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The Active School
Active Playgrounds

Active
Playgrounds
A Guide for Primary Schools

British Heart Foundation
14 Fitzhardinge Street
London W1H 6DH
Tel: 020 7935 0185
Fax: 020 7486 5820
www.bhf.org.uk
British Heart Foundation is a Registered Charity, number 225971
© British Heart Foundation 2001
G70 3/2002

This booklet forms part of the British Heart Foundation’s Active School Resource Pack
Contents
Introduction

1

Why it is important to promote an active playground

1

Improved health
Development of appropriate moral and social behaviour
Reducing bullying

1
1
2

Practical steps to help promote an active playground
Organise a ‘Playground Games’ card box

4

Dog and Bone
Detectives

5
5

Provide a games equipment box

6

Provide appropriate playground markings

7

Hopscotch
Search-a-round
Circle Dodge Ball
Run the Gauntlet
Space Invaders

8
9
10
11
12

Encourage pupils to practise activities they have tried in lessons

13

Skipping activities

14

Safety considerations
Skipping skill practices
Skipping games
Under the Moon
Over the Stars
Under the Moon and Over the Stars
Follow the Leader
Criss Cross
Creating skipping routines

14
14
15
15
15
15
16
16
16

Active Schools © BHF 2001
Introduce pupils to traditional playground games

17

Chasing games
Poison
What’s the Time Wolfie?
Stuck in the Mud
Catching games
Prison Wall
Farmer, Farmer, May We Cross Your Golden River?
Seeking games
Hide and Seek
40/40
The Hunted
Racing games
Odds and Evens
May I?
Peep Behind the Curtain
Guessing Games
Queenie
Pop stars/Film stars

17
17
17
17
17
18
18
18
18
18
18
18
18
19
19
19
19
19

Activity challenges

20

Skipping challenges
Skill-based challenges
Low impact (rope swinging activities)
Endurance challenges
Speed challenges
Creative challenges

20
20
20
20
21
21

Focus on active playtimes on specific days

21

Useful references and contacts

21

Active School © BHF 2001
Introduction
Since almost a fifth of the junior school day and a
quarter of the infant school day is scheduled as
‘breaktime’, it is essential that this time is used
productively and that children are given the
opportunity to fully experience and enjoy the
benefits of this unique time to be active.

In a recent UK study, 93 minutes in the infant
school day (24% of the school day) and 83
minutes in the junior school day (21% of the
school day) were taken up by breaktimes
(Blatchford and Sumpner, 1998).

helping children to meet the recommended
activity levels. It is therefore important that
schools deliberately set out a whole-school
policy which incorporates a number of action
steps to ensure that playtimes are active.

Teachers questioned in this latest survey were all
positive about the value of breaktimes, stating
that they provide:

Children need to be introduced to new ideas
and a variety of different activities and
games at school breaktimes to provide them
with the stimulus and equipment to be
physically active. By helping pupils to learn
these games and develop their own ideas for
play at breaktimes, they will be developing the
necessary skills to enable them to also be active
at home in their own time.

•
•
•
•

a
a
a
a

break from classroom activities
time to socialise
chance to let off steam
chance to be physically active

Why it is important to
promote an active playground
Improved health
The Health Education Authority (HEA) (1998)
recommends that children of primary school age
should participate in physical activity of moderate
intensity for one hour a day and that this activity
can be carried out continuously or intermittently.
At least twice a week, some activities should
help enhance and maintain muscular strength
and flexibility, and bone health.
The playground may be the only opportunity
that some children have to be physically active
in a day, so breaktimes can play a crucial role in

Active School © BHF 2001

Development of appropriate moral and
social behaviour
In many cases, breaktimes provide the only
opportunity for children to have the freedom to
totally be themselves and to truly ‘play’ with
minimal adult supervision. A lack of play areas.
Since 1981 over 5,000 playing fields have been
sold (source: National Playing Fields
Association) and the general parental concern
about increased traffic and fears of abduction
has led to many children simply not being given
this freedom outside of school.
Several researchers have highlighted the
importance of unsupervised play, pointing out
that this freedom is vital in allowing children to
work out their own rules of behaviour (Peter
Wilson, director of Young Minds, a charity dealing with mental health issues in young

ACTIVE PLAYGROUNDS

1
people, Michele Eliot of Kidscape and Diana
Lamplugh of the Suzy Lamplugh Trust).
They are concerned that without this freedom,
children could become adults who lack the
confidence to make decisions and who will
find it hard to form relationships with peers
because they have never had the opportunity
to experience this as children.

Reducing bullying
Results from the National Survey of Schools
(Blatchford, 1998) show that there is a general
view amongst staff that children’s behaviour
has worsened over the past five years, with
one in four schools feeling that behaviour at
breaktimes has deteriorated, with an increase
in aggression and more difficult behaviour.
The study concludes that children today tend
not to be as constructive in play as they used
to be, are more likely to be idle in the
playground, and have forgotten many of the
traditional games once regularly seen. This
lack of purpose can quite often be the root
of many bullying problems:

2

ACTIVE PLAYGROUNDS

“Children with little to do during their playtime
may resort to seeking adventure through various
forms of illicit play – for example, fighting,
teasing and annoying other children.”
Evans, 1989
A head teacher from a South London School
has highlighted the benefits of introducing a
playground activity such as skipping to his
school “It occurred to us that children were
bored. Once we gave them something exciting
to do, the problems disappeared.”
TES2 – 28 March 1997

Since 75% of bullying in schools has been found
to occur on the playground (Sharp & Smith,
1991) and one of the suggested causes is
boredom or lack of stimulus, providing children
with a variety of active opportunities could be
the key in alleviating such behavioural problems.
Following is an outline of some steps that could
be taken to encourage more activity at
breaktimes with practical examples and tips.
The age of pupils and the availability of
resources will influence the best approach for
each school.

Active School © BHF 2001
Practical
steps
to help promote
an active playground
Organise a ‘Playground
Games’ card box
This could include:
• cards on which different examples of
playground games are described
• cards produced by pupils which describe
games they have developed themselves

Ideas to facilitate the use of playground games
cards include:
• organising a competition each term for the
best game developed by a pupil
• promoting games which require no teacher
direction and no special equipment
• designating a certain breaktime each week for
any games and/or activities which do require
teacher supervision
• posting cards on windows facing outwards
to allow more than one group at a time to
use a card

4

ACTIVE PLAYGROUNDS

There are commercial packs available (for
full details see page 23) which provide ideas of
games and activities that can be used to promote
activity at breaktimes:
• Happy Heart’s Playground Pack developed
by the HEA Happy Heart Project with help
from the National Children’s Play and
Recreation Unit
• The TOP Play and BT TOP Sport cards
produced by the Youth Sport Trust and
Sport England (formerly the English Sports
Council)
• The Health Promoting Playground produced
by Health Promotion Wales, The Sports
Council for Wales and Play Wales
• Active Fun with Playground Markings
produced by The University of Hull in
conjunction with Magical Marking
Following are two examples of playground
games, each applicable for a different age group.
These examples are from the Happy Heart pack
and have been included with the kind
permission of Hull University and Thomas
Nelson and Sons Ltd.

Active School © BHF 2001
Dog and Bone

Detectives

Equipment: one small object eg: a bean bag or
small ball

Organisation:
• suitable for pupils aged 8 years and above

Organisation:

• can be played with 4 or more players

• suitable for pupils aged 5 years and above

• adult supervision is advised

• to be played with 2 players
Method:
Method:
• each player chooses a ‘home’ area away from
his or her partner
• the object should be placed on the ground
midway between the two ‘home’ areas
• each player stands one step back from
the object towards the direction of their
‘home’ area

• stand in a circle with one player in the
middle who is the detective
• the detective closes his or her eyes while a
leader is chosen from the players in the circle
• the leader then starts doing an action
(eg: jumping on the spot, swinging arms)
and the rest of the players copy
• the leader changes the action quite often and
the others in the circle do the same

• the players turn and stand sideways
• one of the players or a friend shouts ‘GO’
and both players try to grab the object and
run to their ‘home’ area
• the player who does not get the object must
chase the other and try to tag him or her
• if the chased player is caught before
reaching his or her ‘home’ area the game is
started again

• the detective opens his or her eyes and tries
to guess who is the leader
• when the detective has guessed the leader, a
new detective and leader are chosen
• ideas for actions: hopping, skipping,
clapping, sit down-stand up, running on the
spot, feet apart-feet together, turning round

Reproduced with the permission of Hull University and
Thomas Nelson and Sons Ltd.

• players should take it in turns to say ‘go’ or
ask a friend to say it

Active School © BHF 2001

ACTIVE PLAYGROUNDS

5
Provide a games
equipment box
A games equipment box will encourage pupils to
be active at breaktimes, especially if accompanied
by appropriate cards providing games ideas.

