GRAVESEND, England – Students at a primary school in England can no longer run on the playground.

Officials at Riverview Junior School in Gravesend banned running during “a particular chasing game” on the school’s playground last week as a means of preventing injuries, according to the News Shopper.

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“My son came home on Friday and said ‘they’ve banned running in the playground mummy,’” parent Rachael Sparks told the news site. “I thought I am not going to react too much, too quickly, because kids do get it wrong sometimes.

“I thought I’d check with the receptionist when I took him to school on Monday.”

This Monday, Sparks followed through and spoke with the school’s headmaster, Pam Weinban.

“She started of by saying we’ve asked them to slow down a bit, but then it transpired that they had banned running,” Sparks said.

The mother told the News Shopper Weinban explained that school officials were most concerned with a specific chasing game. Several students had received injuries playing games like British Bulldog and football, Sparks said.

“She claimed due to this it was her duty to care towards the children that had prompted her to ban running,” Sparks said. “They are not allowed to play British Bulldog, they are not allowed to play football.”

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Weinban told the media “we have asked children to refrain from playing a particular chasing game in the playground as we have found the increasing numbers taking part has caused some injuries, including a fractured collarbone,” the London Evening Standard reports.

“We are concerned for the safety of the children and need to stop this particular game until we can establish a safer way for them to play,” she said. “When the weather is dry and sunny children can run and play more safely on the school playing field.”

Sparks said she’s not the only one who thinks the school should let kids be kids.

“I know children do get the occasional bump to the head or grazed knee while running around on the playground but having spoken to a number of parents as well as children, 100 per cent of both expressed that running and getting the occasional minor injury was most definitely preferable to not running at all,” Sparks told the News Shopper.

“I don’t want to run the school down but I think it is a step too far,” she said. “Kids have been bumping their heads and grazing their knees for hundreds of years.”

Nearly everyone who commented on the new policy online agreed with Sparks and her supporters.

“What a load of rubbish. Kids need to be able to run around, play football, etc. If they get the odd knock, so what it happens. You cannot wrap kids in cotton wool,” ckj1945 wrote. “This is one of the reasons this country has the problems it has. We cannot produce top class players and this sort of rule will only make things worse. Oh I despair sometimes at the stupidity of our so called educated people that we have making these kind of rules. Very sad.”

“What a load of old tosh!” Jayne67 added. “Kids are supposed to run around. I never had any skin on my knees as a kid cause I fell over so much! I’m ok now!!

“Bloody nanny state.”