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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU to think nursery staff should not cordon off a public playground?

166 replies

mumofboysinlondon · 01/04/2026 13:04

I took my almost 3-year-old and baby to a small playground this morning, and while we were there a nursery group came along. So far so normal.

The staff with the group then added chains to the two gates to stop their kids from escaping, and roped off some of the climbing frame.

I was a bit annoyed by this - the roped off areas included the fireman’s pole and a rope ladder which my kid loves. Obviously this is a space designed for small children so it is inherently pretty safe… The locks on the gates also confused a number of other parents trying to get in, although they could be opened relatively easily by an adult.

I did speak to the member of staff and asked if they really needed to do it and she said it was the health and safety policy of the nursery. I didn’t want to kick up a fuss and we left after a bit.

AIBU in thinking this was a bit out of order - it’s a public playground.

OP posts:
Laserwho · 01/04/2026 13:31

I would have gone on the roped off areas anyway.

marcyhermit · 01/04/2026 13:27

Locks on the gates are fine but I'd have moved any ropes if my children wanted to get to bits.

ThatGoldLeader · 01/04/2026 13:26

YANBU. This happened to us this morning at a local park too. Apparently there is a holiday club taking place at village hall next door but why are they just allowed to take over a public park?! Safeguarding must be a nightmare too.

Original poster
mumofboysinlondon · 01/04/2026 13:25

takealettermsjones · 01/04/2026 13:16

It's got to be one very nearby (walking distance for toddlers). You could find the closest ones on Google maps and then have a look at their socials for "we visited the park today!" posts

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There aren't any terribly close - but I might take a punt on the closest one which is about seven minutes' walk away for an adult. (Central London though, so there's a chance they could have come on a bus.) I might also drop an email to the council.

OP posts:
GinaandGin · 01/04/2026 13:17

I'd be reporting to the council

SarahAndQuack · 01/04/2026 13:16

If it's a public playground I think you'd have been well within your rights to tell them you were removing the things that were stopping your child from using the equipment. And I agree that if you could work out which nursery they were from, you ought to get in touch and complain. Really odd behaviour.

takealettermsjones · 01/04/2026 13:16

mumofboysinlondon · 01/04/2026 13:14

I really wish I had asked but I didn’t think of it until we’d left, and they had no identifying markers (no name on the high-vis vests the kids were wearing, for example).

Show quote history

It's got to be one very nearby (walking distance for toddlers). You could find the closest ones on Google maps and then have a look at their socials for "we visited the park today!" posts

Original poster
mumofboysinlondon · 01/04/2026 13:15

Thanks all, I feel vindicated! I totally get how it happens - they’ll have risk assessed a trip there and thought those bits were too high, and the gates are a risk, so they’ve taken action to mitigate that. But it seemed way over the top to me.

OP posts:
Original poster
mumofboysinlondon · 01/04/2026 13:14

WilderHawthorn · 01/04/2026 13:07

That’s not on, the equipment is public equipment, not for a business to commandeer and impact other people’s use. I’d email the nursery if you know which one it was

I really wish I had asked but I didn’t think of it until we’d left, and they had no identifying markers (no name on the high-vis vests the kids were wearing, for example).

OP posts:
GoldDuster · 01/04/2026 13:13

No, in the same way as you can't cordon off areas of a play park for exclusive use.

TotoandFredo · 01/04/2026 13:13

Definitely not okay. Public funds will have been used to create a park that's accessible to anyone in the community. A private business should not be able to rock up and interrupt that access whenever they feel like it.

If it keeps happening, speak to the council. They should be able to do something about it.

StatisticallyChallenged · 01/04/2026 13:10

I run a childcare business, fully regulated, and I'm in the nope category. None of that is ok.

AvacadoChic · 01/04/2026 13:09

That's ridiculous, they can't assign sections of a public park for what is essentially a private business. Next week, go with a picnic just before they arrive and sit right in the middle 😁

Rainbowsandsunshine72 · 01/04/2026 13:07

My sons at nursery that are right next to a park and honestly I agree with you. It’s a public space they have no right x

takealettermsjones · 01/04/2026 13:07

I don't think the locks on the gates would have bothered me, as long as adults could open them as you say, but I'd have removed any ropes that were stopping my child using the equipment for what it's designed for.

WilderHawthorn · 01/04/2026 13:07

That’s not on, the equipment is public equipment, not for a business to commandeer and impact other people’s use. I’d email the nursery if you know which one it was