This is the piece to read before you need it, because everything useful happens in the first ten minutes, which is when nobody is thinking clearly.
Nothing here is medical advice. It is a sequence, with the NHS as the source for the medical part and a clear statement of when to stop reading and ring somebody.
The order
The child, then the record, then the hazard. In that order, and not simultaneously. The commonest mistake is trying to argue with a member of staff while holding a crying child.
Get the child out of the play area and somewhere they can sit. Get help if you need it: ask for the first aider by that name, because it is a specific role and it gets a specific person.
Then, once the child is settled, deal with the record. Then the hazard.
The common ones
Grazes and friction marks. The commonest injury in soft play, usually from a plastic slide on bare skin. Clean it, cover it, carry on. This is what the two plasters in your bag are for.
Bumped heads. Extremely common and almost always fine. The question is not whether they banged their head, it is whether there are any warning signs afterwards. NHS guidance on head injury and concussion sets out what to look for, and it is worth reading before you need it rather than on a phone in a car park.
Knocked and bruised limbs. Common, and the test is function: can they use it, can they bear weight on it, does it look the right shape.
Winding and shock. A child who has had a fright can look far worse than they are for a few minutes. Sitting quietly with them is the treatment.
Bitten or scratched by another child. Clean it thoroughly. It is worth mentioning to a GP if the skin is broken, because human bites carry a higher infection risk than they look.
| Injury | Usual answer | Go now if |
|---|---|---|
| Graze or friction mark | Clean, cover, carry on | It is deep, will not stop bleeding, or was caused by something dirty or sharp |
| Bumped head | Sit quietly, watch, and read the NHS guidance | Any loss of consciousness, vomiting, drowsiness, confusion, a fit, weakness, or a worsening headache |
| Knocked limb | Rest it, watch, and test function | They cannot bear weight or use it, or it looks the wrong shape |
| Winded or shocked | Sit with them; it looks worse than it is for a few minutes | Breathing does not settle, or they remain very unwell |
| Bite or scratch from another child | Clean thoroughly and cover | The skin is broken, in which case it is worth mentioning to a GP |
| Suspected allergic reaction | Adrenaline if prescribed, then 999 | Any swelling of face, lips or throat, breathing difficulty, or sudden collapse. This is always go now |
| You are simply worried | Ring 111, which exists for this | Trust that instinct rather than talking yourself out of it |
A working frame put together by this desk from published guidance and from the plain wording of the standards named on the page. It is not a survey, not a measurement and not drawn from any venue.
When to stop and go
The categories where the right answer is medical attention rather than a plaster and a wait.
Head injury with any warning sign. The NHS guidance lists the signs. Loss of consciousness, however brief, vomiting, drowsiness, confusion, a fit, difficulty speaking or understanding, weakness in a limb, clear fluid from the nose or ears, or a persistent headache that is getting worse. Any of those means urgent assessment.
Cannot bear weight or use a limb. A child who will not stand on a leg or use an arm after an injury needs it looked at. NHS guidance on broken bones describes the signs.
Obvious deformity. Do not try to straighten anything. Support it and go.
A suspected allergic reaction. Swelling of the face, lips, mouth or throat, difficulty breathing, a widespread rash, or a child who suddenly becomes floppy or very unwell. NHS guidance on anaphylaxis sets out the action: adrenaline if prescribed, then 999, and lie the person flat with legs raised unless they are struggling to breathe.
Anything you are worried about. This is a legitimate category. 111 exists for exactly this and is available at any hour.
The record
Once the child is settled, ask for the incident to be recorded before you leave. The record should contain the date, the time, the exact location, what the child was doing, what happened, the injury, what was done and who dealt with it.
Read what has been written and correct it if it is vague. Ask for a copy or a reference number. This matters more than it feels like it matters at the time, and the full argument is in the piece on incident records.
Certain injuries to members of the public must be reported by the venue under RIDDOR, broadly where a person is taken directly from the scene to hospital for treatment following a work related accident. It is a fair question to ask whether the venue considers the incident reportable.
- Can I speak to your first aider?
- Can you record this now, while I am here, and can I read it?
- Can I have a copy or a reference number?
- Do you consider this reportable under RIDDOR?
- What will you do about the thing that caused it?
The hazard
If something physical caused it, photograph it before you leave, with something for scale and a wider shot showing where in the room it is. Then tell staff so that it gets fixed.
Those two actions are in tension only in appearance. You photograph it because a competent venue will repair it today, which is what you want, and which means the evidence disappears. Take the picture, then report it, and then check on your next visit whether it stayed fixed.
Afterwards
Watch for the delayed reaction. Children frequently seem fine for an hour and then become subdued, or complain of pain that was masked by adrenaline. Head injuries in particular need watching over the following day, and the NHS guidance sets out what that means in practice.
Keep any medical record. It establishes what happened independently of anybody's memory, and it is the document that matters most if anything turns on it later.
And be a bit gentle with yourself. Children get hurt in the ordinary course of climbing on things, which is a thing they should be doing. A graze at a play centre is not a supervision failure. The five minute check exists so that you can tell the difference between bad luck and a venue that has stopped looking after its equipment, which is a different situation entirely and is set out in the check itself.
If you think the venue was at fault
Briefly, and not as legal advice.
A claim generally turns on whether the venue fell short of a reasonable standard rather than on whether an injury occurred. That is why the record, the photograph and the medical documentation matter so much: they establish the condition of the thing on the day.
Citizens Advice is free, knows this area, and is the right first stop. The general framework is described in the piece on liability and insurance.