When responsible for planning safe indoor and outdoor play for children and

When responsible for planning safe indoor and outdoor play for children and young people the factors you will need to take into consideration are the following…First of all, the individual needs, age and ability of the child will need to be taken into consideration. E.g. The area that has been allocated for indoor/outdoor play may not be secure and young children may try to “escape” and run out of the area allocated so gates and doors should be kept closed. Areas that are not permitted should be closed off with a substantial and secure barrier. Padding should conceal bars or hard floors. All hazards should be eliminated; any tough obstacles should be removed. If an activity like ‘tag’ was to be played a hazard could be a school bag lying amongst the open on the floor in the room. All children should put their school bags at the side of the room or in a cupboard to prevent someone tripping over them and falling.If there are children with physical disadvantages the indoor/outdoor play will have to include them and must be an activity that they can also participate in. If there is a child in a wheelchair you cannot ask the class do, they all want to play rounder’s because that doesn’t include the individual with a disability. Activities organised should involve everyone and should not be too hard for them all to try. Activities should always suit the age group so for nursery children painting, outside play (hop scotch, hide and seek )and jigsaws puzzles are suitable but for the likes of primary 3 students games will be more intense on the physical demand so football, cross country and rounders would be more suited. The level of play should be increased as the age increases so it benefits them more. Another thing that should be taken into consideration when organising play there should always be an adequate staff – to – pupil ratio with consideration on the amount of children and children’s individual needs as there may be some children that need extra observation and attention. When planning indoor and outdoor play the specific risk to an individual should be taken into consideration. Specific risks to take into consideration would be if a child has sensory impairments. If a child has any sensory impairments the correct support should be put in place, such as having a classroom assistant if a child has ADHD (ADHD is a chronic condition marked by persistent inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity) or using microphones so partially deaf children or staff can hear more clearly. Another specific risk that careful thought should be given to is if a classroom assistant, teacher or anyone that is observing and participating in the activity is heavily pregnant. For any impairments the environment should be made suitable to their needs and any assistance needed should be provided. If there are children or staff in wheelchairs are the doors wide enough? are there ramps? and disabled facilities? in the area for play.When arranging an activity you should take into consideration the location and quality of the environment you are arranging the play in so for example If I was to arrange for the children to play with bikes or scooters the correct place to do this would be outside in a more open area, with a flat ground the correct equipment, helmets should be provided also. Another precaution I would take myself is to have arrows on the fences/walls directing the flow and direction of the children cycling, I would direct them all to cycle clockwise to prevent children bumping into each other. Children should not be placed under harsh lighting for long, and should be avoided and should be exposed to as much daylight as possible so they can work without discomfort. Opening windows when indoors allows fresh air and temperature control if they are running and become heated. Equipment size should also be taken into consideration and should be the appropriate size for the group age range.The area should be examined first so outdoor areas should be checked for broken glass or any other hazardous litter, this should be cleaned as soon as it has been reported. All wet floors should be marked clearly with a sign. Young children cannot be left unattended and a responsible adult should be allocated to stay on duty to watch over and assess risks the young children may come across. This is called a duty of care. Staff working with the children are all equally as responsible for the safety of the children they are supervising so if there is a classroom assistant and a teacher they both have equal responsibility of the children.When planning indoor/outdoor play you should always take a balanced approach. It is your responsibility to weigh up the risks and the benefits of the activity to the child. It is not about eliminating all risk. Cross country would have a risk of falling and tripping over something but the benefit of running to the body out numbers the risk of tripping.Games should have consideration to peoples religion. You cannot play religion orientated games that does not reflect the group. It would be disrespectful and unfair to do so. When arranging outdoor/indoor play you must remember to give clear instructions and to keep reminding the children of what to do as they are only young and tend to forget and become distracted very easily.