Evaluating the effects of the Lunchtime Enjoyment Activity and Play (LEAP) school playground intervention

Movable/recycled materials with no fixed purpose were introduced to a grass field in a brand new Catholic primary school from the end of term 1 to the middle of term 2 (after 7-weeks: post-test) and continued to be introduced until the end of term 2 during Autumn and Winter in 2010. The movable/recycled materials introduced to the playground by the researchers were items generally not considered to be typical play materials for children within schools, with the exception of play balls, hoops and skipping ropes. The materials included milk crates, swimming noodles, buckets, cardboard boxes, tyre tubes, pipes, vacuum/pool hoses, plastic walls and sheets, hessian bags, buckets, water/sand shells, tractor/motorbike and bicycle tyres, swimming boards, exercise mats, buckets and hay bales. All students (5-12-year-olds) had access to the playground simultaneously. The provision of small pieces of portable sports equipment was made available by the school such as footballs, bats and balls as per usual practice in primary schools. Two teachers were rostered on school playground supervision (yard duty) during school breaks as was usual practice, one teacher was allocated to supervise the grass field and the other to supervise the bitumen car park area. The principal briefed the teachers prior to students commencing the intervention, explaining that the items were to encourage children to create their own play and not to intervene unless children’s safety was at risk.