A little hard to find. Could do with a bigger clearer sign on the street. Great venue for a children’s birthday party. Good size hall with small stage. Big car park and great kitchen facilities. Lots of chairs and tables. Could be a little cleaner. (2020)
Please avoid booking the party in the halls listed below. They are very echoey and the sound bounces around the room, creating a “ball of noise”. This makes the show difficult to hear and can be uncomfortable for both children and parents.
They are great fun for family events (with supervision for safety). But from my experience from entertaining at over 1000 birthday parties, when there is a bouncy castle, there are almost always children in tears and frequent accidents on them and they suck the joy out of the party. This firm of solicitors even has a page on their website just for dealing with bouncy castle injuries.
When I run a party, I have great control of the children and my reviews often comment on how amazed they were at the focus of the children I had. This is something I’ve developed from years of experience. When it comes to bouncy castles, nobody is really in control of the children and things often turn to chaos.
The companies drop them off unmanned and parents never seem to know how to manage the children. They all get on it at once and all the parents are stressed waiting for their little one to get bashed by a bigger child. At the last party where I did a show with a bouncy castle, a child was climbing onto the high sides of it (usually happens when the castle doesn’t have a roof) with a hard floor to the side of it. There were no mats on the side. I told the mum of the party, and she told the mum of the child climbing; to which she just laughed and let her daughter repeatedly climb there.
I want my parties to be brilliant fun and everyone super happy and to leave with big smiles.
” There should be responsible adult supervision, paying close attention to the children at play at all times during its use.
The equipment should be set up, operated and supervised by the hire company’s own staff.2
A rotation system for different age or size groups should be used, together with the observance of an age limit for users. There are special inflatables available for adolescents and adults.
A safety distance of 1 m to 2 m should be kept around the facility, leaving the entrance and exit points free at all times. At the access to the bouncer, there must be a ramp that covers the entire width of the entrance arch. Likewise, there must be some type of material that cushions possible falls, such as mats or foam. A simple carpet is not enough; also, curbs, benches, trees or other accessories should not be present in that area.
The number of children using the bouncy castle must be limited to avoid overcrowding. This will allow each child to have safe space to play in.13,14
It is forbidden to climb and/or hang from the walls of the inflatable.
Children should not be allowed to use the bouncy castle in adverse weather conditions such as high wind or in wet weather (inflatables can flip over and slippery surfaces may cause injury). It is recommended to deflate the installation when winds exceed 45 km/h.
All children must be made to remove footwear (always wear socks).
Removal of hard or sharp objects such as jewelry, buckles, pens and other similar pocket contents.
The castle must be adequately secured to the ground and sited away from obstacles such as fences or overhead power. They should be regularly inspected while in use.”
Ritchie Rosson’s magic shows are back at the awesome Lazer Lions Holiday Club this May half term on Wednesday 27th May at Grovelands School, Walton-on-Thames and Cleves School, Weybridge.
I have added a new bit to my terms and conditions regarding child safety after a grim party experience recently.
I absolutely love 99.9% of my clients. I work with wonderful families every week. But this experience was deeply unpleasant.
I have performed at over 2,000 birthday parties in all sorts of venues over the last 15 years, but I am always learning. A family had me for a birthday party in their garden. For no extra cost, I took the time to visit their house in advance of the party to help them find the best spot for the show and noticed a dangerous sheer drop off the garden onto a concrete patio. Similar to this (AI pic).
This was to be a party for 17 children with many toddlers and other children under 5. I told the client that there must be some padding put on the concrete where the drops are. A few big cushions/duvets would have done the job. TADA!
On the day, I assumed they would have put down the padding done but had not. I politely asked the client again if we could put something there to make it safe, but she repeatedly and angrily told me “we have had loads of parties and nothing has ever happened!” I’m sure that people have ran across the motorway before and “nothing happened”. I persuaded the client to cut down the entertainment (at a £100 loss to me) eliminating the games part and having a static show but was very uneasy about the experience and the opposition to my concerns from this client so I have now added this to my T and Cs page to make it more clear.
🧒 Child Safety
The safety and wellbeing of children is of the utmost importance at all times.
The client is responsible for ensuring that the performance area is safe, secure, and suitable for children. This includes (but is not limited to) removing or adequately safeguarding any potential hazards such as drops, sharp objects, or unsafe garden features.
