THE tradition of a game of footy or soccer on the back oval at lunchtime or recess has been suspended at St Georges Basin Public school after rough play led to students suffering injuries.
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In a newsletter to parents, St Georges Basin School said there had been incidents of rough play where some students had made poor choices and despite warnings and alternative game set-ups the play had not settled down.
A decision was made to suspend football at recess, or lunch, for the remainder of the current term.
A spokesperson for the Department of Education said the safety of children at St Georges Basin Public School was paramount.
“Soccer and football games have not been banned; however following a small number of student injuries due to rough play incidents in recess and lunchtime games, the decision was made to suspend play in these sports for the time being,” the spokesperson said.
“This will enable the school to review the circumstances around the incidents and undertake a risk assessment to look at ways to continue to support games to be played in a safe way without resulting in injury to students.”
The spokesperson said the school’s soccer and football teams would still play in competitions and games will also go ahead in supervised PE lessons.
Students can still play cricket, basketball, handball and other games during recess and lunchtime.