Health & Safety

Below is information in relation to choosing an operator and the safe use of inflatable and soft play equipment.

Children's health and safety is at the heart of what we do as we want you to remember your special day for the right reasons.On occasions it may be necessary to cancel bookings due to poor weather conditions, unfortunately this news is not always received well by our customers however we have a duty of care and work to guidelines set out by the (Health & Safety Executive) HSE.

We provide a professional fully insured service and are members of both (TIPE) The Inflatable Play Enterprise and the (BIHA) British Inflatable Hirer’s Alliance, membership number (IH4429).

All our inflatable’s meet the requirements of EN14960 and are tested every 12 months.

You can view all bouncy castle test certificates and related information on our website.

All test certificates risk assessments and insurance details are available on request, many venues will require this information prior to your booking date and we will be happy to email this information to the events team.

When our soft play and inflatable equipment has been set up you will be informed of and shown all relevant health and safety information.

You will also be required to sign a terms and conditions of hire which includes instructions which are intended to help your children have a fun time and ensure their safety.

Additional safety signs will be displayed in close proximity of all equipment hired these instructions should be read and followed at all times.

Once equipment has been set up under no circumstances should it be moved or re sited .

Please read and follow the hire instructions listed, use your own common sense and have a great time!

Please note if you have booked a soft play package or inflatable for outdoor use we will monitor the weather forecast up to and on the day of your booking.

Should the weather turn wet or windy we reserve the right to cancel the booking or amend the hire duration for health and safety reasons. We value children's health and safety and trust that you will understand in the event of this happening.

In the event your booking is cancelled due to weather conditions we will look to reschedule your date or your deposit will be refunded.

Bouncy castles will not be set up outdoors in heavy rain or if wind speeds including gusts are forecast to reach speeds above 24MPH or force 5 on the Beaufort scale.

We will check and note the wind speed on set up we will then leave you an anemometer to monitor the winds during the hire. For safety reasons we recommend If wind speeds reaches 20 mph the inflatable should be switched off and only re-inflated once the wind speed has dropped below 20mph.

Please note if ground conditions where the inflatable/ bouncy castle are due to be set up will not allow the ground anchors to fulfill there function in line with regulations set out in EN14960 we reserve the right not to set up the inflatable/bouncy castle.

If ground conditions are poor including waterlogged or very soft please Contact us for further advice prior to your hire.

It is the hirer’s responsibility to insure that both the access area and area where the bouncy castle/inflatable will be sited is level, free of litter, rubbish and animal foul. Please check the area chosen to site the bouncy castle or inflatable is of the correct dimensions to suit the bouncy castle/inflatable as specified on our website as payment will still be requested on the day if the area chosen is not suitable.

Below is a method statement which we follow when setting up inflatable equipment.

method-statement-inflatables.pdf

Has the bouncy castle you have hired been set up correctly?

We have included some pictures of a bouncy castle which had been set up outdoors at an event incorrectly and was an accident waiting to happen.

The bouncy castle had not been secured to the ground at any of its 6 anchor points there was insufficient clearance at the entrance step and no safety matting had been provided.The electrical equipment including leads and blower displayed no stickers to indicate they had been PAT tested (portable appliance tested) and no RCD breaker was being used.

Securing inflatables outdoors on grass

The inflatable shall be provided with an anchorage and/or ballast system and any necessary accessories enabling the
inflatable to be securely fixed to the ground each inflatable shall have at least six anchorage points.The majority of our outdoor hires are on a grass surface in this case we will secure the unit to the ground with 16mm ground stakes these being a minimum length of 380mm.Each anchorage point on an inflatable including components of the ballast system which will include the ground stakes must withstand a force of 1600N (Newtons).

Securing inflatables outdoors on a hard standing area

We receive requests for our inflatables to be set up on hard standing areas we will only set up on a solid concrete surface using heavy duty masonry bolts with plate fixings across each anchor point.

We would need to survey the site to ensure the surface is suitable for these fixings please Contact us for further information.

We will not use sand ballast bags outdoors as the weight at each anchor point calculated to withstand a force of 1600N would equate to 163kg, this is approximately 8 sand bags at each anchor point or 978Kg of ballast for one inflatable with 6 anchor points.

Inflatables secured with one 25kg ballast bag at each anchor point outdoors clearly do not provide enough weight to withstand 1600N of force.

Unfortunately we see this type of set up all the time and strongly recommend if hiring any inflatable for a hard stand area you question the operator as to the method they will employ to secure the unit to the ground.

Supervising a bouncy castle

• The bouncy castle should be supervised at all times by a responsible adult 18 years of age or over.
• Restrict the number of users on the inflatable at the same time to the limit on the unit label.

• Don’t exceed the user height limit given on the unit label and keep bigger users separated from smaller.

• Ensure users can get on and off safely and that the safety matting is maintained in place at the entrance in case of falls or ejections.

• Users should not wear shoes and should take their glasses off if they can and pockets should be emptied of all sharp or dangerous items.

• Users should not eat or drink whilst playing or bouncing and anyone obviously intoxicated should not be allowed on; they are a danger to themselves as much as to others.

• Don’t let things get too rough and don’t let users climb or hang onto the walls.
• Don’t let users try to somersault.

We have also included a link to the RoSPA website which includes some additional information.

RoSPA safe use of bouncy castles