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


May 19, 2026

Why Reflection is the Secret Ingredient to Impactful Play ›

As the school year winds down, many educators and program staff are asking the same questions: What worked, what didn’t, and what should we do differently next year? It’s an…

May 13, 2026

Pediatricians Agree Recess is More Than a Break ›

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recently published an updated policy statement, The Crucial Role of Recess in School, and their message is clear: recess is not a luxury or…

May 12, 2026

Leadership in Action: How Junior Coaches Are Transforming School Playgrounds ›

Reflecting on how leadership and teamwork are woven into every aspect of Playworks services, one of the most powerful programs we offer at Playworks: our Junior Coach Leadership Program. It’s…