“All the fun stuff, the teachers say, ‘that’s dangerous!’” Hearing from children on safety and risk in active play in schools: a systematic review

Abstract

Background Active play is vital for healthy child development, and schools are a valuable setting to promote this behaviour. Understanding the determinants of children’s physical activity behaviour during recess, particularly the role of risk-taking and the influence safety concerns have on active play, is required. This systematic review aimed to 1) synthesise qualitative research with children that explored their perceptions of safety and risk in active play during recess in elementary and/or middle school, and 2) develop a model from the findings to guide efforts in schools to optimise children’s active play opportunities during recess. Methods Six online databases were systematically searched for articles published between January 2000 and March 2021. Following PRISMA guidelines, records were screened against eligibility criteria using Covidence software, and data extraction and synthesis was conducted using customised forms in Excel and NVivo software. Framework synthesis methodology was employed, conceptually guided by Bronfenbrenner’s socio-ecological model and Gibson’s affordance theory. Results Of 9664 records, 31 studies met inclusion criteria, representing 1408 children across 140 schools from 11 countries. An emergent conceptual framework was developed encompassing 23 risk and safety themes and 10 risky play types that children desired in schools. Individual characteristics (age, gender, physical literacy) influenced children’s engagement with risk and how they kept themselves safe. Across outer SEM levels, factors interacted to constrain or afford children’s active play. Socio-cultural factors (supervision practices, rules, equipment restrictions) constrained active play, which children perceived were driven by adults’ concern with physical safety. These factors contributed to a cycle of risk-averse decision making and diminished play affordances, which could inadvertently exacerbate safety issues. A model for risk tolerance in children’s active play has been proposed. Conclusions The findings show a disparity between the active play children want in schools and what they are able to do. Future work should balance the concerns of adults against the active play children want, involve children in decisions about playground policy, and foster a risk-tolerant culture in schools.

“Children are precious cargo; we don’t let them take any risks!”: Hearing from adults on safety and risk in children’s active play in schools: a systematic review

“…The number of studies meeting the eligibility criteria at the end of stage 3 (n = 46), and the depth of data produced, led to a further stage of screening to narrow the scope of the review. For the final, Stage 4 screening, the study population was narrowed to adults, with research conducted with children subjected to a separate review [56].…”

“…Research examining children's perspectives on recess [55] and safety and risk in active play in schools [56] has been subjected to systematic review, however, to our knowledge, there has been less attention to adults' perspectives and experiences. A previous review examined barriers and facilitators to adventurous play in schools, however, its scope was narrow with respect to play (focussing on "exciting, thrilling play where children are able to take age-appropriate risks" in contrast to active play more broadly, as defined by Truelove and colleagues and described above), and most included studies (six of nine) were evaluations of adventurous play interventions, which may have limited relevance outside of an intervention context ( [57], p.21).…”

Environmental Qualities That Enhance Outdoor Play in Community Playgrounds from the Perspective of Children with and without Disabilities: A Scoping Review

“…This requires a better understanding of what children with and without disabilities seek in playgrounds. No other review has been found [13,14,21,23,[37][38][39][40][41] that investigated published peer-reviewed literature that considered perspectives of children with and without disabilities and their play experiences in playgrounds. This scoping review aims to summarize the users' (children with and without disabilities) play experiences and gain insight into what environmental qualities maximize the play experience in community playgrounds for all children.…”

Capturing children's play behaviours in outdoor environments: A comparative analysis of play in early adolescence at primary school versus high school

“…The value of play was raised firmly into public awareness during the Covid‐19 pandemic as children's opportunities to play was reduced due to school and park closures (Jerebine et al, 2022; Szpunar et al, 2022). Despite this, play in early adolescence remains under‐researched—in a recent systematic qualitative review of outdoor play at school, all 41 research studies included in the final analysis were conducted with children in Year 7 or below (Jerebine et al, 2022), and none focussed on high school.…”

“…For example, Shoari et al (2021) found that more ‘than 60% of children and adolescents in London do not have adequate open and green space at their school’ (p. 379). Studies have focussed on increasing fitness and decreasing obesity, and many do not consider other aspects of play such as a forum to connect and be with friends (Jerebine et al, 2022; Massey et al, 2020; Mroz & Woolner, 2020).…”