the school where ‘risky’ play is on the timetable – The Irish Times

Imagine a school where children are allowed to climb trees and scale walls on the school grounds and then come down at high speed on scooters. Well, that’s exactly what’s happening at Slane National School, Co Meath, where teachers Ruth Collins and Lorna Murphy have introduced adventure play to the school day for all students.

“We started by taking small groups of young children to search for plants and rake leaves in the fall, and later developed an outdoor play area with a mud kitchen, sandpit, wigwam and a tunnel with grass over it to roll down. ,” says Collins.

Once the birch trees on the school grounds were strong enough to support the children’s weight, the teachers allowed them to climb the trees while they played.

“It was all done in a very controlled manner, but there have been fewer accidents since we started,” says Murphy.

As part of the process, teachers asked the schoolchildren what additional equipment they would like to have on the playground.

“We received all kinds of suggestions, such as a swimming pool with slides,” says Collins. “But most wanted a tree house on stilts with a fireman’s pole, a ladder and a climbing wall, which was then financed by the parent association.”

While one or two parents questioned the wisdom of such outdoor play, the teachers at Slane National School received widespread support from their principal and the wider school community.

“Parents even tell us that they hear more about what’s happening at school because the kids are outside,” Murphy said. “They are so busy with their outdoor activities that no behavioral problems arise when they come back inside.”

Outdoor activities are either linked to the school curriculum, led by the teachers, or include child-led play, where children learn to negotiate the space they share with others.

At Slane National School, junior and senior babies have wet gear and wellies as part of their uniform for outdoor play in all weather conditions.

Collins and Murphy are part of a small group of teachers introducing children to outdoor activities that give them experiences with height, speed and the use of so-called dangerous equipment.

The new primary school curriculum encourages playful experiences – both teacher-led and child-led outdoor play – for all primary school children.

Rachel Rafferty – during a career break in New Zealand – taught Year 3 boys at Scoil Phádraig Cúil an tSúdaire in Portarlington, Co Laois from 2018 to 2022.

“This was my first job after my bachelor’s degree… and I noticed that the kids weren’t really involved in the environment, despite being within walking distance of the forest,” says Rafferty.

So she started taking the boys for ‘thematic learning sessions’ in the local woods. “Some of them were apprehensive at first because of their lack of exposure to the outdoors, but after a few weeks it became a normal learning environment,” she says.

Thematic learning is an approach that merges different subjects – such as science, art, literacy and math – into a holistic learning experience.

Rafferty soon began to realize that children who rarely raised their hands in class or who struggled to make eye contact were the ones who were most engaged in the outdoor environment.

“They came to me with questions,” she says.

( “How can we grow if we don’t take risks?”: Letting children take risks is scary but beneficialOpens in a new window )

Rafferty went on to pursue a master’s degree in outdoor education at DCU, during which she developed the connections between learner identity competencies (choice, teamwork, leadership, reflection, etc.) and outdoor learning.

“I would always design my lessons so that children could develop these competencies,” she says. “So, for example, we studied Stone Age tools and put children into groups to make tools from what was on the forest floor, each with a different role as manager, designer and builder.”

Dr. Orla Kelly, associate professor of social, environmental and science education at DCU’s Education Institute, would like to see outdoor adventure play for children built into teacher training programmes.

“Giving children the opportunity to be in situations where they have to navigate and assess risk can build their resilience and confidence,” she says. “These are challenging forms of play that are exciting, but can also make them a little nervous, so it is important to interact with children where they are themselves.”

She says that as a society we have become more risk-averse and children often don’t have the same access to adventurous or risky play as previous generations.

“So it’s important that schools can build this in with resources, materials and guidance for teachers,” says Kelly.

She admits that some teachers may be a bit hesitant about this. “Most primary school teachers have no experience with this type of adventurous/risky play as it is only a small part of their initial teacher training, and they are unlikely to encounter it during their placement,” she says. “So they may not have the competence and confidence to take over.”

Parents can also be worried. “Some think a little bit is a good thing to do, as long as it doesn’t detract from the children’s academic performance,” says Kelly. “There is still a feeling that playing is not real learning. Other parents think it’s okay, as long as it’s not too wet or too cold outside.”

Tomas Aylward, outdoor education lecturer at Munster Technological University, is a strong advocate of outdoor education and adventure play for all children, especially those with physical disabilities who, he says, are “often wrapped in cotton wool because the ethic of care is greater.” than educational ethics”.

“Risky gaming is very important to society, and there are consequences if we don’t play it,” says Aylward. “I experience this with 18- to 19-year-olds in college who have not had risky experiences in childhood. They then engage in risky activities – drugs, alcohol, sex and antisocial behavior – without filters. And we end up with less capable young citizens.”

He talks about an outdoor learning experience with five-year-old children from Ardfert National School in Co Kerry as an example of teacher-led learning.

We’re Going on a Bear Hunt, the classic picture book for children, is the story of a family outing in which everyone has to fight their way through a field, a river, a muddy swamp, a snowstorm, etc., and which courageously repeats “we’re not afraid” before we approach each obstacle.

Aylward says the children depicted the book using wood, grass, a cave and a tarp as the river, as a way to teach “prepositional language.”

“The children embodied the experience and became more self-directed, focused and engaged in their learning through these activities,” he says. “Parents who isolate their children from risky activities prevent them from making small micro decisions about risk-taking. There is a dignity in taking risks.”

He points teachers to the book Adventurous Learning: A Pedagogy for a Changing World by Mike Brown and Simon Beames, which explores authenticity (something real that children can interact with), mastery (how to improve their skills), agency (with self-directed choices) and uncertainty must be integrated.

“The uncertainty is the catalyst and the key element, as not being 100 percent sure of what will happen is good for people,” says Alyward. “The challenge now is that children’s lives are so consumed by screens that we need to help them find other connections to place – on the school site or in their local community.

“For example, rubbing old gravestones to find out when people died and researching these names or connecting them to what is on their local beach. Start locally and make them feel connected to their environment, and bring that to outdoor learning and risky play.”