2010-2011

Annual report

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Annual report 2010 - 2011

Why play?

Play is an essential part of every child’s life and is vital to their development. Through play,

children enjoy and explore the world around them and develop and practise skills. It is essential

for physical, emotional, mental and intellectual development, and for acquiring social and

behavioural skills. The modern world presents a range of barriers to children’s play, with

potentially harmful consequences for their health and future life chances.

What do we mean by play?

Everyone knows what play is, but it is hard to define. For us the term play covers the infinite

range of activities and behaviours freely chosen and fulfilling by the child. Children play on

their own and with others. Play has many forms: it may be boisterous and energetic or quiet

and contemplative; light-hearted or very serious; focused or ephemeral. Regardless of its

form, play is an immensely important part of children’s lives and has a big role for their families

and communities.

Contents

About Play England 2

Message from the Chair 2

Message from the Director 3

Our vision for play in England 5

Working nationally to support local play provision 6

Raising the profile of play 8

Making the case for play 9

Staff team

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Membership 10

The Charter for Children’s Play sets out a vision for play and acts as a catalyst for individuals and organisations to examine, review and improve their planning, service and activities in the light of children and young people’s need for play and informal recreation. Play England fully endorses the Charter and its eight simple principles underpin all of our work.

The Charter states:

• Children have the right to play• Every child needs time and space to play• Adults should let children play• Children should be able to play freely in their local areas• Children value and benefit from staffed play provision• Children need time and space to play at school• Children sometimes need extra support to enjoy their right to play.

All Play England members are required to endorse the Charter for Children’s Play. For more information, including a comprehensive guide on how you can implement the Charter within your organisation, visit www.playengland.org.uk/charter

Children’s right to play

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About Play England

About Play England

Play England, part of leading children’s charity the National Children’s Bureau, campaigns for all children to have the freedom and space to play throughout childhood. As the national organisation for children’s play, Play England works with all who have an impact on children’s lives to support and champion play as an essential part of childhood.

Play England promotes excellent free play opportunities for all children and young people and believes that all children should have the freedom and space to play enjoyed by previous generations. This involves more than just providing well designed play areas; it requires the commitment of local and national decision makers to create more child friendly communities. By making play a priority we can create happier healthier communities for all.

After considerable debate within the Strategic Advisory Board the decision was made at a members’ meeting in June for Play England to move towards becoming an independent charity. Work on this has continued over the past three months, with full support from NCB. The current plan is to incorporate and obtain charitable status by the end of March 2012, with the possibility of transferring the operation of Play England over the following twelve months. Clearly, this must be subject to funding streams being secured. A subcommittee has also been through the process of recruiting a new Chair to replace Sandra. From a strong field of applications they have chosen to recommend Chris Nevis to the Annual Members’ Meeting in November 2011 for ratification.

My thanks go to the staff, both those who have stayed and continue to work with dedication and enthusiasm in the face of uncertainty and change, and those who we have lost, for the work that they have done without stint and with enthusiasm despite their personal circumstances. Finally, of course, I would like to acknowledge the debt of gratitude we all owe to Adrian for the work, dedication and achievement of Play England under his leadership.

The situation for children continues to be challenging with the current economic downturn likely to impact disproportionately on them. In such times of uncertainty, they need the opportunity to play more than ever. Play England has a vital role in making the case for play as a fundamental contributor to many of this administration’s key goals for health, well-being and community cohesion. As ever, it is critical that the sector works together to ensure all children have the play opportunities they need and deserve. In order to achieve this, Play England will seek to support and extend its cooperative approach in the coming year.

Robin SutcliffeActing Chair of the Play England Council

Message from the Chair of the Play England Council

The past year has been an exceptionally difficult one for Play England. In common with many others in the play sector, reduced funding has resulted in further significant loss of staff, including founding Director, Adrian Voce. In addition Sandra Melville stood down as Play England Chair after five years of support and advice, which has been invaluable through a period of growth, ambition and change.

Despite significant change, these are exciting times for Play England. The new Director Cath Prisk and her team are currently working to secure new sources of funding and programmes, which at the time of writing look promising. The aim is to develop collaborative ways of working with a number of organisations sharing a common interest, to augment the full capacity of Play England.