Equipment:
• equipment provided would depend on the age
of the pupils and the area available but could
include balls, skipping ropes and bean bags
(no equipment should be provided that could
be dangerous when used without supervision)
• alternative equipment (eg: foam frisbees,
velcro catch pads/gloves, hit and stick bat,
skittles, foam balls, flip toss, koosh balls)
could be purchased for the children to try out.
Contact Sutcliffe Sport, Lynn Lane,
Shendstone, Lichfield, Staffs WS14 0EE
Tel: 01543 483222 for more details
• some equipment may require supervision eg:
parachute games. This could be provided by
lunch time supervisors if some initial training
was given. Parachute Games (1996) by Todd
Strong and Dale LeFevre is a book providing

6

ACTIVE PLAYGROUNDS

60 different activities which can be carried out
using a parachute. (For details see page 23)
• separate boxes containing board games eg:
chess, draughts, snakes & ladders, ludo,
dominoes, playing cards etc. could be gathered
over time for each class to use during wet
playtimes. Ask parents for board games no
longer used or check out car boot sales. ESPO
(Eastern Shire Purchasing Organisation) also
sells such games

Organisation:
• for safety reasons a certain area of the
playground may need to be designated for the
use of this equipment in the playground
• pupil monitors could be nominated who are
responsible for taking out and collecting the
box (providing the box is not too heavy)
• a rota system may need to be introduced to
ensure that all pupils have the opportunity to
use the equipment at some point (eg: certain
classes on certain days are given first priority)

Active School © BHF 2001
Provide appropriate
playground markings
A range of appropriate playground markings
can help promote physical activity and play in
primary schools. Results of a recent study
carried out by Liverpool University showed that
the physical activity levels of a group of 5-7 year
olds increased by approximately 20% after
playground markings had been added.
Children’s play was also found to be generally
more focused and purposeful (Stratton, 1996).
Following are examples of possible playground
markings and associated games:
• Hopscotch and Search-a-round (pages 8-9)
found in ‘The Health Promoting Playground’

Active School © BHF 2001

Produced by Health Promotion Wales, The
Sports Council for Wales and Play Wales and
reproduced with their permission. For full
details see page 23
• Circle Dodge Ball, Run the Gauntlet and
Space Invaders (pages 10,11 and 12) are
taken from a booklet entitled ‘Active Fun
with Playground Markings’. It has been
produced by Hull University in conjunction
with Magical Marking, Playground Marking
Specialists and has been reproduced with
their permission. Copies can be ordered from
the Research Unit for PE, Sport & Health,
University of Hull, Hull, HU6 7RX

ACTIVE PLAYGROUNDS

7
Hopscotch
• the first player(s) throws a small stone onto
number one

Technical specifications:
• squares 30cm x 30cm

• the player(s) moves along the grid placing one
foot on single squares and both feet on the
double squares until number 10 is reached,
without stepping on the square holding
the stone

• centre square 60cm x 60cm divided into four
triangles
• number stencils 15cm x 15cm
• starting from centre square mark squares
outwards on three sides

• the player(s) turn round and return to the
start in the same way, picking up the stone
when s/he reaches it

• paint edges in different colours (approx.
1 litre in total)

• the stone is then thrown onto number 2 and
the moves repeated

• for numbers use one can Rocal Easiline
Spray

• play continues in the same way until the player(s)
reach number 10 or misthrow the stone

• all three hopscotch areas can be used at once
• if the stone is misthrown and a player is just
focusing on completing the task, another
player should be given a turn

• individuals or teams could have a race against
each other to see who/which team is first to
complete the task or individuals can just
focus on completing the task

1

3
2

4
5

7
8

9

6

3

10

7

4

10

9

8

5

2
1

10
8 9

6

• when number 10 is reached the task is
completed and it is the turn of the next player

5

6
4

2

3
1

8

ACTIVE PLAYGROUNDS

Reproduced with the permission of Health Promotion Wales.

7

Active School © BHF 2001
Search-a-round
• Three small teams can play this at any one
time, with each team having a designated
hopscotch area.
• An additional pupil acts as ‘caller’.
• The caller should write a list of numbers from
1 to 10 and against each number write down
a readily available item.

• The caller calls out the first item on the list
which each team has to collect and place on
number 1.
• Once the named item has been placed on the
relevant number, a member of the team can
ask the caller for the next item to be placed
on number 2.
• This procedure is followed until each
numbered square contains an item.
• The first team to collect all ten items is
the winner.

Reproduced with the permission of Health Promotion Wales.

• Three baskets containing 10 different small
items eg: bean bags, small balls, etc, could
be placed a set distance away from each
hopscotch area from which each item must be
collected, with the caller noting these down in
a particular order.

• Each team starts on the number 1 of their
hopscotch area.

Active School © BHF 2001

ACTIVE PLAYGROUNDS

9
Circle Dodge Ball
Players: 6+
Age range: 4-11 year olds
Playground Marking: any circular marking
eg: face, clock or marble ring

11

12

1
2

10
9

3
4

8
6

5

• The players are divided into two teams,
‘dodgers and attackers’.
• The dodgers stand inside the circle and
the attackers stand on the outside edge of
the circle at roughly equal distances from
each other.
• The attackers are in possession of one sponge
ball (more than one if you wish).
• The attackers try to score as many points as
possible in a set time, by hitting the dodgers
with the ball.
• The attackers stand still but the dodgers can
move anywhere within the circle.
• The game begins when an attacker passes the
ball to another attacker, who then tries to hit
a dodger with a ball below the waist.
• A point is scored for every hit.
10

ACTIVE PLAYGROUNDS

• Only one hit can be registered with one
throw, ie: the ball rebounding off another
dodger does not count.
• The ball usually rebounds out of the circle. If
it does not, an attacker may go in and collect
it. This is the only time an attacker is allowed
in the circle.
• Play then continues when the attacker passes
the ball to another attacker.
• The dodgers cannot leave the circle to avoid
the ball.
• For every infringement of the rules, one point
is deducted from the score of the offending
team. In this way no player has to be
eliminated from the game.

Reproduced with the permission of Hull University.

7

Active School © BHF 2001
Run the Gauntlet
Players: 6+
Age range: 4-11 year olds
Playground marking: netball court

‘safe
area’

Gauntlet

Reproduced with the permission of Hull University.

• The two end sections of the netball court are
‘safe’ areas and the central area becomes the
‘Gauntlet’.
• The game leader, who is known as the
‘Gladiator’, stands in the central area.
• All the other players stand in one of the safe
areas.
• The players shout “Gladiator, may we run the
gauntlet?” and the Gladiator replies, “not
unless you’ve got the colour...”

‘safe
area’

• All players that are touched then join the
middle and help the Gladiator.
• The game continues until one player remains.
This last player then becomes the new
Gladiator for the next game.
• Encourage the use of different conditions, for
example, ‘has a birthday in June’, ‘has the letter S in the first name’, ‘has an older brother/sister’, etc.

• All players wearing clothing with the chosen
colour may cross freely to the other side.
• The remaining players must then try to cross
and the Gladiator should try to touch them.

Active School © BHF 2001

ACTIVE PLAYGROUNDS

11
Space Invaders
Players: 6+

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;;;;;
yyy
;;;;;
yyy
;;;;;
yyy

Age range: 4-11 year olds

;;;;
;;;;
;;;;
;;;;
;;;;

Playground marking: variety of shapes

• The game leader calls out a number and the
players quickly form groups of the relevant
number in the nearest shape to them.
• The players resume moving around the
activity area in-between each instruction.

• The game leader can introduce different ways
of moving around the shapes eg: skipping,
walking and jogging.
• If your playground markings are different
colours, colours can be used as an
instruction, eg: “everyone in a red shape”.
• Once the players are familiar with quickly
forming into groups of different numbers
inside shapes, more instructions eg: “both
hands in a shape” and “left feet in a shape”
can be introduced.
12

ACTIVE PLAYGROUNDS

• As players become more familiar with
following various instructions, instructions
can be combined eg: “5 hands in a yellow
shape” and “8 feet in a green shape”.

• The game leader may want to shout “Space
Invaders” at any given time and all the
players must then quickly move from their
shape to another shape.

Safety and modification
As well as considering safety factors such as
whether the playground surface is slippery or
not and safe numbers to play the games, the
games may need some modification depending
on the age range and ability of the pupils. For
example, changing the pace of the game,
extending or reducing the activity area, size of
teams and length of time playing.

Reproduced with the permission of Hull University.

• Players should move around the shapes in
different ways, changing direction and
altering pace.

Active School © BHF 2001
Encourage pupils to practise
activities they have tried in
lessons
Teachers could encourage pupils to spend time
in their breaks practising some of the activities
they have been introduced to in lessons. Some
activities could be introduced within lessons
which are specifically designed for pupils to be
able to use them on the playground. For
example, skipping, small ball skills, racket skills
and team games. It is important, however, that
any game or activity does not dominate the
playground at the expense of other pupils. To
prevent this from occurring:

Active School © BHF 2001

• nominate a particular area for the playing of
such games/activities
• establish certain times during which
particular activities can or cannot be played
eg: Thursdays are small ball games only (the
former is preferable as it is unfortunate if
pupils are prevented from participating in
activity when they wish to do so)

ACTIVE PLAYGROUNDS

13
Skipping activities
One example of an activity which could be
introduced as part of any project on healthy
living or health-related exercise is skipping. It is
an ideal activity which may begin in a lesson
and can be continued and/or extended on the
playground. Skipping is also an activity which
can develop leg strength, agility, balance and
co-ordination and so aids skill development for
many other areas of the PE National Curriculum.
The British Heart Foundation’s (BHF) Jump
Rope For Heart programme offers schools free
skipping resources valued at £100 and encourages pupils to take part in a fun and aerobic
activity while raising funds for BHF and the
school. For more details see page 23.
There are several safety considerations which
must be taken into account when introducing
pupils to skipping:

Safety considerations
• Footwear – pupils will need to wear
supportive footwear. Pupils may need to be
encouraged to wear trainers for playground
skipping if their outdoor shoes are not
considered to be safe.
• Space – pupils need to be made aware that
they require adequate space all around them
to be able to swing the rope without making
contact with other ropes or skippers. A
designated playground area is therefore
advised and other non-skipping pupils should
also be made aware of the dangers.

