The design of a schoolyard can impact how students connect with each other – a connection that carries over into the rest of their school day. During the school day, children need regular opportunities to play, socialize, rest, and re-energize. These opportunities improve mood, well-being, resilience, and social harmony – factors that are foundational to learning and school engagement. These are the things that give ‘life’ to a school because they focus on children’s most fundamental social, emotional, and developmental needs.
The Recess Project works with schools and boards to:
– Ensure the schoolyard is an integral part of the school ecosystem and school-wide improvement efforts
– Leverage user-centred, evidence-based approaches to transform barren and soulless schoolyards into lush, sustainable, and exciting landscapes
– Create a culture that nurtures positive social interaction, contentment, engagement, and happiness
– Ensure schoolyards are fully inclusive and accessible – socially and physically.
– Ensure schoolyard designs are thoughtfully sustainable and ecologically sensitive.
Our website includes the comprehensive “Recess Project Changemaker’s Guide”. It is an award winning, evidence-based product of a unique research collaboration of school boards, administrators, staff, policymakers, and (most importantly) elementary school students. It was designed to disrupt the outdated routines and replace them with healthy, inclusive and compassionate interactions. It is available at no cost under a Creative Commons license.