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Message from the DirectorThis has been a difficult period for the play sector. The end of the Government’s capital investment in play, Big Lottery play funding as well as budget deficit reduction measures at a local level have had a significant impact on the sector. The end of the Play Pathfinder and Playbuilder programmes also brought an end to our ‘support and challenge’ role with local authorities. For Play England this meant, inevitably, redundancies and the loss of valued members of staff. Despite these significant challenges, we have made a quick recovery putting in place one of the first programmes to support local communities - Engaging Communities in Play, funded by the Department for Education. Nationally we worked with partners in Skills Active, Playwork Partnerships and KIDS to support local community engagement in play.

Despite the backdrop of cuts in local authority budgets and uncertainty at a local level the programme provided much needed support for community play projects, helping them to adapt to a new era and in many cases build on the legacy of previous investment; showing partnership and a willingness to collaborate to support play as the way forward. Engaging Communities in Play also showed there was an appetite for local people to become more involved in supporting and managing play provision at a local level.

Now that the National Play Strategy has been quietly dropped by the Coalition government, our ability to support play at a local level and to build a grassroots membership to continue the campaign for children’s play at a national level, will be even more important. One thing we have learnt in the past year is that parents are going to be increasingly important in helping us to shape the agenda for play in the future. Our campaign resource Save Children’s Play, provides tools to support local campaigners. Playday has continued to thrive and prove immensely popular with children and parents, and our new Nature Play Map sponsored by Savlon is helping families find great places to play.

In the past year we were delighted to secure Natural England investment in the Exploring Nature Play programme. This heralds a more participative way of working for Play England, more directly with local play projects. Three of our team are now embedded alongside playworkers in adventure playgrounds in Torbay, North Tyneside and Haringey. This local reach is proving invaluable in our policy and media work as it gives us concrete, real-time examples of practice to draw upon.

As the new Director I must take this opportunity to recognise the achievements of Adrian Voce, the founding Director of Play England, deservedly awarded the OBE for his services to children. What Adrian and Play England have achieved in the past five years is nothing short of amazing, and has transformed the lives of children and young people. Thousands of neighbourhoods across England are better places to play as a direct consequence of our guidance and the expertise of our partners from across the play sector. Adrian’s drive and vision has built an organisation that has put play firmly at the heart of national policy. The achievement of the National Play Strategy was a pivotal moment for the way children’s use of space is considered at all levels.

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Our task now is to build on that legacy in challenging and changing times. This will not be easy. But in hard times children need to play more than ever. The relationship between the lack of opportunities for play and the negative impact this has on health outcomes for children is becoming more widely recognised. The evidence we have built to support the case for play, the exciting play projects we have developed and the changes to local decision making about play that have been made in recent years shows the way forward.

The move to independence and the continued support from our membership means this is potentially an exciting time for Play England, though we cannot expect to secure government contracts at the same level as in recent years. We have had to have a radical rethink on who we are and how we work to continue to achieve our mission in these very different times. This will mean, inevitably, a different way of working with partners and stakeholders. Our future strength will have to be built on our membership and the huge interest in play among professionals and parents that has been generated in the past few years.

We are entering a new era but our message is the same: all children have the right to play. It is up to us as adults to make sure that they have the best possible spaces and opportunities to do so. I am looking forward to working with you all to make it happen.

Catherine Prisk, Director, Play England

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Our vision for play in England

Our vision is for England to be a country where everybody can fully enjoy their right to play throughout their childhood and teenage years, as set out in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child Article 31 and the Charter for Children’s Play.

Our purpose is to ensure that all children and young people in England have the space, conditions and opportunity to play freely as part of their daily lives at home, in schools and services and throughout the public realm.

As the national children’s play organisation, our aims are that:

1. All children, with all their diverse needs and backgrounds, can access free, local and inclusive play opportunities as part of a child-friendly society2. We are the voice of the play sector, building the capacity of and representing play organisations and those that work in them3. Those responsible for children’s services make use of a robust evidence base for the value and impact of play provision and opportunities, in particular regard to its importance for quality of life, health and well-being, education and in reducing the impact of inequalities4. Local planning and services fully enable and support children’s play5. Spaces where children and young people play and socialise fully reflect the design, risk-benefit and maintenance principles developed by the play sector6. Local communities champion and enable play provision and playable public space 7. Schools, childcare, early education and youth provision actively support children’s freedom to play8. Parents and the wider community recognise the value of play and support children to be able to play9. Play provision promotes and enables children to engage with nature10. Play provision is staffed by a skilled, qualified and dynamic workforce and has a standards framework based on recognised good practice

We will achieve this through working with, advising and supporting all those whose influence affects children’s play through their work, service provision, planning and family life.We will do this together through our members and staff, campaigning to influence government and decision making at all levels.