• Rope length – for individual skipping, when
pupils stand in the middle of the rope and
pull the handles upwards, the rope handles
should reach the armpits. They can be
shortened by tying knots at each end just
below the handles.
• Inappropriate use of the ropes – pupils need
to be made fully aware of the possible
dangers of not using the ropes appropriately
and correctly. In some cases, adult
supervision may be necessary.
Below are some examples of three areas
which may be covered in a lesson and allow
scope to be continued and/or extended on the
playground:

Skipping skill practices
There are many different skipping skills, some
that focus on footwork, armwork or both and
which can be carried out alone, with a partner
or in a group. Once a range of these basic skills
(eg: double foot and alternate foot variations)
have been mastered, there is tremendous scope
for pupils to combine skills, adapt and create
their own ideas. For more details on many of
the various foot stunts and the possible
combinations, refer to the British Heart
Foundation Jump Rope For Heart Manual
which is available by registering for the Jump
Rope For Heart programme or to the books
Skip to It (Susan Kalbfleisch) and Skip to Health
(Susan Kalbfleisch, Jo Harris and Jill Elbourn).
Details are included on page 23.

• Clothing – sensible, loose-fitting clothing
which allows free movement of the legs
and arms.

For any skill practices, pupils should aim to:

• Weather conditions – certain wet playground
conditions or very hot lunchtimes may be
considered unsafe.

• keep the bounces low, knees slightly bent and
heels in frequent contact with the ground (in
order to minimise the impact)

•

• keep the elbows in at waist level, close to the
sides of the body and perform small circular
turning actions with the lower arms while
keeping the wrists firm

Fluid intake – this is particularly important
in warm weather conditions to avoid
dehydration and prevent the body from
overheating. Children are not as efficient as
adults in controlling body temperature.

• develop good skipping technique

• practise new skills without a rope first

14

ACTIVE PLAYGROUNDS

Active School © BHF 2001
Skipping games

Over the Stars
• Turners turn the rope away from the skipper.

The following games are examples adapted from
the British Heart Foundation Jump Rope For
Heart Programme (for full details see page 23)
and can be introduced to pupils in a single
lesson. Pupils can then be encouraged to
continue playing these games or adapting them
during playtimes. All the games involve a long
rope (14ft), which will require two turners.
Try to ensure that pupils are aware of the need
to change the turners regularly.

• As the rope clips the floor and starts moving
towards the skipper, the skipper jumps ‘over
the stars’.

Under the Moon
• Turners turn the rope towards the skipper.
• Skipper stands close to one of the turners.
• As the rope passes in front of the skipper and
brushes the floor, rotating up and away from
her or him, the skipper runs under the ‘moon’.
Under the Moon and Over the Stars
• The skipper then continues running around
the turners in a figure of eight to run ‘under
the moon’ again.
• Encourage skippers to enter and exit the rope
on a diagonal.

• Skippers can continue with this figure of eight
pattern, entering and exiting the rope from
both sides.

Reproduced from British Heart Foundation’s
Jump Rope for Heart Manual.

• Skippers run through the rope and exit close
to the other turner.

• Skippers combine the above by running
‘under the moon’ and run to the side of the
other turner to then ‘jump over the stars’.

Active School © BHF 2001

ACTIVE PLAYGROUNDS

15
Follow the Leader
• A leader can enter the rope, perform a move
and exit.
• Four or five pupils can follow the chosen
leader by taking it in turns to enter the rope
and repeat the leader’s move.

Creating skipping routines
Setting a class the task of devising and
performing a routine in a future lesson can be a
challenging and guaranteed way of ensuring that
older children will have to work collaboratively
at a task in their own time. The playground will
give them an ideal opportunity to get together
and practise their task.

Criss Cross
• The skippers are split into two groups of
three or four pupils.

When setting the task in the lesson there are
several points to consider:

• Group A stands by one turner, group B stands
by the other turner on the same side.

• encourage pupils to practise their moves/
combinations without a rope first and on
their own

• The groups enter the ropes alternately in a
criss-cross fashion.

• pupils can then practise the routine in time
with a partner and then in small groups

• The first skipper in group A jumps the rope,
exits on the diagonal and runs round to join
group B.

• the complexity of the routine should be
determined by the age and skipping ability
of the pupils

• Immediately he or she exits the rope, the first
skipper of group B enters the rope.

• simple, well-executed routines are far
better than more complicated ones with
many mistakes

• He or she jumps the rope once, exits on the
diagonal and runs to join group A.
• The skippers from each group take it in turns
to jump the rope and run round in a figure of
eight to join the other group.

Reproduced from British Heart Foundation’s Jump Rope for
Heart Manual.

• A simpler version would be to allow the
skipper to jump the rope three or four times
before they exit the rope. Decreasing the
number of jumps in the rope therefore makes
the game more difficult.

16

ACTIVE PLAYGROUNDS

Active School © BHF 2001
Introduce pupils to traditional
playground games
Many pupils have simply forgotten the art of
play and many of the once popular playground
games and rhymes seem to have been totally lost
or forgotten. Introducing pupils to playground
games can provide the stimulus needed to make
them popular once again and in time passed on
to future generations. Many LEAs have devised
their own playground ideas booklets and it may
be useful to get in touch with your own to
discover what they have to offer. For example,
Essex County Council Learning Services has
devised its own booklet of playground games
which is available from Essex County Council
Learning Services, Library & Publications, PO
Box 47, County Hall, Chelmsford, Essex, CM1
1LD. It has kindly given permission to print a
few examples of games which it has gathered
from various sources including dinner ladies,
parents, teachers and pupils at various locations
in the county.

Chasing games

What’s the Time Wolfie?
• The chaser in this game is Wolfie, who
walks around the playground while the other
players follow as close as they dare.
• The players call out, ‘What’s the time
Wolfie?’
• Without turning round, Wolfie can reply with
any time he or she chooses.
• At any chosen time Wolfie can shout
‘Dinnertime!’ at which point the chase is on
to try to catch one of the players.
• If one of the players is caught before he or
she reaches the pre-selected ‘home’, which is
a safe area, he or she becomes Wolfie.

Stuck in the Mud
• A player who is caught by being touched by
the chaser in this game must stand still with
arms outstretched.
• A player can only be released to join back in
with the game once another player has run
underneath one of the outstretched arms.

• The chaser begins by holding out his/her
hands. Arms can also be crossed if desired.

• The chaser’s role is therefore not simply to
capture all the players, but also to guard the
captured players so that it becomes more
difficult for them to be released.

• Each player takes hold of a finger and
stretches as far as possible away from the
chaser, ready to run.

• The mechanism for releasing a player can be
varied eg: crawling under the legs of the
immobilised person.

Poison

Reproduced with the permission of Essex CC. Learning Services.

• The chaser says, ‘I went to a shop and bought
a bottle of vinegar’ (or any other substance).

Catching games
• The players remain holding onto the chaser’s
fingers.
• If the chaser says, ‘I went to the shop and I
bought a bottle of POISON’, players need to
run away from the chaser, who will be trying
to catch one of the players.
• Once a player has been caught, he or she
becomes the chaser.

Active School © BHF 2001

These games have the potential to be more
aggressive than chasing games and so
supervision may be necessary in some instances.
Restricting the numbers of children playing in
one game is not ideal, but may be necessary to
avoid large numbers of children all running
across the playground at the same time. For the
same reason, it may be necessary to allocate a
certain area of the playground for the playing
of such games, so that they do not impede other
children’s play or dominate the whole playground.

ACTIVE PLAYGROUNDS

17
Prison Wall
• Two parallel lines are drawn across the
middle of a designated area about a metre
apart and this is known as the ‘Prison Wall’.

• Once players have been found they can
then join in helping the seeker to find the
remaining players.

40 / 40
• One player (or two) stands between the lines
and may not go beyond them.
• The other players have to run across the wall
without being touched.
• If they are touched, they must join the
catchers on the wall.

Farmer, Farmer, May We Cross Your
Golden River?
• One pupil is named as the farmer and stands
in the middle of a designated area on the
playground while the others stand about 10
metres away.
• The players call out, ‘Farmer, farmer, may we
cross your golden river?’
• The farmer replies, choosing a colour, ‘You
may not cross my river unless you are
wearing BLUE’.
• The players who are visibly wearing this
colour (even if it is only part of a garment)
can cross the river in safety.
• Those players who are not wearing the colour
have to run across the gap without being
caught by the farmer.

• Similar to Hide and Seek except that the
seeker has a base to which the players must
return from their hiding places without being
seen by the seeker.
• The seeker’s role is to spot the players and
touch the base, stating ‘40/40 I see ---’ before
that person reaches the base.

