Here at Playforce we work hard to encourage our school partners to measure the positive impact their new playground has on their children’s lives (and their staffs’ too). Not only does this help contribute to the increasing requirement to ‘report on KPIs’ to the powers that be, it is also a great way of demonstrating the vital role ‘play’ and ‘outdoor learning’ have in education.
In our most recent study, of the customers that invested in their outdoor space over 2014/15:
- 48% of customers have seen a ‘significant increase’ in physical activity.
- 38% reported significant improvements in the physical literacy and competence of their pupils.
- Every customer (100%) surveyed noted an improvement in pupil behaviour and in the the general happiness of the school community.
- Over 66% have seen improved attendance figures.
- 81% of schools have seen better inclusion.
- 45% noted significant improvement in relationships with parents.
But when we did our Combatting Childhood Obesity report back in 2012, our practitioner survey stated that:
“It is clear practitioners are operating in the dark, where constructive resources and support is concerned. In constructing this campaign we made a conscious decision not to write several thousand words on the theory, but to concentrate on ‘what we can actually do about it’. We have a simple message – the need to get our children active and outdoors. What practitioners need is better guidance, through training and published resources, not research papers and lectures.”
On www.playforce.co.uk there is a wealth of information about ways to get your children active and learning outside here. Everything from ideas and resources through to case studies and news.