Key Area 6: Health Related Exercise - Playground Development

Pilot in Cyfarthfa Junior School

Partnership primary schools are developing their outdoor classrooms to encourage children to be more active. Cyfarthfa Junior School was the first to pilot the scheme which was compiled through a partnership between the PE & School Sport project, Community Chest and the school. New school playground equipment and storage was purchased through funds from Community Chest and the school.

Picture: The active playground at Cyfarthfa Junior School with year 6 playground leaders

Year 6 pupils at the school were trained by an ESIS PE advisor to lead and run different activities from resource cards made by ESIS. Children compiled their own playground rule book which they presented to the rest of the school during assembly using ICT. They choose a new 'game of the week' which again is demonstrated in assembly and pupils play during that week in the playground.

 The playground scheme was launched in November 2004 when the Merthyr Express published a 2 page article on the importance of keeping children active during their free time, and to highlight the essential skills that children will develop from the scheme such as communication, decision making and leadership.

Future Leaders

The year 6 playground leaders 'buddy' the year 5 children each Summer term as a rolling programme of training for the children on a peer mentoring basis. The uptake of new leaders included nearly all year 5's which is credit to how well the school has made the scheme work.

Rolling out to other schools

The Cyfarthfa Junior children are helping to train peers in other partnership schools. They follow an intensive morning of playground activities and ideas leed by the PESS Coordinator by working with the new leaders to demonstrate the organisation and running some of the activities. 

Twynyrodyn Community School were trained during the Spring term 2005 with Cyfarthfa Junior School leaders.

Other schools which have completed the training include: Brecon Road Infants, Heolgerrig Primary, Ysgol Coed Y Dderwen, Greenfield Special School and Ysgol Santes Tudful. The remaining 3 schools will be trained in the Autumn term 2005.

The Structure

The objective of the training is to pass on ideas and information to pupils so that they can include it into their schools' unique playground scheme. Suggestions include;

• Zoning the playground areas into sport, play and quiet zones
• A 'Friendship Stop'
• Red and yellow cards for sanctioning poor behaviour
• Sharing information with the rest of the school through school assembly
• Individual pupil cards that are exchanged for pieces of equipment

The training has now been improved (Summer 2005) and follows a 2 day structure. Following the first days training, staff are encouraged to work with their pupils to develop and plan aspects of the playground.

The second day is then arranged for the PESS Coordinator and Cyfarthfa Junior School children to re-visit the school to do more work on developing leadership skills and sharing good practice through peer education.

Staff will then be given guidance on how to complete their playground planning and development and should set with the help of the playground committee, a date to launch the scheme. They will then ahve a playground handbook which should contain rules and procedures that the leaders and rest of the school should follow in the playground.

The schedule will now also include Dragon Sports and the Sports Council for Wales' In the Zone' playground scheme which can be obtained by any school via the PE & School Sport Co-Ordinator.

Funding

Big Lottery Funding has enabled each school to purchase new equipment which will be split over a two year cycle and Merthyr Tydfil Council are supporting the project by providing playground markings for the schools. Playground committees, school councils and school sports councils have been consulted on the design for each of the schools' markings.

In The Zone

This package involves training midday supervisors to oversee playground developments. This is a new and exciting scheme available as designed from a specialist project through PESS. It was launched by Jane Davidson (Welsh Assembly) in Meadow Lane Primary School, St Mellons in April 2005.

If you require any further information about this exciting project in Merthyr Tydfil, please contact:

PESS Co-Ordinator

Integrated Children’s Services

Merthyr Tydfil CBC

Riverside Court

Avenue De Clichy

Merthyr Tydfil

CF47 8XD

 Tel: 01685 725097

 Fax: 01685 721965

 Email PESS@Merthyr.Gov.UK

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