By JONATHON HOWARD
ACCIDENT mitigation and insurance liability were two driving forces behind an increase in supervision for “risky” playground activities at Peregian Springs State School.
Residents were bowled over last week when media outlets ran the headlines “school bans handstands and cartwheels” or “fun police on playgrounds”.
The headlines reignited debate around “cotton wool kids” and “overbearing adults” with concerns that schools were taking safety too far.
The school’s principal Gwen Sands has since issued a statement which revealed two severe injuries were suffered by students as a result of cheerleading type stunts including handstands and cartwheels on the playground.
She did not ban cartwheels or handstands; instead she said increased supervision was required in situations where cartwheels and handstands were being performed.
“When injuries like this occur; parents, the general public and the department expect us to implement measures to mitigate the chances of it occurring again,” she said.
“We now have 820 students in our playground. There is also a lot of concrete, corners and brick walls to negotiate.
“When children are doing complex activities such as gymnastics and the type of manoeuvres required in cheerleading, they need to be supervised – both for their own safety and for the safety of other children in the playground.”
Further to this, Ms Sands revealed the department’s “Policy and Procedures Manual” requires that trained personnel and gym mats be available when students are participating in activities requiring inverted positions – this includes cartwheels and handstands.
Ms Sands said there were two or more staff in every area of the playground at all times with a ratio of about one staff member to 50 students at play times.
“This far exceeds the required supervision level and teachers are happy to do this to ensure all students can play safely,” she said.
“Specialised activities such as gymnastics and contact sports require further supervision with limited student numbers.”
