Safe Return to Play & Recess Guidelines

  1. Updates

Playworks is helping schools continue to reimagine recess.

For the past 24 years, Playworks has partnered with elementary schools to help kids stay active and build valuable skills through play. As schools prepare re-opening plans, we want to help provide resources for implementing both in-school and virtual play or recess experiences. We developed Recess Guidelines to include options for what recess could look like based on CDC and state guidelines as of July 2020. We know states, districts, and individual schools are developing many plans for reopening, and no matter what variation of online or in-person experiences they offer next school year, Playworks is here to help.

View the Recess Guidelines


COVID-19 is changing the way we move, interact, and play on or off the playground.

As we move toward a new school year that will be impacted by COVID-19, we need to approach play differently. This game guide will help with transitioning to in-person play and is appropriate for adaptations of the school experience for kids. It uses Playworks best practices and games and The Aspen Institute’s Return to Play Guidelines to break down the return to play into three phases by using a stoplight system to define risk categories. The recommendations below will help you understand how games can safely be integrated as kids, teachers, and school staff go back to school.

Risk categories are assigned relative to other ways of participating in that game or activity, based on the public health and scientific understandings of COVID-19 and how it can be transmitted as of July 2020. Activities are segmented into three types of risk posed both to participants and others.

 

Download the Safe Return to Play Guide

 

For more information about Playworks or any of our programs please contact info@playworks.org.

More Updates


February 25, 2026

Playworks Welcomes Three New Members to Board of Directors During 30th Anniversary Year ›

Raven Jemison, Jodi Bricker, and Oliver Nordlinger join at a pivotal moment as Playworks continues to innovate and expand access to play nationwide Oakland, California – Playworks, the national nonprofit…

February 20, 2026

Introducing the Playworks Facilitator Playbook ›

The newly released Playworks Facilitator Playbook is a library of ready-to-use lesson plans that help staff confidently lead games that keep kids active and learning through play, and is accessible…

February 11, 2026

4 Playful Takeaways from the Winter Olympics ›

It’s an exciting time as the 2026 Winter Olympics are underway. Many kids will watch the games, some aspiring to participate someday, others learning about new sports they’ve never seen…