In a tale of health and safety gone slightly bonkers, a school in Cornwall has banned children from running in the playground. The school has stopped children from running from one end of the playground to another in an attempt to try and reduce the number of playtime injuries and it states that the decision has already had a dramatic impact on reducing the number of bumps and bruises.
While we’re sure that this article may need to be taken with a pinch of salt (there are already reports to suggest it was a misunderstanding and parents have since successfully gained a U-turn on the decision), it has inspired us to think about concerns that some teachers and parents have about grazed knees. We think it’s inevitable that there will be tumbles in the playground and that risk in play is an essential part of developing valuable life skills. However, we also understand that no one likes it to end in tears.
There are plenty of ways you can avoid bumps and bruises in the playground without needing to go to the same extremes as the Cornish school in the article, we’ve put together a few of them below.
- Spread out play time
With lots of children in different sizes, playgrounds can become a little crowded and it becomes a bit easier for accidents to happen. Some of the schools we’ve worked with have found that giving different age groups different time slots for the playground helps reduce the chance of little ones getting underfoot.
- Free flow play
As much as everyone might want to climb aboard the Pirate Ship at the same time, it’s not possible. Providing other equipment that makes free flow play easy can encourage children to move between the classroom and the playground and not all rush for the same spot. Our Poddely Sets have unlimited opportunities for play, so the children will never run out of new ideas and the best part is it can be taken anywhere in the playground. -
- Provide a soft landing
No matter how much you try to avoid it, inevitably there’s going to be someone who trips over their shoelaces or misses that monkey bar. When this happens, you can at least make sure they’ve got a soft landing. Providing safe impact areas around high level equipment is essential and with the right surfacing it’s easy to make your playground safe and looking good.
If you want to make sure your children are enjoying fun and safe play without going health and safety crazy, get in touch to find out how we can help you create the perfect environment. Book your free consultation with one of our advisors and let us do the rest.