Nursery World - Play should be 'only as safe as necessary'

Play areas should be made 'as safe as necessary, not as safe as possible', according to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA). Speaking at RoSPA's International Play Safety Conference, 'Ensuring Play Value', play safety manager David Yearley said that playgrounds must be made more adventurous, with an element of controlled risk, if children are to be discouraged from playing in dangerous areas.

Speaking at RoSPA's International Play Safety Conference, 'Ensuring Play Value', play safety manager David Yearley said that playgrounds must be made more adventurous, with an element of controlled risk, if children are to be discouraged from playing in dangerous areas.

He said, 'Exciting and stimulating play areas with high play value will contribute to physical and psychological development and discourage children from playing in dangerous places such as railway lines, riverbanks and alongside roads. Play areas should be as safe as necessary, but not as safe as possible.'

RoSPA welcomed the Big Lottery Fund's 124m set aside for local authorities to develop free, open-access play provision. But it warned, 'It is essential the money is wisely spent to provide exciting opportunities that will play an important part in the young person's development.'

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