Health and Safety Regulations

BS EN 1176 is a series of standards that spells out good practice in the design, manufacture, installation and maintenance of playground equipment in public spaces.

BSI Group 

In Great Britain, there’s no specific law just for playgrounds, instead, they’re covered under existing safety and laws rules. The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) (2013) state on they website list of the regulation, like: 

Health and Safety at Work Act (1974) - ensure the health and safety of users. However is sound, it is require by anyone responsible for the area for ensure the health and safety of users.

Occupier’s Liability Act (1957/1984) - Councils, schools, or private owners of playgrounds are considered occupiers and they must ensure equipment is safe, surfaces are maintained. If someone is injured due to poor maintenance or hidden dangers, the occupier could be held liable under this act.

Consumer Protection Act (1987) - protects users against faulty equipment.

Children Act (1989) – order appropriate standards for child-focused environments. Playgrounds in facilities which have been registered under the Act's requirements need to be safe and suitable for their purpose.

Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (2013) - for children - any injury that result in that the person being taken directly to hospital for treatment.

 

Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations (2002) (as amended 2003) - Covers the use of chemicals for cleaning.

Control of Pesticides Regulations 1986 - Covers pesticides for weed control.

Environmental Protection Act (1990) - Impacts how litter is managed and cleaned up.

Byelaws, Other authorities and Safety organisations - determined by local authorities, also organisations like as RoSPA, and Fields in Trust.

 There is list of Standards for playgrounds, however most important is BS EN 1176 and BS EN 1177 (Sovereign Play, 2022).

BS EN 1176 - cover playground equipment and fencing. It ensures emergency access, removal or closure of unsafe areas, and recommends using compliant equipment, proper installation, regular inspections, and daily checks to maintain safety.

BS EN 1177 - focus on playground surfacing. It sets safety guidelines based on how high children might fall, aiming to reduce injury by matching surface cushioning to fall risks .

Bespoke playsculpture - Arosa, Switzerland

Reference list

BSI Group (2021). Children’s play areas. [online] Available at: https://www.bsigroup.com/globalassets/documents/about-bsi/nsb/cpin/childrens-playground-stds-hi-res.pdf [Accessed 15 Jul. 2025].

Moveart (2023). Bespoke playsculpture. [Online image] www.externalworksindex.co.uk/. Available at: https://images.esi.info/Images/685109_1578319003908_PF.jpg?tr=w-3165,h-2616,cm-extract,x-391,y-0:w-665,pr-true [Accessed 15 Jul. 2025].

Sovereign Play (2022). Playground Safety Standards & Laws. [online] Sovereign Play. Available at: https://sovereignplayequipment.co.uk/playground-safety-law/ [Accessed 15 Jul. 2025].

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (2019). RoSPA- Legal aspects of play areas: Ensuring compliance and safety standards | RoSPA. [online] RoSPA. Available at: https://www.rospa.com/play-safety/advice-and-information/legal-aspects [Accessed 15 2025].