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Playground Activity Leaders in Schools

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If your school is interested in Playground Activity Leaders in Schools (PALS), please contact your School’s Public Health Nurse.

PALS is an elementary school playground student leadership program originally developed by Peel Public Health. It encourages all students to participate in activities regardless of their gender, size or ability. This program fosters equity and inclusion, while engaging students in physical activity on the school yard. The motto is “There’s always room for one more”.

The objectives of implementing the program are to:

  • Provide opportunities for student leadership
  • Increase students’ sense of belonging and inclusion
  • Increase opportunities for physical activity to improve students’ physical literacy

The PALS program follows a train-the-trainer model with school staff being trained as PALS program facilitators. The role of the facilitator(s) is to coordinate student leader training and provide ongoing support for the program at their school throughout the year. Students in junior and intermediate grades are recruited, engaged, and trained to act as Playground Activity Leaders for younger students. These students plan and lead fun activities on the playground, contributing to a positive school climate by promoting inclusivity, safety and acceptance.

The PALS student leader training can take up to four hours. Some schools choose to do this in one full day session or break the session up over multiple days. During this training, student leaders are provided with the opportunity to learn and practice:

  • leadership skills
  • communication skills
  • conflict resolution
  • fair play strategies

These PALS program resources were created and approved for use only within Ontario:

  • Facilitator Handbook and Student Leader Training Guide (English or French): This handbook is intended for the PALS facilitator(s) at the school. It includes information on their responsibilities, recruiting and selecting leaders, launching, implementing and sustaining the program. It also includes the PALS Student Leader Training Guide and additional resources to support the program. Hard copies of this handbook can be provided by the Public Health Nurse.
  • Student Leader Handbook (English or French): This handbook is intended for the PALS student leaders at the school. It is used to support the student training session and includes information and activities on: being a leader, communication skills, conflict resolution, and fair play. Hard copies of this handbook can be provided by the Public Health Nurse.
  • PALS Games Book (English or French): This book contains a variety of games (e.g. games of tag, ball, indoor and team games). Hard copies of this handbook can be provided by the Public Health Nurse.