The Hunted
• In this game all the players seek one person.
Everyone hides their eyes and counts to a
particular number while one person goes
off to hide, aiming to find an especially
difficult place.
• The person who is hiding is able to change
hiding place throughout the duration of the
game, although care must be taken not to be
seen, as being seen means being caught.

Racing games
Odds and Evens

• The last person to be caught then becomes
the farmer.

• The game leader calls out either ‘Odd’ or
‘Even’ and a number.

Seeking games

• If description and number agree, for example
‘Odd seven’, the players run across to the
game leader and back again.
• The last person back to the line is out.

Hide and Seek
• One pupil is the seeker and needs to count to
a pre-selected number such as 40 while the
other players hide.
• The seeker must then find all the players.

18

ACTIVE PLAYGROUNDS

• If description and number do not agree, for
example ‘even seven’, players must stand still
and if they do run forward, they are out.

Reproduced with the permission of Essex CC. Learning Services.

• If a player is caught, he or she can either sit
out or help the farmer.

• One player, the game leader, stands on
one side of the designated playing area and
the other players stand in a line about 10
metres away.

Active School © BHF 2001
May I?
• One player, the game leader, stands on one
side of a designated playing area while the
others line up and face him/her about 10
metres away.
• The object of the game is for the other
players to be the first player to touch the
game leader.
• The players can only move forwards one at a
time according to the instructions received
individually from the game leader eg: ‘Katie,
take one giant step and three baby steps’.
• Players can only advance if they have
requested permission from the game leader by
asking ‘May I?’ If they forget or move before
permission has been granted, they return to
the starting line.

Guessing games
Queenie
• One person is the game leader and is known
as ‘Queenie’.
• Queenie is given a ball and stands with
his/her back to the other players who stand in
a straight line.
• Queenie throws the ball over his/her head
and the other players scramble for it.
• The players then stand in a row with their
hands behind their backs so that Queenie
does not know who has the ball.
• The players then ask, ‘Queenie, Queenie,
who’s got the ball?’

• Pupils quite often like to make up their own
movements, a few examples may include;
large strides, bunny hops, pigeon steps,
double-footed jumps (feet together) etc.

• Queenie turns round and guesses who has
the ball.

Peep Behind the Curtain

• All the players pretend they have the ball.

• The game leader stands about 20 metres
away from the other players with his/her
back to them.

• The named person can be asked to stretch out
or jump in the air.

• The players then try to sneak up to the
game leader and touch his/her back without
being seen.

• Queenie can then ask the named person to
turn around in the hope that the ball is seen.

• Queenie must then guess and if incorrect
stays as Queenie until guessing correctly.

Pop Stars/Film Stars

Reproduced with the permission of Essex CC. Learning Services.

• The game leader can turn round as many
times as he/she wants, to try to spot anyone
moving as the players must freeze when
this happens.
• If the game leader spots a player moving
any part of his or her body, he or she is sent
back to the start.
• The player who touches the game leader first
takes his or her position in the next game.

Active School © BHF 2001

• One person is the game leader and stands on
one side of a designated area, while the other
players stand facing the game leader about 20
metres away.
• The game leader calls out the initials of a film
or pop star.
• As soon as players think they know who the
initials stand for, they race to the front and
back again and shout out the name.
• If a he player is correct with the guess, he or
she becomes the game leader and will call out
the initials in the next game.

ACTIVE PLAYGROUNDS

19
Activity challenges

Skipping challenges

Pupils could be encouraged to practise
particular games skills eg: bat and ball skills,
dribbling and goal shooting in the available time
at breaktimes. They could also be encouraged to
keep a record of personal scores or challenges
achieved. Challenges can not only provide a
focus for pupils to work towards, but also
encourage independence and confidence as
pupils generally see improved scores.

i. Skill-based challenges

Important factors to consider when setting
challenges include:

• Can you travel while you skip?
• Can you skip turning the rope backwards?
• How many two-footed jumps can
you perform?
• Can you perform the cross-over (crossing
your arms in front of the body) while
skipping?

• setting realistic challenges
ii. Low impact (rope-swinging activities)
• emphasising effort and commitment rather
than talent and ability
• specifying a particular skill and making
available the necessary equipment for a
particular week. This would give pupils a
chance to focus on a particular skill (eg:
small bat and balls) and could be set as the
challenge for the week eg: how many times
in one minute can you bounce a small ball
up in the air?
• designating a particular area of the
playground where these challenges could be
practised and/or specifying a particular
year group for a certain day would ensure
that these activities do not monopolise
the playground
Following are a few examples of skipping
challenges adapted from the Jump Rope For
Heart Manual (see page 23 for more details).
Some of the challenges involve completing tasks
in a set period of time. The emphasis could,
however, be placed on successfully completing
tasks and concentrating on technique. Many of
the skipping challenge ideas listed on the
following page are transferable across to many
other activities eg: asking pupils whether they
can perform a skill while travelling.

20

ACTIVE PLAYGROUNDS

• Can you swing the rope to the left and then
to the right?
• Can you circle the rope horizontally low to
the ground and step over it as it approaches
each leg?
• Can you swing the rope to the side then open
it out to jump over it?
• Can you circle the rope above your head
while performing any stepping actions?

iii. Endurance challenges (as fitness and skill
levels improve, the length of time given for
these activities can be gradually increased)
• How many consecutive skips (without
tripping) can you perform forwards?
• Can you skip for one minute without a rest?
• How many consecutive skips can you
perform with a partner?
• How many consecutive skips can you and
some friends do in a long rope?

Active School © BHF 2001
iv. Speed challenges

v. Creative challenges

• How many skips can you do in 15 seconds
skipping forwards?

• How many different ways can you keep the
rope moving without jumping over it?

• How many skips can you perform in
15 seconds skipping backwards?

• Can you find three different ways of skipping
with a partner using one rope?

• How many skips can you perform with a
partner in 30 seconds?

• Can you devise a routine with your partner,
showing changes in speed?

• Skipping as fast as you can, how many jumps
can you perform before a ‘miss’ occurs?

• In a group, can you devise a short routine
where all the skips are synchronised?

Active School © BHF 2001

ACTIVE PLAYGROUNDS

21
Focus on active playtimes on
specific days
Specific days could be allocated to deliberately
focus on the need to be more active. Over time,
this process will reinforce pupil interest and
stimulate further participation.
These suggestions need to be formulated into
action steps which a whole staff can agree to
and deliberately put into operation.

effort will be well worth the rewards. Some
supervision may be needed at lunchtimes and
lunchtime supervisors are in an ideal position
to do this. The latter may need some initial
training to help familiarise them with the activity cards, for example; such training is available
for those schools who introduce
TOP Play or BT TOP Sport. See page 23 for
more details.

Encouraging activity at breaks and lunchtimes
may need some preliminary setting up but the

22

ACTIVE PLAYGROUNDS

Active School © BHF 2001
Useful references and
contacts

Health Education Authority (1998)
Young and Active – Policy framework for young
people and health-enhancing physical activity

Barbarash, Lorraine (1996)
Parachute Games
Published by Human Kinetics, PO Box IW14,
Leeds LS16 6TR

Health Promotion Wales (1994)
The Health Promoting Playground
The Sports Council for Wales and Play Wales,
Ffynnon-las, Ty Glas Avenue, Llanishen, Cardiff
CF4 5DZ Tel: 029 2075 2222

Blatchford, Peter (1989)
Playtime in the Primary School – Problems and
Improvements
Published by The NFER-NELSON
Publishing Company Ltd., Darville House,
2, Oxford Road East, Windsor, Berkshire SL4 1DF
Blatchford, Peter (1993)
Bullying in the Playground
in Understanding and Managing Bullying
p105-118 Edited by Delwyn Taltum
Published by Heineman Educational
Blatchford, Peter (1998)
Social Life in School – Pupils’ Experience of
Breaktime and Recess from 7-16 years
Published by The Falmer Press
1 Gunpowder Square, London EC4A 3DE
Blatchford, Peter and Sharp, Sonia (Eds.) (1994)
Breaktime and the School
Published by Routledge
11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE
British Heart Foundation
Jump Rope For Heart Programme
BHF, National Events Department,
14 Fitzhardinge Street, London, W1H 4DH
Tel: 020 7487 7149
Burstall, Emma (1997)
Give Them Enough Ropes
in Times Educational Supplement Primary &
Pre-school, March 26 1997, p9.
Evans (1989) cited in Blatchford, P (1993)
‘Bullying in the Playground’
in Understanding and Managing Bullying p108
Edited by Delwyn Taltum
Published by Heineman Educational
Health Education Authority (1992)
Happy Heart’s Playground Pack – HEA Happy
Heart Project
Published by Thomas Nelson and Sons Ltd.
Nelson House, Mayfield Road,
Walton-on-Thames, Surrey KT12 5PL

