How to use this pack
We’ve aimed to make these resources as easy
to use as possible.
If you’re raring to go and already have some
experience of play, you’ll want to use the
Quick Start and the Case Cards.
If you’re someone who’d like some background
and context to children's play then The Tool Kit
is for you.
If you’d like additional resources then please
check out the CD Rom.
The fun starts here!
For further information contact:
E: [email protected]
T: 0117 352 5716
www.goplacestoplay.org.uk
playful
neighbourhoods
to help inspire
A tool kit
How to use this pack
We’ve aimed to make these resources as easy
to use as possible.
If you’re raring to go and already have some
experience of play, you’ll want to use the
Quick Start and the Case Cards.
If you’re someone who’d like some background
and context to children's play then The Tool Kit
is for you.
If you’d like additional resources then please
check out the CD Rom.
The fun starts here!
Quick Start...
This pack has been produced to inspire you or your group to develop
children’s play in your neighbourhood. The pack offers advice and
guidance on the Nine Steps you might want to follow to achieve a
successful play project.
Step
One
Winning hearts and minds
The Tool
Kit
p8
Outline your idea to promote play in the local neighbourhood.
Make a case for it and be clear about what you aim to
do and why you feel it fills a gap. Use information about
the importance of play in childhood. Use facts about the
neighbourhood to support the need for your project.
The Tool Kit
p11
Step
Three
Talk to children
and families
When developing your idea, talk
to children and families about
what they think is needed. Listen
carefully to their views. Identify ways
to maintain children’s involvement in
the development of the project.
The Tool Kit
p13
Step
Two
Promote your idea
Build support for your project idea by
using a range of methods to get your
message out to individuals and groups
in the community .
The To
ol Kit
p16
Step
Four
Hooking people in!
Spend time understanding people’s
motivation for volunteering, respect their
interest and this will mean it will be easier
to engage people to help out on specific
tasks. Always ensure their contribution
is acknowledged and appreciated.
Remember to make the experience
fun and playful!
The To
ol Kit
p20
Step
Five
Keeping children safe
Volunteers are seen by children as safe and
trustworthy adults so it’s essential that all
activities follow effective safeguarding and
child protection policies.
Step
Six
Get organised
Turn your idea into a project,
clarify the aims, tasks and
roles and responsibilities of
the group. You may wish to
constitute your group and
apply for charitable status.
Step
Seven
Who can help you
ol Kit
The To
p22
The To
ol Kit
p24
Find out who in your community – individuals or local
organisations – can offer time, skill, knowledge,
money, professional or moral support.
Step
Nine
Get strategic
Step
Eight
Get networked
Finding out about what other local plans
support the aims of your idea can really
help you punch above your weight.
Link to other neighbourhood agendas
and ensure your project is part of a
Neighbourhood Plan.
Kit
Tool
The 25
p
Forming partnerships and agreeing
a joint long term plan can help you
continue to achieve your goals and
secure success for the future.
The To
ol Kit
p30
But remember this is all about having fun and being playful! If children and
adults are not enjoying playing then there is little chance of success.
To help inspire you to do something positive about play in your community
or neighbourhood we have included Case Cards of projects that are already
happening in Bristol.
The Tool Kit
Introduction
Bristol has a rich tradition of engaging children
and families in play projects across a diverse and
multi-cultural city environment.
The emphasis on localism, empowering
neighbourhoods and volunteering represents real
opportunities for children’s play. Furthermore it
has placed a focus on what ‘others’, including adult
volunteers, can do to enhance children’s play.
Play in Action is a new scheme in Bristol that has
helped people to develop a wide range of play
opportunities in their neighbourhood. The aim of
this resource is to inspire and guide you to create
similar opportunities in your neighbourhood.
Contents
How to use this resource ........................... 3
Step Three: Talk to children
and families .................................................. 13
Why get involved?..........................................4
Step Four: Hooking people in!................16
Introduction.................................................... 2
Why do people volunteer in play?............. 5
Step Five: Keeping children safe.............20
The value of play volunteers
in the community..........................................6
Step Six: Get organised.............................22
Next Steps........................................................ 7
Step Eight: Get networked.......................25
Step One: Winning hearts and minds......8
Step Nine: Get strategic............................30
Step Two: Promote your idea . ............... 11
Step Seven: Who can help you...............24
Conclusion ...................................................32
Acknowledgements....................................33
2
How to use
this resource
The tool kit will help you to set up and establish a play project in your
neighbourhood. As community projects are never exactly the same, you’ll
notice that this resource has a number of parts designed to suit different
needs. Depending on the stage of your project, you may want to use it as
a step-by-step guide, or as an information resource you can dip into.
The Quick Start and Case Cards are
for you if you’re looking for a quick
guide and want some ideas to get
started straight away. They’re ideal
if you’re already working in play. So
you could be a playworker or perhaps
already a volunteer on a play project.
The Tool Kit gives you some context
and background to play more generally.
This is for you if you’re involved in:
• Neighbourhood partnerships and
want to make children’s play a priority
in your Neighbourhood Plan.
• A community group that wants
to use play as a method to
engage people of all ages.
• A parent group that wants to build
parental networks that benefit
from play and family learning.
• A housing association that recognises
that children playing is a sign of a
vibrant and cohesive community.
You could also be:
• A parent or grandparent that wants to
encourage play and empower adults.
• A sport worker that is looking to
promote outdoor active, healthy,
family play opportunities.
• A school/parent governor that sees
play as a way for the whole family
to learn and achieve together.
• A community development worker
that wants to use play as a tool to
realise child-friendly neighbourhoods.
• A park officer that wants to
ensure parks are community and
family friendly public spaces.
