Jolie Williams EDU 235 Professor Johnson 30 September 12

Playground Observation
X garbage Three stand swing set with 6 swings
E N T R A N C E garbage

Table Slide

F E N C I N G X garbage
Entrance
Stair climber Bridge Platform that leads to zip line

X Varying X Climbing X Bars Zip line

T A B L E

garbage

This playground is located in Ashburn and is on the playground of Community Church/ Virginia Academy. The playground is behind the church/ school and is normally used for Kindergarten and up. I observed on a Saturday during soccer and flag football games. An outside organization uses the fields and playground so I was not able to observe teacher supervision just parental.

Dirty Dozen Check list (www.nrpa.org):

1.

Improper Protective Surfacing

This playground was covered in mulch chips. It was spread out evenly but was only 9 inches thick. There was no standing water or debris lying around.

2.

Inadequate Use Zone

There were adequate use zones in all of the required areas: Swings (exactly16 feet in front/back of swings, 8 feet on all sides) Slides( at least 12 feet on all sides) Edges of playground

(Dirty Dozen Check List cont.)

3.

Protrusion & Entanglement Hazards

No protrusion or entanglements observed. All bolts and swing hardware were appropriate.

4.

Entrapment in Openings

Opening to slide was bigger than 9 inches (roughly 24 inches) and on the entire play set that is six feet above ground, had guard rails all around it.

5.

Insufficient Equipment Spacing

There was more than enough spacing between slides, swings, pull- up bars and tables.

6.

Trip Hazards

There were no exposed tree roots, rocks or cement from foundations of playground equipment exposed. The surfacing was smooth and even.

(Dirty Dozen Check List cont.)

7.

Lack of Supervision

N/A Not during school hours

8.

Age-Inappropriate Activities

This playground is intended for Kindergarten age and up. This playground is not suited for preschoolers because a lot of the equipment is very high off the ground. It makes me think that a sign needs to be posted (for liability reasons) for the parents who are visiting this playground. Not only to protect our school, but also for parents to be warned to pay special attention to their preschoolers.

9.

Lack of Maintenance

Overall, screws, playground equipment (plastic and metal) looked to be in excellent shape. There were some broken slats in the fence (8) randomly around the immense playground.

10.

Crush, Shearing and Sharp Edge Hazards

The equipment, garbages and tables were in great shape. The only edges would be on some of the broken slats on the fence.

11.

Platforms with No Guardrails

All platforms had the necessary guardrails.

12.

Equipment Not Recommended for Public Playgrounds

All playground equipment on this playground is recommended.

As I observed children playing, some were going up the slide instead of down which blocks other children from coming down and could result in the child going up, being kicked in the face with a shoe. All items in the playground were being used repeatedly except for the pullup bars. This is probably because most of the children who were on the playground at this time were too short to jump on.

(Cont.)

I know that the playground is inspected once a year and maintenance is performed on it once a month (evening out mulch and repairs). There are no trees surrounding it, but we put a canopy on it and it is located behind the church about 150 feet away from the parking lot. I actually like the size and equipment on this playground! It passes all the national/state safety standards and leaves enough room to run around. However, I would like to see one other item on it; possibly something that promotes balancing I enjoyed this process and look forward to using this check list to check out our schools other playgrounds.