Active School © BHF 2001

Hull University in conjunction with Magical
Marking: Playground Marking Specialists (1996)
Play with Hindsight Project
Kalbfleisch, Susan (1987)
Skip to It!
Published by A & C Black (Publishers) Ltd.
35 Bedford Row, London, WC1R 4JH
Kalbfleisch, Susan; Harris, Jo and
Elbourn, Jill (1990)
Skip to Health Published by Ceta
Publishing, 130 Longfield Crescent, Ancaster,
Ontario L9G 3N7
Magical Marking:
Playground Marking Specialists
Five Towns R&T Centre, Castleford,
West Yorkshire WF10 1DR
Tel: 01977 519625 Fax: 01977 555664
Playground Games (1993)
Essex County Council Learning Services
Library & Publications, PO Box 47,
County Hall, Chelmsford, Essex CM1 1LD
Sharp, Sonia and Smith, Peter (1993)
Tackling Bullying: The Sheffield Project
in Understanding and Managing Bullying
p45-56 Edited by Delwyn Taltum
Published by Heineman Educational
Susan Hill (1997)
Active Fun with Playground Markings
Published by the Research Unit for PE,
Sport & Health, University of Hull, Hull HU6 7RX
Sutcliffe Sport,
Lynn Lane, Shendstone, Lichfield,
Staffordshire WS14 0EE Tel: 01543 483222
TOP Play and BT TOP Sport
Youth Sport Trust, Rutland Building,
Loughborough University, Loughborough,
Leicestershire LE11 3TU Tel: 01509 228293

ACTIVE PLAYGROUNDS

23

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British hf active_playgrounds

