“Accidents” occur as a result of unavoidable and unpredictable situations on the playground. For example, if a child is running on the playground and trips another child this is unpredictable or typical behavior consistent with normal playground interactions. On the other hand, if a child is swinging a rope and running throughout the playground causing other children to trip over the rope this situation is both predictable and should be stopped by a playground supervisor and therefore is clearly “not an accident”.

Accidents fall into two basic categories:

1. There wasn’t any indication that the behavior would occur and

2. Prior intervention would not have prevented the accident.

Injuries, on the other hand,

are often a result of a broken piece of equipment that wasn’t properly maintained or behavior that was dangerous in nature and should have been stopped by a competent supervisor or adult.

1. There wasn’t any indication that the behavior would occur and

2. Prior intervention would not have prevented the accident.

Whereas, a case where a child fell from a piece of equipment broke an arm and inadequate surfacing can be shown to contribute to the injury may be determined to be negligent and the school, daycare center etc. would be liable.

Basically, “liability for playground supervision comes down to what actually caused the injury: unsafe equipment or inadequate supervision”, according to the law offices of Goodwin and Scieszka in their article Who is Liable When a Child is Injured on a Playground?

Schools and teachers should take their supervision responsibilities seriously since the playground represents an outdoor environment where risk is greater than say sitting in a classroom while seated at a desk. While injuries are more likely to occur on a playground they can still often be avoided by training playground supervisors, assigning supervision zones and emphasizing the supervisor’s responsibility for acting in loco parentis (in place of parents) and therefore have a responsibility to keep children safe from predictable dangers.

As I travel around the country speaking to teachers about their supervision responsibilities most indicate that they have not received any training regarding their duties and responsibilities in supervising the playground. Just as teachers are trained in classroom management techniques likewise they should receive playground supervisor training for this unique outdoor environment. Additionally, schools should establish rules and procedures for establishing a safe playground environment.