Here at Meadow Primary Out of School Care club we have one small bouncy castle

This is used mainly during the Summer and Easter holidays, and occasionally at special events such as the clubs annual BBQ.

 

The brochures released prior to Playscheme’s commencement inform parents/carers of all our resources, including the bouncy castle, they are also provided with the Bouncy Castle Risk Assessment, allowing them to become fully informed of any associated risks before choosing whether or not to sign the Bouncy Castle Consent Form. Any child whose parent/carer has not signed the consent form will be unable to use the bouncy castle but will be provided with alternative activities, which will be laid out in either the brochure or on a Playscheme Weekly Planning Sheet.

 

Before the bouncy castle is set up the manager will do a weather check and if there is rain or wind forecast we will not be able to set up the bouncy castle.

 

When using the bouncy castle children must remove their shoes before use, we also recommend that they wear socks, to reduce friction and thus the risk of any burns, but it is not a requirement unless the child has a verruca. Another precaution taken to prevent burns on the inflatable slide is to make sure as much of the children’s skin is covered as possible, and where not possible to ensure they use the slide correctly by crossing their arms over their body, lifting their feet off the slide and sliding down on their bottoms.

 

Only four children may use the bouncy castle at one time or three if the children are in year 5 or above. The children take turns in their groups of between two and five minutes so that all children who would like a turn may have one, also much longer than five minutes would cause them to tire.

 

A minimum of one member of staff must be supervising the castle. The staff must ensure that children are using the equipment properly and watch for any inappropriate use of the inflatables especially if it could cause injury to the child or others, i.e. climbing the walls, pushing other children and so on. 

 

If the member of staff monitoring the children has to stop for some reason, all children must get off of the inflatables and leave its vicinity until they are told they can return. If no one can watch the castle for a long period of time then the power to them should be turned off allowing them to deflate, which will remove the temptation for the children to play on it unsupervised.

 

At least 15 minutes should be allowed for the bouncy castle to be set-up. When the inflatables are taken down, children must have been cleared from the castle and the surrounding area before deflation. Around 45 minutes should be allowed to put away the bouncy castle.