PLAYGROUND games such as skipping and rounders are being banned by primary headteachers who fear that they will be sued by parents or criticised by inspectors if children are injured.
Some schools have also outlawed conkers, claiming that they are “offensive weapons”, and football is often forbidden because it is considered anti social.
The new restrictions on playtimes are documented in a eport by Sarah Thomson, a Keele University researcher. She has studied the playground activities of 1,000 children in Staffordshire, Shropshire and Lancashire “throughout all the seasons”.
A MORI poll published last month found that 57 per cent of parents would seek compensation if their child suffered an injury they felt was the school’s fault.
Playtime fears, Research Focus, 27
