The impact of school playgrounds on children’s health

Introduction and aim

Active outdoor play is crucial for children’s health and development, and school playgrounds provide an ideal space for it. However, the importance of these playgrounds’ use for health and well-being is still unclear.

As part of the World Playground Research Institute’s comprehensive scoping review conducted in 2024*, 130 studies related to school playgrounds were extracted from all published research on playground use and its health benefits for children. The aim was to create a more clear and detailed overview of school playgrounds’ impact on children’s well-being.

In this brief, we summarize important insights from the scoping review, aiming to guide school leaders, policymakers, and practitioners, like landscape architects, in making informed decisions about schoolyard investments and designs.

It also supports researchers in identifying areas for future research needs.

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* Schipperijn, J., Madsen, C. D., Toftager, M., Nørager Johansen, D. L., Lousen, I., Amholt, T. T., & Pawlowski, C. (2024). The role of playgrounds in promoting children’s health – a scoping review. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 21, Article 72. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12966-024-01618-2

Overview of the reviewed school playground studies

Out of the 130 studies, most were descriptive and exploratory, primarily focusing on physical activity or social health.

Only a few studies addressed motor skills, weight status, and mental health, and – outside the area of physical activity – only a small number of studies were at a higher research quality level.

Recommendations and insights

For policymakers, school leaders, designers, and landscape architects, the studies recommend…

Adding playground markings in schoolyards has been shown to effectively increase physical activity among school children.
When renovating schoolyards, prioritize new play structures, specifically ones that are customized to meet local needs. While results have been mixed, tailored solutions often yield positive effects.
Though less studied, adding green elements to the schoolyard had mainly positive impacts on physical activity, as well as social and mental health.

For researchers, the research on school playgrounds…

Needs more efficacy and effectiveness studies, and in particular replication and scale-up studies to demonstrate which type of school playground interventions are successful.
The existing evidence, however, provides good arguments for investing in playground markings and new play structures in the schoolyards tailored to local needs to improve physical activity, and investing in ‘greening’ playgrounds for social and mental health benefits as well as physical activity.

Sharing research

All our briefs are accessible through our website, www.playgroundresearch.org.

On the website, you’ll find a compilation of briefs that offer a clear comprehension of research findings and their implications for future research and practical application.

You can also download a printable PDF version of this brief to facilitate sharing.