All school and no play

November 1, 2001

All school and no play

By Michelle Crespi
mcrespi@uwo.ca

On any weekday morning during the school year, the sounds of children playing outside of Clara Brenton public school can be heard from a block away. But today, the children's voices are unusually loud as they play on the school's newly purchased playground equipment. For six weeks the school children were without a playground - the school board removed their last one after it was deemed unsafe under provincial safety standards. The school council stepped in and raised money to buy new equipment. Ignoring the 9 a.m. bell, students force the teachers on duty to work a little harder to pry them from the monkey bars.

This is a scene played out across the city of London. The tightening of school budgets has put playgrounds and other items deemed non-academic at risk. Fewer funds from the school board have forced school councils to raise money for extras. And councils have to make tough choices about what to buy for the school. Playgrounds are sometimes at the bottom of the priority list.

The old playground at Clara Brenton was dismantled soon after the school year began, said school principal Wes Howarth. "The bottom line is that if something is deemed unsafe, I don't want the kids to play on it," he said. As many as 10 schools in the Thames Valley District School Board do not have playground equipment as a result of new provincial safety regulations.

Some parents wonder why the school board doesn't pay for the playgrounds. "We're required by the Education Act to provide facilities, we're required to put a teacher in front of kids, we provide textbooks and the basketballs - but we're not required to put in playground equipment," said Kevin Bushell, facility services manager for the Thames Valley District School Board. "Playgrounds are not a high need."

The question of how important playgrounds are has left the school community to debate where to focus their fundraising money. At Clara Brenton, the new playground was built because a number of parents thought the equipment was too old and wanted to put in a new playground to benefit the entire school, said Corina Morrison, vice-president of the Home and School Association. "We'll take on a new project after this and see what we can do to make everybody happy."

Bushell questions the reasoning behind putting so much money toward playgrounds. "If a school council could chose between having textbooks for a Grade 3 class, school field trips or $20,000 of playground equipment, I would hope they'd choose the top two," Bushell said.

Mary Gallagher, a Fanshawe College professor of early childhood education, feels that the importance of playgrounds is underestimated. "Recess has become a negative experience because children just stand around," said Gallagher, adding that there is a direct link between schoolyard problems and the classroom.

"Bullying increases because there's nothing left to do. And if there's no equipment, their strength and certain motor skills will not develop," she said. "Children come into the classroom after recess and they haven't released any energy. The teacher may have to spend a great deal of time dealing with conflicts. This takes away from teaching time."

During the six weeks that students at Clara Brenton went without a playground, some students began to throw stones at each other, said Morrison.

Other schools are also experiencing this problem, Gallagher said. "There was a student at Fanshawe College whose child was hit by a rock during recess in June. He was in the hospital the whole summer recovering. He's out now, but he has a huge scar down one side of his face."

Luckily, the Clara Brenton Home and School Association had already been fundraising in anticipation of replacing the old equipment, and had raised thousands of dollars when it was announced new equipment was needed. "A family with four children in the school got the ball rolling by donating $500," said Morrison.

Photo by Michelle Crespi

Clara Brenton public school's new playground has some down time while students are in class.

School councils had to add playgrounds to their list of fundraising projects after the provincial government legislated new safety standards in 1999. Playgrounds built since 1998 now have to comply with the standards of Canadian Safety Association. Last year, the Thames Valley District School Board inspected all of its 161 elementary school playgrounds. Nearly 50 schools had their equipment removed and every playground had repairs said Bushell. Most schools have replaced their equipment, and other schools are in the process of fundraising.

Playgrounds cost between $20,000 and $30,000, Bushell estimated. The new playground at Clara Brenton fell at the low end of the scale at $20,348. "Playground equipment in my view is so overpriced it's ridiculous," Bushell said. "You look at it and it's nothing more than steel tubing and some plastic painted nice colours."

Joan Park, a member of the Riverside public school Parent Association and School Council, was also surprised at the cost of playground equipment. "You think $10,000, well that's a lot of money," Park said. "Then when the playground is in place, you look at it and say - is that all you get for $10,000?"

Incentives are offered to schools that choose to fundraise for a playground. The Thames Valley District School Board offers an interest free loan for the purchase of new equipment. "The board also shares in the cost of the installation," Bushell said. "It was an incentive for schools to get rid of the old stuff and put in new stuff."

At schools throughout the board, parents and students are recognizing the need for playgrounds and they are actively fundraising to install or repair their equipment. Riverside public school raised money by having a McDonald's night. On a set night, parents and students are able to purchase special coupons, of which 25 per cent of the overall sales at the store goes right back to the school. "They allow the teachers, the principal and the staff to come and help out," Park said. "The kids get a real kick out of seeing their teacher behind the counter helping to take orders and operate drink machines."

The Clara Brenton Home and School Association approached a number of local businesses for support. Many businesses donated services and products that were used for a silent auction held during the school's parent-teacher night.

The Thames Valley District School Board works with the business community in other areas. "We're trying to get corporate sponsorship to build computer labs," said Bushell. "If it's up to the board to focus corporate money, I think playground equipment would be down the list."

Whatever the school board's point of view, the kids swarming around the playground at Clara Brenton are clearly happy with their school council's new purchase.