Odense plans adult-led activities for better school breaks

Odense Municipality wants to improve school breaks by offering more activities led by adults, DR reports. The municipality’s Children and Young People Committee is discussing how to create better conditions for breaks for all pupils.

“We need to create really good breaks for all pupils. There must be room for completely free play, but there should also be more adult-led activities, because that can provide greater security for some pupils,” says Brian Dybro of the Socialist People’s Party, the municipality’s councillor for children and young people.

Næsby School in Odense already offers yoga and an open technology workshop during breaks, with clearer structure and an adult present. The school says it has had positive experiences with both activities.

Three times a week, an adult supervises the technology workshop during breaks. Pupils can get help with 3D printing, use a laser cutter, make crafts, play with small robots and build with Lego.

“We think it is important to provide alternatives to the ordinary break for pupils who are not particularly interested in playing football or running around the schoolyard,” says Thomas Worre, a teacher and adviser on a project about robotics and children.

School employee Joan Funder says the adults do not take over the pupils’ free time because the workshop is only an option. The school has seen fewer conflicts and more interaction between pupils from different year groups, she says.

School principal René Skousen Pedersen says some children thrive better when play has clearer boundaries. Completely open breaks can feel like “a bombardment of impressions” for some pupils, he says.

Christina Holm Poulsen, who researches children’s school lives and wellbeing and will start as a lecturer at UC Lillebælt next week, says structured activities during breaks can help prevent wellbeing problems from growing.

“Breaks can take up a lot of space, and you can worry about whether the next break will be one where you walk around alone or have difficulties with the others,” she says.

Poulsen says there is growing interest in adult-led activities during breaks, but such initiatives can face resistance. Some people may not want adults to interfere in children’s free time, while the availability of resources is another issue, including whether activities could affect teaching.

However, she says there is also greater focus on preventing concerning school absence, and that working on school breaks appears to be relevant in that effort.