Telure Standard 2026.1
The Telure Standard for a school
A versioned, Telure-curated program of checks for a school, written in Telure’s own words and organized by how the facility actually runs: the daily rhythm first, then the recurring program above it. It is a documented reference the facility measures its own work against and records reasons against, not a certification. The basis register below shows what informs it, and at what depth.
CPSC-informed alignment tracker
Inside Telure, this list is an alignment tracker a facility turns on with a checkbox. The recurring program below is its clause list, informed by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission's Public Playground Safety Handbook (Publication 325). The facility matches its own tasks, checklist items and training items to the clauses they cover, marks the clauses that do not apply with a written reason, and its exports state what share of the rest has a check behind it.
This tracker is Telure's own clause list, informed by the organization's published document. It does not replace reading that document yourself and verifying your facility against it, and marking a clause here is a note on your own record, not a statement by that organization. Where equipment is involved, the manufacturer's documentation governs.
The daily rhythm
Opening walk
Walked before the doors open, item by item, each answer attributed to the person who gave it. The starting set for a school:
- Structure walked for broken, missing or loose parts before the gate opens
- Protective surfacing at depth under swings, slides and climbers; low spots raked back
- No protruding bolts, open S hooks, sharp edges or exposed footings within reach
- Swing seats, chains and hangers sound: no worn links, twisted seats or missing hardware
- Slide bedway clear and cool to the hand; exit run clear and at depth
- Climber rungs, grips and rails tight; no movement at the post connections
- Use zones clear of benches, roots, standing water, ice and equipment
- Nothing left overnight: glass, sharps, animal waste, vandalism or unfamiliar items
- Fence line unbroken and yard gates latching as they should
- Field walked for holes, exposed sprinkler heads and debris
- Movable goals anchored, with the anchors accounted for
- Blacktop and walkways clear: no lifted asphalt, standing water or ice
During hours
Anything flagged during the day opens a corrective entry on the spot: the item, the finding, and who saw it. Taking equipment or an area out of service is a recorded event with a name attached, and so is returning it. Nothing waits for the end of the shift to become a record.
Closing check
The end-of-day counterpart every facility runs: securing the space and making sure nothing the day surfaced dies overnight.
- Activity areas clear: no members left inside
- Hazards cleared from floors and landing surfaces
- Equipment secured, stowed, or powered down per procedure
- Today's flagged items have maintenance entries opened
- First aid and rescue equipment restocked if used today
- Exits clear; doors, gates and access points secured
The recurring program
The work above the daily walk. Each task surfaces on the day it is due and escalates as it goes overdue. Where a check addresses a published designation, the citation chip names it; a chip is a reference, never a compliance claim.
Weekly
Playground hazard sweep: glass, sharps, vandalism and debris
Sweep each playground, yard and the field edge for what arrives from outside: broken glass, sharps, animal waste, burn marks, cut fence fabric, tags, and anything left overnight. Record what came out and where, because a repeating spot is a fencing or a lighting problem and not a litter problem. Part of the Telure Standard: the manufacturer's manual governs all equipment intervals.
Monthly
Monthly playground inspection: structure, hardware and fastenings
The structured operator inspection, one pass per playground, budgeted at 45 to 60 minutes each. Go structure by structure: decks, rails, barriers and steps; every clamp, bolt, cap and fastener checked for tightness and for loss; posts and footings for movement, rot, rust or exposure; guardrails and infill for gaps; and every reachable surface for protrusions, pinch points, entanglement and entrapment openings. Photograph anything you are unsure about and record the finding against that registered structure, not against the playground. Part of the Telure Standard: the manufacturer's manual governs all equipment intervals.
Protective surfacing depth check and fall zone measurement
Probe the loose fill at the points that displace first (under each swing seat, at every slide exit, under climbers and at transfer points) and record the depth in inches at each point rather than a yes or no. Check the extent of each use zone against the registry, confirm nothing has been placed or grown inside it, and inspect unitary surfacing for lifted seams, tears, shrinkage at the edges and exposed base. Rake back what has moved and note what still needs a delivery. Part of the Telure Standard: the manufacturer's manual governs all equipment intervals.
Swing bay inspection: hangers, chains, seats and clearances
Bay by bay: hanger bearings for play, noise and wear; chains for elongated, thinned or twisted links; connectors and S hooks for opening; seats for splits, cuts and worn edges; and the top rail and its connections. Check clearance under each seat and between seats and supports, and confirm the bay is hung with the hardware the manufacturer's manual lists for it. A seat comes off and the bay is taken out of service the moment anything is doubtful. Part of the Telure Standard: the manufacturer's manual governs all equipment intervals.
Slide and climber inspection: bedways, rungs, rails and exits
Run a hand down every bedway for cracks, splits, sharp edges, lifted joints and open fasteners; check side walls and the hood, and the exit for height, run-out and surfacing. Then the climbers: rungs, grips and rails for movement, wear, corrosion and missing hardware, and every connection at the post. Note any surface that reads hot to the hand in the afternoon and what was done about it. Part of the Telure Standard: the manufacturer's manual governs all equipment intervals.