Play England has been a consistent advocate for a long-term vision for play.

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Working nationally to supportlocal play provision

Throughout the year Play England has been working on a number of programmes and projects to support local play provision, test good practice and build a strong evidence base to develop an understanding of the importance of play and the role of adults in facilitating and supporting children’s play.

Engaging Communities in PlayThe Engaging Communities in Play programme, which ran from September 2010 to March 2011, was commissioned by the Department for Education to deliver one of the first national contracts awarded by the new Coalition government. The programme was designed to support local communities to develop, manage and sustain local play spaces. The programme was delivered by Play England in partnership with Playwork Partnerships, Skills Active and KIDS.

Engaging Communities in Play included a universal and targeted offer. The universal offer provided grass roots play organisations, local authorities and others access to resources and information through an advice line and websites, particularly the Playful Communities website: www.playfulcommunities.org.uk. The targeted offer to 20 local areas included over 150 days’ consultancy support from the Play England development team, a redesigned1 cross-professional training module delivered in nine areas, as well as over 50 bespoke workshops. The workshops were delivered to specific interest groups on a range of themes including volunteering, creating social enterprise and involving local people in spatial planning.

A range of resources have been produced to support local engagement in play, including briefing papers and films that show how local play projects make a difference to the health of their communities. These are available from www.playengland.org.uk/communityplay.

Play England has continued to work with local partners to deliver consultancy support and workshops on risk, design and maintenance. We are currently working with partners to develop a consortium bid to support local volunteering in play.

Exploring Nature PlayPlay England has been awarded £500,000 for the Exploring Nature Play project to help children explore and become more aware of the natural environment around them and the opportunities for play and enjoyment that it provides. The grant is from Natural England’s Access to Nature programme funded by the Big Lottery Fund.

The project has two main elements: a national campaign and direct work on three adventure playgrounds to test nature play activities, as well as to disseminate best practice to around 180 other adventure playgrounds in England. The campaign is based on an online map where families can search for and add local natural play spaces. It is linked to the Playday and Love Outdoor Play campaigns to maximise reach to children, families and the media.

1 Based on the Play Shaper programme, developed with Playwork Partnerships, SkillsActive and KIDS.

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We have seconded staff to three adventure playgrounds: Somerford Grove in London, Shiremoor in North Tyneside and Fort Apache in Torbay, Devon to test a range of nature play activities and opportunities to explore what works on the ground. From the results we will develop online resources that can be used by adventure playgrounds, play rangers and environmental projects to engage children and connect them with nature through their play. The project is working with Natural Connections to link with a national demonstration project and create links between schools and adventure playgrounds.www.playengland.org.uk/natureplay

Olympics legacyPlay England has been working since 2006 to bring local play associations, 2012 host boroughs, play leads, planners and Olympic agencies together to create a shared vision for play in the legacy parklands. As a result the 2011 Legacy Communities Scheme, the planning application and guidance incorporates the Design for Play guidance principles in play area design codes. Design competitions for legacy park north and south play hubs require competitors to meet the recommendations in Design for Play, Managing Risk in Play Provision and the Nature Play Maintenance Guide. Play England is part of a consortium shortlisted to design and build the north hub and play area. The budget for phase one is £2.3 million and OPLC aim to raise £1.5 million for further phases.

