct playground safety training on behalf of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) in Australia and New Zealand.
For the first time in both Australia and New Zealand playgrounds will be able to be examined and certified by internationally recognized and qualified RoSPA Playground Safety Inspectors.
The implication of this is that the inspection of playgrounds will be able to be conducted consistently and to an internationally recognized, verified and achievable risk management level that has shown strong evidence of preventing both the frequency and severity of playground injuries.
Countries such as the UK where an international level playground inspectors training program has been in place for a number of years have a far lower incidence of playground related childhood injuries. Various counties and regions within particular countries acquire and count injury data differently. Notwithstanding, whichever way you count the frequency and severity of injuries, countries such as Australia and New Zealand that do not have an international recognized standard for playground inspection and inspectors have a significantly higher rate of injury. When measured on a percentage of population this rate is between 500% and 700% greater than countries such as the UK where RoSPA has been training and accrediting professional playground inspectors for many years.
Further details and booking form. Enquiries should be directed to Dr David Eager.
Assurance for Insurance
Insurance companies are becoming increasingly concerned about the dangers of areas such as open spaces and playing fields as well as water areas. The recommendation is that these should be inspected by experts. RoSPA recommend that these areas probably only need a RoSPA inspection every other year and we suggest that by staggering the inspections the cost can be spread. For instance if one year the play area and small playing field was inspected and the next year the play area and pond were inspected costs would be in the order of £125 (plus VAT) a year. This pattern could then be repeated.
It is worth noting that the chances of a child having a serious injury on a playing field or in a water area are considerably higher than on a play area. That is because, whilst Parish and Town Councils have been showing a responsible attitude in getting their play areas inspected every year, they have not been doing the same with these areas. Now is the time to start to get these areas inspected also, to ensure that they are as safe as they need to be and to stop putting our children’s safety at risk.
Urban Areas
The national survey of play areas carried out by Townswomen (formally called the Townswomen’s Guild), in conjunction with RoSPA, shows that play areas in Urban Areas come off relatively worse than those in towns or villages.
Only 79.3% of urban areas have independent inspections of their play areas compared to 92.1% of towns. The survey also indicated that only 72.3% of urban areas were well maintained against 82% of town areas. Dog fouling (85% of urban sites had dog fouling present) and vandalism (44.8% for urban areas against 34.2% for towns) are other problem areas.
The British and European safety standard BS EN1176 and the Health and Safety Executive strongly recommend that all play areas have at least one inspection every year from an independent suitably qualified body such as RoSPA. Urban areas in particular have a lot of catching up to do.
Click here to read the full details of the national survey
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| David Yearley, RoSPA’s Play Safety Manager in his role as a principle Director of the International Play Association, looking at the Statue commemorating the Universal Rights of the Child adjacent to the Princess Grace Memorial Gardens in Monaco. |
Bouncy Castles...a royally good time for kiddies!
They may be great fun but there are dangers around these inflatable kingdoms. Play Safety has FREE leaflets available and can provide information on the prevention of accidents so all the little princes and princesses in the land can reign safely! Contact the RoSPA Play Safety office by email, telephone, etc. for your copy today!
Frequently Asking Questions? Refer to our FAQs!
We provide detailed information sheets and answers to questions on our web site that we often receive regarding the technical and legal aspects of play area operation, installation, maintenance... well, you get the idea. Before ringing the office for help and advice from in-house technical advisors, refer to our FAQ page for guidance. If the answers aren't available, contact us by phone or email and let us know. We will make not of it and do our best to put the information of the internet. We want to keep everyone as informed and knowledgeable about playground safety as possible.
What a Compliment!
“I am so impressed with your site and the work done by your country on Playground safety guidelines and regulations. I am the Chairman for the Maine Emergency Medical Services for Children's Injury Prevention here in the States. We are a group of EMS personnel, hospital staff, injury prevention workers and interested parties that are working on various projects to reduce or eliminate injuries to children here in Maine.” Kelly Roderick
Copper, Chrome and Arsenic (CCA) Treated Timber in Children’s Playgrounds
CCA treated timber is often used in the manufacture of children’s play equipment due to the good protection it gives against rot. However CCA is considered to be a carcinogen (a cancer-causing agent). The main concern is the arsenic content. The risks are thought to be very small but a precautionary approach is being taken in this case. Timber treated with CCA is banned by EU directive as of 30 June 2004 in applications where there is likely to be repeated skin contact by users. From this date it will be illegal to sell timber treated with CCA for certain uses including the making of children’s play equipment. The Regulations do not apply to CCA treated timber already in use; there is no need for the removal of CCA treated items that are in good order simply because of CCA being present. The risk in this case is extremely low. If it becomes necessary to remove CCA treated timber when it comes to the end of its safe or useful life, then the material needs to be treated as hazardous waste and disposed of accordingly. This timber should not be burned or chipped for further use.
