www.womanthismonth.com September 2021 53 Education Schools who value wellbeing also value and understand the impact and importance of recreation time too. Break times should provide opportunities for children to collect and eat their food, to chat with friends and to decompress from the previous session of learning. By increasing breaktimes, schools are providing longer periods of exercise and time away from studying so that children can enjoy school. If parents think back to their school days, what do they remember? I am sure it wasn’t extra maths P2 Tuesdays but playing with their friends. Independent schools in the UK have on average around 20% of the school day given to break times compared to 16% in the state sector. This is significant because international schools often model themselves on independent schools and parents expect similar outcomes academically. Parents can ask questions such as how long is break? Where do the children eat? How much time do they have for playtime? What activities are in place for them to do? Schools which have longer breaktimes are actually improving the wellbeing of the children in their care balancing social and emotional well-being with the academics. Julia Knight has been teaching for 18 years in London, Bangkok and, is now a principal in Bahrain. She writes for many education magazines worldwide and offers teacher training and consultancy. You can follow her on Twitter @KnightWilliams. Schools should provide outdoor and indoor spaces for children’s recreation that are sizeable and suitable. The spaces should provide opportunities for exercise such as a grassy area for ball games, climbing frames and other outdoor equipment to challenge children’s natural curiosity as well as spaces for quiet reflection.
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