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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