Play and healthThe importance of play to children’s health and well-being is becoming increasingly recognised. Play England has developed Active Play training for practitioners in early years and out of school settings, aimed at increasing an awareness of the importance of physically active play and recent Department of Health guidelines, Start Active, Stay Active. We have also been working a project funded by the Department of Health, Overcoming the Barriers to active play, with groups in Gloucestershire and Peterborough. The findings from both projects will be made available in early 2012.www.playengland.org.uk/activeplay

Quality in PlayPlay England continues to manage the Quality in Play quality assurance scheme for staffed out of school play and childcare provision. In the last year over 20 play settings were assessed and have received accreditation approved by the independent accreditation panel. In December 2010 Play England published an evaluation report by Ludemos, A journey not a destination: evaluating the impact of Quality in Play. This report concluded: ‘with regards to a playwork approach or playwork ethos Quality in Play was found to make a significant difference to practice’, with wider benefits to children, staff, settings and the wider community also recorded. The report noted that those who embraced the process described how ‘the light bulb was switched on’ for them, or how they had been on a ‘learning journey’’.www.playengland.org.uk/qualityinplay

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Raising the profile of play

One of Play England’s main objectives – and a key to our success – is ensuring that our messages are understood and recognised by a wide audience. Through our campaigning, news, publications, media and marketing, Play England has ensured that children’s play and its importance is a tough topic to ignore.

Over the past year, we have been working with national partners, corporates and other organisations with shared aims to raise awareness about the importance of play. We have continued to lobby government to make fundamental policy changes to protect and promote play, and encourage everyone who has an impact on the lives of children and young people to recognise and plan for children’s play.

The ending of the Play Pathfinder and Playbuilder capital programme and the BIG Lottery Play programme, combined with deficit reduction measures at a local level in the last 12 months has seen the play sector face its most difficult challenge since the 1980s. Play staff have been cut in almost every area, with even the most successful play projects ending and capital investment put on hold. The Coalition’s emphasis on localism provides a small glimmer of hope. In response to demand, Play England launched Save Children’s Play in February 2011 - a resource that communities can use to establish their own local campaigns for children’s play. The well-received package of support includes a dedicated Facebook page to connect communities, which currently has over 530 supporters.www.playengland.org.uk/savechildrensplay, www.facebook.com/savechildrensplay.

We have been working with corporate partners to increase the reach of our messages. At the beginning of 2011 we linked up with Robinson’s Fruit Shoot to deliver the Parents for Playgrounds campaign, which saw five playgrounds each receive a £15,000 renovation grant. We also continued to support the British Toy and Hobby Association’s (BTHA) Make Time to Play campaign, which advocates for all children to have the time they need to play. In May, Play England and BTHA released joint research to support the 2011 campaign that considered the impact of ‘A World Without Play’.

The annual Playday campaign continues to receive substantial media coverage and local support across the country. For Playday 2011 over 520 communities organised local play events and activities, giving around three-quarters of a million children, young people and their families the opportunity to get out and play for the day. This year, Playday was supported by Savlon, the UK’s leading antiseptic first-aid brand. This ensured the campaign received sustained and prominent media coverage, with 376 pieces over July and August. In 2012 Playday will celebrate its 25 year anniversary, making it the longest running campaign in the sector and providing an extra special opportunity to spread the word about why play is fundamental to childhood.

Play England coordinates Playday, in partnership with Play Wales, Play Scotland and PlayBoard Northern Ireland. www.playday.org.uk

Play England’s reach via our social media platforms has also significantly increased over the past year. With over 700 Facebook ‘likes’ and almost 1,300 Twitter followers, we have been sharing up-to-the-minute information on play and Play England, joining in the debate on the issues affecting children’s play, and exploring new partnerships with play people from across the country and beyond.www.facebook.com/playengland, www.twitter.com/playengland.

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Making the case for play

Despite the changing political landscape Play England has continued to make the case for play. Through our research and networks we are striving to create a better understanding of the importance of children’s play among professionals, politicians, communities and parents.

The change of government in 2010 has engendered significant policy changes for Play England – and the wider play sector – to respond and adapt to. The Engaging Communities in Play programme, funded by the Department for Education, was an early test for some of the new Coalition government’s ideas about localism and the Big Society. This was based on the wealth of experience the play sector has in making this happen at a grass roots level.

Engaging Communities in Play showed the willingness of local people to get involved in improving local play opportunities. It also demonstrated that local people cannot do this alone; the support of local play specialists is often a vital ingredient for the success of community play projects. We will continue to provide support for local communities, building on the practical experience of the nature play programme and the play and health projects.