Advice on alternative timber treatments can be obtained from:
- British Wood Preserving & Damp Proofing Association: 1 Gleneagles House, Vernon Gate, Derby , DE1 1UP ; Telephone: 01332 225100; email info@bwpda.co.uk .
- Timber Research and Development Association (TRaDA), Telephone: 01494 563091
- The Health & Safety Executive online: www.hse.gov.uk
I Saw the Sign!
Congratulations to Mayo County Council and Westport Town Council on one of the best playground signs we have seen. You may wish to consider using similar signs on your play area. There is a separate “No Dogs” sign.
Indoor Play Area Accidents
The Astra or Wavy slide has become very popular over the past 18 months. RoSPA is aware of at least16 incidents resulting in fractures: mainly lower limbs but also upper limbs, mostly to younger children (3 -8 year old). The explanation for these accidents appears to be that polished surfaces, either by the operator polishing, or through use (bums on surface) increases speed. The child feels the acceleration at the lower end of the slide but also separates from the slide surface mainly at the last rise; the child tries to rectify the problem by placing its hands on the side wall (sweaty sticky hands). This then spins the child sideways with no control at the run out area and lands badly, sometimes on the very end of the slide. RoSPA recommends that these slides should not be over polished as this may lead to accidents. Operators are advised that supervisory staff should regularly monitor speed of users on these items. There should be enough speed for the child’s momentum to carry them over the “humps” but this should not be such that the child looses contact with the surface at any time. The child should reach the bottom of the slide under control and not carry forward for more than approximately 450mm. Any light polishing should be done at close of business to allow the polish to consolidate overnight.
White spirits can be used and lightly wiped over the surface takes the top layer of polish off to help decrease speed of exit where this is excessive. Regular cleaning can be undertaken by using a mild detergent.
Provided that the precautions above are taken, these slides should provide considerable (and safe) fun for users.
Over the last few years nine children have been killed by falling goalposts (in the same period only two children were killed on a play area). Football goal safety is an important issue. RoSPA can inspect your goals at the same time as they undertake the annual inspection of your play area or playing field. In the meantime the Football Association have some good guidelines on football safety and these can be found on their site www.TheFA.com . The Football Association carried out a programme of on-site inspection and testing of goalpost sets at a number of sites across the country.
Some of the findings are as follows:
- Of all goals tested, 41% of mini-soccer goals, 50% of 5-a-side goals and 22% of junior goals failed stability tests
- Ground conditions can affect the stability of goals therefore it is important to liaise with manufacturers on the appropriate ground fixings in relation to weather conditions
- Staff at every 2nd site were unaware of the safety campaign involving goalposts
More details are available via the FA web site www.TheFA.com. RoSPA Play Safety also has a FREE Football Association information leaflet on the subject. Please contact us for more details.
Capital RoSPA
The major cities in England, Northern Ireland and The Irish Republic use RoSPA for their play area Inspections. These include Corporation of London, Birmingham, Manchester, Belfast and Dublin.
ISO 9001
The RoSPA inspection service is now ISO 9001 registered. ISO 9001 is the international quality management standard and recognises RoSPA’s commitment to quality. At the time of writing RoSPA is the only inspection service in the UK to have achieved this distinction.
Advice from Insurance Times
The following text is extracted from an article in Legal Report, part of Insurance Times:
“If new equipment is being installed, have a “health check” from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents ( RoSPA ) to ensure the equipment has been fitted correctly and is considered appropriate. A written report from RoSPA has great evidential benefits. Organisations would also be well advised to have a RoSPA comment on the design before installation.”
This underlines the need to have independent checks on equipment after installation. It also stresses that RoSPA can check plans prior to installation to ensure that any potential problems are ironed out before work commences.
For details see our playground inspections page. (Article Copyright 2002 and reproduced with kind permission from Insurance Times).
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RoSPA is a registered charity: Registered Charity No: 207823 Patron: Her Majesty the Queen RoSPA Head Office: Edgbaston Park, 353 Bristol Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham B5 7ST, UK |
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