NATIONAL PLAYGROUND Safety Institute’s (NPSI) Certified Playground Safety Inspector (CPSI) Program and Exam has certified people throughout the world for just over 13 years. When this program idea was born just prior to 1990, it quickly became the main project of the NRPA NPSI. The initial program focus was intended to create a comprehensive continuing education program for owners and operators of public playgrounds. It evolved from our solicitation and compilation of papers written by many noted experts in various aspects& of providing safe, challenging playgrounds for children. Everyone volunteered his time and expertise to develop the foundation for long-term successof the current CPSI Program.
The first two institutes were held at the NRPA Annual Congress. The initial program evaluations were excellent, and the written comments provided the necessary feedback to lead the NPSI Curriculum Committee’s ongoing evolution of the course. Since we had no budget to develop the program, we needed seed money to cover material expenses necessary to put together the first institute in Baltimore, Md. Thanks to several playground equipment manufacturers’ contributions, the first two institutes were held, the classroom materials were developed, and a few safety related products were developed to assist participants in implementing a comprehensive playground safety maintenance and inspection programs at their respective agencies.
Fast forward 13 years after receiving approval from the NRPA National Certification Board as NRPA’s second national certification program. What have we accomplished, if anything, in the name of public playground safety? Have we raised the public’s knowledge on the importance of play in a child’s development? What have we learned about program participants? Who are they, and why do they continue to attend? Without the answers to these questions and more we could not evaluate and make the necessary improvements to get the program to where it is today.
NPSI continues to host over 50 institutes per year. Each course must be a minimum audience of 40 and a maximum of 80. We do this with a cadre of trained instructors who team-teach each institute. The NPSI has learned over time that this class size offers the most optimum classroom experience while giving our site hosts the most flexibility for a proper classroom, spatial environment with good participant lines of site, and audible environment for a large group classroom setting while maintaining a rather intimate instructor/participant ratio for classroom interaction.
Due to the first participant program evaluations, vast improvements were made after each of the first two NPSI programs. The 1993 Institute brought about the compilation of original monographs written by more than 16 individuals from the first institutes. The result was the Anthology of Playground Safety, created through the editing efforts of Monty Christiansen. The 1993 institute in Minneapolis again reduced the number of presenters and eliminated any redundancy throughout the course, freeing up time to present more pertinent information. Then 1994 brought about the NRPA National Certification Board’s approval for the CPSI Course and Certification Exam. From that day forward we have never looked back. NPSI has taught more than 30,000 participants from almost every type of public playground owner/operator, manufacturer, designer, installer, risk manager and inspector conceivable.
NRPA has witnessed the program’s improvement over the years due to the commitment of many talented individuals on the NPSI Board and various committees plus the continuous input from the participants and industry stake holders. I personally have learned so much from my experience as an NPSI board member and instructor. I can say for certain that the playground industry will never be the same, and that is a good thing. Play and the value of play—and yes, playground safety— are getting the respect and attention they deserve.
Where we go from here is a big challenge for the NPSI and NRPA. How we will continue to meet the needs of the program participants and their agencies, and the playground industry at large? Can we effectively grow the program by providing additional training opportunities and services for those certified playground safety inspectors who are in need of something more? This is the challenge facing each and every one of us.
