T-TRiPS for Australian early childhood educators
Think about all children in your centre when responding to the following questions. If you ever do this, select “yes”. If you have any other comments (optional), please type them in the box.
1. Do you trust children to play in the centre when you are not within arm's reach? (Comments-optional)
2. Do you let children play chase with one another? (Comments-optional)
3. Would you let children go head first down a slippery dip/slide? (Comments-optional)
4. Do you allow children to continue playing if they fall and get up? (Comments-optional)
5. Do you let children continue to play very challenging activities even when you know they may not succeed? (Comments-optional)
6. Would you let children climb a tree or other surface within your reach? (Comments-optional)
7. Do you allow children to play-fight with sticks? (Comments-optional)
8. Would you let children walk on a slippery surface if there was a chance they may fall? (Comments-optional)
9. Do you allow children to run fast? (Comments-optional)
10. Do you allow children to swing high? (Comments-optional)
11. Do you allow children to engage in rough and tumble play? (Comments-optional)
12. Would you let the majority of children jump down from a height of 1.8 metres? (Comments-optional)
13. Would you allow children to care for pets at the centre? (Comments-optional)
14. Do you let children resolve disagreements (without stepping in) if they are pushing or poking one another? (Comments-optional)
15. Would you allow children to play on equipment if you thought there was the potential s/he may break a bone? (Comments-optional)
16. Do you allow children to play-fight, testing who is strongest? (Comments-optional)
17. Do you wait to see how well children manage challenges before getting involved? (Comments-optional)
18. Would you allow children to ride a toy/bicycle at a fast pace? (Comments-optional)
19. Would you let children climb as high as they wanted in a tree? (Comments-optional)
20. Do you let children resolve disagreements (without stepping in) if the children are shouting but not hitting one another? (Comments-optional)
21. Would you let children balance on a narrow surface 1.8 metres above the ground? (Comments-optional)
22. Do you encourage children to take some risks if it means having fun during play? (Comments-optional)
RESOURCES FOR RESEARCHERS
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System for Observing Outdoor Play (SOOP)
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The System for Observing Outdoor Play (SOOP) was developed by the Sydney Playground Project team to examine activities that occur in different areas of the playground. We used the SOOP to quantify different types of play and physical activity levels that occurred during our intervention. Researchers can modify the activities to suit their own purposes. It is best used to record play occurring in different areas of a playground. It hasn't been designed for collection of data related to individual children.
Our procedures manual is available from:
Please also refer to our article:
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Engelen, L., Wyver, S., Perry, G., Bundy, A., Chan, T. K. Y., Ragen, J., Bauman, A., & Naughton, G. (published online 2017). Spying on children during a school playground intervention using a novel method for direct observation of activities during outdoor play. Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Learning.
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