Playground Safety Guidance for ECE Services
The Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 require early childhood education (ECE) services to have premises and facilities that support safe and healthy practices (Regulation 45(1)(a)(ii) ). The licensing criteria for ECE services that relate to Regulation 45(1)(a)(ii) aim to uphold the safety of children by ensuring that all items, equipment, furniture, materials and surfacing used in the service is of a standard that is considered safe.
Criteria related to Playground safety:
- PF5 – Centre-based ECE services
- PF5 – Ngā Kōhanga Reo
- PF3 – Hospital-based ECE services
- PF11 – Home-based ECE services
- PF7 - Playgroups
It is the responsibility of service providers to demonstrate that the playground structures, equipment and surfacing are safe and meet the relevant criteria. Ministry of Education licensing staff complete an inspection of each ECE service’s playground equipment and surfacing as part of licensing assessment process.
If there are concerns, the service provider may be asked for additional evidence such as a certificate of compliance that shows the equipment and/or surfacing comply with the New Zealand standard for playground equipment and surfacing NZS5828:2004. In some cases the service provider may be required to have a comprehensive inspection of their premises and facilities completed. This would need to be completed by an appropriately qualified expert such as an engineer or qualified playground safety inspector.
Note: Those offering an inspection or assessment service (especially for detailed or inspections or compliance checks) should be able to produce evidence of relevant qualifications and training in inspecting against NZS5828:2004.
Purchasing and installing playground equipment and surfacing
Before purchasing new equipment or safety surfacing, service providers should ensure that the product has been tested against the specifications of NZS5828:2004 and the manufacturer can supply a certificate of compliance for that product.
ECE services should check with any potential manufacturer/supplier that a certificate of compliance is available before purchase (for example a certificated manufacturer may have added a new piece of equipment to its range since certification and the new product may not comply with NZS5828:2004).
Newly installed playground equipment or safety surfacing must have a certificate of compliance to show that it is installed according to manufacturer's instructions. These may be asked for during the licence assessment process.
Standard for Playground Equipment & Surfacing
The NZ Standard for playground equipment and surfacing is NZS5828:2004 Playground equipment and surfacing. Copies of NZS5828:2004 are available for purchase from Standards New Zealand. This Standard is aimed primarily at manufacturers and installers of playground equipment, so is written in technical language.
There is a handbook specifically for use by ECE service providers - SNZ HB 5828.2:2006 Supervised early childhood facilities - Playground equipment and surfacing handbook. The handbook has been prepared to assist service providers to understand the application of the Standard NZS 5828:2004 for ECE services. This can be downloaded from Standards New Zealand website.
Regular playground and hazard safety checks
Regulation 46(1)(c) requires service providers to take all reasonable steps to ensure that the premises and facilities, and other equipment on the premises are kept in good repair, maintained regularly and kept free from hazards. A regular inspection programme to ensure playground equipment and surfacing is properly maintained is advised. This will ensure any necessary repairs and maintenance can be completed promptly.