Aldergrove school bans physical play for kindergarten

By

VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – Keep your hands to yourself, even at recess.

An Aldergrove school has banned physical play in their two kindergarten classes.

Some parents at Coghlan Fundamental Elementary School were a little shocked when they got a letter last Friday informing them of the ban.

Ken Hoff with the school district says some minor injuries during recess caused the school to act.

“A little bit of rambunctious play that resulted in a few incidents where there was some children getting hurt. There was some concern raised by parents of children that had experienced very minor injuries but their kids were upset.”

The move is temporary, limited to Coghlan Elementary, and is not a board policy.

“It was never meant to be more than informing the parents that were concerned that the school was addressing the situation and was taking steps to protect the children,” says Hoff.

Play fighting, hand-holding and tag are just some of the activities on the banned list.

However Hoff says the move has an end goal. “With the hope that by hitting the pause button on the situation to allow for a bit of classroom instruction around appropriate physical behaviour.”

A number of parents did voice concerns to the district.

Hoff says the school consulted with the district before sending the letter but did not need permission to institute the change.

Top Stories

Top Stories

Most Watched Today