Risky Play

 

What is it? 

Children must experience risk-taking: it’s good for them.  Practitioners should enable children to have regular opportunities to test themselves without placing themselves in danger.  They can learn their boundaries and overcome fears and worries: running a bit faster and climbing just a little higher.  This will support them to build confidence and resilience.

“Researchers have identified six kinds of risky play: play at great heights, play at high speed, play with dangerous tools such as saws and knives, play near dangerous elements such as fire and water, rough-and-tumble play and play where there is a chance of getting lost or disappearing.”

(Active for Life, 2021)

 “The goal is not to eliminate risk but to weigh up the risks and benefits.  No child will learn about risk if they are wrapped in cotton wool.”

(Health and Safety Executive, 2012, p. 1)

Key messages

Role of the Adult:  Young children experience access to the outdoors and risky play through the adults and practitioners who support them. 

These adults must be “(those) who enjoy being outside, who interact sensitively, and take a positive approach to adventurous play are crucial.  They can help children to assess risk for themselves and teach safe ways of doing things.”

(Tovey, 2017)

• • Practitioners have a joint approach in using positive language and interactions to develop children’s resilience and skills in managing risk.
  • Practitioners who understand that a child’s risky play situation might be different from that of another child and use their knowledge of each child to support them in taking appropriate risks in their play.
  • Practitioners are fully aware of the environment’s opportunities for risky play and have a mutual understanding of their approach to risky play.  They reflect on whether the risks outweigh the benefits or vice versa to best support the child in their play.
  • Risk assessments balance risk with benefits, identify the safe risks versus hazards while setting clear procedures to manage these hazards.  All practitioners are fully aware of and understand the information contained in the risk assessments, which are reviewed regularly.  Practitioners involve children in the creation of risk assessments through conversations with them.

The Role of Spaces:  

“I need spaces that encourage a sense of safety and security, yet enabling appropriate risky play, which enables me to be playful in my learning.”

(Realising the Ambition, Education Scotland, 2020, p. 69)

“I need spaces that encourage me to test my sense of risk.  I need you to notice when I need you to step in to support my risky play and when you should step back.”

(Realising the Ambition, Education Scotland, 2020, p. 29)

 

Ways we can do this

Positive approaches to risky play: Practitioners allow children the opportunity to face challenges in a supportive environment, helping them to learn to assess and manage risk for themselves.  Practitioners use a joint approach to risk and use positive language and interactions to develop children’s resilience and skills in managing risk.

To help children be aware of their actions and encourage safe risk-taking, practitioners should:

Encourage children to choose their learning activities.

Acknowledge children’s activities, “You are trying out lots of interesting ideas with the loose parts today.”

Encourage them with specific feedback and problem-solving strategies, “Wow, you are certainly climbing higher today than I have seen you climb before”.  If the child climbs too high and gets into difficulties, the practitioner talks them through how to get back down, not immediately lifting them down.  Supporting discussion and problem-solving within these situations helps children realise their limits and not repeat the same actions.

Pose problems and ask questions, providing just enough assistance so the child can attempt a task at a skill level just beyond what she can do on her own (scaffolding), “You’ve been rolling down this hill.  How else can you get from the top to the bottom of the hill?”

Allow children the opportunity to assess and manage risk themselves by asking open-ended questions to support them in their play, “If you want to jump from here, what will you need to do to keep you and others safe?”

When observing a situation that adults deem unsafe, strike a balance between the risks and the benefits using a common-sense approach to risk in play.  Instead of being risk-averse, use positive language to support children in their risky play and ask them to think about the situation and how it could be done more safely.  Use phrases such as “Are you feeling safe?”, “Where could you do this more safely?”, “What is your plan?” rather than “Don’t do that,” “Be careful.”

(Pizzolongo, 2021) 

Knowing our children well ensures we can respond appropriately to each individual child.  Therefore, practitioners should consider each child’s strengths, interests, and limitations.

“Reflect on the opportunities the environment affords children for risky play.  What changes might you make to both the physical environment and interactions to develop children’s resilience and skills in managing risk?”

(Education Scotland, 2020, p.105)

Develop a risky play policy, which is communicated with parents and practitioners to support their understanding of the risky play.  Involve all practitioners in creating this to discuss adults’ tolerance of risk and what type of risky behaviours, as a team, you are willing to let children engage in.  A shared understanding and consistent approach to supporting risky play is crucial. 

For example, the policy might include:

A definition of risky play.

The setting’s rationale, including the benefits of risky play.

The approach the setting takes in supporting risky play and the measures needed to manage risk safely.  

Involve children in the process of creating risk benefits assessments; for example, when visiting the woods, what do they think the dangers might be?  How can they keep safe?  Give them responsibility for checking the outdoor spaces with adults using a child-friendly ‘risk assessment’ for them to carry out with a practitioner.

Precise, well-understood risk assessments should support children to enjoy potentially hazardous activities.

“We encourage services to use risk assessment to support children to enjoy potentially hazardous activities such as woodwork using real tools, exploring nature and playing in the mud and rain.  We do not expect written risks assessments to be carried out for daily play activities.”

(Care Inspectorate, 2015) 

Ensure risks assessments are shared, understood by all practitioners and reviewed regularly.

Benefits of Risky Play

“Risk-taking allows children and young people to learn vital lessons about themselves and their world.  There are lessons that cannot be taught and can only be learned through experience.  Caution, resilience, courage, knowledge about one’s own abilities and limitation, and the self-confidence to reach beyond them are learned through self-chosen action.”

(Risk in Play and Learning: Ubud-Höör Declaration, International School Grounds Alliance, 2017, p.1)

“When children are allowed to participate in risky play, it challenges their bodies in new ways.  It develops strong muscles and organises the senses, which increases their cognitive development.  For instance, going upside down moves the fluid in the inner ears and helps improve spatial awareness.  Spinning in circles improves balance and attention.  And climbing to high heights advances children’s motor skills and promotes a sense of self-confidence and accomplishment”.

(Fortunato, 2018).

“Young people of all ages benefit from real-life ‘hands on’ experiences; when they can see, hear, touch and explore the world around them and have opportunities to experience challenge and adventure.”

(Council for Learning Outside the Classroom, 2021)

“Play provision is uniquely placed to offer children the chance to learn about risk in an environment designed for that purpose, and thus to help children equip themselves to deal with similar hazards in the wider world.”

(Play Scotland, 2021, p. 3)

“In play provision, exposure to some risk is actually a benefit: it satisfies a basic human need and gives children the chance to learn about the real consequences of risk-taking.”

(Play Safety Forum, 2008, p. 2)

“Young people of all ages benefit from real-life ‘hands on’ experiences; when they can see, hear, touch and explore the world around them and have opportunities to experience challenge and adventure.”

(Council for Learning Outside the Classroom, 2021).

Linked Areas of Practice 

Child Development

Creativity

Health & Wellbeing

Independence

Loose Parts

Nature Pedagogy

Outdoor Learning

Play

Spaces

Science, Technology, Engineering & Maths (STEM)

 

Tools  

Reflecting on Practice

SBC Guidance to support

National Guidance to support

Further Reading to support

Training to support