We have also attached a CD Rom
which contains additional resources
that may help you.
The guides are designed to work together
so there will be cross-referencing
where appropriate to make it easy for
you to find the information you need.
• A tenant association that
wants to ensure the place you
live is fun for everyone.
3
Why get involved?
You may want to:
• campaign for improvements
to local play provision
• be consulted on improving
local play spaces
• protect existing play space
• maintain and develop safe play spaces
• manage and provide your own
play space for the community
• be involved in traffic calming, safe
routes and home zone schemes
• deliver play opportunities for
children through staffed play
provision e.g. mobile play provision,
holiday play schemes, Play Ranger
projects or adventure playgrounds.
4
80% of
children
in the UK
prefer
playing
outside
to playing
indoors –
but not
all of
them
get the
chance.
Why do people
volunteer in play?
There are many reasons why people
volunteer on a play project. They:
• may want to meet others in the
community in a playful environment
• may enjoy playing out with
their children and taking part
in games and activities
• may want to learn more about
creating play opportunities
• may regard play as a sign of
a healthy community
Case Study
Parent play volunteer
• may want to find out about
the play sector and to develop
skills in this area for a career
Jo really enjoys taking part in Stay
and Play because she loves seeing
her children playing outdoors.
• may be working towards a play
work qualification and need to
gain additional experience.
“My children really look forward to
going to school and that’s partly
because of the playful atmosphere,”
she says. “I also really enjoy taking
them because of the sense of
community that initiatives like
Stay and Play foster. Even my eldest
son, who is now at secondary
school, will often come back to his
old school and join in with the fun!
My neighbourhood doesn’t always
feel like a safe place for them to play,
so I really appreciate the choice of
free play in the school grounds.”
Jo, Parent Play Volunteer at
Glenfrome Primary School in Bristol.
5
The value of
play volunteers
in the community
As an adult, your role in play may
not be immediately obvious. You
may think that children’s play
happens when adults are not
around, as this may well have been
the case when you remember your
own childhood. Nevertheless,
adults have a vital role, not always
in the actual play, but in creating
the right conditions for play to
happen in outdoor spaces.
Play is a vital ingredient to a happy
childhood. It can take place in a range of
different settings, such as school grounds,
playgrounds, park, woodland, the beach
or in the street. However due to changes
in society, children’s access to play is
diminishing. Sometimes public areas can
be unwelcoming and fail to provide the
safety and diversity of play opportunities
that children need and deserve.
Groups of children ‘hanging out’ in
public spaces are often characterised
as posing a threat or a nuisance,
even when they are simply playing or
enjoying being together. This perception
6
can end up with some adults being
hostile to measures to provide space
for children and young people.
Therefore it’s vital that adults who
understand the value of play are present
and visible in their neighbourhoods.
Their presence can provide the muchneeded safety that both children
and adults require. This increases the
confidence of children to play freely,
promotes children’s and young people’s
right to public space, and widens
the range of play opportunities.
Good play provision and child-friendly
public space has so many benefits.
It can promote a real sense of belonging,
increase mutual understanding and
respect, and change perceptions of
behaviour and responsibility. Wellused and maintained play areas add
to the general use of, and pride in,
community space that can be passed
from generation to generation.
Every parent understands the
importance of play for their children.
Spaces where they can play, where
the can feel completely free, where
they can safely push at the boundaries,
learning and experimenting. Places
where different generations can meet,
binding the community together.
We have to be innovative, to find new
solutions, we need to work out how we
can empower people to deliver these
changes in their own neighbourhoods.
,
play
need spaces where
n
e
a
c
W
they
tely free,
where
ple
they can
m
o
c
feel
ies...
they can safely
where
dar
push
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at the bo
Next Steps...
The following sections provide helpful tips
and techniques to guide you through starting
up a voluntary play project in your area.
7
Step
One
Winning hearts and minds
The capacity and opportunity
to play – for all of us and
especially for our children – is at
the heart of a healthy community.
Starting up a play project in your local
area can take many different forms.
You may be thinking about starting a
supervised holiday play scheme, Play
Ranger activities or trying to generate
support for a staffed adventure
playground. On the other hand you
could be developing a local play area
or campaigning for improvements to
local play spaces, or forming a ‘friends
of’ park group. Whatever your idea, it
will need approval and active support
from the community. Now is the time
to hone your persuasive skills!
The most successful play projects are
those where the community are aware
of the potential benefits and are involved
in the process of change. To make
neighbourhoods more child-friendly
and playable, we need to work together.
We need to create popular attitudes that
embrace children in public space and
challenge the ‘No Ball Games’ culture.
The first stage in developing your
project is to clarify the need or gap your
project aims to fill. Is there a lack of
places for children to play locally? Or
does the neighbourhood feel unsafe
for children to play? Perhaps your local
play area looks tired and run-down.
8
Strengthen your argument by using
facts and figures. This section highlights
some points you might want to make
about the role of play in childhood and
society at large. They provide powerful
messages in winning support and
motivating action for local play provision.
Perhaps you could find out some facts
about how children play in your area?
Play makes for a
happier childhood
A 2007 UNICEF report on the wellbeing of children in 21 of the world’s
richest countries ranked the UK at the
bottom. This sends a strong message
that as a society, we need to think
again about children’s experience
of childhood. When children are
asked about what is important in
their own lives, playing with friends is
consistently at the top of their list.
The solutions to these problems
can be simple but an understanding
of why children play is vital, so
now for the science bit!
