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Playground activities

We all know that active play is an essential part of a child's physical and social development. As well as being fun, it promotes mental well-being, develops creativity and contributes to an active, healthy lifestyle forming good habits for later life.

Children playing active gamesSchool playtimes give children a chance to engage in active play, helping them to burn off steam so they are ready to focus on learning when the bell goes. It's an opportunity for children to develop problem-solving and decision-making skills and learn to communicate and negotiate with others.

As outdoor play has declined considerably outside of school hours, school playgrounds are more important than ever as sites for active play.

Research

Recent newspaper articles have claimed that traditional active playground games such as hopscotch and tag, once commonplace in school playgrounds, are losing their appeal with children who prefer to play with hi-tech gadgets instead.

A conflicting report from the University of Sheffield, based on observing two school playgrounds over two years, claims that whilst some games such as conkers, marbles and hopscotch have declined, many traditional games are still very popular with children such as tag, skipping and running-around games.

The report suggests that children share and learn traditional games in the school playground, and that this is essential for the continuity of this type of play because children tend to engage in different types of play outside of school.

We'd love to hear your views about this ongoing debate so please get in touch. What kind of playground games do pupils in your school play? Are traditional active games dying out?

Playground games

A child hula-hoopingWhichever side of the fence you sit on, traditional playground games are often active and children enjoy playing them. Encourage pupils to play a variety of active games by nominating play leaders who are responsible for choosing games and helping other children to join in.

This selection of active games might help to give pupils some ideas to get started!

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