There are many bouncy castle operators about, so how are you to know who is ‘Playing by the rules’ and what the rules are?

It is a legal requirement that all Inflatables that are hired to the general public must have an annual safety inspection carried out by an RPII (Register of play inspector international) inspector.  Proof of this annual test should be in the form of an RPII certificate or a PIPA tag on the inflatable and an accompanying PIPA certificate.

If none of these certificates can be shown by the Bouncy castle operator for each individual inflatable then it is highly likely that they have not had their equipment tested and that their Public liability insurance will also be invalid (if they disagree, ask them to check the small print)!

So, when you see a company offering ‘cheap’ inflatables or even any company for that matter, a good question to ask them would be about their annual test policy and ask to see evidence of these tests.  How are you to know that the stitching on the bed of the inflatable will withstand a number of children bouncing on it?  How do you know that the anchor points are suitable that the inflatable will not topple over or even blow away in a gust of wind? These are just a few of the tests that are carried out, its like an MOT for an inflatable.

For these reasons, Castles4kids have these tests carried out annually and we will always provide evidence of the test upon request.  These tests aren’t cheap, however we would rather take an inflatable out of service than take a chance with your child’s safety.

That’s why we are the preferred supplier to many of the local families and schools.

More information on the Inflatable safety schemes can be found here:

PIPA: http://www.pipa.org.uk/

RPII: http://www.playinspectors.com/RPII-Inspectors

Hopefully this will help you make an informed decision on choosing the most suitable supplier of your inflatable.