Play develops mind,
body, and soul
We are now beginning to understand
how genes, the brain, social groups
and the environment work together
to affect children’s well-being and
development. Brain science experts
“Exciting things happen when children and young people
play – almost anything is possible. They connect with
the world around them and learn to value themselves
and others. They develop positive approaches to solving
problems. They set their imaginations free.
Through participation in
play children, families
and communities grow.”
Playing for Real – Bristol Play Strategy 2004
now know that play, not only affects
muscle development and social skills,
but actually affects the building blocks
of the brain. It is this brain function that
influences the child’s ability to adapt,
survive and thrive in, and shape their
social and physical environments. From
this perspective, children’s development
and well-being cannot be understood
as separate from their environment.
Play helps build children’s resilience –
a child’s ability to ‘bounce back’ from
stress and difficulties in their lives.
Emotions have a key role in playing
and play makes a major contribution
to developing children’s ability to
‘handle’ different emotions. Play enables
children to develop positive relationships
with friends and peers, which in turn
leads to positive self-esteem. Play
also helps children develop creative
and problem-solving approaches to
solutions and making decisions.
9
Play creates
friendship networks
Children playing outdoors and
establishing relationships with other
children in their community can create
a sense of community. The more
social networks children have in a
neighbourhood the greater parents’
confidence of the safety of that area.
Parents also establish their own friendship
networks through their children.
More so than by any other means.
Play at risk and
risk in play
Playworkers understand that play is
most beneficial when it is unpredictable,
spontaneous, open-ended and crucially,
child-led. Good play happens when
children direct it themselves. However,
growing parental anxiety has led to an
increase in adult-control in childhood.
Children are no longer able to travel
on their own in their local community
which means they are no longer able to
access places and spaces for exploration
and adventure. We need to provide
child-friendly neighbourhoods so that
children can access the experiences
we enjoyed when we were young.
In 2006/07 around two-thirds of
parents allowed children (aged 8 - 15)
to play outside of the house and garden.
Other research suggests that over a
quarter of 8 - 10 year olds have never
played outside without an adult.
Children’s Right to Play
Successive Governments have been
proud signatories of the United Nations
Convention on the Rights of the Child.
10
This was adopted by the United Nations
in 1989, it spells out the basic human
rights to which every child is entitled:
‘Article 31 (Leisure, play and culture):
Children have the right to relax and play,
and to join in a wide range of cultural,
artistic and other recreational activities.’
But despite this, did you know...
• Marketing aimed at children, worth
£30 billion a year, is affecting the
way children eat, learn, and play.
(Toxic Childhood by Sue Palmer)
• 80% of children in the UK prefer
playing outside to playing indoors –
but not all of them get the chance.
72% would like to play out more often.
(Play England Play Day research)
• 41% of primary school age children
are driven to school. One in four cars
at home time are driving children.
(Living Streets Campaign).
• Childhood obesity levels in the UK
are one in five, and one in three in
low-income areas (British Medical
Journal). Play is one of the best ways to
use up calories so play can really help
tackle obesity in children. Unstructured
play in particular, is better for children
in terms of activity calories per
minute burnt compared to organised
activities such as coached sports.
• The playing range of children (how far
children can travel on their own) has
decreased by 80% in the last 20 years.
By bundling these facts and messages
together with the information you
have gathered about play in your
local area, you’ll be able to build a
very strong argument for your idea.
Step
Two
Promote your idea
If you want your idea to
really take off you will need
to get the local community
on board! Raising awareness
of the project and attracting
members of the community
to get involved is crucial.
(an organisation that promotes street
parties www.streetsalive.org.uk) have
carried out house-to-house surveys
after street parties. They found that out
of 172 adults responding, 19% said that
as a result of the street party they ‘would
volunteer’ in children’s play and 54% said
that ‘maybe they would help sometimes’.
Each case study in this toolkit used
a number of effective strategies to
raise awareness and inspire interest
in local play action. You could use:
You could also use special dates such as
‘Walk to School Week’, National Playday,
the Big Lunch or Take Over Day to
organise and raise awareness of your idea.
Community meetings: promote your
idea by attending Neighbourhood
Forums, local environment groups and
other local meetings. As with events,
these could be used to recruit new adult
volunteers and to reach other people in
your area. You could also talk to service
providers in your area at Forums and
other meetings for their support.
Posters and flyers: put them in
community hubs like schools, GP
surgeries, shop windows and community
centres or post through letterboxes.
Events: family fun days in the park, street
parties, seasonal parties, playful sports
days at the school – events can be a
highly effective way of reaching people
with your idea. Street play parties can
be a good way of encouraging positive
debate by residents about children’s
play, as well as potentially a good way of
recruiting new adults to volunteer in play.
Most neighbours will normally join in, as
it is right outside their door. Streets Alive
Word of mouth: talk to your neighbours
on the street or chat to parents in the
park or at the school gate, attend local
meetings and school assemblies to
talk to local people about your idea.
Use existing media: it could be a
community newspaper, a school
newsletter or the school text message
service. What about contacting
a local radio programme?
Social network sites: Facebook,
MySpace, Twitter etc are now used
by millions of people including
those in your community.
11
Email is the quickest and cheapest way
to communicate to individuals and
large groups. Collect email addresses
from people who are interested in the
project and build your email group.
Target supportive people: the people
who are most likely to care about play
in the community are parents with
young children. Visit your parent toddler
groups and other staffed play settings
and talk to Playworkers and parents.
Target influential people: in every
community and neighbourhood there are
groups or individuals that are particularly
active in ‘making things happen’. Identify
who they are in your community, perhaps
it’s a local councillor, or community
development worker or a very active
local resident. There are also people
employed by the local authority and
voluntary organisations who are paid to
help you. For useful network contacts
see the CD Rom. Find out who these
people are and get them on your side!