The entertainer reserves the right to pause or stop the performance if, in their professional judgement, the environment poses a risk to the safety of any child. No liability will be accepted for incidents arising from unsafe conditions that were not disclosed or addressed prior to the performance.
Brilliant venue for a children’s birthday party. Modern facilities. Clean and warm. Nice kitchen and big car park. Lovely staff at The Church of The Good Shepard. Thank you Chris and the team.
Big car park. The hall is great for children’s birthday parties. I entertained at a two-hour party here today and the facilities are great. Good parking, nice clean hall and a separate area for food which makes it easy for parents to prepare the food and clean up out of sight. Only problem is there’s only 1 plug socket down the side of the room by the door.
Amazing friendly club. Lovely kind staff. Great facilities. Modern interior. Small car park outside and on street parking (check for restrictions; particularly midweek). We hired there for a children’s birthday party and Kerry and the staff could not have been more kind and helpful. Thank you.
Attended several parties here. Great venue for a children’s/family party. Big hall. Very clean. Small car park and free parking on the street outside. Good kitchen. The lady opening for us was very kind and helpful and explained everything very well. I recommend if you have a children’s birthday party here; use the part of the hall with the stage, close the dividers. Set up the food in the bigger end as it’s very echoey in that side. The acoustics of the stage end are much better.
Please avoid booking the party in the halls listed below. They are very echoey and the sound bounces around the room, creating a “ball of noise”. This makes the show difficult to hear and can be uncomfortable for both children and parents.
Cheam Fields Primary
Stoughton Ave, Cheam, Sutton SM3 8PQ
4th Worcester Park Scout Group
Braemar Rd, Worcester Park KT4 8SW
The big hall is very echoey. There is a small one there, too, which is good for the party 🙂
The Greenwood Centre, 1A School Rd, Hampton Hill, Hampton TW12 1QL
Fantastic venue for a children’s birthday party. Perfect size. Not echoey (like many halls). Clean, big kitchen, children’s tables and chairs. Lovely kind manager Maurice. Only downside; only a couple of parking spaces outside. Free parking on the street but might have to park a street or two away as busy on street parking.
Brilliant venue for a children’s birthday party or family event. Car park right outside, clean, easy ground floor access, easy for chairs. The church car park is just next to the Church Hall. The postcode for the car park is KT7 0QQ. It is accessed from Summer Road. The turn is opposite Riversdale Road.
Great venue for a children’s birthday party. Very clean. Good kitchen and a few parking spaces in the car park and easy to park on the surrounding streets.
Great hall for small party. (up to 25 guests) Lovely staff who can prep food for your party. Only a few parking spaces outside.
Please avoid booking the party in the halls listed below. They are very echoey and the sound bounces around the room, creating a “ball of noise”. This makes the show difficult to hear and can be uncomfortable for both children and parents.
There are two rooms. Make sure to book the smaller one with carpet as big one is really echoey making the show rubbish. Parking right outside. Not available on Sunday mornings.
Please avoid booking the party in the halls listed below. They are very echoey and the sound bounces around the room, creating a “ball of noise”. This makes the show difficult to hear and can be uncomfortable for both children and parents.
Little Bookham St, Great Bookham, Leatherhead KT23 3AF
I’ve entertained at several parties here. Nice small car park right outside, and on-street free parking too. Clean, big kitchen. Easy ground-floor access for buggies and wheelchairs.
Please avoid booking the party in the halls listed below. They are very echoey and the sound bounces around the room, creating a “ball of noise”. This makes the show difficult to hear and can be uncomfortable for both children and parents.
Holy Trinity Church, 234 The Broadway, London SW19 1SB
Perfect venue for a children’s birthday party. Smallish, but that’s what you want. Not big and echoey. Wheelchair ramp access, clean, good kitchen. Lovely people are managing the hall. No car park and only a couple of spaces may be available around the back of the church. Check this with the vicarage.
A brilliant hall for children’s birthday parties. Easy ground floor access, good toilets, clean. Downsides: no car park. Not many spaces outside. Better on Sunday as parking free. Kitchen very small.
Please avoid booking the party in the halls listed below. They are very echoey and the sound bounces around the room, creating a “ball of noise”. This makes the show difficult to hear and can be uncomfortable for both children and parents.
