RoSPA Press Office : Press Release
June 6, 2005
PLAYGROUND OPERATORS RECEIVE FIRST SAFETY AWARDS
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents today announced the first winners in a new awards scheme designed to make children’s play areas throughout the UK safer and more exciting.
The RoSPA Play Quality Operator Awards demonstrate commitment to providing interesting, high-quality play facilities, which include provision for disabled people. They are graded at gold, silver, bronze and merit levels.
Judges considered issues such as commitment to stimulating play, competence of staff, maintenance and inspection procedures.
Gold awards went to: Telford and Wrekin Borough Council, Shropshire; Vale of White Horse District Council, Oxfordshire; Portsmouth City Council; Elmbridge Borough Council, Surrey; Crawley Borough Council, West Sussex; Bicester Town Council, Oxfordshire; Wolverhampton-based Pathfinder Pubs; Manchester City Council; Cardiff School Services; Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council; Manchester Young Lives, a registered charity that works with children and young people in disadvantaged areas; Southwark Council, London; Dun Laoghaire Play Centre, Ireland.
Silver: Bedfordshire Rural Communities Charity; Reading Borough Council; London Borough of Hackney Council Housing Department.
Merit: Kidsport Woodside Centre,Watford; Birmingham City Council.
The awards were presented by Baroness Gibson of Market Rasen, President of RoSPA, at the Society’s first International Play Safety Conference being held in Stratford-upon-Avon today.
David Yearley, RoSPA’s Play Safety Manager, said: “All the winners are to be congratulated for their efforts to ensure their play areas are well managed and that equipment is safe to use.
“They are leaders in their field and we hope other local authorities, businesses and organisations with responsibility for playgrounds and indoor play areas will try to emulate them.
“One of the best ways to promote safety and encourage good management practice is to reward those who head the field and lead by example. These winners have shown that they take young people’s safety seriously.”
More than 38,000 children are injured seriously enough on playgrounds each year to have to go to hospital. Many of those accidents are unavoidable because of the way children play. “Children need some risk in their play to help them to learn and to develop,” David Yearley said.
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RoSPA is a registered charity: Registered Charity No: 207823 Patron: Her Majesty the Queen RoSPA Head Office: Edgbaston Park, 353 Bristol Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham B5 7ST, UK |
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