Large Loose Parts

Bumbles Day Care > My Dashboard > Risk Benefit Assessments > Large Loose Parts
Setting Group / Location Created by Date created
Kelly-Marie McMullan
05/01/2026

Large loose parts are open-ended, and movable materials that children can manipulate, combine, and redesign within an indoor/outdoor space. Unlike static equipment, they have no single, pre-determined purpose and can be used for a variety of purposes/intents within children’s play.

Examples of large loose parts include, but are not limited to:

  • plastic crates
  • wooden planks
  • wooden logs
  • Large branches
  • pvc pipes
  • tyres
  • tauplin/material
  • cable reels
  • Collapsing Structures: Heavy stacks of pallets or crates can topple over if built too high or on uneven ground, causing injuries.
  • Unstable Footing: Planks bridged across tyres or drums can slip, flip, or sag under a child’s weight, leading to unexpected falls.
  • Uncontrolled Rolling: Heavy, circular items like cable reels and large car tyres can pick up speed on slopes and strike children down-gradient.
  • Entrapment Zones: Gaps between stacked items or poorly constructed dens can trap a child’s head, fingers, or limbs.
  • Sharp Edges & Splinters: Weathered wood, splintered bamboo, and shattered plastic crates can cause deep punctures, lacerations, or cuts.
  • Exposed Fixings: Old pallets or reclaimed timber may have rusted nails, staples, or screws protruding from the wood.
  • Slippery Surfaces: Wet weather, frost, or algae growth makes wooden planks and smooth plastic crates highly hazardous to walk on.
  • Stagnant Water: Hollow structures like the insides of tyres collect rainwater, turning into breeding grounds for insects or harmful bacteria.
  • Tyre Wire Exposure: Worn-out tyres can degrade over time, exposing sharp, woven steel radial wires that can cause severe punctures
  • Toxic Subsurface Chemicals: Pallets / old railway sleepers may contain harmful chemical treatments or spills
  • Biological Contamination: Outdoor loose parts can attract animal fouling eg cat or fox faeces or nesting pests
  • Wind-Borne Flight: Lightweight, high surface-area parts like tarpaulins / sails can catch strong winds and knock children or other loose parts over
  • Using items as weapons: Children may attempt to use loose sticks, branches or smaller items as weapons to be swung or thrown during high energy play
  • Lifting Strain: Children may attempt to lift or shift some heavy objects resulting in muscle strain
  • Blind spots: Tall den structures can block view, preventing appropriate supervision
  • Pre-Use Site Inspections: Bumbles have a daily risk assessment in place, where the team scan the play environment, looking for protruding nails, split wood, shattered plastic, or items vandalised overnight.  Large loose parts form part of our ongoing outdoor continuous provision.
  • Supervision: Our staff ar trained to practice active, non-interventionist supervision. Stepping in only when a hazard is unseen by the child (e.g., an unstable underlying log), rather than stopping challenging play. We use supportive framing like “Where do you think your foot can go next?” instead of restrictive language.
  • Strategic Storage and Layout: There are clear zones for active movement (rolling tyres) away from quiet zones (den building). We store items in accessible containers or sheds at the end of the day to avoid out-of-hours vandalism, water-logging orc ontamination
  • Gross Motor Skills & Physical Strength: Lifting, dragging, balancing, and pushing large materials builds core physical strength, spatial awareness, and bone density
  • Cooperation & Communication: The size and weight of large loose parts inherently require collaboration. Children must negotiate, assign roles, and work together to move a heavy plank or stabilise a structure.
  • Critical Thinking & Problem Solving: 
  • Builds Risk Competence: Children learn to accurately assess their own physical limits and navigate real-world hazards safely.
  • Boosts Self-Esteem: Completing a complex, large-scale structure gives children a profound sense of ownership and creative accomplishment.