Play times

Our school is committed to fostering thoughtful learning and creating opportunities for play. We believe play is vital for children’s physical, emotional, social, spiritual, and intellectual growth. At a time when outdoor play spaces are increasingly limited, our school grounds offer an essential environment where children can engage in self-directed play.

Cuddington's commitment to improving play times

Cuddington Community Primary School believes that every child should have opportunities to play in ways that encourage exploration, creativity, and interaction with their environment. We are committed to providing play spaces that are welcoming and accessible to all children, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, economic or social background, ethnicity, culture, or individual abilities.

Our aims for positive play times

Create stimulating and challenging play environments that inspire curiosity and creativity.

Encourage children to take considered risks in a safe and supportive setting.
Offer a variety of play experiences that enrich learning across the curriculum and deepen understanding of the world around them.

Children spend up to 20% of their school day playing, so this time must be purposeful, coherent, and well-planned. Modern societal changes—such as increased traffic, busier lifestyles, fewer accessible play spaces, and heightened awareness of risk—have significantly reduced opportunities for outdoor play. Our approach seeks to address these challenges by prioritizing high-quality play experiences.

Transforming play for all

We have completely transformed playtimes for all our pupils.

What children used to say about playtimes:

“There aren’t enough places to sit.”
“There’s nothing to do.”
“The outdoors is dull and grey.”
“There’s never enough equipment, and that makes playtimes boring.”

Recognizing these concerns, we assessed our play provision and committed to continuous improvement. Thanks to the hard work and dedication of staff, pupils, parents, and community partners—who have supported us through fundraising and equipment donations—we’ve already seen a huge impact.

The results speak for themselves:

Behaviour in and around school has significantly improved.
Children are now engaging in a much wider range of games and activities.
No one wants to miss out on outdoor time—it’s now an exciting, vibrant space to enjoy in all weathers!

Play times at Cuddington
What play looks like at Cuddington

Managing Risk in Play

Play is essential for children’s well-being and development. When planning and providing play opportunities, the aim is not to eliminate risk entirely, but to balance risks against benefits. Children cannot learn about risk if they are overprotected.

Our approach is guided by:

Managing Risk in Play Provision: Implementation Guide (Play England, 2012)
Children’s Play and Leisure – Promoting a Balanced Approach (Health and Safety Executive, 2012)

We adopt a benefit/risk approach, recognizing that risk-taking is a vital part of play. Play provision should offer children the chance to encounter acceptable risks within a stimulating, challenging, and controlled environment. As stated in Best Play, the goal is to “manage the balance between the need to offer risk and the need to keep children and young people safe from harm.”

In practice, this means:

Conducting standard risk/benefit assessments for all play activities.
Using dynamic risk management, encouraging children to identify and manage risks themselves, with adults present for support.
Holding regular Play Assemblies, where children help identify potential risks associated with new equipment and resources in the outdoor learning environment.