Mud Kitchen – Medium Forest Garden

Bumbles Day Care > My Dashboard > Risk Benefit Assessments > Mud Kitchen – Medium Forest Garden
Setting Group / Location Created by Date created
Sarah Gilleece
30/03/2026

The medium forest garden has recently been updated to highlight our forest school features. In the garden we can now find a mud kitchen area that is sheltered for all seasons. While this new feature will provide significant play and developmental opportunities and benefits, it is crucial to assess and manage potential risks to ensure the safety of children and adults using the area. This document outlines the identified hazards, their potential impact, existing control measures and the overall benefits of the garden space. 

 

  • Hygiene and Health : Children are at risk of ingestion of dirt which may cause a bacterial infection causing sickness. Staff should strongly discourage children from putting mud around the face or eating it. To ensure hygiene is kept, once children return inside from the mud kitchen, members of staff are required to wash their hands to get rid of excess dirt and mud. This is essential before any meal times. 
  • Physical Hazards : The mud kitchen area will be very muddy which can cause surfaces to become slippery causing an increased risk of children falling which can lead to harm or injuries. The mud kitchen will contain lots of loose equipment such as; pots, pans and wooden crates. Children are more likely to trip over these loose objects if not stored properly. 
  • Equipment Safety : In the mud kitchen area there is a high risk of splinters from wooden crates, rust on metal utensils and heavy pots falling on children’s hands and feet. Staff will be required to complete a daily risk assessment every day to check the condition of the equipment, as any broken or damaged equipment must be removed and disposed of immediately to prevent any harm or injuries to children and staff. 

 

  • Daily Risk assessments : It is essential for members of staff to complete a risk assessment before children enter the garden. During this check, a visual inspection of the swing is required to check for rope wear, loose bolts, or frame instability to ensure the children’s safety while playing outside on the swing. 
  • Supervision : members of staff should ensure proper supervision is carried out while children are in the garden. It is vital to ensure the children are not climbing on any of the mud kitchen equipment and therefore members of staff present in the garden should ensure proper supervision is taking place when children are playing with the mud kitchen.

Our new mud kitchen area will provide lots of opportunities for the children to explore their independence and encourage children to use their imagination within play to create their own small world environment. The mud kitchen will encourage children to create imaginary dishes like mud pies or soups fostering creativity and fun! Our mud kitchen will offer a connection to nature as the children engage with their natural environment and help them to understand exploring new environments.