The National Program for Playground Safety (NPPS) has available a variety of resources for early care and education settings. NPPS supports the goal that every child deserves a SAFE (Supervised, Age-appropriate, Fall Surfacing, Equipment Maintenance) place to play at childcare centers.

NPPS provides checklists, assessment kits, books, and guides. From the NPPS website, childcare programs can download an injury reporting form as well as find information on the SAFE program.

The Childcare Assessment Kit from NPPS will help you discover how well your equipment matches national standards for safety, protect children from known hazards, gather essential information for planning fun play sites, and learn how to write assessment reports.
Online training courses also are available from NPPS. The Playground Supervision Training for Childcare Providers is a one hour, interactive online, self-paced class covering areas that will allow providers to learn SAFE supervision practices in an outdoor play environment. You will have two weeks to complete the course on your own time.

The video, pictures, and graphics that are used in the course will give you new ideas and techniques to implement at your center. You also will have the opportunity to participate in an online chat with a nationally recognized expert.

The Early Childhood Outdoor Play Inspectors Program is an interactive online course that will give you knowledge and understanding to inspect the outdoor play area for safety. You will have four weeks to complete the course on your own time.

National Program for Playground Safety, University of Northern Iowa School of HPELS, Cedar Falls, IA 50614-0618; 800-554-PLAY; www.playgroundsafety.org