TRWTF is todays safety standards considered adequate...!
In that age we climbed on trees a multitude of our size, we would have loved the steps, but honestly we would have (did, actually, our setup at school was practicaly the same as on the pics) preferred to jump of the rocks you see in the back.
yes, some may got hurt a little, but not too often. au contraire, we learned to pay attention. we even had some big stones (20" to 30" high) placed in the middle of our playground. our most favourite game was to try to get on the top of it, while the rest of us tried to push / throw you of that stone to become the 'mayor of that island'.
good times
no wonder today's kids don't learn responsability for themselves, can't cope with dangers later on. sad! life isn't a super-cosy place where everybody else is responsible for your actions.
I go climbing and biking with kids. yes, it's dangerous. contrary to the playground above even live threatening. they learn about safety measures, their own responsability to check not only their, but also their buddy's equipment and to estimate your own boundaries. they learn for life. as we did.
we had the same steps, and we loved them. besides they're great for taking class photos ;)