An indoor holiday for pupils
I was a trustee of a children’s charity – “Childrens Links” for 5 years or so and I recall us being concerned over a decade ago about how children were increasingly losing access to the countryside and play. I have also previously trailed at the other end of the spectrum increasing interest in some areas in the notion of Forest Schools. This article reveals ongoing cause for concern about children losing contact with the outdoors and by inference in many cases rural England. Our work with Pennine Prospects has reiterated to us how hard you have to work to get urbanites into the countryside and it is something we need to give more policy attention to.
THE long school holidays have started but parks and playing fields are deserted because parents will not let their children play outside.
Experts warn that over-protective parents are risking their children’s health through obesity and ill-health because they are not active enough.
Almost half of parents cite concerns about strangers for stopping their youngsters playing outside, while a similar proportion cite traffic as a barrier, according to a survey carried out by Play England which campaigns to give children play space.
Director Cath Prisk said: “If we want to foster the next generation of Olympians and sports stars then we need children with confidence, who love being active and are confident in tackling challenges.”
Yet the poll, which questioned 1,000 parents, found that many parents loved their outdoor play time when they were young and enjoyed more time outside.