Select Committee on Health Written Evidence


Memorandum by the Children's Play Council (WP 58)

"OPPORTUNITIES FOR SPONTANEOUS PLAY MAY BE THE ONLY REQUIREMENT THAT YOUNG CHILDREN NEED TO INCREASE THEIR PHYSICAL ACTIVITY". (BMJ EDITORIAL, 10 FEBRUARY 2001)

SUMMARY

  1.  Children's Play Council welcomes the focus of the Government's Public Health White Paper on children's health, in particular exercise, but we are extremely concerned that the White Paper under-values the importance of outdoor play in providing the vital exercise children need. In doing so it risks missing one of the most obvious and cost effective solutions to improving not only children's physical health but also their opportunities for social, emotional and creative development.

  2.  There is clear evidence that primary school children expend more energy per minute in free outdoor play than in any activity other than school PE lessons. Yet play, as a vital form of exercise, is glossed over in the White Paper and no policy proposals or mainstream resources to promote outdoor play are offered. Although brief mention is made of Lottery Funding for children's play provision this is, by definition, short-term and should not be seen as a substitute for long-term planning and resourcing of good opportunities for children to play outdoors. Below we summarise the evidence base and policy solutions we hope the Committee will recommend to the Department of Health.

CHILDREN'S PLAY COUNCIL EVIDENCE

  3.  The following information refers to children of statutory school age. It shows that:

  4.  During children's play and free-time:

    —  To increase their energy expenditure children need to spend less of their free time at home.

    —  The best free-time exercise is walking and playing informal ball games.

    —  Children get more exercise from outdoor play than they do from clubs and formal sports activities.

    —  Children who walk to their leisure activities and school are more energetic when they get there.

    —  But not all children get involved in these energetic activities.

    —  Children enjoy and would like more physically active play.

    —  Children do not play out as much as they would like because their parents are worried about them. Parents' fear revolves around traffic and "stranger" danger.

    —  Other reasons children do not play out include their fear of bullies, being told off by adults and poorly maintained play areas.

    —  Children are frequently prevented form playing in active ways.

  5.  In school:

    —  Play/break times are a crucial time for children to take exercise.

    —  PE and games lessons are the most energetic part of the school day but last for only 70 minutes a week.

    —  Any attempt to reduce the length of play/break times in school is likely to have a significant effect in reducing children's activity levels.

  6.  Simple measures by local authorities, Primary Care Trusts and schools could significantly increase the amount of exercise children get through playing out.

CHILDREN'S PLAY AND LEISURE TIME[112]

  7.   To increase their energy expenditure children need to spend less of their free time at home

  Out of school hours children spend less than 40% of their time away from home. There is a clear, negative correlation between the time spent at home and energy expenditure. Those children in Hertfordshire who spent most time in their homes had the lowest energy expenditure and those who spent the least time at home were the most energetic.

  8.   The best free-time exercise is playing ball games and walking

  Whilst playing informal ball games children used, on average 2.8 Activity Calories/minute (AC/m). This compared with 2.4 AC/m in structured ball games and 2.3 AC/m whilst walking. In other unstructured sporting activities children used 2.1 AC/m but only 1.8 AC/m in other sports clubs and lessons. During other types of outdoor play children used 1.6 AC/m compared with 1.4 in other clubs. At home and during lessons in school children used only 0.6 AC/m.

  9.   Children get more exercise from outdoor play than they do from clubs and formal sports activities

  Children spend more time playing out than in more formal activities. During term time the Hertfordshire children spent, on average, a third of their waking hours in school. Forty two per cent of the rest of the time was spent in their own or other people's homes. The remainder of the time was spent in organised clubs and activities (20 minutes a day), playing out with their friends (30 minutes a day), going out with their parents (33 minutes a day) and travelling (1 hour a day).

  10.   Children who walk to their leisure activities and school are more energetic when they get there

  For example: the children who walked to school used an average of 3.5AC/m during PE whilst those going to school by car used 2.4AC/m. This was true for all activities including formal clubs (1.7 compared with 1.6) and playing out (2.4 compared with 2.0) Children playing were more likely to walk than those going to formal activities who were more likely to go by car.

  11.   But not all children get involved in these energetic activities

  However, although virtually all the children spent time at home, at school and travelling, fewer than half (48%) attended organised activities and fewer than two in three (61%) played out.

