Minor games

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Guideline review date: 28 October 2021

This guideline is provided to support schools in implementing the managing risks in school curriculum activities procedure.

The CARA planner must be used for the specific school context in conjunction with this guideline considering additional risks, hazards and controls and including environmental, facility, equipment and student considerations.

For activities beyond the scope of this guideline, complete a CARA record using the CARA generic template.

Activity scope

This guideline relates to student participation in games that develop student skills in using balls and/or bats to practise skills, tactics and strategies as an activity to support curriculum delivery.

For activities conducted at a non-Department of Education venue, and/or when engaging external expertise, request written risk assessment advice and attach it to this CARA record.

For activities conducted off-site, schools must comply with the school excursions procedure.

Medium risk
Minor game activities involving bats and balls

Activity requirements

If any requirement cannot be met, the activity must not occur.

If any other safety recommendation cannot be met, modify the activity (or elements of it) and/or identify and use the hierarchy of controls to implement alternative control measures to meet or exceed the minimum safety standard.

Competition rules and procedures with additional or more stringent safety requirements must take precedence.

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Students

Emergency and first-aid

Induction and instruction

Consent

Supervision

Principals make final supervision decisions for the activity. Sufficient adult supervision must be provided to manage the activity safely (including emergency situations).

For activities with students with a medical condition or disability that may impact on safety during the activity, consultation with parents is required prior to allocating supervision to determine the impact of student's medical condition or disability on safety during the activity.

The number of adult supervisors required to fulfil emergency and supervision roles must consider the nature of the activity, students' ages, abilities and specialised learning, access and/or health needs.

Before the activity, all adult supervisors:

must be familiar with the contents of the CARA record.

During the activity, all adult supervisors:

must be readily identifiable
must closely monitor students with health support needs
must comply with control measures from the CARA record and adapt as hazards arise
must suspend the activity if the conditions become unfavourable (e.g. extreme temperatures).

Supervisor qualifications

Principals make final decisions in determining supervisor capability (competence, relevance and currency) and are responsible for encouraging and enabling school-based activity supervisors to raise their qualifications to improve safety standards.

All adult supervisors must comply with the working with children authority—Blue Cards procedure and be able to identify, and respond to, risks or hazards that may emerge during the activity.

A registered teacher must be appointed to maintain overall responsibility for the activity.

For medium risk activities:

At least one adult supervisor is required to be a registered teacher or
An adult supervisor, working under the direct supervision of a registered teacher, with competence (knowledge and skills) in teaching minor games.

Facilities and equipment

Location must be suitable for the activity being undertaken, including sufficient space, adequate lighting and ventilation, to ensure safe participation and that safety rules and procedures can be followed.

Participants must wear personal protective equipment appropriate to the activity (e.g. enclosed footwear).

Equipment must be sized to match the ability and strength of students.

Consider using a whistle for command signalling.

All equipment must be in used in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions.

Bats must have non-slip grips and/or safety knobs on handles.

Common hazards and controls

Further to those listed, include any additional hazards and control measures considering the local context of the activity.

Environmental hazards	Control measures
Biological hazards Body fluids (e.g. blood, saliva, sweat)	Manage bodily substances (e.g. blood) and open wounds before, during and after the activity. Consult infection control guidelines and Queensland Health's exclusion periods for infectious conditions poster (PDF, 1.5MB) for hygienic practices and first aid. Follow appropriate cleaning and hygiene management practices when using shared equipment (Departmental staff search "cleaning advice for shared equipment" in OnePortal).
Visibility	Adjust the field orientation to avoid the sun affecting the line of sight of participants.
Environmental conditions Weather, Sun, Humidity	The school's sun safety strategy must be followed. Assess weather (Bureau of Meteorology ) and environmental conditions prior to participating outside. Follow the managing excessive heat in schools guidelines when participating in very hot or extreme heat conditions. Ensure drink breaks occur regularly. Make water available for individual participants between drink breaks. Dry equipment (including bat grips, balls) if conditions cause dampness.
Facilities and equipment hazards	Control measures
Boundary clearance	Establish a safety zone around the playing area. If this cannot be achieved, consider ways of reducing risks e.g. reducing the field size. Ensure playing areas do not overlap. Where playing areas are placed parallel to each other, ensure there is sufficient distance to prevent stray balls creating a hazard. Ensure there are no sharp or rough edges (e.g. portable signage) facing the field of play.
Chemicals	All chemicals in schools must be managed in accordance with the department's Chemical management procedure. All chemicals used in curriculum activities, except consumer chemicals, must be recorded in the school Chemwatch manifest. Consumer chemicals must be managed according to label instructions. Lines are marked in accordance with the Line marking of sports fields fact sheet.
Faculty or dangerous equipment	Use markers made from non-injurious material (e.g. cardboard, foam). Check equipment for damage before and during the activity.
Fast moving objects	Use a soft (e.g. sponge) ball for inexperience participants. If using hard balls: ensure throwers are at least 5 metres apart during group instruction use personal protective equipment e.g. face masks, gloves, helmets Position left and right-handed participants to ensure maximum player visibility.
Player surface	Conduct a field check to identify and manage surface hazards. Clear the playing surface from loose items or debris. Do not participate on a surface that is slippery, unduly rough or chopped up. If securing bases to the ground, peg them in firmly to be level with the ground using rounded over pegs.
Student considerations	Control measures
Manual handling	Use correct manual handling processes when lifting, lowering, pushing, pulling or carrying
Physical contact Accidental "bumping"	Manage injuries according to established procedures. If in doubt, do not allow students to return to play after injury until medically cleared.
Physical exertion	Conduct warm-up/cool-down activities. Continually monitor participants for signs of fatigue and exhaustion.
Sharp Objects	Remove accessories (e.g. jewellery, lanyards) before participating. Ensure fingernails and hair and clothing (e.g. pockets) do not interfere with the activity.
Student issues	Implement safety protocols during play including: watch play at all times when warming up drop, not throw, the bat before running avoid intentionally clashing with an opponent remove dropped bat/tee as soon as possible. wait for permission to retrieve equipment from other fields.

Additional links

Sporting Schools resources

Disclaimer

This information is developed and distributed on this website by the State of Queensland for use by Queensland state schools only.

Use or adaptation of, or reliance on, this information by persons or organisations other than the State of Queensland is at their sole risk. All users who use, adapt or rely on this information are responsible for ensuring by independent verification its accuracy, currency and appropriateness to their particular circumstances. The State of Queensland makes no representations, either express or implied, as to the suitability of this information to a user's particular circumstances.

To the full extent permitted by law, the State of Queensland disclaims all responsibility and liability (including without limitation, liability in negligence) for all expenses, losses, damages and costs arising from the use or adaptation of, or reliance on, this information.

Links to external websites are for convenience only and the State of Queensland has not independently verified the information on the linked websites. It is the responsibility of users to make their own decisions about the accuracy, currency, reliability and correctness of the information at these external websites.

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CARA guidelines