Combating risk
 averse attitudes to play

Children are quick to reject sterile, uninteresting play areas. Instead they crave stimulating play environments that provide excitement, escapism and most importantly fun. There is plentiful evidence that challenging play provides tangible developmental benefits to children of all ages. As the old adage goes, it’s not climbing up a tree that teaches us lessons in life, it’s coming down that counts. While this might mean a few inevitable bumps and scrapes along the way, it’s the journey we make that is significant and we are all the wiser for it.    
The benefits of play
The Association of Play Industries (API) represents the interests of manufacturers, installers, designers and distributors of outdoor and indoor play equipment and safety surfacing. It campaigns at the highest levels for recognition of the value of play in policy. API member companies know that when it comes to children’s play, risk assessments needn’t restrict enjoyment, fun and challenge because children enjoy and actively benefit from a degree of risk when playing.
      
API Chairman Michael Hoenigmann says: “Far from wrapping children in cotton wool and removing any exposure to risk, we believe it is our duty as the UK’s leading play companies to provide high-quality play equipment and playgrounds which provide a strong element of challenge. The benefits of managed risk are indisputable.”   
    
Around 70 per cent of the API’s members supply the education market, designing, creating and installing learning and play spaces, multi-use games or play areas, play equipment and resources to schools and settings across the UK. All member companies believe strongly in the benefits of managed risk in play and ensure that every play area they design includes plenty of challenging play equipment.  
    
If approached with a common sense attitude to health and safety, challenging play has multiple benefits. It takes children out of their comfort zone, teaching them valuable lessons about their own  capabilities and skills. They grow confidence, resilience, self-awareness and self‑esteem in the process which prepares them for the inevitable challenges that life presents.

Play campaigner and author of Rethinking Childhood, Tim Gill, says: “Taking risks is about going beyond our social and emotional comfort zones, learning from our mistakes, and gaining a sense of our own agency. When we engage with risk, we feel what it is like to be an active, competent person who takes responsibility for their actions. So you could say that taking risks is about getting the hang of being a human being.”

Challenge and hazard
Challenge in play comes in many forms, from using a piece of play equipment that pushes physical limitations for the intended age group, to learning a new skill or doing something in a new way. Either way, recognising the distinct difference between challenge and hazard is key. API members are dedicated to quality and standards and ensure that hazards are avoided with all play designs and equipment they supply.
    
Of course every school fears rising litigation culture but applying common sense to health and safety is essential when it comes to play. When managing a play area or planning a new outdoor space, schools have a duty of care to remove all unforeseeable hazards that may cause injury and must demonstrate diligence. Understanding the difference between challenge and hazard is key.     
    
According to the Register of Play Inspectors International, challenge is a desirable attribute that encourages children to explore their limitations and develop new skills. A hazard, meanwhile, is a negative influence associated with something being wrong with the equipment, surfacing or surrounding environment which could harm a child. An invaluable source of guidance for schools about the benefits of managed risk is the Children’s Play Safety Forum’s ‘Managing Risk in Play Provision’. The guide, which has recently been revised, shows how schools can use an approach to risk assessment that balances the benefits of an activity with any inherent risk, fully taking into account and encouraging the benefits to children and young people of challenging play experiences.
    
Funded through the Social Action Fund and supported by the Cabinet Office, the publication has been endorsed by numerous organisations including the Health and Safety Executive, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA), Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) and the Association of Play Industries.
    
Judith Hackitt, Chair of the Health and Safety Executive says: “Play – and particularly play outdoors – teaches young people how to deal with risk. Without this awareness and learning they are ill equipped to deal with adult life. Outdoor play and learning is an important part of our children’s education.”

Before any new play area opens, a post‑installation inspection should take place undertaken by a registered, certificated Register of Play Inspectors International (RPII) annual outdoor inspector. This can be commissioned by the school or the play company installing the equipment. Regular repair and maintenance is also vital to eliminate hazards and servicing and replacement of worn out parts keeps play equipment safe and compliant.

Combating misconceptions
Children’s safety is paramount but concerns about health and safety may sometimes impede positive thinking about the benefits of managed risk and challenge in children’s playgrounds, particularly in schools. Here we examine some myths that prevent progress in this area.
    
Some think that playground equipment is less exciting / attractive for children nowadays. API members offer a vast array of play equipment for schools, much of it linked it to the national curriculum and designed to deliver tangible learning, developmental and physical literacy outcomes.  
    
There are also concerns that safety surfacing has made playgrounds less exciting for children, whereas in fact, far from limiting challenge, surfacing is increasingly being used as a play resource in its own right, for instance, to demarcate distinct zones within a playground. Many schools are trying to increase physical activity levels so are using interesting surfacing to improve the design and aesthetic appeal of their outside space in order to encourage more children outdoors. Additional play and learning value can also be incorporated into surfacing with trails, paths, roadways and hopscotch as well as numbers, letters, words and shapes to support literacy and numeracy.         
    
Others say that European legislation has banned exciting playground equipment. The purpose of European and British safety standards is to prevent serious injuries, not to limit challenge. All API member companies conform to relevant standards (BS EN 1176 for playground equipment, BS EN 1177 for impact attenuating playground surfacing, and BS EN 15312 for free access multi-sports equipment).     

While these standards are not mandatory, they are viewed as best practice by the API, UK play industry and judicial systems. Far from banning exciting playground equipment, there has never been such a wide range of high-quality playground equipment available.    

A balanced approach
While no-one wants to see children getting injured, it is inevitable that they will face the occasional bump, scrape, fall or collision – either in the school playground or in any other aspect of their daily life. What is key is that when it comes to planning a new playground, schools should take a balanced approach to health and safety and to risk. This means choosing a reputable, high‑quality play company that can provide expert advice on how best to incorporate elements of challenge that will get hearts racing and excite children’s natural enthusiasm.

Further information
www.api-play.org