Grounds and field walk: fencing, gates, goals and backstops
Walk the perimeter and the field: fence fabric, rails and posts; gates latching, swinging and closing as intended; backstop fencing and its posts; bleachers, benches and tables at their anchors; and the field surface for holes, ruts, exposed sprinkler heads and debris. Confirm every movable goal is anchored with its anchors present and counted, and record any goal moved or stored since the last walk. Part of the Telure Standard: the manufacturer's manual governs all equipment intervals.
Quarterly
Loose fill surfacing top up and displacement audit
Take the quarter's depth readings together, decide the volume to order, and record the delivery and where it went. Re-probe every measured point after the material is raked out so the completion carries the depth the playground actually finished at, and note the areas that keep displacing so the next order is not a guess. Part of the Telure Standard: the manufacturer's manual governs all equipment intervals.
Playground signage, boundary and access route check
Confirm the age-range and use signage each playground carries is posted, legible and in the right place, and that boundary markings, gates and the route from the building are intact and passable, ramps and transfer points included. Record what is faded or missing and open the replacement rather than noting it again next quarter. Part of the Telure Standard: the manufacturer's manual governs all equipment intervals.
Every 6 months
Bleacher and spectator seating inspection
Where the site has seating: planks, risers, frames, guardrails, end closures and the fasteners holding them, plus movement and settlement at the footings. Record the condition of each unit separately and take anything doubtful out of use rather than roping off one row. Part of the Telure Standard: the manufacturer's manual governs all equipment intervals.
Site custodian check refresher and inspector currency review
Walk a playground with each person who does the before-school check and watch them do it: what they look at, what they measure, what they photograph, and how a finding gets written up and escalated the same morning. Then go person by person through everyone who inspects or audits for the district: which credentials each holds against the requirements of the credentialing bodies your district answers to, the date each was earned, and when each expires, with renewals booked before anything lapses. Part of the Telure Standard: the manufacturer's manual governs all equipment intervals.
Yearly
Annual playground audit (qualified person)
The yearly outside audit, playground by playground, by a qualified person, whether that is district staff or a contractor. File the report against this task, record who performed it and the credential they hold, and open a corrective-action item for every cited deficiency naming who owns it and when it is due in the item note, so the closure of each one is on the record. Telure records the audit; it does not issue, verify or endorse any credential. Part of the Telure Standard: the manufacturer's manual governs all equipment intervals.
Summer break structural inspection and repair window
With the yards empty, do the work that cannot be done in a ten minute morning: pull and inspect footings and buried post sections, strip and re-probe surfacing to the base, torque every fastener on every structure, replace worn hardware from the manufacturer's parts list, and clear the repair backlog that accumulated through the year. Record what was replaced against each registered structure so the fleet's age is readable in September. Part of the Telure Standard: the manufacturer's manual governs all equipment intervals.
The basis register
What informs this pack, at what reference depth, and when each entry was last checked against its source. An entry here means the pack is informed by the document named; it never means the pack, or any facility using it, is certified to or compliant with it.
| Source | Tier | Jurisdiction | Access | Verified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Public Playground Safety Handbook (Publication 325)US Consumer Product Safety CommissionFederal guidance rather than a mandate, and the reference a school playground programme is usually measured against. Revised in 2025. | Tier 2Standard incorporated into law | US | Free to read | Not independently verified |
| ASTM F1487ASTM InternationalConsumer safety performance specification for public playground equipment: layout, entrapment, protrusions and fall zones. | Tier 3Voluntary consensus standard | US | Purchase required | Not independently verified |
| OSH Act General Duty Clause, section 5(a)(1) (29 U.S.C. 654(a)(1))US Congress / US Department of LaborEmployers must keep the workplace free of recognized hazards likely to cause death or serious physical harm to employees. Public domain. | Tier 1Public law | US | Free to read | Checked 2026-08-31 |
| Manufacturer documentation for installed equipmentOperator-supplied manuals, bulletins and service documents. Where any pack cadence differs from a manufacturer's documented interval, the manufacturer's interval governs. | Tier 5Manufacturer documentation | n/a | Operator-supplied | Not independently verified |
The manufacturer’s documentation governs
Where a manufacturer's documentation sets an inspection type or an interval for a piece of equipment, that documentation governs. The pack's cadences are a program to build on, not a replacement: when the two differ, Telure shows the difference so it can be seen and documented, and the recorded schedule follows the manufacturer.
Where Telure stands
The Telure Standard is Telure's own curated program. Telure is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or licensed by any standards body or association named here, and adopting the Telure Standard does not make a facility compliant with, approved under, or certified to any standard. Where equipment is involved, the manufacturer's documentation governs inspection types and intervals.