Playground payouts adding up

Bathgate Park School pupil Kelsey Macaskill (6) puts safety first as she looks through the wooden tunnel at the school's upgraded, safety mat-protected playground on Wednesday. ACC figures show there were more than 10,000 accidents at schools across Dunedin between 2008 and 2012.

More than $2.8 million has been paid out for accidents on school grounds in Dunedin during the past five years - representing about 40 accidents a week.

Figures released to The Star by ACC show there were 10,421 claims for accidents on school grounds from 2008 to 2012, with $2,874,932 being paid out during the same period.

Last year ACC paid out $375,075 on 2092 claims - about half of the $632,165 which was paid out in 2011 for only 25 more claims.

ACC spokeswoman Stephanie Melville said the main reason for the differing amounts was that accidents from 2012 might not yet have been paid for.

There could also have been fewer serious accidents last year, which would reduce the total amount paid out, Ms Melville said.

The data was compiled using accident location and would include accidents involving school staff and pupils during school hours, as well as claims for accidents outside school hours involving the general public, she said.

Otago Primary Principals Association president and Bathgate Park School principal Whetu Cormick said almost all schools had their own health and safety policies in place which would identify dangerous areas and procedures for safe play.

''In my own school, we identify injury spots if we start to see a pattern and we talk to the kids to think about how they are playing,'' Mr Cormick said.

Pupils were still encouraged to play but safety also needed to be taken into consideration, he said.

The upgrading of old playground equipment might also have contributed to fewer serious injuries.

When Macandrew Intermediate merged with Forbury School last year, Forbury's playground was moved to the new site and a new rubber safety mat had to be installed, he said.

The new mat cost about $28,000 and was required under the Ministry of Education's health and safety guidelines, Mr Cormick said.

Although schools could not do much about people using the grounds after hours, each school would have a sign saying people used the grounds at their own risk, he said.

Mr Cormick said most schools wanted their grounds to be open to the public.

''They just can't be responsible for what people do, that's all.''

A Ministry of Education spokesman said boards of trustees were responsible for designing, building and upgrading playgrounds and providing playground equipment.

Funding from the ministry for playgrounds was allocated under three priorities, with the first priority being urgent health and safety, he said.

Although schools were owned by the Government, they were not public property, and the decision on whether to open the school grounds to the public outside school hours was made by individual boards of trustees, he said.