A school has temporarily banned children from playing tag – a policy branded “health and safety gone mad” by a parent. Manston St James CofE Primary Academy in Leeds has declared all games involving physical contact off-limits for the time being.
While hugging and high-fives are still allowed, the new policy considers rough play and other activities involving more physical contact.
Headteacher Hayley McNeill explained this policy was introduced to keep the children safe and is not intended to remain in place forever.
It was enforced after the school noticed a “higher-than-normal number of incidents and minor injuries”, she said.
Speaking to The Sun, she added: “All decisions made in school derive from our vision of ensuring that children are rooted and grounded in love.”
Some parents, however, didn’t appear impressed by this move.
Among them, Michele Bettison said: “It’s called Tag not ‘thump’ so how the hell can it cause so much injury?
“Children need old-fashioned games in the playground. God knows they all hide away in school holidays on Xboxes etc like hermits.”
Another joked: “Health and safety gone mad! What next, ‘Please send your kids in bubble wrap, so they don’t catch germs’.”
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This is the latest move of a series of decisions taken by some schools and universities up and down the country regarding their internal policies to have been criticised over the past few years.
Bright Horizons nurseries, one of Britain’s largest nursery school groups, has been slammed by some parents for introducing in his handbook a series of pieces of advice on how to bring up daughters.
These include stopping and reflecting before “falling into a pattern of praising a girl’s appearance” or labelling her behaviour as “good”.
A mother of a child at a nursery in Kent received the handbook by email and said: “Bright Horizons is dictating to parents their own political views on how to raise their children.”
A Bright Horizons spokesperson, however, responded to the criticism noting parents choose where and from whom to seek guidance on how they bring up their children.
They added: “For those who are seeking ideas for empowering their daughters to grow into strong, confident leaders, free from potentially harmful gender stereotypes, we offer advice that encourages a focus on a girl’s attributes other than her physical appearance.”
More recently, Swansea University has been accused of cutting links with Christian heritage after renaming its Michaelmas and Lent terms for secular alternatives.
The institution said it has replaced these terms as “it was felt they no longer resonated with the student body, both UK and international”.
