To complain about this nursery?

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Every morning when I'm taking ds2 to school, we pass a nursery and we can see right into their outdoor play area. They always have several of those plastic bakery crates scattered around outside. The children play on them There's also some used tyres.

I don't consider it safe for children of that age to be playing with stuff like that. The bakery crates are made of very hard plastic which could injure if they were to break. They're not intended to be used as play equipment.

Hmmm I'd have never thought of letting the kids play with tyres. I find that interesting. My Dh is the tyre man at work. When he changes tyres at home he always tells Dd not to touch as any exposed cords can cut your hands. I hope they are checking that the tyres have a good tread on them so no one cuts themselves on them. Not only that, tyre smut is a bitch to get out of any clothes. Dh has ruined jeans for work cause of it.
Crates I think is a great idea. I used to be a childminder and my kids played with lengths of plastic pipe and elbow and T connectors outside, they had a brilliant time with it.

Apart from other posts on here, what about the fact that they are being recycled and were probably donated because they were no longer of use to the original owner. Cheap play equipment! Not all nurseries can afford over-advertised plastic rubbish.

One of the best learning experiences I have ever observed was when my DD and two of my childminding charges spent about an hour working together find a way to empty the rainwater out two old tyres I have in our garden.

You can't tip it out but they tried every which way you can imagine to do that, working together all the time. They tried rolling it off some decking to try to splash it out, then they worked together to find small vessels to use to scoop the water out and ended up using old towels to soak up the last bit.

They learned an amazing amount during that hour, in fact they pretty much covered the whole of the EYFS Development Matters in that one activity.

Don't report them OP. They are doing a really good job.

Our school has a load of old tractor tyres in the playground. Some are used as flower planters but most are used for play. Never come across milk crates being used before but I would think they were invaluable in imaginitive play.
It's a good idea and you're being a bit U but understandable if you're not aware of EYFS.

I'm a nursery teacher and different sized plastic crates, tyres, fabric, pegs, stretchy bungee ropes, ropes, tubes, log stumps and guttering are all part of our regular outdoor provision. Open ended resources are an important part of a child's imaginative play and the benefits outweigh the risks. The only accident I've seen on a plastic crate is a child slip on one - he was fine and got stright back on it.

Our risk adverse society is affecting a whole generation of children who are growing up not knowing how to manage risks and challenge themselves physically. We also do Forest School where children get to climb trees, work with bow saws and knives and cook on an open fire. All risk assessed and managed.

I think if you are unsure about something you should always ask or try to find the answer. Using everyday items like this in nurseries really is good practice and it creates so many different learning experiences.

We use crates and tyres in the nursery I work in and the children love them and love them so much. We of course also risk assess them.

DS (2) freaking loves playing on old tyres.