Individuals will get involved for a variety
of reasons, and of course there are
always some people who drop out. It’s
a good idea to keep as many people as
possible informed about your project so
you can recruit new members. So keep
the promotion and awareness-raising
going throughout the life of the project.
12
Case Study
Community
Service Volunteer
CSV in Bristol promote their
play projects to volunteers using
local contacts. By employing
local adults that have child-related
experience, they build strong
relationships with children and
families. These local contacts are
developed over time, and are
always available to offer help,
guidance and local information.
By attending community meetings
the project has developed
partnerships with the park
group and the Community
Partnership which in turn has
led to collaborative / joint play
events, which are advertised
locally and encourage the
community to volunteer.
Play Ranger sessions are
advertised to schools and the
local community, families and
friends of the children tell others
about the sessions and how
they can help. By being visible
in the community, by working
in outside spaces and by linking
to community groups, CSV
have found that local people
trust the provision and want
to give their time.
Step
Three
Talk to children and families
Any idea that aims to develop,
improve and sustain local play
opportunities should involve
people from that community in all
stages of the planning, design and
delivery of the event or project.
You will need to seek out the views
of all parts of the community,
encouraging dialogue to tackle any
negative perceptions, issues and
barriers to involvement or support.
Inevitably, there are some people who
may feel excluded from your project
because of language or cultural barriers,
ability, age or a lack of confidence.
Whatever the reason, it will help your
project to succeed if you identify people
and groups who may feel excluded from
supporting or developing local play
provision. Think about what action you
can take to enable them to overcome
the barriers that may be preventing
them from becoming involved.
Your local Neighbourhood Partnership
and Neighbourhood Forums might
be able to help you to involve the
wider community through existing
networks and to offer advice on
reaching groups in your area.
Case Study
Involving everyone
The Barton Hill Play Rangers
project successfully involved a
diverse range of residents by using
a number of different methods.
They informed and involved
people by distributing information
to as many local residents as
possible. They had the information
translated in to Somali and
specifically targeted Somali
women’s groups to encourage
people from the large local Somali
community to get involved.
Residents involved in the project
were encouraged to learn about
and explore different cultures
through different community
events. Seven different multicultural
feasts were organized and
attended by over 1000 people.
Cultural awareness training was
developed and delivered to
targeted community groups
ensuring everyone felt involved.
Your play project should also aim to
meet the needs of all children. Some
disabled children and young people, or
those from black and minority ethnic
13
groups can experience overt and implicit
discrimination. Their enjoyment of public
space, including play areas, may have
involved very negative associations, and
so they may need extra encouragement
to take part. You may want to think
about involving parent/carers of
disabled children in identifying the
barriers to their children’s participation
in local, community-based play.
Typically children living in such areas
miss out on many of the benefits that
playing freely can bring. The CSV
Play Ranger project actively engages
children and young people presenting
challenging behaviour by giving them
roles with genuine responsibility. They
even get to wear high visibility jackets!
Easily accessible play provision is often
needed in areas of high deprivation.
Through playing outdoors, children
may know a lot more about their
neighbourhood and the best places
to play than many older people. They
are also likely to have strong views
on where they play locally. Children
and young people have a right to
express their views about decisions
that affect their lives (as set out in the
UN Convention on the Rights of the
Child Article 12) so they should be
consulted about local play provision.
Case Study
Parents are surprised
Disabled children from New
Fosseway Special School were
invited to try out sessions at
St Paul’s Adventure Playground
over a half-term holiday. One
parent had never heard about
the playground. Others were
concerned that it might not be
a ‘safe’ environment for their
children and that they may be
bullied by non-disabled children.
But they were happily surprised by
what the playground had to offer.
“This is the first time I’ve taken
him out and been able to drink
a cuppa on my own. Usually,
he won’t let me out of his
sight. He’s having such a
great time!” said one mum.
14
Ask the children
Widespread consultation with
children can take time and resources.
However for too long children’s views
have been disregarded by adults and
our wider society. It is important
that you change this, so ensure that
children are involved from the start.
Case Study
Children plan their park
Case Study
Let children have
their say
The CSV Play Rangers involved
children in the development
of play opportunities in
the following ways:
• Children write letters and
design promotional leaflets
• ‘Mini rangers’ plan the
Play Ranger session
• Children and young people,
manage and supervise
play equipment used
by young children
• Children are encouraged
to lead activities
Children were consulted and
involved throughout the Gores
Marsh Park project development.
The landscape architect and the
Council’s project officer visited the
local school several times during
class time dedicated to helping
with the design of the park.
The children talked about what
they used or would like to use
the park for and talked about the
types of play equipment they
preferred. The architect drew up
his plan based on those ideas.
Children recognised their ideas
in the finished park and quickly
took ownership of the new play
space by turning up in large
numbers when it opened.
• Children are awarded ‘man
of the match’ and other
badges, honours or awards
• Children form panels to resolve
issues around organisation of
play equipment, discrimination,
creating a warm welcome for
new children, tackling bullying or
disrespectful behaviours.
Children should be
actively involved
from the start.
15
Step
Four
Hooking people in!
Examples of incentives and
quick wins that inspire and
engage people.
When you are confident that your idea
is well known and has community
support, your next step is to try getting
people to take on specific tasks and
duties. Getting people to make that
first move to ‘sign up’ and offer their
assistance takes a certain amount of skill.
People will want to join in for a number
of different reasons but most will want
to take part because the opportunity
seems fun and interesting. So at the
initial stages of getting people involved,
plan a range of fun activities such as:
• Games with a clear role for adults
e.g. rounders, tug of war
• High profile community events (e.g.