  • 1. The Active School Active Playgrounds Active Playgrounds A Guide for Primary Schools British Heart Foundation 14 Fitzhardinge Street London W1H 6DH Tel: 020 7935 0185 Fax: 020 7486 5820 www.bhf.org.uk British Heart Foundation is a Registered Charity, number 225971 © British Heart Foundation 2001 G70 3/2002 This booklet forms part of the British Heart Foundation’s Active School Resource Pack
  • 2. Contents Introduction 1 Why it is important to promote an active playground 1 Improved health Development of appropriate moral and social behaviour Reducing bullying 1 1 2 Practical steps to help promote an active playground Organise a ‘Playground Games’ card box 4 Dog and Bone Detectives 5 5 Provide a games equipment box 6 Provide appropriate playground markings 7 Hopscotch Search-a-round Circle Dodge Ball Run the Gauntlet Space Invaders 8 9 10 11 12 Encourage pupils to practise activities they have tried in lessons 13 Skipping activities 14 Safety considerations Skipping skill practices Skipping games Under the Moon Over the Stars Under the Moon and Over the Stars Follow the Leader Criss Cross Creating skipping routines 14 14 15 15 15 15 16 16 16 Active Schools © BHF 2001
  • 3. Introduce pupils to traditional playground games 17 Chasing games Poison What’s the Time Wolfie? Stuck in the Mud Catching games Prison Wall Farmer, Farmer, May We Cross Your Golden River? Seeking games Hide and Seek 40/40 The Hunted Racing games Odds and Evens May I? Peep Behind the Curtain Guessing Games Queenie Pop stars/Film stars 17 17 17 17 17 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 19 19 19 19 19 Activity challenges 20 Skipping challenges Skill-based challenges Low impact (rope swinging activities) Endurance challenges Speed challenges Creative challenges 20 20 20 20 21 21 Focus on active playtimes on specific days 21 Useful references and contacts 21 Active School © BHF 2001
  • 4. Introduction Since almost a fifth of the junior school day and a quarter of the infant school day is scheduled as ‘breaktime’, it is essential that this time is used productively and that children are given the opportunity to fully experience and enjoy the benefits of this unique time to be active. In a recent UK study, 93 minutes in the infant school day (24% of the school day) and 83 minutes in the junior school day (21% of the school day) were taken up by breaktimes (Blatchford and Sumpner, 1998). helping children to meet the recommended activity levels. It is therefore important that schools deliberately set out a whole-school policy which incorporates a number of action steps to ensure that playtimes are active. Teachers questioned in this latest survey were all positive about the value of breaktimes, stating that they provide: Children need to be introduced to new ideas and a variety of different activities and games at school breaktimes to provide them with the stimulus and equipment to be physically active. By helping pupils to learn these games and develop their own ideas for play at breaktimes, they will be developing the necessary skills to enable them to also be active at home in their own time. • • • • a a a a break from classroom activities time to socialise chance to let off steam chance to be physically active Why it is important to promote an active playground Improved health The Health Education Authority (HEA) (1998) recommends that children of primary school age should participate in physical activity of moderate intensity for one hour a day and that this activity can be carried out continuously or intermittently. At least twice a week, some activities should help enhance and maintain muscular strength and flexibility, and bone health. The playground may be the only opportunity that some children have to be physically active in a day, so breaktimes can play a crucial role in Active School © BHF 2001 Development of appropriate moral and social behaviour In many cases, breaktimes provide the only opportunity for children to have the freedom to totally be themselves and to truly ‘play’ with minimal adult supervision. A lack of play areas. Since 1981 over 5,000 playing fields have been sold (source: National Playing Fields Association) and the general parental concern about increased traffic and fears of abduction has led to many children simply not being given this freedom outside of school. Several researchers have highlighted the importance of unsupervised play, pointing out that this freedom is vital in allowing children to work out their own rules of behaviour (Peter Wilson, director of Young Minds, a charity dealing with mental health issues in young ACTIVE PLAYGROUNDS 1
  • 5. people, Michele Eliot of Kidscape and Diana Lamplugh of the Suzy Lamplugh Trust). They are concerned that without this freedom, children could become adults who lack the confidence to make decisions and who will find it hard to form relationships with peers because they have never had the opportunity to experience this as children. Reducing bullying Results from the National Survey of Schools (Blatchford, 1998) show that there is a general view amongst staff that children’s behaviour has worsened over the past five years, with one in four schools feeling that behaviour at breaktimes has deteriorated, with an increase in aggression and more difficult behaviour. The study concludes that children today tend not to be as constructive in play as they used to be, are more likely to be idle in the playground, and have forgotten many of the traditional games once regularly seen. This lack of purpose can quite often be the root of many bullying problems: 2 ACTIVE PLAYGROUNDS “Children with little to do during their playtime may resort to seeking adventure through various forms of illicit play – for example, fighting, teasing and annoying other children.” Evans, 1989 A head teacher from a South London School has highlighted the benefits of introducing a playground activity such as skipping to his school “It occurred to us that children were bored. Once we gave them something exciting to do, the problems disappeared.” TES2 – 28 March 1997 Since 75% of bullying in schools has been found to occur on the playground (Sharp & Smith, 1991) and one of the suggested causes is boredom or lack of stimulus, providing children with a variety of active opportunities could be the key in alleviating such behavioural problems. Following is an outline of some steps that could be taken to encourage more activity at breaktimes with practical examples and tips. The age of pupils and the availability of resources will influence the best approach for each school. Active School © BHF 2001
  • 7. Organise a ‘Playground Games’ card box This could include: • cards on which different examples of playground games are described • cards produced by pupils which describe games they have developed themselves Ideas to facilitate the use of playground games cards include: • organising a competition each term for the best game developed by a pupil • promoting games which require no teacher direction and no special equipment • designating a certain breaktime each week for any games and/or activities which do require teacher supervision • posting cards on windows facing outwards to allow more than one group at a time to use a card 4 ACTIVE PLAYGROUNDS There are commercial packs available (for full details see page 23) which provide ideas of games and activities that can be used to promote activity at breaktimes: • Happy Heart’s Playground Pack developed by the HEA Happy Heart Project with help from the National Children’s Play and Recreation Unit • The TOP Play and BT TOP Sport cards produced by the Youth Sport Trust and Sport England (formerly the English Sports Council) • The Health Promoting Playground produced by Health Promotion Wales, The Sports Council for Wales and Play Wales • Active Fun with Playground Markings produced by The University of Hull in conjunction with Magical Marking Following are two examples of playground games, each applicable for a different age group. These examples are from the Happy Heart pack and have been included with the kind permission of Hull University and Thomas Nelson and Sons Ltd. Active School © BHF 2001
  • 8. Dog and Bone Detectives Equipment: one small object eg: a bean bag or small ball Organisation: • suitable for pupils aged 8 years and above Organisation: • can be played with 4 or more players • suitable for pupils aged 5 years and above • adult supervision is advised • to be played with 2 players Method: Method: • each player chooses a ‘home’ area away from his or her partner • the object should be placed on the ground midway between the two ‘home’ areas • each player stands one step back from the object towards the direction of their ‘home’ area • stand in a circle with one player in the middle who is the detective • the detective closes his or her eyes while a leader is chosen from the players in the circle • the leader then starts doing an action (eg: jumping on the spot, swinging arms) and the rest of the players copy • the leader changes the action quite often and the others in the circle do the same • the players turn and stand sideways • one of the players or a friend shouts ‘GO’ and both players try to grab the object and run to their ‘home’ area • the player who does not get the object must chase the other and try to tag him or her • if the chased player is caught before reaching his or her ‘home’ area the game is started again • the detective opens his or her eyes and tries to guess who is the leader • when the detective has guessed the leader, a new detective and leader are chosen • ideas for actions: hopping, skipping, clapping, sit down-stand up, running on the spot, feet apart-feet together, turning round Reproduced with the permission of Hull University and Thomas Nelson and Sons Ltd. • players should take it in turns to say ‘go’ or ask a friend to say it Active School © BHF 2001 ACTIVE PLAYGROUNDS 5
  • 9. Provide a games equipment box A games equipment box will encourage pupils to be active at breaktimes, especially if accompanied by appropriate cards providing games ideas. Equipment: • equipment provided would depend on the age of the pupils and the area available but could include balls, skipping ropes and bean bags (no equipment should be provided that could be dangerous when used without supervision) • alternative equipment (eg: foam frisbees, velcro catch pads/gloves, hit and stick bat, skittles, foam balls, flip toss, koosh balls) could be purchased for the children to try out. Contact Sutcliffe Sport, Lynn Lane, Shendstone, Lichfield, Staffs WS14 0EE Tel: 01543 483222 for more details • some equipment may require supervision eg: parachute games. This could be provided by lunch time supervisors if some initial training was given. Parachute Games (1996) by Todd Strong and Dale LeFevre is a book providing 6 ACTIVE PLAYGROUNDS 60 different activities which can be carried out using a parachute. (For details see page 23) • separate boxes containing board games eg: chess, draughts, snakes & ladders, ludo, dominoes, playing cards etc. could be gathered over time for each class to use during wet playtimes. Ask parents for board games no longer used or check out car boot sales. ESPO (Eastern Shire Purchasing Organisation) also sells such games Organisation: • for safety reasons a certain area of the playground may need to be designated for the use of this equipment in the playground • pupil monitors could be nominated who are responsible for taking out and collecting the box (providing the box is not too heavy) • a rota system may need to be introduced to ensure that all pupils have the opportunity to use the equipment at some point (eg: certain classes on certain days are given first priority) Active School © BHF 2001
  • 10. Provide appropriate playground markings A range of appropriate playground markings can help promote physical activity and play in primary schools. Results of a recent study carried out by Liverpool University showed that the physical activity levels of a group of 5-7 year olds increased by approximately 20% after playground markings had been added. Children’s play was also found to be generally more focused and purposeful (Stratton, 1996). Following are examples of possible playground markings and associated games: • Hopscotch and Search-a-round (pages 8-9) found in ‘The Health Promoting Playground’ Active School © BHF 2001 Produced by Health Promotion Wales, The Sports Council for Wales and Play Wales and reproduced with their permission. For full details see page 23 • Circle Dodge Ball, Run the Gauntlet and Space Invaders (pages 10,11 and 12) are taken from a booklet entitled ‘Active Fun with Playground Markings’. It has been produced by Hull University in conjunction with Magical Marking, Playground Marking Specialists and has been reproduced with their permission. Copies can be ordered from the Research Unit for PE, Sport & Health, University of Hull, Hull, HU6 7RX ACTIVE PLAYGROUNDS 7
  • 11. Hopscotch • the first player(s) throws a small stone onto number one Technical specifications: • squares 30cm x 30cm • the player(s) moves along the grid placing one foot on single squares and both feet on the double squares until number 10 is reached, without stepping on the square holding the stone • centre square 60cm x 60cm divided into four triangles • number stencils 15cm x 15cm • starting from centre square mark squares outwards on three sides • the player(s) turn round and return to the start in the same way, picking up the stone when s/he reaches it • paint edges in different colours (approx. 1 litre in total) • the stone is then thrown onto number 2 and the moves repeated • for numbers use one can Rocal Easiline Spray • play continues in the same way until the player(s) reach number 10 or misthrow the stone • all three hopscotch areas can be used at once • if the stone is misthrown and a player is just focusing on completing the task, another player should be given a turn • individuals or teams could have a race against each other to see who/which team is first to complete the task or individuals can just focus on completing the task 1 3 2 4 5 7 8 9 6 3 10 7 4 10 9 8 5 2 1 10 8 9 6 • when number 10 is reached the task is completed and it is the turn of the next player 5 6 4 2 3 1 8 ACTIVE PLAYGROUNDS Reproduced with the permission of Health Promotion Wales. 7 Active School © BHF 2001
