Children at Pine Park Nursery School play under the close supervision of their teacher. PHOTO | V. nestory
What you need to know:
“That means all play facilities need to be user friendly to fit children and the staff. Children of three to four years need very high attention as they are prone to injuries due to their weak decisions and ability to manage some of the facilities.
Matthew Daniel is at a nursery school in Dar es Salaam. He is a playful lad who loves games, especially soccer, he hopes one day he can become a professional player. In the afternoon when he comes home his legs and hands are full of injuries that he sustained while playing at school.
The worst part is that not even the teachers seem to have an adquate answer on how matthew got injured.
Schools are expected to be safe places for learning which provide both mental and physical growth.
Children’s safety ought to be top priority among teachers at school.
According to the Pine Park Nursery School director Isaac Joseph, children need guidance from teachers on all types of sports and plays.
Teachers are well experienced to handle different behaviors of children when left to explore in both indoors and outdoor sports and games.
He adds that for beginners they need direct support from teachers, patrons and matrons giving them examples.
“That means all play facilities need to be user friendly to fit children and the staff. Children of three to four years need very high attention as they are prone to injuries due to their weak decisions and ability to manage some of the facilities. These will need special playground both indoor and out door facilities that are fit for them,” he says.
The principal of Royal Elite School, Mathew Levi Alex, says that for children to play safely at school a number of factors have to be put into consideration.
“They have to be safe, clean, well maintained and free from health hazards like open pits broken bottles, sticks, stagnant water,” says Alex.
He adds: This also involves proper and timely maintenance of playing equipment. The playground should be spacious enough and widely open for everyone to see every corner with ease.
According to him supervision too is vital as children should not be left to play alone. At his school they assign teachers and other experts who monitor how children play and ensure that they are safe.
“For instance, schools that take their children for swimming should have swimming instructors according to the number of children at a ratio of 1:30.
He adds that modern playing equipment like slides, swings, sea saw, merry go round and many more are a great source of fun but can also be very dangerous and therefore a source of injuries.
Every time children go to play, there should be enough and close supervision as this will reduce the number of accidents. At times children get accidents just because they are not well informed on how to handle some playing equipment. “Sports teachers and classroom teachers should take the active role of teaching the children on how to use any playing equipment before allowing them to put them in use. Children should be taught on how to avoid risks and report such situations to the teachers immediately,”he adds.
However, sometimes children don’t report these cases, only to be noticed at home.