Street Parties, Spooky Parade (see
Case Card 1 for more information)
• Use fires and outdoor cooking
and other eye-catching
activities to lure parents in.
Ensure activities are diverse,
fun and enjoyable. Remember
parents enjoy playing too!
Example – Organise a play lounge:
lay out items such as sofas, carpets
and bunting to calm streets. Held on a
regular basis, ‘play lounges’ can build
the confidence of parents to allow their
16
children to play safely in their street for a
change. Adults can supervise the children
as well as use the street as a social space.
Case Study
Drawing parents in
At the Stay and Play project at
Glenfrome Primary School,
parents and children hang
out and play together after
school in the grounds.
To initially draw the parents in,
the playworkers make tea and
coffee on a roaring outdoor fire
before getting stuck into a range
of creative and adventurous
activities. The parents that
attend have made friends with
other parents and have had the
opportunity to learn new skills from
each other and the playworkers.
The relaxed and playful atmosphere
has built a collective identity – where
adults and children are socialising,
playing and learning together.
Many of the volunteer parents
have gradually taken on more
responsibility for the activity and
are keen to carry it forward into
the future.
Keeping people
Volunteers can contribute to the
development of a play project in a variety
of ways and will bring different skills
and experience, energy and enthusiasm
to your group or organisation.
People’s interest and active participation
varies so, to maintain enthusiasm, it is
really important that you understand
people’s motivation for getting involved.
Volunteers may wish to facilitate
playful activities, they may want to use
their practical skills in construction,
design or gardening or they may enjoy
fundraising or event organisation. Match
people with the task they are interested
in doing. This can be achieved by
open communication through group
meetings, ‘one to ones’ and email.
Some of the reasons people gave
for volunteering on the Play in Action
pilots are:
• Supporting children’s play
in my neighbourhood.
• Gaining new transferable skills,
knowledge and experience.
• Developing existing skills and
knowledge in a supportive
environment.
• Enhancing a CV to improve
job prospects.
• Gaining an accreditation or a
qualification in something I enjoy.
• Meeting new people and making
new friends in my community.
• A chance to socialise and get to
know my local community.
• Promoting children’s play for
the good of the community.
• Getting outside more and helping
improve the environment
• Spending quality time with my
children and good karma.
• Using skills and knowledge
to benefit others
• A desire to make a difference
to the lives of children.
• Helping others less fortunate
or without a voice.
• Feeling part of a team
and feeling valued.
• Having quality time away from work
• Building trust, gaining confidence
and raising self-esteem.
It is also really important to
recognise people’s contribution.
Awarding their hard work can take
the form of a certificate, a record
of achievement or maybe a free
lunch. Some volunteers wish to learn
more and take part in training.
At CSV, volunteers are offered a
diverse range of training opportunities.
These range from practical hands-on
taster sessions in local parks and
introductory sessions, to playwork theory,
to structured programmes that lead to
playwork qualifications.
When using volunteers on a regular basis,
you will need to develop a volunteering
policy to deal with recruitment and to
provide the support volunteers expect.
Volunteers should also be covered by,
and aware of, your safeguarding and child
protection policy. They should undertake
checks with the Criminal Records Bureau
(CRB) where appropriate (see the next
section: Keeping Children Safe).
17
Ensure activities are diverse,
fun and enjoyable.
Young people volunteering in play
projects can be really valuable in creating
inter-generational respect, and their
engagement shows youth in a positive
light. At CSV, young people are actively
encouraged to volunteer. Through their
involvement, young people gain an
understanding of youth and playwork
professions and understand the routes
to training and qualifications.
When young people participate in
accreditation schemes, e.g. Duke of
Edinburgh or Young Bristol Award, their
skills and experiences are recorded.
Through the schemes, young people
are encouraged to identify projects or
social actions / entrepreneurial activity
that promotes positive change in their
communities connected to play or parks.
Play Champions
Acknowledging and rewarding volunteers’
positive contributions is crucial to
sustaining interest in volunteering. A Play
Champion programme where individuals
18
Case Study
A neighbourhood
Play Champion
George Denford is 80 years old
and has always advocated or made
the case for play in Hartcliffe and
Withywood. He has spoken up for
children’s right to access good play
opportunities in his community.
George has raised awareness at
community meetings, campaigned
for the play resources like Play
Rangers, new play equipment,
the Park Pod, the Skate Park, and
fundraising for local play facilities.
George is respected and fondly
regarded in his community
and a prime example of a Play
Champion. He has recently
been awarded an MBE for his
services to the community.
Case Study
Street Play
Champions
Amy Rose and Alice Ferguson are
the creators of Playing Out, a Bristolbased project that champions
children’s right to play in their
streets and neighbourhoods.
Amy’s background is in theatre
and Alice’s in sustainability but
they found common ground as
neighbours and parents with a
shared passion for the possibilities
of streets as liveable, playable
spaces. With a long-term goal to
make their street safer for everyday
play, they decided to try closing
the road to cars one day after
school to create an instant play
space. They found this was all that
was needed for children to fill
the street with activity, have since
set up a website and are helping
other streets in Bristol and beyond
to get children playing out.
have shown a long-term commitment
to promoting play opportunities in the
local community are worth considering.
People’s interest and active
participation fluctuates and there may
be many reasons why their enthusiasm
declines. It does not necessarily mean
they have lost interest, so it’s always
worth keeping in touch in case they
want to be more active at another
stage. Keep a directory of contacts
of all those who have expressed
an interest in volunteering or who
have helped out in some way.
