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Safeguarding Policy

This safeguarding policy sets out the commitment of Carson's Castles, a trading name of Carsons Events LTD (Company No. 14272038), to protecting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults at every event we attend. As a Birmingham-based inflatable hire company that regularly works at schools, nurseries, community events, birthday parties and public fun days across the West Midlands, we recognise our responsibility to create safe, supervised and appropriately managed environments for all attendees — particularly children and vulnerable adults. This policy applies to all directors, employees and contractors working on behalf of Carson's Castles.

1. Our Commitment

Carson's Castles is committed to:
  • The safety and wellbeing of every child and vulnerable adult at events where we operate
  • Ensuring all staff and contractors who work with or around children are appropriately vetted
  • Operating our equipment safely and in accordance with all relevant industry standards and guidelines
  • Responding promptly and appropriately to any safeguarding concern that arises at an event
  • Working cooperatively with schools, venues and event organisers to maintain safe environments
  • Continuously reviewing and improving our safeguarding practices

2. DBS Checks

All Carson's Castles staff and regular contractors who work at events involving children or vulnerable adults hold a current Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check. We will not deploy any staff member to a school, nursery or children's event without a valid DBS certificate in place. DBS certificates are reviewed and renewed in accordance with current government guidance. Copies of DBS certificates are available on request for schools, local authorities and other organisations that require them as part of their safeguarding procedures. To request a copy of a staff member's DBS certificate please contact us at [email protected].

3. Safe Equipment Operation

The safety of children using our inflatables is our highest operational priority. We ensure this through:
  • PIPA tested inflatables — every inflatable in our fleet is annually inspected and registered under the PIPA scheme (Play Inflatable and Permanent Attractions inspection scheme) in accordance with EN14960, the European safety standard for inflatable play equipment
  • PAT tested electrical equipment — all blower units and electrical equipment are regularly PAT tested and certified safe
  • Safe setup procedures — our team follows strict setup protocols including anchor point checks, blower unit positioning, safety mat placement and exclusion zone establishment before any inflatable is made available for use
  • Age and weight guidelines — we clearly communicate the age, height and weight guidelines for each inflatable and expect these to be enforced by the responsible adult supervising the equipment
  • Capacity limits — each inflatable has a maximum capacity which must not be exceeded at any time
  • Weather monitoring — we monitor weather conditions and will withdraw equipment from use if wind speeds or other conditions make operation unsafe

4. Supervision Responsibilities

Carson's Castles delivers and sets up all equipment to the highest safety standard. Upon handover of the equipment the responsible adult — whether a parent, event organiser or venue representative — assumes responsibility for supervising the inflatable at all times. Our hire agreement requires the responsible adult to:
  • Supervise the inflatable at all times during use
  • Never leave the inflatable unsupervised
  • Enforce age, height and weight guidelines
  • Enforce capacity limits
  • Remove footwear, sharp objects and glasses before use
  • Prevent rough play, somersaults and climbing on the outside of the inflatable
  • Switch off the blower and evacuate the inflatable immediately in the event of any concern
For schools, nurseries and public events we strongly recommend our manned hire service where trained Carson's Castles staff supervise the inflatable throughout the event — removing the supervision burden from your team entirely.

5. Manned Hire & Supervised Events

For events where enhanced safeguarding is required — including school fun days, nursery events, SEND events and large public fun days — we offer a fully manned hire service where our DBS checked, trained staff:
  • Supervise the inflatable throughout the event
  • Enforce all safety guidelines
  • Manage queues and capacity
  • Respond immediately to any incident or concern
  • Liaise with your designated safeguarding lead where required
Please contact us to discuss manned hire options for your event at [email protected] or on 07700 181 976.

6. Risk Assessments

We provide written risk assessments for all our equipment on request. Risk assessments are available for:
  • Individual inflatables
  • Soft play equipment
  • Catering equipment
  • Full event setups
Risk assessments can be requested at the time of booking or by emailing [email protected]. We aim to provide all requested documentation within 5 working days of the request.

7. Recognising & Reporting Safeguarding Concerns

All Carson's Castles staff are made aware of the indicators of abuse and neglect and know how to respond appropriately if a safeguarding concern arises at an event. If any member of our team has a safeguarding concern at an event they will:
  • Not investigate the concern themselves
  • Report it immediately to the designated safeguarding lead at the event venue or organisation
  • Contact the business owner immediately
  • Where a child or vulnerable adult is in immediate danger, call 999 without delay
We will always act in the best interests of the child or vulnerable adult and will cooperate fully with any statutory investigation.

8. Reporting A Concern To Us

If you have a safeguarding concern relating to any Carson's Castles event or member of staff please contact us immediately: ✉️ [email protected] 📞 07700 181 976 📞 0121 819 0281 All safeguarding concerns reported to us will be taken extremely seriously, investigated promptly and referred to the appropriate statutory authorities where necessary.

9. External Safeguarding Resources

For general safeguarding guidance and support: NSPCC 📞 0808 800 5000 🌐 nspcc.org.uk Childline 📞 0800 1111 🌐 childline.org.uk Birmingham Children's Trust 📞 0121 188 4800 🌐 birminghamchildrenstrust.co.uk West Midlands Police 📞 101 (non-emergency) 📞 999 (emergency)

10. Photography & Social Media

Carson's Castles regularly photographs and films at events for use on our website and social media channels including Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. We are committed to responsible use of photography involving children:
  • We will always seek permission from the event organiser before photographing or filming at any event involving children
  • For school and nursery events we require written confirmation from the organiser that appropriate parental consents are in place before capturing any images
  • We will never publish images that could identify a child's location, school or personal details
  • We will remove any image promptly upon request from a parent, guardian or event organiser
If you have a concern about any image published by Carson's Castles please contact us immediately at [email protected].

11. Policy Review

This safeguarding policy is reviewed annually by the directors of Carsons Events LTD and updated as necessary to reflect changes in legislation, guidance or our business operations. Any member of our team or any customer who has suggestions for improving this policy is encouraged to share them with us at [email protected].

12. Approval

This policy has been approved by the directors of Carsons Events LTD. Date: April 2026 Next review: April 2027 Carsons Events LTD Trading as Carson's Castles 47 Buckland End, Shard End, Birmingham, B34 6LB Company No. 14272038 ✉️ [email protected] 📞 07700 181 976