SCHOOL ACTIVITY ENVIRONMENT
ENACT STRATEGY: Playgrounds
Provide equipment and safe playground facilities for active play
A safe and inviting environment that encourages children to get active can help them burn calories and excess energy while they play on school grounds. Play structures to climb and swing on, and accessible sports equipment such as balls, jump ropes, and hula hoops offer opportunities for group or individual active play. It is important that schools design playgrounds that are safe and developmentally appropriate, so that students are able to focus on having fun and challenging themselves to develop new physical skills.
Playground Related Statistics (PDF)
Playground Related Statistics from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.
Physical Activity for Youth Policy Initiative (PDF)
“Physical Activity for Youth Policy Initiative” presented by The National Coalition for Promoting Physical Activity “seeks to provide a means for advocates and policymakers to address the issue of physical inactivity.” The article contains policy options and policies in action in the areas of after school programs, community programs and community design.
National Program for Playground Safety
“The National Program for Playground Safety was created in October 1995 to help communities across the nation examine the critical issues surrounding playground safety. This National Action Plan is one of the first steps toward helping prevent many needless injuries to our children on the nation's playgrounds.”
How to Organize a Playday
The America Association for the Child’s Right to Play has information on how to plan, organize and implement a playday. “A PlayDay is fun! It is a day designed to draw attention to a range and diversity of play activities. A PlayDay will encompass everything from massive park events for thousands of children and adults to small picnics for little ones. It is an opportunity for children, schools, day cares, individuals, families, or communities to share in physical and mental challenges without the pressure of winning or losing ‘the game.’”
Sports4Kids
“We are pleased to be able to offer the Sports4Kids Curriculum free of charge. The curriculum units each give an overview of why the subject matter is relevant, a vocabulary list to help focus planning and discussion and a set of games or activities to teach the subject. Additionally, the curriculum offers suggestions and sample documents that will help with the program's successful implementation.”
Peaceful Playgrounds
“Designing a Playground that Works! The purpose of the Peaceful Playground Program is to introduce children and school staff to the many choices of activities available on playgrounds and field areas. Each Blueprint is designed to assist with measurements, layout, spacing and game placement, as well as provide an overall picture of the final design outcome of a Peaceful Playground.”
National Program for Playground Safety
“America's youth have long enjoyed the benefits of public playgrounds. The challenges found on a playground are a great asset for the physical, emotional, social and intellectual development of the children at play. Many of today's adults remember hours of fun and adventure spent on the playgrounds of their childhood. But, all too often, these memories are mixed with pain.”
American Association for the Child’s Right to Play
“The American Association for the Child’s Right to Play is the national affiliate of IPA, an international non-governmental organization, founded in Denmark in 1961. It is interdisciplinary and embraces in membership persons of all professions working for or with children. The purpose of IPA/USA is to protect, preserve, and promote play as a fundamental right for all humans.”
Peaceful Playground Grant Opportunities
“The U.S. Department of Education will award grants under this competition to local educational agencies and community-based organizations to initiate, expand, or improve physical education programs, including after-school programs, for students in one or more grades from kindergarten through 12th grade in order to help students make progress toward meeting state standards for physical education.”
Playground Environment Increases Physical Activity Level
Fifteen schools located in low income neighborhoods in England received funding through a national Sporting Playgrounds Initiative to redesign the playground environment. Researchers found higher physical activity levels of the students during recess at these schools when compared with eleven control schools. The results suggest that investing in a playground redesign, including multicolor playground markings and physical structures, is a promising strategy for increasing children's school recess physical activity levels.
Ridgers, N., Stratton, G., Fairclough, S., Twisk, J. Long-term effects of a playground markings and physical structures on children's recess physical activity levels. ** Preventive Medicine. 2007 May; 44(5): 393-7.
Game equipment increases physical activity level
“Providing game equipment during recess periods was found to be effective in increasing children's physical activity levels. This finding suggests that promoting physical activity through game equipment provision during recess periods can contribute to reach the daily activity levels recommended for good health.”
Verstraete, S., Cardon, G., De Clercq, D., De Bourdeaudhuij, I. Increasing children's physical activity levels during recess periods in elementary schools: the effects of providing game equipment. European Journal of Public Health. 2006 Aug;16(4):415-9.
The Association of School Environments with Youth Physical Activity (PDF)
This study assessed the facilities, equipment, and supervision on 24 middle school grounds, and recorded student activity before school, during lunch, and after school. Researchers found that school environments with high levels of supervision and improvements stimulated girls and boys to be more physically active.
Sallis, JF, et al. The association of school environments with youth physical activity. American Journal of Public Health. 2001 April; 91(4):618-20.
** We can only provide links to the article abstracts and not the full text.