Children are increasingly unable to run, hide and climb at break time for health and safety reasons – but one school has taken a fresh approach. For many children, it’s their favourite part of the day. But for others, it’s the time they dread most, fearful of being excluded, bullied or discriminated in one way or another. Despite the significance of break time in the lives of young people, it is an area that hasn’t received much attention from policymakers or researchers.
After all, more than half a million children share school yards in more than 3,000 primary schools for supervised outdoor break times of at least 30 minutes a day. However, a new study by occupational therapist Michelle Bergin looks closely at the problems with playgrounds, both their design and the difficulties teachers’ face in dealing with more subtle social issues due to their preoccupation with health and safety issues. “The priority of teachers is to keep children safe and the reality of the yard is that teachers are responding to children’s cuts and bruises or a ball going over a wal