A school in Cornwall has come under fire for banning students from running in the playground in an effort to reduce the number of children getting injured.

 

Parents who branded the move as “ridiculous” set up a petition to get the ban at Hillfort Primary School lifted, and have already received 150 signatures.

 

However, defending the school’s decision, head teacher Dr Tim Cook has said that the move, which only started last week, has drastically reduced the number of injuries sustained at playtime.

 

 

Issuing a statement on the school’s website, Dr Cook wrote: "It has come to my attention that some parents are concerned that we have banned all running from lunchtimes, this really is not the case.”

 

“What we have done is to stop running directly across the playground where some children had been hurt by others running into one another.”

 

Explaining that they have brought in lots of new activities including Lego, toy cars, giant Jenga and a quiet corner, he added that children feel more confident playing on more traditional games like hopscotch “because [they] know they won’t be knocked into”.

 

“In the three days that we have been running this new set of activities, the children seem to have enjoyed them and negative behaviours have reduced significantly.”

 

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