Council rejects red card allegations

Oct 5 2010 by Denis Brown, Perthshire Advertiser Tuesday

DUNNING Primary School children were reportedly upset when told that traditional schoolyard games such as ‘tig’ had been banned.

According to parents who spoke to the PA, the school’s headmistress announced the red card on playground contact-sport and running activities during an assembly last week.

One disappointed pupil told his parents that he and some of his peers were so upset about being stopped in their tracks that they were planning a protest about the health and safety directive.

But a Perth and Kinross Council spokesman said the PA had been misinformed about the red card bombshell.

“None of this is true,” he said.

“No games are banned at Dunning, and neither is running around.”

A parent who asked not to be named, however, was adamant that the ban had been enforced.

“I understand a lot of the kids, including mine, are up in arms about it,” he said.

“It’s to do with health and safety, which quite frankly is appalling in this day and age when authorities are trying to encourage kids to be more active.

“So they can play rugby or football, which carries the same inherent risk, but they can’t run round in the playground – it’s just crazy.”