Children’s safety in the playground has a lot to do with the quality of the equipment, the design, and layout of the space, the surfacing, and the ongoing maintenance and care of the area. Additional actions like play supervision go further to enhance the safety of children whilst they enjoy the fun, exciting and educational offerings of this valuable outdoor play space.
Of course, there are other potential risks to children in playgrounds that relate to their security. A UK study of parents showed nearly 50% believed children under 14 years should not be allowed outside unsupervised, and half of those parents felt under 16 year olds should not be unsupervised. Further studies have shown that parents’ worries can be disproportionate to actual dangers, although it does make sense to supervise young children in the playground, particularly those who are not in their teenage years yet. For early years children, playground supervision is essential. This is not only to protect them against the unsafe use of the playground but also to help protect them against dangers like child abduction.
Would you like to enhance the security of your outdoor playground space? If you would, there are extra measures you can take to create a safer outdoor area for the kids in your care, including the following:
Fencing
Playground fencing visually marks out different areas, and options like colourful pencil fencing can be handy for early years playground sections where extra help preventing children from running into traffic or other dangers is useful – in addition to the parents/ teachers supervising.
Fencing also segregates different sections of the playground, which encourages older children to use age-appropriate equipment in their section, and then early years children to use age-appropriate equipment in their section. This helps to keep the area organised, visually easy to navigate and encourages better safety of children using the areas as they only use equipment designed with their age groups’ safety in mind.
Fencing is also helpful in deterring potential criminals, as well as dogs who may be off-leash and pose a risk to young children.
CCTV
CCTV is a great idea for playgrounds when it comes to the security and safety of the children using the space. It helps to monitor any altercations the children may have, or look back at any injuries sustained and how they happened.
CCTV can also identify any vandalism that occurs outside of hours, helping to provide evidence to police, and also identify any damage that may have occurred and how it occurred. This can be helpful when it comes to quickly identifying an issue and getting it fixed so the playground is safe and usable again.
Laws & Acts
There are various laws and acts that are not made specifically for playgrounds, but playgrounds may well come under those acts in various different ways:
Lockable Gates
Gates are a great option for playgrounds as they provide an additional way to deter people from entering the playground when they shouldn’t. Along with signage, they will make people think twice before going into the playground space when they have no business being there.
Out of hours, you can also add locks to the gates, which helps to keep criminals and vandals out of the space. If the playground equipment is broken or out of bounds whilst maintenance is occurring, locked gates can also be a helpful way to indicate that.
Would You Like Help Boosting The Security Of Your Playground?
To enhance the security of your playground, why not speak to Sovereign Play Equipment about fencing and gates perfectly designed for use in playground areas. These kinds of products can be added to existing playgrounds, or included as part of a complete playground design and installation using our exceptional range of high-quality playground equipment and services.
Speak to our friendly team today for more information so we can help boost your playground security to the benefit of your school, nursery, day-to-day running, and of course, the safety and security of the children in your care.
