§ Mr. MacleanTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement552W on the proposal to limit the practice of the game musical chairs in schools, included in the document "Towards a Non-violent Society: Checkpoints for Early Years", launched by the Minister for Employment, Welfare to Work and Equal Opportunities. [129084]
§ Ms HodgeWe oppose any suggestions that musical chairs should be banned. Musical chairs is a reasonable traditional game which has been enjoyed by children for generations and should continue to be so.
The publication "Towards a Non-violent Society: Checkpoints for Early Years" was produced by the Forum on Children and Violence. It was not guidance from my Department and was not produced, commissioned or distributed by the Department for Education and Employment. Although there are some useful tips in the document, the reference to musical chairs is not something we endorse. Newspaper reports suggesting otherwise were wrong.