We have produced a range of guidance and advice on how to engage communities in supporting and sustaining play provision locally and to make the case at a national level. Building on our March 2010 publication People make play: the impact of staffed play provision on children, families and communities, we commissioned Matrix Evidence to produce an economic evaluation of play provision. The report concluded that providing good play opportunities for children is an effective use of public money and that stopping investment will actually result in more long-term financial costs to society.

We have also responded to the changing government agenda, most recently the impact of the National Planning Policy Framework and changes to guidance on open spaces for children’s play. We have also responded to changes in the Early Years Foundation Stage and to the Healthy Lives, Healthy People public health strategy for England. All Play England publications, including responses to government consultations, can be found on our website:www.playengland.org.uk/resources

In the new business plan, priority will be given to updating key documents that outline the case for play for professionals and policy makers: Planning for Play – incorporating Embedding the Play Strategy, Design for Play, Managing Risk in Play and Better Places to Play through Planning. We will also be focusing on making the case for play and involving parents through our Playday and Love Outdoor Play campaigns.

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Membership

Through our membership and networks, Play England has an excellent foundation to create forums for strategic debate within the play sector and ensure representation of its views.

Play England has a broad membership from playwork professionals to local authorities and after school clubs to universities. All members endorse the Charter for Children’s Play and are vital to establishing Play England as a strong and representative voice for children and the play sector.

Members meet at the Play England Council to network, hear about the latest in play and share their views on new and emerging priorities for the play sector. Members regularly contribute to forming Play England policy responses to government and inform Play England of the practising play sector. At the last members meeting in June there was a unanimous vote in favour of an independent Play England to be launched as a new charity, starting in April 2012.

A vibrant, active membership will be increasingly vital in shaping the future direction and strategic priorities of the organisation. Through our membership and networks Play England will continue to build communities of practice and seek to build the capacity of the play sector as a whole, to influence at all levels including national government a greater understanding of our collective vision.

The role of the Strategic Advisory BoardA board of elected and co-opted members, known as the Strategic Advisory Board, advises Play England on its programme and strategic direction. Play England is managed by the NCB board of trustees’ governance structure.

Strategic Advisory Board (as 31 October 2011)

Elected membersRobin Sutcliffe, Acting Chair of the Play England CouncilKaren Benjamin, Playwork PartnershipsNicola Butler, Hackney Play AssociationDr Keith Cranwell, Playwork LondonTim Ferguson, Manchester Young LivesMichael Follett, OPALLesli Godfrey, Skills ActiveAndy Grout, Milton Keynes Play AssociationJulie Hathaway, KIDSJeff Hill, Children’s ScrapstoreSandra Melville, independentUte Navidi, London PlayTanny Stobart, Play TorbayDr Hilary Emery, Chief Executive, NCB (ex officio)

Co-opted membersMark Gladwin, Yorkshire PlayDeborah Holt, Association of Play Industries

For a list of current full members, please go to: www.playengland.org.uk/members

ObserversPlay Scotland – Marguerite Hunter BlairPlay Wales – Mike GreenawayPlayBoard Northern Ireland - Jacqueline O’Loughlin

Staff team

Director Catherine Prisk

NCB staffPlay England contributes funding to the Children’s Play information Service (CPIS) and the NCB media team to enable them to respond to the increased activity generated by Play England’s work.

CPIS – Anna Kassman-Mckerrell.

Play Development team

Steven ChownSue CoatesDave MarshAshley RogersIngrid Wilkinson

Nature Play teamMick ConwayJane Hembrowjanet OrrockJamie Seaden

Communications and campaignsClaire ColvinePhilip HadleyLyndsey McCullagh

Thank you to our colleagues who have worked with us in the past year: Adrian Voce, Dave Taylor, Ute Meyer zu Hollen, Nicola Wilson, Patricia Thomas, Marcus Campbell, Sasha Sencier, Karim Manzi, Tracy Woodward, Dave Liddle, Lee-Anne Robinson, Sally Cole, Andrew Mackie, Rob Hardy, Becky McLaughlin, Ken Ryan, Richard Newson, Susan Pape, Ingrid Duffin, Clare Quar-rell, Ziggy Rokita, Amy Little, Stephen Close, Neil Coleman, Josie Gleave, Stephanie Young, Laky Sahota, Amy Davies, Angelique Brorsson, Annie Hunter-Wade, Jude Anderson, Judith Carrie, Lara Burnett, Louisa Kelly, Mark Lister, Richard Gott, Sarah Wills, Simon Brooks, Michael Welsh.

