Are you struggling with?
• Bullying and bad behaviour at playtimes?
• Losing valuable learning time sorting out playtime disputes when children come back into the classroom?
• Children who don’t know how to play?
• Lunchtime supervisors who aren’t engaging with the children?
My Positive Playtimes Programme is a whole school approach that supports children in being more tolerant, friendly and kind. Getting your behaviour management systems sorted at the start of term is essential to providing children with a secure, bully free environment that fosters happy, calm and peaceful playtimes.
Assembly at the start of the school year
At the start of the academic year schools generally have an assembly welcoming everyone back and reinforcing the school rules which might have been forgotten over the 6 week summer break! It’s really important for every member of staff to be invited to this assembly so that the children see that the whole school staff know the rules and that everyone is working together. Children will often think that support staff don’t know the school rules so will try and lead them a little dance! This is also a way of building respectful relationships both inside and outside in the school playground.
Rules
Review your school rules and ensure that you have them displayed inside and outside. Edventure’s Rules and Playground Manners cover the 4R’s of:
• Respect for self
• Respect for others
• Respect for property and the environment
• Responsibility for all your actions
Rewards
Rewards can take many formats and I have developed a range of attractive and easy to use rewards with Edventure which schools regularly tell me are effective and are easy to implement.
These include:
Reward Tokens: “Star child”, “Caught being good” and “Great little helper”, Playground Star Award Certificates, green Reward slips all linked to the Playground Rules and all available from Edventure. ‘The Great Play Award’: (see 101 Playground Games appendix for the certificate) is a special certificate that is given out in assembly to a child who has kept the rules/values of the school; alternatively it can be a plaque or just a sticker. Teachers choose criteria for selection from week to week and ideally choose different children each week.
Sanctions
Is it bad or bored behaviour? If it is the latter then it’s time to invest in your playground and play equipment. If you are struggling with the former then I would suggest you tighten up your incentive and sanction systems.
Edventure’s red Sanction slips prove a good deterrent and if used effectively can be a useful tool for MSA’s, teachers and Senco’s to track those children who are finding playtimes challenging.
As with all incentive and sanction systems there needs to be a baseline and ceiling otherwise you will find some teachers and MSA’s giving out rewards and sanctions like confetti!
PALs
PALs (Playground Activity Leaders) are a vital part of playtimes. These are usually Year 5 and 6 pupils who go through a rigorous recruitment and training programme. They help organise games, mediate disputes and ensure the playground is a safer, more enjoyable space for everyone. To learn more about how to set up your PALs please go to http:// theresehoyle.com
Circle Time to foster positive relationships and develop social skills
On my Positive Playtimes Masterclass I run circle time sessions with the children and the school staff observe. The aim of these sessions is for me to find out what is going well at playtimes and the behaviours children are struggling with. Circle time helps develop conflict resolution, communication and social skills. I suggest to schools that there is an ongoing time table of circle time and that it is held once a week at a set time. The start of the year is an important time to establish your behavioural systems with regards to playtimes, but it’s never too late to start at any time throughout the year.