Children at a school near Selby have had a play break cancelled and hard ball games banned after neighbours complained to the council about noise.
Barlby Community Primary School has also put up a soundproof fence because it fears a noise abatement order.
The school said the decisions were “regrettable” but necessary to prevent the chance of a notice being served.
Some parents are unhappy about the move, which was also criticised by the organisation Play England.
The measures were put in place after some neighbours contacted environmental health officials.
The school’s afternoon outside break has now been cancelled, and other breaks have been staggered so fewer children are in the playground at the same time.
“They are not considering how important play is ”
Laky Sahota Play England
Parents were also told in a letter that hard ball games were being cancelled.
The move has alarmed some parents.
One parent, called Sharon, told BBC Radio York: “You have got to let your children play when they are studying hard.
“I think the school are doing everything they can to resolve the problem, but at the end of the day my son and his friends enjoy playing outside.”
Laky Sahota of Play England, which promotes free play opportunities for children, said he was concerned that the decision was “not focused on the best interest of the child”.
“They are not considering how important play is,” he said.
‘Regrettable decision’
“Children, on average, are only having 30 minutes of play during the day and that has an impact on their ability to plan and concentrate.”
Suzanne Douglas, who is one of the school’s governors, said: “It’s a regrettable decision, it’s one we did not want to make and we have given a lot of consideration to, but there is a possibility of an abatement notice being served on the school.
“To avoid this happening we are doing all we can to maintain the school as an operational primary school.”
A spokeswoman for North Yorkshire County Council said it was aware of complaints made by some of the school’s neighbours to the environmental health department at Selby District regarding “excessive noise”.
“We are not satisfied that a statutory noise nuisance exists from what amounts to normal use of the school and playground areas,” she added.
“Nevertheless we are taking these complaints seriously and wish to maintain good relationships with local residents.”
She added that an assessment of noise levels would be taking place over the next month.
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