Q: How can a playground ‘squad’ and a games supervisor help with playtimes?
Q: At our school we have the usual problems, which most schools encounter especially at lunchtimes and break times. At lunchtimes we now have a 'play squad' this is made up of year 6 pupils on a voluntary rota basis, they are there to look after the younger pupils and help them if necessary. This seems to working very well, the year 6 pupils enjoy the extra responsibility while the younger pupils feel more secure in the knowledge that they can go to anyone with a play squad badge on and get help or have someone to talk to or play with We also have one midday supervisor who is employed specifically to organise games which involve a lot of pupils. We do have one pupil who has had to have restrictions of privileges put in place due to bullying, it was interesting to talk to him the other day when he told me he is quite happy with the restrictions as he now knows where he stands, he seems to be a lot happier and calmer now which has led to interaction with other pupils who feel more secure about being in his company.
Jenny: Again, just a quick response. Emotional safety for pupils lies in them knowing the boundaries for their behaviour and the consequences of their actions. If certain pupils constantly find themselves 'beyond' the limits and they are consistently incurring sanctions, we have a strategy whereby we can refer this child to a supervised small community taskforce. It may be, that they need to be kept so physically busy, that they cannot get into any trouble for a while, thereby restoring their tarnished reputation. We find that if certain children are constantly in trouble they almost become addicted to it as a sure way of getting attention. If we can reverse the process, physically keep the child busy gardening, looking after the school property, furniture renovation (!!!) in a group which also includes children with good social skills, the child then allows them self to taste success and could become equally 'hooked' on this experience instead. When they are succeeding they can apply to leave the group and re-enter ordinary playground life but we often find that they need a playground buddy to initially assist them and keep them out of trouble. The same playground buddy also records their success. And so the long process of true inclusion continues….
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