We are most grateful for the help and co-operation given by the pupils, parents and staff of St Peter's C of E First School and Lent Rise Combined School in Burnham

The survey was widely welcomed by the parents of the two schools because of their concerns.

Satisfactorily completed forms were received from between 30% and 40% of the families within the age range surveyed. Many families, of course, have two or more children at the same primary school but, with a few exceptions, they only filled in one questionnaire. Nevertheless the response was larger than seen at many local elections on which the future management of the community may depend.

Scoring on this was determined by 1 point, for the most frequent attendance, 2 for the next, 3 for the next through to 4 points for "Never". The total sum of points for each area was then divided by the number of entries to get a mean figure. The lower that figure the more visited the recreational area. For example, if everyone visited Burnham Park every week then its overall score would be 1.00, if nobody ever visited the Minniecroft/tarmac area its overall score would be 4.00

In view of the widespread differences it was decided to assess the proportion of children who NEVER visited a particular recreational area.

Some did not answer this, but 64 ( 70%) did.

For an all round comparison, the unsafe score was deducted from the safe score giving a final table…

As perceived by the parents of primary school children, the safest, most popular recreational area in Burnham is the Stomping Ground…and by a very large margin. Perhaps it is because there is a combination of grassy area with playground equipment, situated in a busy area, in full view to passers-by.

In spite of its poor showing of not being visited very much ( 90% of this age group never going there) the majority who do visit the George Pitcher Memorial ground later answer to "belong to a Burnham sports team" or "belong to a sports team outside Burnham". For all practical purposes, therefore, the George Pitcher Memorial ground is not perceived, or used, as an informal recreational area by the primary school age group, for kickabouts, or meeting place, or games area, in spite of the grass being cut regularly, and such facilities as changing rooms, toilets being available, but as a sports ground where organised games are played.

The "never, sometimes, often" schedule was not used here, though it was apparent, from peoples comments, that some activities were seen often, some less so. A mark was given each time an activity was noted so that their comparative frequency of activities at that play area could be ascertained. Only in relative frequency of activity can each be compared to the figures of Burnham Park above.

It is interesting to note those things the three recreational areas have in common, and those ways in which they differ.

This question was marked by adding up all the scores for each section and dividing by the number of answers to get an average. Thus if everybody put down "Park warden" as their number one choice that section would score 1. If everybody put down "grass cut at regular intervals" as their least favourite option that section would receive 5.

In the original questionnaire there were in fact 6 sections, the sixth being "others. State" but this was virtually never used except to put "More police presence" or something similar which will be covered later on in this survey.

It will be clear, at this point, to the least gifted statistician, that there are more 1^st choices in total, 115 to be exact, than there were people in the survey, 92. This is because some people put in "equal firsts " for their choice.

On being asked what activity one would most likely see at a recreational area you would expect the answer "people playing sports/games" and this is, indeed, at the top of the list for all three recreational areas in questions 3 and 4. But only just.

In Burnham Park, dog fouling, litter dropping and broken glass seem a very common experience. People drinking alcohol and vandalism are also a common sight. Evidence of drug abuse is not as common, about as likely to be seen as a policeman on foot. Bullying and violent behaviour are seen significantly often but theft of a mobile phone, so common elsewhere, is a rare occurrence

Comparisons of, and with, the Stomping Ground and St Peters Close play area, show some variation. Dog fouling, for example, is relatively less common in these two areas than in Burnham Park, presumably because people can't get away with it as easily as they can in Burnham Park. Evidence of drug abuse is seen, at times, in both areas but a policeman on foot virtually never, though one area is actually next door to the police station. Generally St Peters Close play area seems to have a few more problems than the Stomping Ground, in areas such as alcohol and violent behaviour. As in Burnham Park, theft of mobile phone is virtually unknown to this age group.

With a friend?

After 7pm?

Your child's age?

Fear of your child crossing the road?

Danger from other adults?

Danger from young people aged 13 - 18?

A "Yes", to any of the above, perceived it as a factor of danger, a "No" did not. The "No" total for each category was taken from the "Yes" total given a final figure of relative concern for each category. If, for example, as many people thought that crossing the road was a factor as did not think it was then the final figure would be 0. In the final score, the higher the figure the more that category is a concern, the less the score, the less concern.

Most primary school parents would be happy for their children not to go to Burnham Park by themselves. Half the parents of ten year-olds are happy to let them go if it is with a friend. In the day, that is. From early evening onwards, as with Burnham High Street, Burnham Park is a no-go area for primary school children. The large majority of parents are not happy for their children to go to the library by themselves, but once again, they are happier for them to go with a friend - nearly two thirds if the child is ten years old.

Most of the parents are happy for their children to go down Burnham High Street with a friend, less than half would let them go alone. But this is probably true of almost any road a distance from the child's home. As said before, Burnham High Street is a no-go area for primary school children from early evening onwards. It is interesting that the most feared factor is older children 13-18, though, strangely, bullying, as such, presumably by one's peers, is one of the least feared in the out of school context. Neither does fear of traffic appear to be a prominent factor.

The concept of feeling safe, surely one of the most important things in quality of life, is very much in the mind. If the presence of a policeman - uniformed, special constable or regular, makes people, old and young alike, feel more secure, confident, happy then, crime-prevention apart, it must be a good investment. 96% of the people in this survey thought it was.

One mark was given for each activity mentioned.

The people who answered this survey, by the very nature of things, are probably more motivated generally than the average and are more likely to make sure their children do have adequate exercise than the rest. Quite a fair proportion of these children, for example, do belong to sport's club or play for an organised team.

By far the most requested facility is a swimming pool. There are pools in Maidenhead, Slough and Windsor but all have to be reached by car along roads that are often very congested. The second most requested facility is tennis courts, which is somewhat surprising in view of the active tennis association in Burnham. Nevertheless some children just prefer to use walk on courts without the commitment of belonging to an organisation.

"Supervised play area" comes in third. Supervision, warden, police presence, even "supervised" applied to a skateboard park comes in very strongly in this survey and reflects the needs and desires of local parents and children.

The most unused area in Burnham in terms of facilities seems to be the George Pitcher Memorial Ground, sadly, one suspects, because it is just too inaccessible. As someone said, even if the grass is cut, once the goal posts are taken down nobody comes again until the next football season. Yet there are, or have been, various facilities there, like a running track which, it is said, hardly anybody used, and it does, for example, offer martial arts instruction.