Playground inspections across Cornwall, done properly.
Independent routine and operational safety inspections for play areas, MUGAs, skate parks and outdoor gyms — with clear, photographed, risk-rated reports your council, park or school can act on.
What we inspect
Every kind of outdoor play and activity space
Playgrounds
Routine and operational inspections of equipped play areas — swings, slides, climbing units, surfacing and ancillary items.
Operational inspections →MUGAs
Multi-use games areas checked to BS EN 15312 — goals, fencing, gates, surfacing and rebound walls.
MUGA inspections →Skate parks
Ramps, transitions, coping and platforms inspected to BS EN 14974 for wear, damage and structural condition.
Skate park inspections →Outdoor gyms
Fitness equipment inspected to BS EN 16630 — moving parts, anchorage, corrosion and entrapment checks.
Outdoor gym inspections →Holiday park play areas
Pre-season and in-season inspection programmes for Cornwall's holiday and caravan parks.
Holiday park inspections →School playgrounds
Term-time inspection schedules for schools and academies, with reports written for governors and insurers.
School inspections →The inspection regime, honestly explained
Three tiers — the full regime, one contract
Routine visual
Weekly. The quick check for obvious hazards — vandalism, broken parts, litter, surfacing damage. We provide this, or train your own staff to record it properly.
Routine inspections →Operational
Every 1–3 months. The detailed check of wear, stability and structural condition. This is our core service — a standing quarterly round most sites rely on.
Operational inspections →Annual main
Yearly, independent. Delivered by an RPII Annual-grade inspector through our accredited partner — arranged, scheduled and invoiced by Cornwall Play Safety, so the whole regime sits under one contract.
Plenty of providers blur these tiers. We'd rather you know exactly what you're buying: routine and operational inspections carried out by us, and the annual delivered by an Annual-grade inspector through our partner — all under one Cornwall Play Safety contract. Your insurer will appreciate the precision.
Who we work with
Built around how Cornwall actually manages its play areas
Parish & town councils
Cornwall's play areas are mostly parish-managed. We offer fixed-fee inspections and standing quarterly rounds sized for parish budgets, with reports your clerk can drop straight into the minutes.
For parish councils →Holiday & caravan parks
Pre-season sign-off and in-season operational checks for parks across the Cornish coast — scheduled around your opening calendar, not ours.
For holiday parks →Why it matters
Inspection is how you evidence your duty of care
Under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and the Occupiers' Liability Acts, whoever manages a play area owes a duty of care to the children using it. BS EN 1176 is the benchmark courts and insurers use to judge whether that duty was met — and a documented inspection regime is the evidence. When inspections lapse, the consequences are severe: after the death of a five-year-old on defective equipment in a London park that had gone years without proper inspection, the council was fined £330,000.
A proper inspection programme is not expensive. Not having one can be.
Frequently asked questions
How often should a playground be inspected?
BS EN 1176 recommends three levels: a routine visual check (weekly, or daily on busy sites), a detailed operational inspection every 1–3 months, and an independent annual main inspection. Your insurer will usually expect all three to be in place.
Do you cover the whole of Cornwall?
Yes. We are based near St Austell and inspect sites across the whole county — from Bude to the Lizard and out to the Devon border. Multi-site rounds are grouped to keep travel costs off your invoice.
What does a playground inspection cost?
It depends on the size of the site and the number of items of equipment. Most single parish play areas fall in a straightforward fixed-fee range, and multi-site or quarterly contracts are priced per round. Send us the site details and you will have a written quote the same day.
Do you provide the independent annual inspection?
Yes — through our accredited partner. The annual main inspection must be carried out by an RPII Annual-grade inspector, which is a separate accreditation, so ours is delivered by an Annual-grade inspector through our partner arrangement. Cornwall Play Safety schedules it, and you get one contact and one invoice for the full three-tier regime.
What do we get after the inspection?
A written report for each site: every item of equipment checked, defects photographed and risk-rated (low / medium / high), the relevant BS EN 1176 reference, and clear recommended actions your contractor can price against. Reports are delivered digitally within 48 hours.
Ready when you are
Send your site details today — written quote back the same day.