|
The school grounds are the first thing that students, staff and visitors see on their arrival at school and pupils spend a large amount of time in them. Negative — or positive — perceptions influence how students feel about their school, affecting attitudes and behaviour. Are your grounds as welcoming, relaxing and inspiring as they should be?
Breaktimes are a vital element of children's physical, social and emotional development and every teacher knows that the effects of breaktime run on into their lessons. Making breaktimes a positive experience for all pupils should be a priority for every school. |
The design of your grounds can have a big impact on children's play and behaviour. Dull grounds with nothing to stimulate children's imaginations can lead to aggressive and unsociable behaviour whilst grounds with a variety of features and spaces can support postive play and interactions.
Sometimes children and young people will want to be active whilst at others times they will want to sit quietly and talk with their friends. Sometimes they will want to be taught new games or take part in structured activities whilst at other times they will want to use their own imaginations to come up with their own ideas. Having spaces with different features can allow for play and interactions that stimulates the imagination, extends creativity, encourages activity and develops social skills.
‘Place making’ is one of the best ways to promote positive behaviour and improve school grounds. It involves creating places that promote a sense of ownership, respect and responsibility – places where activity is appropriate to the location, reducing the risk of aggression, boredom, conflict and damage.
Positive behaviour is influenced by a range of interlinked design and management decisions. Each site has its own unique solutions but a common important factor is the initial involvement of students in a community safety and behaviour audit. Professionals skilled in site analysis – and working closely with young people to ensure full participation – can help to reduce costs associated with site damage by identifying and preventing potential risks.
The way that break time is managed can also make a difference. Playground supervisors have a vital role, encouraging different types of play and behaviour, leading activities and watching out for negative behaviour. In many schools supervisors are now supported by senior pupils who play with younger pupils and act as extra eyes and ears to spot difficulties as they arise.
Better school grounds have been shown to improve student attitudes and motivation and well designed and managed school grounds can make break times a valuable educational experience, by encouraging social, emotional and physical development through play and other opportunities. One London student commented, "It’s brought the school together as a community: now when you go out at break or lunch everyone from all years are either in the basketball courts or somewhere else and they’re all happy together. I think that there are less arguments and less fights. It’s like another way of saying “We are a community, let’s work together".
Research carried out by us has shown that:
- The nature and quality of the outdoor school environment matters deeply to students.
- There are educational, social, aesthetic, environmental and community arguments for improving secondary school grounds.
- The process of helping to plan and implement school ground improvements can be deeply beneficial in terms of student learning and self-confidence, and staff development.
- A better outdoor school environment can lead to positive changes in students’ attitudes and new resources for curriculum teaching and learning | |
|
|
