Cotton wool culture

SIR – I agree with Amanda Spielman, Ofsted’s Chief Inspector (“We’re pulling back from a cotton wool culture”, Comment, August 6).

Finally someone has realised how important it is for children to learn from their mistakes.

Parents and teachers hover over our youngsters too much, meaning that they turn into immature and overcautious adults. Children need to play more: that is how they learn to interact and socialise. My generation went out on adventures and discovered things for ourselves. This improves confidence.

I know the world has changed a lot since my childhood, but we are too careful with children now. This won’t help them to become strong adults, able to cope in an increasingly dangerous world. Francis Moss

Bourne End, Buckinghamshire

SIR – I agree that schools should not wrap children in cotton wool – but they have no alternative.

People are prepared – and indeed encouraged – to seek compensation whenever the slightest mishap occurs, particularly when children are involved. This is the root of the problem, and schools cannot be too careful. Derek Wellman

Lincoln

SIR – Amanda Spielman asks why children on supervised trips need to wear hi-vis jackets like “troupes of tiny construction workers”.

Hi-vis jackets do not prevent harm, but they help teachers to keep track of children on a crowded street.

As for the idea that health and safety is inhibiting children’s development, this is not the case. It is about providing a proportionate response to risk. Children should grow up to be risk-aware – not risk-averse – and schools have a responsibility to protect them from harm.

While we hear about activities allegedly being stopped by overcautious schools, many more are embracing risk. For example, there has been a huge increase in learning outside the classroom. “Forest schools” and opportunities such as visiting outdoor pursuit centres help children learn life skills, including teamwork and confidence. Graham Parker

President, Institution of Occupational Safety and Health

Wigston, Leicestershire

SIR – Years ago I remember passing a double line of children, all holding hands, with each wearing a hi-vis vest showing their school name and telephone number.

At the front of the crocodile a male teacher was speaking into a walkietalkie: “Are you receiving me, Mrs Smith?”

“Receiving, Mr Jones,” she replied; and as I passed her at the back of the queue, I noticed she had a backpack with “First Aid” written on it.

The group were just about to enter the Museum of London. I never saw them again. Richard Hodder

Four Elms, Kent