“..empathy, motivation, understanding and managing feelings, being able to get along with others, and self-understanding are the foundational skills… … these skills are just as important as academic skills in explaining success.” Demos, 2009
Q: What can we do, we are ‘bogged down’ with undesirable playground behaviour?
Q: Our infant School Council meeting is beginning to get 'bogged
down' with reports from the councillors of undesirable playground behaviour.
Sometimes it is boisterous play, being unkind or not taking care of our
play-things. Circle Time is well used in every class and the SC are being
proactive-drawing up rotas for the use of playground equipment, discussing
rules and making posters to display and I'm promoting behaviour expectations in
assembly. It's the small group of children (tends to be boys) in every class
who need to let off steam but who end up scaring other children with their
rough and tumble play, not sharing. It isn't really bullying is it? Any other
tips you can give us?
Jenny: If
I was working with your school, the first thing I would do is to check through
with you all is how well your lunchtime policy is working. Lunchtimes are, for
me, one of the most important times of a child’s day almost 1/5 of a child’s
school life takes place in the playground!!! It's one of the key features as
you rightly say of a school’s circle time policy. You certainly are on the
right track by time tabling circle time and encouraging your SC to draw up
rotas etc. However, I wonder if you are using your circle time or PE lessons to
teach playground games. A lot of 'my' schools have a policy of teaching 8 key
games to all children for half a term so that all children can join in at any
time. When we run circle times there are five steps to a successful circle
meeting, the fourth step is called 'celebrating success'. During this stage
certain children go in the middle of the circle and choose new friends to whom
they can teach a new game, other children then observe and give them positive
feedback and a clap for 'becoming a good teacher'. In addition we will often
teach midday supervisors
for an hours session of playground games, and the follow up session will involve
children being bought into the training so that the midday supervisors can teach these new children
the games they learnt the week before. Some schools have made links with head
of sixth form and some Years 12 and 13, or even paid play leaders will come at
lunchtime and play games. I am not certain that the 'small group of children'
you mention are bullying in any way - they need to channel their energy in a
way that is safe. Michelle is quite right, it is good to have zoned areas of
the playground where children who want to feel safe either go to the quiet area
or the make believe area where there is an outdoor box of dressing up clothes.
Some schools have adopted our 'Playground Friends Scheme' where two children on
a rota system are trained to support each zoned area of the playground. So the
zoned area that is devoted to playground games would have its own two experts
to give more ideas of games to anyone who was unsure. We also have two tall
children using a long rope and children are taught skipping games, which can
occupy upto 20 children at a time. So, as ever, there are many possibilities. I
am rambling on because you are raising such an important issue. I have recently
published a comprehensive book called 'All Year Round - Exciting Ideas for Peaceful
Playtime' which properly goes into detail on the above ideas. I have two other
slim books 'Guidelines for Midday Supervisors' and 'Create Happier
Lunchtimes',, which contain some good indoor and outdoor games. It is only when
the lunchtime policy has been thoroughly overhauled as a whole school
initiative can you begin to worry that certain children may be deliberately
annoying other children. When we are sure we truly do have a handful of
children who, due to a range of emotional and social problems cannot relate to
other children - we then form a community task force where we try to keep the
children so physically busy they have no time to distress others. Later they
have their own buddy each to attempt re-integration into the mainstream
lunchtimes. The process of true inclusion is a long one.