Case Study
School Play Champion
Gareth Grimwood: Play Champion
at Glenfrome Primary School.
Gareth wanted to be more involved
in the school that his two children
attend, so offered his help with a
gardening project on the school
grounds. Gareth could see that there
were plenty of exciting outdoor play
and learning opportunities in the
grounds and set about clearing routes
into the bushes and scrub so that
children could access more space.
The school has encouraged Gareth’s
involvement and has now recruited
him onto the staff as a mealtime
supervisor. Gareth has been closely
involved in establishing Stay and
Free Play by helping to prepare
and support play activities. His
children join in the fun too. He is
a firm believer in giving children a
chance to learn about the world
around them through play and
giving kids a break from ‘chalk and
talk’. Gareth has found working at
the school really rewarding and is
now embarking on a ‘Pathway to
Teaching’ life-long learning course.
19
Step
Five
Keeping children safe
Volunteers are seen by children as
safe and trustworthy adults so it is
essential that all activities follow
effective safeguarding and child
protection policies and procedures.
‘Safeguarding’ describes a preventive
approach to keeping children and young
people safe from harm (or injury and is
included in the UN convention Rights
of the Child Article 19). All organisations
and individuals who work with children
and young people, or are involved in
providing services for them, have a
duty to ( protect children from physical
injury) and promote children’s welfare.
This means when an adult changes
from a parent or carer with specific
responsibility for their child, to a
volunteer who is prepared to take on
responsibility for other children in the
play setting, they will need to be checked
with the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB).
Every local authority area will have a
Local Safeguarding Children’s Board
(LSCB); this might have a different name
in your area. Your local play lead or family
information service will have details
if you can’t find it through your local
authority’s website. Local Safeguarding
Children’s Boards have an overview of
local safeguarding training, and in some
areas, organise and deliver it themselves.
20
Case Study
Child Safe
Child-Safe is a registered charity
which aims to encourage children
and young people to participate
in travel, sport, community groups
and specific school programmes.
This initiative (originating from
work within the Avon and Somerset
Constabulary) is about empowering
young people, improving care
and reducing opportunities
of abuse in its widest sense.
Therefore they provide support
and advice to parents, organisers,
volunteers, schools, a wide range
of commercial organisations
and, most importantly, children
and young people themselves.
Additionally, they are able to offer
organisations support, advice or
guidance by way of consultancy,
training, workshops, seminars or
presentations For more information
see www.child-safe.org.uk.
th
now at they a
re
o k
t
sa
Children a
ed
e
n
nd young people
fe
.
Check with your local authority which
safeguarding training is appropriate
to the activities of your group or
organisation. Training is usually free
to anyone who provides services to
children paid for by the local authority.
You will need to ensure there are robust
recruitment and vetting procedures to
prevent unsuitable people from working
with children. This applies to paid staff
and volunteers, who will need to undergo
a criminal records check via the Criminal
Records Bureau to ensure they are not
disqualified from working with children. 21
Step
Six
Get organised
This section includes information
about how to form and manage
a group to successfully move
your playful ideas forwards.
This may involve, choosing a
project leader; creating a steering
group; formalising your group;
becoming a charity; holding
meetings and keeping records.
you are serious in your ambitions, helps
with fundraising, provides a structure
that helps you to plan for the future
and encourages others to join.
You will progress most efficiently and
effectively if you can identify one or
two people who will drive the project,
make sure meetings happen and
follow up the action points from
meetings. The project leader must have
knowledge, local contacts and time
to commit to your project. They will
need to be persistent and persuasive,
be able to argue your cause with
many different types of people and
help make sure a cross-section of the
community is consulted and included.
Alternatively, if you decide to constitute
your group into a legal entity, you could
model it on several different types of
organisation. The most common route
for a community group is to become
a trust or unincorporated charity, an
incorporated charity (a not-for-profit
company with charitable status, limited
by guarantee or shares), or a community
interest company (a legal form created
specifically for social enterprises).
Get in touch with National Council for
Voluntary Organisations for advice on
training to charitable governance. In
Bristol, VOSCUR can provide advice on
getting organised as a voluntary group.
Most projects begin with an informal
network of people who simply share
the same interests and goals. Initially,
people like this may come together
just to explore ideas and talk through
issues, with no formal structures.
But as you progress and your ideas
take shape, you will probably need to
formalise the group, agree its aims and
objectives and establish a constitution.
Formalising your group shows others
22
If you decide not to formalise your group,
it is essential that you agree the group’s
terms of reference – its aims, objectives
and activities. This will provide clarity
of purpose and a focus for the group.
Having decided on the type of
organisation you need, you can then
describe your group accordingly, that
is, as a board of trustees, management
committee or steering group. You could
also attend your local Neighbourhood
Forum to get advice from council officers
and other local voluntary groups.
Forming and managing a group
can successfully move your
playful ideas forwards.
Management committees are formalised
bodies that have a legal responsibility
for an organisation in carrying out its
duties according to its constitution. Your steering group or management
committee will need a skilled chair.
They must be able to conduct meetings,
make sure everyone participates on
equal terms and provide direction.
The success of your steering group
and the likelihood of members staying
involved will depend partly on how well
meetings are facilitated by your chair.
23
Step
Seven
Who can help you
Sometimes it really comes down
to who you know. This section
is all about finding those in the
community and local organisations
who can offer time, knowledge,
skills and moral support.
These could be: local councillors,
Play Champions, other agencies
who work closely with your local
authority, not-for-profit and charitable
organisations. Individuals who
have an interest in your project are
sometimes known as stakeholders –
because they have a stake in whether
you achieve your goal or not.
