Is fear stopping playground fun?

By Angela Harrison
BBC News Online education staff

Fun, danger and challenge can go together

Making daisy chains, playing football, tag or conkers, climbing trees - all part of the fun of childhood ... or highly dangerous activities which should be banned?

Some schools have banned games, which to many people seem harmless, because they are worried about possible risks.

Head teachers' leaders blame the compensation culture, which they say leads some people to head for the courts after any injury.

The Secondary Heads Association (SHA) this week backed a judge's decision to overturn a damages settlement made to a boy who fell off a swing and broke his arm on his school sports day.

For Ryan Simonds, from the Isle of Wight, it meant not getting £4,250 for the accident, which happened when he was five.

Be sensible

Southampton County Court had made the award, saying the school had been negligent in not identifying the risk from the swings and that it should have taped them off.

John Dunford, general secretary of the Secondary Heads Association, says people head for the courts "as quickly as they blink" if there's a problem.

"Teachers have in recent years been subjected to citations from parents who turn much more readily to litigation against teachers whenever anything goes wrong," he said.

"We need to take a sensible view of risks and accidents."

That is a view backed by Simon Carder, who represents private preparatory schools.

He says children need to take risks to become rounded people - and that there is a danger they are being protected from anything challenging.

Could skipping be next for the high jump?

Mr Carder, chairman of the Incorporated Association of Preparatory Schools, said: "We run the risk of so protecting our children in cotton wool that we shall end up smothering them in it.

"If they do not take risks how can they stretch themselves, how will they ever know what their limits are?

"How can the human race make any progress if nobody is willing or able to take a risk?"

Schools do have a duty of care to their pupils and have to act as what is known as "in loco parentis" - so they obviously work to keep them safe.

This involves assessing the risk of accidents and taking steps to minimise dangers.

But can you prevent all accidents? Most people say no.

There has been a fear that playground equipment both in and out of schools was becoming so safe it was boring.

Suffocating

Tim Gill, director of the Children's Play Council, said: "There is no doubt that the compensation culture has led to playgrounds becoming less exciting.

"But I think that in the past couple of years, the pendulum has swung backwards.

"You can't make a playground absolutely safe and we are seeing the designers of some of the newest playgrounds trying to re-introduce exciting and challenging play opportunities."

But are schools worrying needlessly?

There seems to be little evidence that more are having pay out for public liability claims.

Zurich Municipal, which is one of the big school insurers, says there is no evidence of "any significant increase in public liability claims against schools".

However, there has been an increase in public liability claims in general, according to the insurers, often of the "I tripped over a hole in the pavement" variety.

Perhaps it is just the general perception that people are more litigious which is growing, causing schools to fear claims.