ABSTRACT
Is children’s school playtime being over-managed by adults? Sarah Thomson, a researcher, describes her study into the nature of playtime in four primary schools. She suggests that health and safety regulations and a ‘culture of blame and compensation’ have led to playtimes being carefully monitored and organised to the detriment of children’s creativity, originality and spontaneity. She believes playtime should provide children with considerable freedom of choice about what to play.
