Trampoline parks have seen rapid growth over the past few years, with over 200 in operation across major towns and cities. Hundreds of thousands of customers have now enjoyed them, however communities have seen a rise in visits to A&E because of accidents at the parks, some of which have been very serious.

Currently, we do not endorse visits to trampoline parks (which are classed as Category-B adventurous activities) because of the increased injury risks, lack of supervision and the waiver that visitors are expected to sign is not legally binding – essentially the provider is seeking to dissolve itself of responsibility from injury or claim because they cannot provide adequate supervision. Many trampoline parks are not members of an accredited organisation that sets out key safety standards such as effective supervision, guidance on construction standards and maintenance requirements.

One such organisation – The International Association of Trampoline Parks (IATP) created a voluntary safety code of practice in conjunction with RoSPA, but these standards have not been universally adopted. This type of trip isn’t seen as an activity that offers suitable educational objectives in line with school curriculum or development for young people. Local trampoline parks are not listed as endorsed providers on EEC, and where maintained schools take students to a trampoline park may be covered under our employee liability, we would be exposing ourselves further if an incident and significant injury occurred.

Our advice is for External Visit Coordinators and Outdoor Education Advisers to decline trampoline park applications for the reasons outlined in this article. The Corporate Health & Safety Unit (CHSU) have collaborated with fellow health and safety teams and outdoor education advisers across the region and identified the following hazards:

• High number of fractures for each facility
• Life threatening/changing injuries associated with flipping and summersaulting
• Double the accident rate generally from other young people’s activities
• The presence of parents made it safer
• Stricter supervision was needed to reduce accidents but wasn’t often in place
• More dangerous than a trampoline in the garden

Further information on trampoline parks can be found here:

SC Outdoor Education Advice 
Specialised Guidance from SCOEA
How to complete an Accident Report on EEC 
Trampoline parks guidance from RoSPA