Play England has a broad membership from playwork professionals to local authorities and after school clubs to universities. All members endorse the Charter for Children’s Play and are vital to establishing Play England as a strong and representative voice for children and the play sector.

Members meet at the Play England Council to network, hear about the latest in play and share their views on new and emerging priorities for the play sector. Members regularly contribute to forming Play England policy responses to government and inform Play England of the practising play sector. At the last members meeting in June there was a unanimous vote in favour of an independent Play England to be launched as a new charity, starting in April 2012.

A vibrant, active membership will be increasingly vital in shaping the future direction and strategic priorities of the organisation. Through our membership and networks Play England will continue to build communities of practice and seek to build the capacity of the play sector as a whole, to influence at all levels including national government a greater understanding of our collective vision.

The role of the Strategic Advisory BoardA board of elected and co-opted members, known as the Strategic Advisory Board, advises Play England on its programme and strategic direction. Play England is managed by the NCB board of trustees’ governance structure.

Strategic Advisory Board (as 31 October 2011)

Elected membersRobin Sutcliffe, Acting Chair of the Play England CouncilKaren Benjamin, Playwork PartnershipsNicola Butler, Hackney Play AssociationDr Keith Cranwell, Playwork LondonTim Ferguson, Manchester Young LivesMichael Follett, OPALLesli Godfrey, Skills ActiveAndy Grout, Milton Keynes Play AssociationJulie Hathaway, KIDSJeff Hill, Children’s ScrapstoreSandra Melville, independentUte Navidi, London PlayTanny Stobart, Play TorbayDr Hilary Emery, Chief Executive, NCB (ex officio)

Co-opted membersMark Gladwin, Yorkshire PlayDeborah Holt, Association of Play Industries

For a list of current full members, please go to: www.playengland.org.uk/members

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The past 12 months has seen significant changes to the staff team within Play England.

We have been through two major reorganisations and a change of Director. Despite this we have a dedicated core team developing programmes and campaigns seeking to influence and develop practice to support children’s play. Play England also works closely with colleagues within NCB on research, communications and publications.

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The future

Play England will continue to work in partnership to ensure all children and young people in England have the space, conditions and opportunity to play freely as part of their daily lives, at home, in schools and services and throughout the public realm.

For the first time in over 25 years there is no direct government funding for a national play organisation. It is therefore more important now than ever to build an active membership base and work in partnership with others to continue to champion children’s right to play and highlight the importance of play in children’s lives. The next 12 months will be challenging, but we look forward to embarking on some exciting opportunities to continue to raise the profile of play at both a local and national level.

We’d like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has supported our policy, research and campaigns work over the past 12 months and we look forward to your continued support over the coming year.

If you can do three things now to help make sure all children have the freedom and space to play throughout childhood, why not:

1. Find out more – visit our website to see what else we are working on www.playengland.org.uk

2. Get involved in Playday 2012 – sign up for Playday campaign updates at www.playday.org.uk/getinvolved

3. Become part of our social media community – find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/playengland and follow us on Twitter @playengland

References

Communities and Local Government (CLG) (2011) Draft National Planning Policy Framework. London: CLG.

Department for Education (DfE) (2011) Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage: Setting the standards for learning, development and care for children from birth to five. Draft for consultation, 6 July 2011. London: DfE.

DH (2011) Healthy Lives, Healthy People: Our strategy for public health in England. London: DH.

Department of Health (DH) (2011) Start Active, Stay Active. A report on physical activity for health from the four home countries’ Chief Medical Officers. London: DH.

Play England 8 Wakley Street, London, EC1V 7QE tel 020 7843 6300fax 020 7843 6349email playengland@ncb.org.ukweb www.playengland.org.uk

NCB 8 Wakley Street, London, EC1V 7QE tel 020 7843 6000fax 020 7278 9512web www.ncb.org.uk

Published for Play England by NCB

November 2011

Play England is part of NCB and is supported by the Big Lottery Fund. www.playengland.org.uk

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