Make Playgrounds Positive and Safe for Children
Published: 2006-05-23
New Research-Based Professional Development Program Trains Playground Supervisors
Every day all across America, over 33 million elementary-school students in over 52,000 public schools stream onto their school playgrounds. Recess! That important time of day when students can give their minds a break and their bodies an opportunity to do what young, growing bodies are meant to do: run, jump climb, swing and play.
Many adults assume recess is a safe, fun time for all students. But the facts belie this assumption.
- Each year 200,000 children visit an emergency room hospital as a result of a playground injury.
- Every seven minutes a child is bullied at school.
- Children themselves report that the playground is the most common area where students are bullied.
This two-part program includes a staff training component, Systematic Supervision, and a fun upbeat video for students, called Play by the Rules. The staff training component combines realistic vignettes and expert analysis to teach six tested and effective positive behavior support techniques that supervisors can put into practice immediately. Staff will learn how to create and maintain a positive environment, establish positive relationships with students, focus on increasing appropriate behavior, respond effectively to problem behavior, and work as a team with other staff to support appropriate student behavior. Each program kit includes an administrator’s guide that provides background information needed to plan and conduct the training, a sample participant workbook, the Systematic Supervision program on VHS and DVD, and access to downloadable forms.
Also included is a DVD of Play by the Rules, an engaging video based on the 3Bs of positive behavior support (Be Safe, Be Responsible, Be Respectful). This program can be used during the staff training component, as well as with students to jumpstart discussions about appropriate playground behavior and to teach existing school rules. (The 3Bs are general principles that fit with any school’s existing rules.)
Funded by a research and development grant from the National Institute of Mental Health, and developed in conjunction with Stephen Smith and Jeffery Sprague the Institute on Violence and Destructive Behavior at the University of Oregon, the evaluation component of the research found that after participating in the training program, playground supervisors’ use of four supervisory skills increased significantly and the rate of student problem behaviors decreased.
Systematic Supervision is an engaging professional development program that works. It provides administrators with materials they need to train new staff, provide refresher training and monitor playground supervisors’ skills and progress.
Author: Jonathon