There are Neighbourhood Partnerships
across Bristol which bring together
councillors, service delivery organisations
that work in your area (such as the City
Council, the Police, Health services),
voluntary organisations and local
community champions. This might
be a good place to start to try to
identify organisations that can help
you. Neighbourhood Forums are
open meetings where you can talk
to your councillors and members of
the Neighbourhood Partnership to
find out how you can get involved.
Don’t forget local businesses who may
be interested in sponsoring your project
(see Case Card 6) and raising their profile.
24
There are also individuals in your
community that can support your
project and put your case forward to
relevant organisations and decisionmakers. These individuals can be called
local champions because they are
able to champion your idea. They may
emerge as the project progresses, they
might already be established within the
local community, or you might have to
search actively for them. Ideally, your
local champions will have influence
and be able to generate support and
identify resources – whether financial
or ‘in kind’. Your champions might also
be members of the neighbourhood
who are able to attend meetings and
argue the case for your project.
It is also a good idea to identify the lead
officer for play in your local council.
They will explain what’s happening
in your area and provide you with
a copy of the local play strategy.
You could find out who can help through
your local family information service,
www.familyinformationservices.org.uk.
You will also be able to identify local
champions and stakeholders through
your local school, children’s centre
or other play and youth providers in
your area. Developing a stakeholder
audit is a good idea – ideas on how
to do this are on the CD Rom.
Step
Eight
Get networked
This section is about how to use
council policy as levers to get
what you want. Finding out about
other local plans that include the
aims of your idea, can really help
you punch above your weight.
Link to other neighbourhood
agendas and ensure your project
is part of a Neighbourhood Plan.
You may have noticed that localism
and community influence are the
new buzzwords. So the opportunity
for communities to influence the
future of the places where they
live has increased. For example,
new laws are being introduced
that allow communities to draw up
neighbourhood development plans.
Neighbourhood planning will allow
local people to say where they think
new houses, new businesses and
new play areas should go and what
they should look like. This will be
facilitated through a local parish
council or neighbourhood forum.
shops. The money raised must go
to support new developments that
promote play, like a new playground
or traffic calming measures on the
street. Crucially, the money raised
goes directly to the neighbourhoods
where the development takes place.
You could ensure that your proposal for
a new play project is part of the wider
Neighbourhood Plan which would
move you to the front of the queue
when funding is being allocated.
Use local
plans as
leverage to
help realise
your own
playful
ideas.
As well as being able to influence
planning decisions, local people should
be able to feel the benefits of new
development in their neighbourhood.
Local authorities can ask developers
to pay a levy or charge when they
build new houses, businesses or
25
Case Study
Children quote
a policy to get
what they want
The children and young
people in Lockleaze really
wanted some football goals
on their local green space
Gainsborough Square. So
one day they decided to
build some themselves! But
these make-shift goals were
taken down by the council.
So the children collected
a petition that quoted the
council’s Play Strategy and
children’s right to play.
Everyone in the community
including the local
shopkeepers, police and
resident groups, supported
the letter and petition. The
petition was successful and
the decision reversed. With
the help of the local children,
the goals were rebuilt on the
square, only this time much
better and with proper nets!
Neighbourhood Partnerships
One of the tasks of your local
Neighbourhood Partnership is to make
decisions about spending some of the
local budgets for your area, and also
to have influence on some council
26
contracts and works that affect your
area. You could become a member of
your local Neighbourhood Partnership,
or attend meetings and subgroups
so that you can ensure that play is
promoted and considered when local
decisions are made. The Neighbourhood
Partnership also has access to funding
that local groups can apply for – this
might help out if you need some funding
to get your ideas off the ground.
Your local authority is also required to
prepare a Children and Young People’s
Plan. This provides a single overarching
plan for all services for children and
young people in the area, including youth
and play services. It is worth finding out
what this plan says about play. Most local
authorities have produced Play Strategies,
which set out their commitment to play
services. This policy is worth knowing
because if your council has made a
commitment you can hold them to it!
Developing play opportunities in the local
community can impact on a number of
neighbourhood agendas as follows:
Stronger communities
Play brings people together of all
ages. It provides the perfect forum for
getting to know others on your street.
And it promotes conversations with
other cultures that might otherwise
not happen. See Case Card 3.
Play can be used to promote positive
behaviour in public space, reducing
tensions and increasing health and
wellbeing. Research suggests that
the more social networks children
have in a neighbourhood, the
greater the confidence parents
have in the safety of that area.
Play is part of…
Planning
& Development
Inclusion
Community
engagement
PLAY
Parks &
Leisure
Highways
& Transport
Health
Schools &
Children’s
Services
Regeneration
& Housing
Safer communities
Nobody, whether adults or children, can
achieve their full potential unless they
feel safe. Often adults can feel threatened
by groups of kids hanging out, yet this
can change when a Play Ranger is present
or other adults are overseeing the play.
Furthermore, designated play spaces
helps to underline the importance
of play. A Play Ranger can help to
make children feel safer too – their
presence has often lead to the reduction
of bullying in areas of racial tension.
and has made disabled children feel
safer. (See Case Card 3 for more
information) Furthermore, providing
fun, engaging activities and ways of
ensuring people feel acknowledged can
help to reduce anti social behaviour.
The number of children killed or seriously
injured in traffic accidents is still too
high. Street parties can be an effective
tool for promoting traffic campaigns
to create family-friendly streets such as
20 mph zones, home zones, and other
measures to calm traffic and reduce
car accidents. See Case Card 4.
27
Tackling exclusion and
promoting equality
helps to foster a sense of pride in their
street, encouraging greater cleanliness.
