Form library · Health and safety
Playground inspection checklist
For people carrying out a scoped visual playground check. Record play area and scope, area checks and equipment and defects. Try the form below, see every question or download a blank PDF or Word copy.
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Does a routine check replace a specialist playground inspection?
RoSPA distinguishes routine visual checks from more detailed operational and specialist annual inspections. Checks should consider the whole play area, follow equipment information and connect defects to a repair process.
Last updated . Facts checked by the SiteSurvey team on 6 October 2026 against RoSPA playground inspection and maintenance and RoSPA routine play area inspections.
Try the playground visual inspection form live
Answer a few questions and watch it adapt. Your answers are not saved, and any photos you add are deleted within the hour.
This is the real form as your team would use it: questions appear as you answer, scores work themselves out and you can add photos and signatures. No sign-up needed.
Want to see one filled in? See a completed playground visual inspection report (PDF), made by SiteSurvey from a fictional site visit.
Fill it in on a phone or tablet
Your team completes the playground visual inspection on site in the SiteSurvey app on iPhone, iPad and Android phones and tablets. The project name and address fill in for them, it works without signal, and it syncs when the device is back online with photos kept against the question they answer.
Customers and subcontractors do not need the app: send them a link and they can fill it in from any browser.
Every question in the playground visual inspection template
A routine playground visual inspection covering equipment, surfacing, access, litter, visible damage, immediate restrictions and repair follow-up. 5 sections and 35 questions. Follow-up questions and guidance appear only when an answer calls for them, so the person on site never sees the ones that do not apply.
Make it your own: every question is editable
This is a starting point, not a fixed form. Once it is in your SiteSurvey account you can reword any question, add or remove questions, sections and answer options, and add your own logo, so it fits the way your team works and the jobs you do.
Details you only enter once
Add this form to a project in SiteSurvey and it fills in what the project already knows, so nobody on site retypes it and every form on the job uses the same names. Anything filled in can still be changed.
- Project: the project name
- Site or premises address: the site address, from the space or the project
- Client or organisation: the project's customer
Record details and scope
- ProjectShort answer
Filled in from the project in SiteSurvey.
Fills in from the project name - Site or premises addressShort answerFills in from the site address, from the space or the project
- Client or organisationShort answerFills in from the project's customer
- Record date*Date
- Person completing the record*Short answer
- CheckThis records routine visible condition only. It is not an annual inspection, structural assessment, impact-attenuation test or certification to EN 1176 or EN 1177.
- CheckRoSPA distinguishes routine visual checks from more detailed operational and specialist annual inspections. Checks should consider the whole play area, follow equipment information and connect defects to a repair process.
Play area and scope
- Walk Cam: playground walk-roundWalk Cam video with voice-to-text
Optional. Film a guided walk-through on the SiteSurvey app.
- Play area and asset-plan reference*Short answer
- Inspector and training reference*Short answer
- Inspection schedule and supplier checklist referenceShort answer
- Weather, access or other inspection limitationsNotes
State the viewing conditions and inaccessible equipment. A visual visit should not imply that hidden components or specialist tests were covered.
Area checks
- Entrances, paths and boundary condition checked*Choose one
- Acceptable
- Action needed
- Not checked
- Not applicable
- Action, limitation or reason not applicable*NotesShown only when the answers above make it relevant
- Litter, sharps or contamination addressed through safe arrangements*Choose one
- Acceptable
- Action needed
- Not checked
- Not applicable
- Action, limitation or reason not applicable*NotesShown only when the answers above make it relevant
- Surfacing and fall spaces checked visually*Choose one
- Acceptable
- Action needed
- Not checked
- Not applicable
- Action, limitation or reason not applicable*NotesShown only when the answers above make it relevant
- Signs, seating and other site features checked*Choose one
- Acceptable
- Action needed
- Not checked
- Not applicable
- Action, limitation or reason not applicable*NotesShown only when the answers above make it relevant
Equipment and defects
- Equipment itemRepeat for each equipment item. Each one asks:
- Equipment ID and location*Short answer
- Visible damage, wear or missing parts*Notes
- Action*Choose one
- No immediate restriction identified
- Restrict access
- Close equipment or area
- Refer for specialist assessment
- Restriction method and person notifiedNotes
- Supporting photosPhotos
- Repair and reinspection referencesNotes
Actions and review
- Are further actions required?*Choose one
- Yes
- No
- Further actionRepeat for each further action. Each one asks:Shown when “Are further actions required?” is “Yes”
- Action and evidence reference*Notes
- Person responsible*Short answer
- Target dateDate
- Action status*Choose one
- Open
- In progress
- Completed
- Completion evidence*NotesShown when “Action status” is “Completed”
- Outstanding limitations and information to pass onNotes
- Record status*Choose one
- Ready for review
- Further work needed
- Work or use stopped
- Reviewed byShort answer
- Review dateDate
- Author signature*Signature
- CheckSigning records the information entered. It does not itself certify legal compliance, remove a limitation or authorise unsafe work.
Scope and responsibility
This records routine visible condition only. It is not an annual inspection, structural assessment, impact-attenuation test or certification to EN 1176 or EN 1177.
What a useful entry looks like
Weather, access or other inspection limitations
State the viewing conditions and inaccessible equipment. A visual visit should not imply that hidden components or specialist tests were covered.
Visual check completed from ground level. Internal fixings and areas behind the locked service enclosure were not inspected.
Fictional example of record wording. Use the actual evidence and approved arrangements for your job; this is not a completed report or an instruction to carry out the work.
See it filled in
A completed playground visual inspection report, made by SiteSurvey from a fictional site visit: every answer, the photos, the guidance that applied and the sign-off, ready to send as a PDF.
Playground Visual Inspection FAQs
How should I record “Weather, access or other inspection limitations”?
State the viewing conditions and inaccessible equipment. A visual visit should not imply that hidden components or specialist tests were covered.
How often should checks happen?
Use a schedule based on the site, usage, risks and supplier guidance. The template does not impose a universal interval.
Does a visual check prove surfacing performance?
No. It records visible condition; specialist testing may be needed.
How are dangerous defects handled?
Record how access was restricted, who was informed and the repair or specialist review needed.
What are the limits of this template?
This records routine visible condition only. It is not an annual inspection, structural assessment, impact-attenuation test or certification to EN 1176 or EN 1177.
Can I complete this form on site and share the record?
In the SiteSurvey app the form works offline, with photos and signatures recorded against the questions. Share the completed record as a PDF or a link. Dates and action owners are recorded fields; this form does not send reminders or update other systems.
Related
Related templates
Templates that go with the playground visual inspection form
An access audit record of arrival routes, entrances, circulation, facilities, communication barriers and proposed reasonable adjustments.
A nursery premises assessment recording rooms, outdoor areas, access, age-related hazards, supervision controls, actions and review of changes.
A gym equipment condition record covering asset identity, visible wear, approved function checks, user information, defects and equipment restrictions.
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