For centres · 6 min

Playground inspections: daily, monthly and annual

The short answer

A centre needs a playground safety policy that reflects CSA Z614 and sets out employees’ roles. The outdoor play space, fixed structures and surfacing are inspected daily, monthly and once a year as the standard requires, with a plan for what is found and a playground repair log. With fixed structures, centres generally contract a certified playground inspector for the annual inspection.

Checked against e-Laws on Nov 2, 2026. Section numbers are O. Reg. 137/15 unless another instrument is named.

The four things s. 24(5) requires

A playground safety policy that reflects CSA Z614 and sets out employees’ roles and responsibilities for safety on playgrounds.
Daily, monthly and annual inspections of the outdoor play space, fixed play structures and surfacing, carried out as the CSA standard requires.
A plan for how issues or problems found in an inspection will be addressed.
A playground repair log.

Any outdoor play space, fixed structure or surfacing built or renovated on or after August 29, 2016 must meet CSA Z614 itself (s. 24(4)). The standard is sold by CSA Group rather than published on e-Laws, and the regulation refers to it as amended from time to time, so the current edition is the one that counts. The repair log is a record under s. 82 and is kept for three years; the Manual looks for written evidence of each inspection, so keeping the checklists and reports for the same period is the safe course.

What the Licensing Manual adds (Part 4.15)

The policy names the people responsible for the daily, monthly and annual inspections, the action plan and the repair log, sets out how children are supervised on the playground, and states that ratios are not reduced there (the regulation itself says reduced ratios never apply during outdoor play, s. 8(4)).
If the centre rotates groups to stay within the playground’s capacity, the policy says how.
The Manual recommends a checklist for the daily and monthly inspections. Anything that needs repair goes on the repair log and is dealt with at once; if it cannot be fixed right away, children are kept away from it safely. A warning sign alone is not enough, because young children cannot read it, and rope is not acceptable because of the strangulation risk.
The annual inspection covers every outdoor play space. Where there are fixed structures, licensees generally contract a certified playground inspector; for a plain fenced yard, licensees generally do it themselves. The annual written report includes the results of any surfacing tests.
A licensee may adopt the Ministry’s standard playground safety policy instead of writing its own, completing all of its customizable parts.

The certified inspector

Before children first use a new outdoor play space, the Manual (Part 4.14) expects it to be inspected by someone trained as the CSA standard sets out: current certification from the Canadian Playground Safety Institute as a Certified Playground Safety Inspector, independence from equipment and surfacing suppliers and the contractors doing any work, and current errors and omissions insurance. The Manual points to the Ontario Parks Association’s directory of playground inspectors. The latest annual report is also needed when asking the Ministry, through CCLS, to approve a repair or renovation of the play space.

Space, fencing and time outdoors

A centre with a program of six hours or more a day has at least 5.6 square metres of outdoor play space per child of licensed capacity, unless a director approves otherwise (s. 24(1)); above 64 children the space may be divided by fences, with no more than 64 children in any area at one time (s. 24(2)).
The space is at ground level and next to the centre unless a director approves otherwise; it is fenced to at least 1.2 metres, with gates kept securely closed, when infant, toddler, preschool or family age groups use it, and when kindergarten groups use it unless the director approves otherwise; and it is designed so staff can supervise the children constantly (s. 24(3)).
Each child in care six hours or more spends at least two hours outdoors a day, weather permitting, unless a physician or parent advises otherwise in writing (s. 47(1)(c)); a before- or after-school program includes at least 30 minutes (s. 47(1.1)).

A centre in a school that is licensed only for kindergarten and school-age groups is exempt from s. 24, and from January 1, 2027 from ss. 24.1 and 24.2 as well (s. 12).

Home child care

At a home child care premises, the home child care visitor inspects the premises, including its outdoor play space, before it is first used, and then inspects without notice at least once every quarter (s. 26(1)); outdoor play is supervised according to plans agreed by the provider, a parent of each child and the visitor (s. 30). Home visits covers the quarterly inspections.

From January 1, 2027

Centres may have no septic system access point inside the outdoor play space (centres licensed before 2027 have until July 1, 2027, or an exemption if a director approves one), and newly licensed centres must protect the centre and its play space from vehicles with safety barriers or an engineer’s opinion that none are needed (ss. 24.1, 24.2). The 2027 changes has the detail.

Sources

O. Reg. 137/15 as consolidated on e-Laws (consolidation from July 1, 2026; last amendment O. Reg. 197/26). This guide explains the regulation in plain words; it is not legal advice, and the Ministry’s program advisors decide compliance.