While most safety standards applying to consumer products in the UK are identical to the standards in other European countries (and published by the British Standards Institute as a "BS EN") not all older national standards have yet been replaced.  Occasionally even a completely new "BS" may be published for products not otherwise covered by standards.

 For example common European standards apply in UK to cribs and cradles (BS EN 1130), cots (BS EN 716), bunk beds (BS EN 747) and beds for adults (BS EN 1725), but not for beds (other than bunks) designed for children who have outgrown a cot.

Within the UK the safety of normal height children’s beds can now be judged against a national standard BS 8509. However, there is as yet no standard in the UK for the popular 'mid-height sleeper' or 'captains bed' with a mattress base between 400 and 800 mm above the floor.

There is also a UK-only standard (BS 7972) for separate bedguards intended to stop children rolling out when they begin to sleep in a bed without barriers.

For products covered only by General Product Safety Regulations, compliance with a voluntary standard (whether a BS or BS EN) is not a pre-requisite to allow the product to be placed on the UK market, but the levels of safety and means of protection provided by the standard are likely to be taken into account by courts if the product is considered unsafe by enforcement authorities or if there is personal injury claim by a user of the product.