ABSTRACT
The school playground is one of those places that we immediately associate with children. Arguably, the primary school playground is one of the sacrosanct territories of childhood because it is perceived as a space that, at given times, is governed on children’s own terms. Traditionally this space is set apart for children and their activities. Ask any adult to cast their mind back to their school experiences and often, amongst their anecdotes, will be some personal reminiscences about the playground. When we first walk into a contemporary British primary school playground at playtime what are our initial impressions? At first glance children dominate the playground, frequently out-numbering the adults. The whole arena appears eclipsed by children. The chief impression is one of frenetic activity combined with a high level of noise. The superficial picture is one of confusion, of excited, generally exuberant children energetically playing games. Although the observant outsider might see, amongst the chaos, occasional desultory and sedentary behaviour, overall the playground is noisy and appears undisciplined, disorganized and chaotic.
