Risk Assessment of Children’s Play Areas
Guidance on assessing and managing risks in play areas to balance safety with valuable play opportunities.
Introduction
The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 recommends that owners and managers of premises should undertake a risk assessment of their facilities – this includes the children’s playground.
Purpose
The purpose of risk assessment is to:
- Undertake a systematic review of the potential for harm
- Evaluate the likelihood of harm occurring.
When this is done the manager has to:
- Decide whether the existing control measures are adequate
- Decide whether more needs to be done
Assessing risk
The sequence for this is:
- Activity classification
- Hazard identification
- Evaluation of risk
- Evaluation of control measures
- Specification for further action
Action
Once the assessment has been carried out there should be a hierarchy for control:
- Eliminate hazard
- Reduce hazard
- Isolate hazard
- Control hazard
Future action
Once the risk assessment has been carried out and control measures taken, it need not be repeated unless there is a significant change in the playground.