  12.   Children enjoy and would like more physically active play

  Most children enjoy outdoor play and frequently say they would like to have more opportunities to play out. In an analysis of over 100 consultations with children and young people in 2002, about their free-time and out-of-school provision, the Children's Play Council found that children, overwhelmingly, wanted more opportunities for physical activity and outdoor play. [113]Over the past three years, surveys for PlayDay, by Children's Play Council and The Children's Society, have confirmed this view. The 2003 survey, of over 2,000 7- to 11- year olds showed the outdoor activities children enjoyed most were playing with friends, playing ball games, bike riding and running about. When asked to describe other outdoor activities they enjoyed, of 152 comments 85% were energetic activities.

  13.   Children do not play out as much as they would like because their parents are worried about them

  PlayDay surveys in 2001 (800 children) and 2003 (over 2,000 children) both found that the main reasons children do not play out as much as they would like is their parents' fears for their safety. In both years one in three children cited this as the main reason. Parents' fear revolves around traffic and "stranger" danger.

  14.   Other reasons children do not play out include their fear of bullies, being told off by adults and poorly maintained play areas

  Safety is also an issue for children themselves. The PlayDay surveys show that almost one in four children are put off playing out either because they have been or are afraid of being bullied by other children and young people. But they are also frequently told off by adults and responses to media coverage around PlayDay 2003 suggest that children playing ball games are frequently, and often aggressively, stopped by irritated adults.

  15.   Children are frequently prevented form playing in active ways

  "No ball games" signs proliferate in urban parks, housing estates and other open spaces. Low branches are cut off tress to stop children climbing and there are frequent anecdotes in the press of children being prevented from physical play. Fears that, if a child is injured, parents will sue, often mean that local authorities and other providers are reluctant to install physically challenging and exciting play equipment. Under resourcing of parks and playgrounds means that many have become run down, unused and finally closed.

IN SCHOOL

  16.   Play/break times are a crucial time for children to take exercise

  The research at University College London has shown that play/break times are an important time for exercise for children. During this time children expended more energy than they do during the whole of the rest of the school day (excluding PE lessons) and almost as much as when PE is included. Although PE and games lessons are more energy intensive they take up a much smaller portion of children's school time than play/break times.

  Over a full week 17% of children's activity energy expenditure is during play/break although it accounts for only 5% of their time. For the children who spend most of the rest of the time in their own homes, school play is their main form of exercise.

  17.   PE and games lessons are the most energetic part of the school day but last for only 70 minutes a week

  Over a week children expend approximately 37% of their activity calories whilst at school. Of this:

    —  11% is during PE and games lessons (3.1 Calories/minute).

    —  42% is during other lessons (0.6 Calories/minute).

    —  47% is during play/break-times (1.9 Calories/minute).

  These findings confirm similar findings from the UK, Portugal and Australia which show that, for most children, the most energetic time of the day is their school play/break-time.

  Any attempt to reduce the length of play/break times in school is likely to have a significant effect in reducing children's activity levels.

  18.   Simple measures by a number of local authority departments, PCTs and schools could significantly increase the amount children play out

  If children are to be encouraged and allowed to play out more:

  (a)  Steps must be taken to make streets, neighbourhoods, parks and other open spaces feel and be safe. This can be achieved by, for example:

    —  Improving, maintaining and cleaning parks, play areas and open spaces regularly so they become attractive and well used.

    —  Increasing the number of 20 mph zones and home zones in residential areas.

    —  Training park staff and street and neighbourhood wardens in the value and importance of children's outdoor play and ensuring they understand the difference between children and young people's play and criminal anti-social behaviour.

  (b)  Supervised play provision should be available for children whose parents do not want them playing out without adult supervision. This can be through, for example:

    —  Employing trained playworkers as "rangers" in parks and open spaces to attract and support children's play.

    —  Providing staffed play spaces such as adventure playgrounds and play centres which offer a range of indoor and outdoor activities and act as focal points for children and communities.

    —  Ensuring long-term revenue funding for play projects which offer children a range of outdoor, physical activities.

  (c)  During the school day children should be encouraged to play out as much as possible in their break times and should be offered a range of physical activities.

THE CHILDREN'S PLAY COUNCIL

  19.  The Children's Play Council is the leading national play organisation, working under the aegis of the National Children's Bureau, in England. We represent the views of our member organisations and promote more and better play opportunities for children and young people, primarily of schools age. Our members include national and regional voluntary organisations, local authorities, play associations and networks and EYDCPs. We currently hold a play policy development and research contract with the Department for Culture Media and Sport.







112   Making children's lives more active, Prof R Mackett, Centre for Transport Studies, UCL 2004. Back

113   Something good and fun, in Making the Case for Play: gathering the evidence, Children's Play Council 2002. Back


 
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