In a childs soft play area there are important considerations to make regarding

safety and supervision. As well as legal obligations regarding insurance for

liabilities.

Legal Requirements and guidelines

Guidelines, whilst not legally binding are outlined under: BS EN 1176-10:2008
and BS 8409:2009
Main points include:

The separation of age groups so as to avoid injuries, for example; a large,

older child, colliding with or falling on a small, much younger child.
Height restrictions in place and clearly identifiable.
Separation of play area from dining waiting area, so that children do not
exit immediately into a potentially hazardous area.
No shoes to be allowed, but socks must be worn. This is to limit chance of
injury, as well as for hygiene reasons, e.g. tracking outside dirt into play
area, or use of socks to minimise contamination from foot diseases.
Accessibility for those with disabilities, considerations in terms of specialist
area for those with specific needs. Must comply with Disability
Discrimination Act 1995.
The provision of adequate security and safety measures, including but not
limited to;
- At least 2 fire escapes/exits for up to 100 users, with one extra exit to
cover every 100 people after.
- Training of staff to perform first aid, the provision of first aid facilities, as
well as storage in safe locations of equipment such as fire extinguishers
and net cutters used to gain access to region of play area in an
emergency.

Clear view of play area, with the minimisation of blind spots i.e. areas out
of the line of supervision.
Adequate prevention of access to areas or objects not part of play area,
from the play area, such as to the roof of play area, as well as protection
from lighting, heating etc. equipment.
Design and measures so as to ensure quick evacuation in an emergency,
e.g slides from upper levels, where these lead to a ball pit, or similar area
which could cause congestion there must be procedure in place to
alleviate this during an emergency.

Insurance
According to a poster on this website1 liability insurance costs range between
3000 to 7000 per annum, depending on size of centre and level of care
provided.
Overall start-up costs
According to the same website average initial start-up costs range between
100k - 250k depending once again on size of property, and play area.

1 https://www.netmums.com/coffeehouse/working-childcare-692/working-
yourself-self-employed-76/wfy-discussion-ideas-research-79/315129-new-play-
centre-business-all.html