The importance of allowing some risky play
20 February 2007
Risk in Play is an often misunderstood concept, we do not want children to risk their lives and limbs, but playgrounds that offer no excitement at all may lead to children gaining that excitement illicitly. The briefing (downloaded at the foot of this page) considers the issues around physical risks in play, and gives some practical research and ideas about how to promote a measure of risk-taking. A further briefing offers a practical look at how to do risk assessment in a staffed play provision.
Tim Gill's book No fear: Growing up in a risk averse society reviews all the key aspects of modern risk aversion for children. As well as physical play, it covers anti-social behaviour, bullying, child protection and on-line risks. The book is underpinned and informed by wide-ranging research, and acknowledges the importance of public opinion as driver of change in public policy, firmly labelling the mass media as a causative factor rather than being only a reflection of opinion.
Tim argues that childhood is now too closely observed in 21st century Britain, and he suggests that children are best left to their own devices to learn resilience, which he defines as "finding ways to function in a world where bad things happen". This book is a must for anyone lobbying for a more child-friendly public realm.
The whole publication or a useful four-page summary may be downloaded from the publisher's website: link
Update September 2008:
Remember you are only liable for your personal or corporate negligence; you cannot be at fault if a pure accident occurs on your watch, silly and wrong legal rulings about liability can often be overturned at appeal, but with little publicity, for example:
A couple found liable for an accident on a bouncy castle that left a boy with brain damage won their appeal.
Sam Harris suffered a broken skull when a 15-year-old boy kicked his head at a children's party in 2005. In May 2008, a judge ruled that parents organising the party had not provided enough supervision and awarded damages against them. But three Appeal Court judges ruled in July 2008 that it was a freak accident and that the parents could not be held at fault. "The manner in which she was supervising activities on the bouncy castle and the bungee run accorded with the demands of reasonable care for the children using them," said Lord Chief Justice Lord Phillip. Further details.
Managers of public space are not responsible for all natural hazards
A number of important legal cases have shown that landowners do not have to protect against obvious and natural features of a landscape. Perhaps the most important of these is Tomlinson v Congleton Borough Council, a civil liability claim arising from a young man who suffered permanently disabling injuries as a result of diving in shallow water in a lake in a country park. The case went to the House of Lords in 2003, where the claim was rejected, even though the park management had identified the risk, but had failed to carry out planned safety measures.
Update February 2009:
Play England have published a new guide - Managing risk in play provision: Implementation guide which aims to help providers to strike a balance between the risks and benefits of offering children challenging play opportunities - link. There is also a much shorter four-page briefing for risk managers in local authorities and all other agencies that manage play provision. It condenses the book into an easy 15 minute read: link.
