Are we pulling back from a cotton wool culture?

Amanda Spielman, Chief Inspector of Ofsted, has recently bewailed an over cautious culture that she says has developed in our schools.  A culture that deprives children of rewarding experiences, of the opportunity to develop resilience and grit, which makes it hard for them to learn to cope with normal everyday risk and is a major factor in the growth of childhood inactivity.

She acknowledges that Ofsted hasn’t always got it right, sometimes seeming too much about tick boxes.  She wants the focus to be on pupil safety but not at the expense of opportunities to broaden and enrich young minds.  Her message to schools is that whilst keeping children safe from harm should always be the overriding concern, trying to insulate them from every bump, germ or bruise will limit their opportunity to fully take advantage of the freedom of childhood and to explore the world around them.

Whether or not we are pulling back from a cotton wool culture depends upon Ms Spielman’s message being acknowledged by local authorities’ Environmental Health Officers, HSE and the Association of Personal Injury Solicitors.

Read the full piece from The Telegraph here