Each year, approximately 200,000 children are taken to the hospital because of injuries they acquire while playing. Most of the injuries take place when a child falls from equipment in the playground. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) stipulates the need for shock-absorbing surfaces in the children's playground (Olsen & Kennedy, 2018). The shock-absorbing surface's main role is to prevent the child from hurting themselves if they fall dome. Form the inspection, there is a deficiency of surfaces covered in wood chips, mulch, and sand. From the courtyard's image, the floor is made of concrete, which poses a risk to the children. Also, some surfaces are left with bare grass, and even the bare earth is visible. The deficiency is risky as the children using the playground are at a much higher risk of hurting themselves. Most people think that having the playground in the backyard set where there is the grass is safer for the children. But that's not the case as the grass will not offer the children any protection when they fall.
Also, the CPSC requires that the environment surrounding the playground to be clear enough and have visibility. There is a need to have people that are watching over the children while they are playing. The main reason for having the bush around the playground cleared is to protect the children from predator animals (Olsen, Hudson & Thompson, 2010). Animals are more likely to hide on bushes surrounding the playground and may attack the children playing at any instance. There is a deficiency in adhering to the protocol from the inspection. There is an image of a snake slithering inside the playground from one of the images, heading towards a bush outside. Incase children were playing on the ground, and then there would have been attacked by the snake. Equally, there is a tree inside the playground, which poses a risk to the children. The tree branches might fall while the children are playing, or even the sake might be residing on top of the tree. Such creates a deficiency, and the tree needs to be removed from the playground. If the trees' primary role was to provide shades, the school needs to consider alternative options.
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According to the American Society for Testing and Material (ASTM), surfacing is one of the most crucial factors to consider in a playground. Surfacing entails covering all the surfaces that the child might hurt themselves in case there is an impact. In most instances,' posts are the ones that are covered with materials like rubber to prevent an injury if there is an impact on the child. ASTM suggests that all the surfaces need to be covered (Olsen, Hudson & Thompson, 2010). There has been significant work done in surfacing most of the poles in the playground from the inspection. However, not all of the metal poles have undergone surfacing progress. The institution has used a metallic fence to guard the playground, but they have not surfaced the fence's metal. Some of the games are made of metallic instruments, and they have neglected to surface them with rubber or any other softer material. Thus, there is a deficiency in the surfacing of the places that the child can get injured when there is an impact. The institute can consider having an inner lining of the fence made of other materials to prevent the child from reaching the fence. The games are made of metallic material that should surface them to prevent injuries.
Many regulations relate to the outdoor play environment. Some states have opted to embrace the CPSC standards while other states follow the ASTM standards. The National Health and Safety Performance Standards stipulate the need for having first aid kits all over the playground. The main aim is to have a quick way of assisting the child when they are injured before being rushed to the hospital. There is a deficiency in the first aid kits as from the inspection, and there are no images of first aid kits. It is also essential to put the child's safety first by considering the height of the fence. The fence should not be too low such that the children can get out of the playground field. The institute had effectively adhered to the standards. However, they have neglected the height of the other materials in the playground. The standers created by National Health and Safety Performance suggest that all the materials in the playground should not be shorted than the children as they can easily harm themselves. In one of the images, a structure is way shorted, which poses a risk to the children using the playground. There are playing tools that rotate and other moves, and the child's safety at that instance is of crucial consideration. There is a stirring wheel in the playground that is not fully enclosed, and if a child gets their arm in between, it will be broken. According to NPPS, when it needs to be fully enclosed, the area is deficient.
References
Olsen, H. & Kennedy, E. (2018). Safety of school playgrounds: Field analysis from the randomized sample. Journal of School of Nursing, 36 (5), 369-375.
Olsen, H., Hudson, S., & Thompson, D. (2010). Strategies for playground injury prevention: An overview of a playground project. American Journal of School Health, 41 (3), 187-192.