  • 12. Search-a-round • Three small teams can play this at any one time, with each team having a designated hopscotch area. • An additional pupil acts as ‘caller’. • The caller should write a list of numbers from 1 to 10 and against each number write down a readily available item. • The caller calls out the first item on the list which each team has to collect and place on number 1. • Once the named item has been placed on the relevant number, a member of the team can ask the caller for the next item to be placed on number 2. • This procedure is followed until each numbered square contains an item. • The first team to collect all ten items is the winner. Reproduced with the permission of Health Promotion Wales. • Three baskets containing 10 different small items eg: bean bags, small balls, etc, could be placed a set distance away from each hopscotch area from which each item must be collected, with the caller noting these down in a particular order. • Each team starts on the number 1 of their hopscotch area. Active School © BHF 2001 ACTIVE PLAYGROUNDS 9
  • 13. Circle Dodge Ball Players: 6+ Age range: 4-11 year olds Playground Marking: any circular marking eg: face, clock or marble ring 11 12 1 2 10 9 3 4 8 6 5 • The players are divided into two teams, ‘dodgers and attackers’. • The dodgers stand inside the circle and the attackers stand on the outside edge of the circle at roughly equal distances from each other. • The attackers are in possession of one sponge ball (more than one if you wish). • The attackers try to score as many points as possible in a set time, by hitting the dodgers with the ball. • The attackers stand still but the dodgers can move anywhere within the circle. • The game begins when an attacker passes the ball to another attacker, who then tries to hit a dodger with a ball below the waist. • A point is scored for every hit. 10 ACTIVE PLAYGROUNDS • Only one hit can be registered with one throw, ie: the ball rebounding off another dodger does not count. • The ball usually rebounds out of the circle. If it does not, an attacker may go in and collect it. This is the only time an attacker is allowed in the circle. • Play then continues when the attacker passes the ball to another attacker. • The dodgers cannot leave the circle to avoid the ball. • For every infringement of the rules, one point is deducted from the score of the offending team. In this way no player has to be eliminated from the game. Reproduced with the permission of Hull University. 7 Active School © BHF 2001
  • 14. Run the Gauntlet Players: 6+ Age range: 4-11 year olds Playground marking: netball court ‘safe area’ Gauntlet Reproduced with the permission of Hull University. • The two end sections of the netball court are ‘safe’ areas and the central area becomes the ‘Gauntlet’. • The game leader, who is known as the ‘Gladiator’, stands in the central area. • All the other players stand in one of the safe areas. • The players shout “Gladiator, may we run the gauntlet?” and the Gladiator replies, “not unless you’ve got the colour...” ‘safe area’ • All players that are touched then join the middle and help the Gladiator. • The game continues until one player remains. This last player then becomes the new Gladiator for the next game. • Encourage the use of different conditions, for example, ‘has a birthday in June’, ‘has the letter S in the first name’, ‘has an older brother/sister’, etc. • All players wearing clothing with the chosen colour may cross freely to the other side. • The remaining players must then try to cross and the Gladiator should try to touch them. Active School © BHF 2001 ACTIVE PLAYGROUNDS 11
  • 15. Space Invaders Players: 6+ ;;;;; ;;;;; ;;;;; yyy ;;;;; yyy ;;;;; yyy Age range: 4-11 year olds ;;;; ;;;; ;;;; ;;;; ;;;; Playground marking: variety of shapes • The game leader calls out a number and the players quickly form groups of the relevant number in the nearest shape to them. • The players resume moving around the activity area in-between each instruction. • The game leader can introduce different ways of moving around the shapes eg: skipping, walking and jogging. • If your playground markings are different colours, colours can be used as an instruction, eg: “everyone in a red shape”. • Once the players are familiar with quickly forming into groups of different numbers inside shapes, more instructions eg: “both hands in a shape” and “left feet in a shape” can be introduced. 12 ACTIVE PLAYGROUNDS • As players become more familiar with following various instructions, instructions can be combined eg: “5 hands in a yellow shape” and “8 feet in a green shape”. • The game leader may want to shout “Space Invaders” at any given time and all the players must then quickly move from their shape to another shape. Safety and modification As well as considering safety factors such as whether the playground surface is slippery or not and safe numbers to play the games, the games may need some modification depending on the age range and ability of the pupils. For example, changing the pace of the game, extending or reducing the activity area, size of teams and length of time playing. Reproduced with the permission of Hull University. • Players should move around the shapes in different ways, changing direction and altering pace. Active School © BHF 2001
  • 16. Encourage pupils to practise activities they have tried in lessons Teachers could encourage pupils to spend time in their breaks practising some of the activities they have been introduced to in lessons. Some activities could be introduced within lessons which are specifically designed for pupils to be able to use them on the playground. For example, skipping, small ball skills, racket skills and team games. It is important, however, that any game or activity does not dominate the playground at the expense of other pupils. To prevent this from occurring: Active School © BHF 2001 • nominate a particular area for the playing of such games/activities • establish certain times during which particular activities can or cannot be played eg: Thursdays are small ball games only (the former is preferable as it is unfortunate if pupils are prevented from participating in activity when they wish to do so) ACTIVE PLAYGROUNDS 13
  • 17. Skipping activities One example of an activity which could be introduced as part of any project on healthy living or health-related exercise is skipping. It is an ideal activity which may begin in a lesson and can be continued and/or extended on the playground. Skipping is also an activity which can develop leg strength, agility, balance and co-ordination and so aids skill development for many other areas of the PE National Curriculum. The British Heart Foundation’s (BHF) Jump Rope For Heart programme offers schools free skipping resources valued at £100 and encourages pupils to take part in a fun and aerobic activity while raising funds for BHF and the school. For more details see page 23. There are several safety considerations which must be taken into account when introducing pupils to skipping: Safety considerations • Footwear – pupils will need to wear supportive footwear. Pupils may need to be encouraged to wear trainers for playground skipping if their outdoor shoes are not considered to be safe. • Space – pupils need to be made aware that they require adequate space all around them to be able to swing the rope without making contact with other ropes or skippers. A designated playground area is therefore advised and other non-skipping pupils should also be made aware of the dangers. • Rope length – for individual skipping, when pupils stand in the middle of the rope and pull the handles upwards, the rope handles should reach the armpits. They can be shortened by tying knots at each end just below the handles. • Inappropriate use of the ropes – pupils need to be made fully aware of the possible dangers of not using the ropes appropriately and correctly. In some cases, adult supervision may be necessary. Below are some examples of three areas which may be covered in a lesson and allow scope to be continued and/or extended on the playground: Skipping skill practices There are many different skipping skills, some that focus on footwork, armwork or both and which can be carried out alone, with a partner or in a group. Once a range of these basic skills (eg: double foot and alternate foot variations) have been mastered, there is tremendous scope for pupils to combine skills, adapt and create their own ideas. For more details on many of the various foot stunts and the possible combinations, refer to the British Heart Foundation Jump Rope For Heart Manual which is available by registering for the Jump Rope For Heart programme or to the books Skip to It (Susan Kalbfleisch) and Skip to Health (Susan Kalbfleisch, Jo Harris and Jill Elbourn). Details are included on page 23. • Clothing – sensible, loose-fitting clothing which allows free movement of the legs and arms. For any skill practices, pupils should aim to: • Weather conditions – certain wet playground conditions or very hot lunchtimes may be considered unsafe. • keep the bounces low, knees slightly bent and heels in frequent contact with the ground (in order to minimise the impact) • • keep the elbows in at waist level, close to the sides of the body and perform small circular turning actions with the lower arms while keeping the wrists firm Fluid intake – this is particularly important in warm weather conditions to avoid dehydration and prevent the body from overheating. Children are not as efficient as adults in controlling body temperature. • develop good skipping technique • practise new skills without a rope first 14 ACTIVE PLAYGROUNDS Active School © BHF 2001
  • 18. Skipping games Over the Stars • Turners turn the rope away from the skipper. The following games are examples adapted from the British Heart Foundation Jump Rope For Heart Programme (for full details see page 23) and can be introduced to pupils in a single lesson. Pupils can then be encouraged to continue playing these games or adapting them during playtimes. All the games involve a long rope (14ft), which will require two turners. Try to ensure that pupils are aware of the need to change the turners regularly. • As the rope clips the floor and starts moving towards the skipper, the skipper jumps ‘over the stars’. Under the Moon • Turners turn the rope towards the skipper. • Skipper stands close to one of the turners. • As the rope passes in front of the skipper and brushes the floor, rotating up and away from her or him, the skipper runs under the ‘moon’. Under the Moon and Over the Stars • The skipper then continues running around the turners in a figure of eight to run ‘under the moon’ again. • Encourage skippers to enter and exit the rope on a diagonal. • Skippers can continue with this figure of eight pattern, entering and exiting the rope from both sides. Reproduced from British Heart Foundation’s Jump Rope for Heart Manual. • Skippers run through the rope and exit close to the other turner. • Skippers combine the above by running ‘under the moon’ and run to the side of the other turner to then ‘jump over the stars’. Active School © BHF 2001 ACTIVE PLAYGROUNDS 15
  • 19. Follow the Leader • A leader can enter the rope, perform a move and exit. • Four or five pupils can follow the chosen leader by taking it in turns to enter the rope and repeat the leader’s move. Creating skipping routines Setting a class the task of devising and performing a routine in a future lesson can be a challenging and guaranteed way of ensuring that older children will have to work collaboratively at a task in their own time. The playground will give them an ideal opportunity to get together and practise their task. Criss Cross • The skippers are split into two groups of three or four pupils. When setting the task in the lesson there are several points to consider: • Group A stands by one turner, group B stands by the other turner on the same side. • encourage pupils to practise their moves/ combinations without a rope first and on their own • The groups enter the ropes alternately in a criss-cross fashion. • pupils can then practise the routine in time with a partner and then in small groups • The first skipper in group A jumps the rope, exits on the diagonal and runs round to join group B. • the complexity of the routine should be determined by the age and skipping ability of the pupils • Immediately he or she exits the rope, the first skipper of group B enters the rope. • simple, well-executed routines are far better than more complicated ones with many mistakes • He or she jumps the rope once, exits on the diagonal and runs to join group A. • The skippers from each group take it in turns to jump the rope and run round in a figure of eight to join the other group. Reproduced from British Heart Foundation’s Jump Rope for Heart Manual. • A simpler version would be to allow the skipper to jump the rope three or four times before they exit the rope. Decreasing the number of jumps in the rope therefore makes the game more difficult. 16 ACTIVE PLAYGROUNDS Active School © BHF 2001
