The importance of providing good children’s playgrounds is becoming ever more important with the increasing demands on open space for other purposes. So often adult pressures override the outdoor play requirements of children, who need the social and play opportunities that playgrounds can provide to support their development and wellbeing.
For those who are looking to provide exciting and well-designed equipment how can they be sure that the items will be appropriately constructed, for all the use and energy that children and the occasional parent need?
The British Standard BS EN 1176 covers playground equipment, and the necessary surfacing to reduce the consequences of ground impact of a child. For example, during adventurous play exploring high up on equipment and unfortunately falling.
This British Standard has the tremendous benefit of being produced with the joint expertise of all the European countries and importantly, is appropriate for any scale of playground provision, from the smallest community playspace to the largest city park. With the provided inspection information, their operators are also given information to enable them to implement the crucial ongoing maintenance of the equipment.
Equipment supplied labelled to BS EN 1176, installed, inspected and maintained to that standard provides the safety assurance for concerned operators and parents, wherever their children are playing. It is the go-to Standard for all publicly accessible playground equipment whether in schools, parks, leisure centres or shopping areas.