  • 20. Introduce pupils to traditional playground games Many pupils have simply forgotten the art of play and many of the once popular playground games and rhymes seem to have been totally lost or forgotten. Introducing pupils to playground games can provide the stimulus needed to make them popular once again and in time passed on to future generations. Many LEAs have devised their own playground ideas booklets and it may be useful to get in touch with your own to discover what they have to offer. For example, Essex County Council Learning Services has devised its own booklet of playground games which is available from Essex County Council Learning Services, Library & Publications, PO Box 47, County Hall, Chelmsford, Essex, CM1 1LD. It has kindly given permission to print a few examples of games which it has gathered from various sources including dinner ladies, parents, teachers and pupils at various locations in the county. Chasing games What’s the Time Wolfie? • The chaser in this game is Wolfie, who walks around the playground while the other players follow as close as they dare. • The players call out, ‘What’s the time Wolfie?’ • Without turning round, Wolfie can reply with any time he or she chooses. • At any chosen time Wolfie can shout ‘Dinnertime!’ at which point the chase is on to try to catch one of the players. • If one of the players is caught before he or she reaches the pre-selected ‘home’, which is a safe area, he or she becomes Wolfie. Stuck in the Mud • A player who is caught by being touched by the chaser in this game must stand still with arms outstretched. • A player can only be released to join back in with the game once another player has run underneath one of the outstretched arms. • The chaser begins by holding out his/her hands. Arms can also be crossed if desired. • The chaser’s role is therefore not simply to capture all the players, but also to guard the captured players so that it becomes more difficult for them to be released. • Each player takes hold of a finger and stretches as far as possible away from the chaser, ready to run. • The mechanism for releasing a player can be varied eg: crawling under the legs of the immobilised person. Poison Reproduced with the permission of Essex CC. Learning Services. • The chaser says, ‘I went to a shop and bought a bottle of vinegar’ (or any other substance). Catching games • The players remain holding onto the chaser’s fingers. • If the chaser says, ‘I went to the shop and I bought a bottle of POISON’, players need to run away from the chaser, who will be trying to catch one of the players. • Once a player has been caught, he or she becomes the chaser. Active School © BHF 2001 These games have the potential to be more aggressive than chasing games and so supervision may be necessary in some instances. Restricting the numbers of children playing in one game is not ideal, but may be necessary to avoid large numbers of children all running across the playground at the same time. For the same reason, it may be necessary to allocate a certain area of the playground for the playing of such games, so that they do not impede other children’s play or dominate the whole playground. ACTIVE PLAYGROUNDS 17
  • 21. Prison Wall • Two parallel lines are drawn across the middle of a designated area about a metre apart and this is known as the ‘Prison Wall’. • Once players have been found they can then join in helping the seeker to find the remaining players. 40 / 40 • One player (or two) stands between the lines and may not go beyond them. • The other players have to run across the wall without being touched. • If they are touched, they must join the catchers on the wall. Farmer, Farmer, May We Cross Your Golden River? • One pupil is named as the farmer and stands in the middle of a designated area on the playground while the others stand about 10 metres away. • The players call out, ‘Farmer, farmer, may we cross your golden river?’ • The farmer replies, choosing a colour, ‘You may not cross my river unless you are wearing BLUE’. • The players who are visibly wearing this colour (even if it is only part of a garment) can cross the river in safety. • Those players who are not wearing the colour have to run across the gap without being caught by the farmer. • Similar to Hide and Seek except that the seeker has a base to which the players must return from their hiding places without being seen by the seeker. • The seeker’s role is to spot the players and touch the base, stating ‘40/40 I see ---’ before that person reaches the base. The Hunted • In this game all the players seek one person. Everyone hides their eyes and counts to a particular number while one person goes off to hide, aiming to find an especially difficult place. • The person who is hiding is able to change hiding place throughout the duration of the game, although care must be taken not to be seen, as being seen means being caught. Racing games Odds and Evens • The last person to be caught then becomes the farmer. • The game leader calls out either ‘Odd’ or ‘Even’ and a number. Seeking games • If description and number agree, for example ‘Odd seven’, the players run across to the game leader and back again. • The last person back to the line is out. Hide and Seek • One pupil is the seeker and needs to count to a pre-selected number such as 40 while the other players hide. • The seeker must then find all the players. 18 ACTIVE PLAYGROUNDS • If description and number do not agree, for example ‘even seven’, players must stand still and if they do run forward, they are out. Reproduced with the permission of Essex CC. Learning Services. • If a player is caught, he or she can either sit out or help the farmer. • One player, the game leader, stands on one side of the designated playing area and the other players stand in a line about 10 metres away. Active School © BHF 2001
  • 22. May I? • One player, the game leader, stands on one side of a designated playing area while the others line up and face him/her about 10 metres away. • The object of the game is for the other players to be the first player to touch the game leader. • The players can only move forwards one at a time according to the instructions received individually from the game leader eg: ‘Katie, take one giant step and three baby steps’. • Players can only advance if they have requested permission from the game leader by asking ‘May I?’ If they forget or move before permission has been granted, they return to the starting line. Guessing games Queenie • One person is the game leader and is known as ‘Queenie’. • Queenie is given a ball and stands with his/her back to the other players who stand in a straight line. • Queenie throws the ball over his/her head and the other players scramble for it. • The players then stand in a row with their hands behind their backs so that Queenie does not know who has the ball. • The players then ask, ‘Queenie, Queenie, who’s got the ball?’ • Pupils quite often like to make up their own movements, a few examples may include; large strides, bunny hops, pigeon steps, double-footed jumps (feet together) etc. • Queenie turns round and guesses who has the ball. Peep Behind the Curtain • All the players pretend they have the ball. • The game leader stands about 20 metres away from the other players with his/her back to them. • The named person can be asked to stretch out or jump in the air. • The players then try to sneak up to the game leader and touch his/her back without being seen. • Queenie can then ask the named person to turn around in the hope that the ball is seen. • Queenie must then guess and if incorrect stays as Queenie until guessing correctly. Pop Stars/Film Stars Reproduced with the permission of Essex CC. Learning Services. • The game leader can turn round as many times as he/she wants, to try to spot anyone moving as the players must freeze when this happens. • If the game leader spots a player moving any part of his or her body, he or she is sent back to the start. • The player who touches the game leader first takes his or her position in the next game. Active School © BHF 2001 • One person is the game leader and stands on one side of a designated area, while the other players stand facing the game leader about 20 metres away. • The game leader calls out the initials of a film or pop star. • As soon as players think they know who the initials stand for, they race to the front and back again and shout out the name. • If a he player is correct with the guess, he or she becomes the game leader and will call out the initials in the next game. ACTIVE PLAYGROUNDS 19
  • 23. Activity challenges Skipping challenges Pupils could be encouraged to practise particular games skills eg: bat and ball skills, dribbling and goal shooting in the available time at breaktimes. They could also be encouraged to keep a record of personal scores or challenges achieved. Challenges can not only provide a focus for pupils to work towards, but also encourage independence and confidence as pupils generally see improved scores. i. Skill-based challenges Important factors to consider when setting challenges include: • Can you travel while you skip? • Can you skip turning the rope backwards? • How many two-footed jumps can you perform? • Can you perform the cross-over (crossing your arms in front of the body) while skipping? • setting realistic challenges ii. Low impact (rope-swinging activities) • emphasising effort and commitment rather than talent and ability • specifying a particular skill and making available the necessary equipment for a particular week. This would give pupils a chance to focus on a particular skill (eg: small bat and balls) and could be set as the challenge for the week eg: how many times in one minute can you bounce a small ball up in the air? • designating a particular area of the playground where these challenges could be practised and/or specifying a particular year group for a certain day would ensure that these activities do not monopolise the playground Following are a few examples of skipping challenges adapted from the Jump Rope For Heart Manual (see page 23 for more details). Some of the challenges involve completing tasks in a set period of time. The emphasis could, however, be placed on successfully completing tasks and concentrating on technique. Many of the skipping challenge ideas listed on the following page are transferable across to many other activities eg: asking pupils whether they can perform a skill while travelling. 20 ACTIVE PLAYGROUNDS • Can you swing the rope to the left and then to the right? • Can you circle the rope horizontally low to the ground and step over it as it approaches each leg? • Can you swing the rope to the side then open it out to jump over it? • Can you circle the rope above your head while performing any stepping actions? iii. Endurance challenges (as fitness and skill levels improve, the length of time given for these activities can be gradually increased) • How many consecutive skips (without tripping) can you perform forwards? • Can you skip for one minute without a rest? • How many consecutive skips can you perform with a partner? • How many consecutive skips can you and some friends do in a long rope? Active School © BHF 2001
  • 24. iv. Speed challenges v. Creative challenges • How many skips can you do in 15 seconds skipping forwards? • How many different ways can you keep the rope moving without jumping over it? • How many skips can you perform in 15 seconds skipping backwards? • Can you find three different ways of skipping with a partner using one rope? • How many skips can you perform with a partner in 30 seconds? • Can you devise a routine with your partner, showing changes in speed? • Skipping as fast as you can, how many jumps can you perform before a ‘miss’ occurs? • In a group, can you devise a short routine where all the skips are synchronised? Active School © BHF 2001 ACTIVE PLAYGROUNDS 21
  • 25. Focus on active playtimes on specific days Specific days could be allocated to deliberately focus on the need to be more active. Over time, this process will reinforce pupil interest and stimulate further participation. These suggestions need to be formulated into action steps which a whole staff can agree to and deliberately put into operation. effort will be well worth the rewards. Some supervision may be needed at lunchtimes and lunchtime supervisors are in an ideal position to do this. The latter may need some initial training to help familiarise them with the activity cards, for example; such training is available for those schools who introduce TOP Play or BT TOP Sport. See page 23 for more details. Encouraging activity at breaks and lunchtimes may need some preliminary setting up but the 22 ACTIVE PLAYGROUNDS Active School © BHF 2001
  • 26. Useful references and contacts Health Education Authority (1998) Young and Active – Policy framework for young people and health-enhancing physical activity Barbarash, Lorraine (1996) Parachute Games Published by Human Kinetics, PO Box IW14, Leeds LS16 6TR Health Promotion Wales (1994) The Health Promoting Playground The Sports Council for Wales and Play Wales, Ffynnon-las, Ty Glas Avenue, Llanishen, Cardiff CF4 5DZ Tel: 029 2075 2222 Blatchford, Peter (1989) Playtime in the Primary School – Problems and Improvements Published by The NFER-NELSON Publishing Company Ltd., Darville House, 2, Oxford Road East, Windsor, Berkshire SL4 1DF Blatchford, Peter (1993) Bullying in the Playground in Understanding and Managing Bullying p105-118 Edited by Delwyn Taltum Published by Heineman Educational Blatchford, Peter (1998) Social Life in School – Pupils’ Experience of Breaktime and Recess from 7-16 years Published by The Falmer Press 1 Gunpowder Square, London EC4A 3DE Blatchford, Peter and Sharp, Sonia (Eds.) (1994) Breaktime and the School Published by Routledge 11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE British Heart Foundation Jump Rope For Heart Programme BHF, National Events Department, 14 Fitzhardinge Street, London, W1H 4DH Tel: 020 7487 7149 Burstall, Emma (1997) Give Them Enough Ropes in Times Educational Supplement Primary & Pre-school, March 26 1997, p9. Evans (1989) cited in Blatchford, P (1993) ‘Bullying in the Playground’ in Understanding and Managing Bullying p108 Edited by Delwyn Taltum Published by Heineman Educational Health Education Authority (1992) Happy Heart’s Playground Pack – HEA Happy Heart Project Published by Thomas Nelson and Sons Ltd. Nelson House, Mayfield Road, Walton-on-Thames, Surrey KT12 5PL Active School © BHF 2001 Hull University in conjunction with Magical Marking: Playground Marking Specialists (1996) Play with Hindsight Project Kalbfleisch, Susan (1987) Skip to It! Published by A & C Black (Publishers) Ltd. 35 Bedford Row, London, WC1R 4JH Kalbfleisch, Susan; Harris, Jo and Elbourn, Jill (1990) Skip to Health Published by Ceta Publishing, 130 Longfield Crescent, Ancaster, Ontario L9G 3N7 Magical Marking: Playground Marking Specialists Five Towns R&T Centre, Castleford, West Yorkshire WF10 1DR Tel: 01977 519625 Fax: 01977 555664 Playground Games (1993) Essex County Council Learning Services Library & Publications, PO Box 47, County Hall, Chelmsford, Essex CM1 1LD Sharp, Sonia and Smith, Peter (1993) Tackling Bullying: The Sheffield Project in Understanding and Managing Bullying p45-56 Edited by Delwyn Taltum Published by Heineman Educational Susan Hill (1997) Active Fun with Playground Markings Published by the Research Unit for PE, Sport & Health, University of Hull, Hull HU6 7RX Sutcliffe Sport, Lynn Lane, Shendstone, Lichfield, Staffordshire WS14 0EE Tel: 01543 483222 TOP Play and BT TOP Sport Youth Sport Trust, Rutland Building, Loughborough University, Loughborough, Leicestershire LE11 3TU Tel: 01509 228293 ACTIVE PLAYGROUNDS 23