Play projects can ensure that the whole
community receives fair treatment
by local services. Ethnic minority
families that move into mostly white
areas can often feel excluded from
the community and unhappy about
allowing their children out to play.
Furthermore, many play projects also
encourage families to walk or cycle
to school. This provides greater play
opportunities than sitting inside a car.
However, experience shows that when
a Play Ranger is present, these families
feel differently about letting their
children out as they know that they’ll
be safe. This allows the children to build
their own cross-cultural bonds and
can create trust and understanding.
Local economy
Investing in play areas has many
benefits for the local economy.
Importantly, evidence suggests that
investing in play can generate new
jobs – from Play Rangers to positions
in schools. See Case Card 3.
Furthermore, brownland sites
are often chosen for a play space
development which can do a great
deal to brighten an area and make it
more attractive to the community.
Using your stakeholder audit (see p24
and the CD Rom), find out how your
play opportunities can impact on these
agendas and communicate the links
to your influential stakeholder to win
further support for your project.
Create a network
It’s a good idea to bring all the
stakeholders who are affected by
the play project together to a form a
network or partnership. In this way
stakeholders can share their interests
and contribute skills, time and
resources to making the idea happen.
The creation and management of a play
network or partnership, involving all the
key agencies and departments is the best
way to manage an effective local play
strategy. The make-up of a local play
network will vary but could include:
• Community facilitator
• Youth worker
Environmental sustainability
• Local playworker
Play projects often result in turning a
once scruffy and neglected area into
an attractive space that is bursting with
life and colour. See Case Card 6.
• Voluntary sector play providers
School grounds and park spaces are often
planted up with grass and flowers instead
of the bushy scrub land that has been
inaccessible. (See Gareth Grimwood
Case Study on p19). Street parties draw
attention to the state of the street. This
• School representative
28
• Housing officers
• Community safety officer
• Community health workers
• Local councillors
You might want to do this through your
Neighbourhood Partnership or through
other existing local groups initially.
Case Study
The importance
of networks
Royal Society for the encouragement
of Arts, Manufactures and
Commerce (RSA) Report: Connected
Communities: How social networks
power and sustain the Big Society.
In this report the RSA advocate
a new approach to community
regeneration, based on the
importance of social networks.
This approach has the
potential to bring about the
development of resilient and
empowered communities.
Key points made in the report
• Traditional approaches to
community regeneration
which define communities
in solely geographic terms
have severe limitations.
• These traditional approaches
have failed to deliver
on key social capital
improvements such as
improving trust between
residents or fostering a
greater sense of belonging.
• A new approach to
community regeneration,
based on an understanding
of the importance of
social networks.
• This approach utilises social
network analysis, which helps
respondents as well as public
sector workers to understand
communities as a complex
series of relationships.
• Such an approach has the
potential to bring about
significant improvements
in efforts to combat
isolation and to support the
development of resilient and
empowered communities.
• Efforts to build the ‘Big Society’,
such as training for community
organisers or initiatives aimed
at increasing the membership
of community groups, should
draw heavily on social network
analysis. If they fail to do so
they risk replicating existing
inequalities within communities.
• While RSA believe social networks
offer a powerful tool that may
well enable communities to
solve problems and shape
circumstances more effectively,
no social network can provide a
substitute for capital investment,
or form the rationale for
significantly withdrawing
support and funding from
areas where entrenched
disadvantage is acute.
29
Step
Nine
Get strategic
Forming partnerships and
agreeing a joint long-term
plan can help you continue to
achieve your goals and secure
funding for the future. Once
you have established a network
of local stakeholders you may
want to write a local play plan.
This can be used to plan children’s
play opportunities, both staffed
and unstaffed. It is developed and
implemented by working with many
partners from different departments
within local authorities (such as
neighbourhoods, parks, planning,
housing, highways and children’s
services) and other stakeholders
within the voluntary sector.
Steps in the development
of a play plan
1. Read your local authority’s
Play Strategy.
2. Look at the numbers and age
profile of children and equality
groups living in your local area.
3. Review policy context for
children and families.
4. Identify the issues that
affect children and young
people in your area.
5. Identify and map existing play
resources for children including
play areas in parks, playgrounds,
school grounds, after school clubs,
Play Ranger activity or home zones.
6. Identify gaps in provision.
The value of coordinating all the
play stakeholders and activity in
your local area, needs analysis
and forming a plan of action.
7. Identify opportunities in the form
of Play Champions, partnerships,
funding and current agendas.
8. Develop options for development.
9. Consult on options.
10. Develop preferred proposal.
11. Develop an implementation plan
with clear roles and responsibilities.
12. Monitor and review.
13. Ensure the play strategy is part
of the Neighbourhood Plan.
30
Case Study
A local play plan
Hartcliff and Withywood in Bristol
was an area that had a lot of green
space. The trouble was that all
too often this green space was
blighted by burnt out cars and
terrorised by motorbikes. Children
and families were too scared to
make use of this local asset.
Hartcliffe and Withywood
Partnership decided to write
a local play plan to overcome
this problem. The crossdepartmental and multi-agency
plan looked at many aspects of
children’s play but particularly
focused on reclaiming green
space for families.
Writing
a local
play plan
can be used
to achieve
your goals
for children’s
play
opportunities
in the
future.
Four years on the objectives in that
plan have been realised through
a range of play initiatives. These
include: Play Rangers, a park pod,
capital investment, new goal posts,
community events and active adult
volunteers. Incidents of anti-social
behaviour have dropped and
Hartcliffe and Withywood’s green
space has been transformed into
family friendly public space.
31
Conclusion
The ideas behind this tool kit are
certainly not new – they draw
their inspiration from play work
and community development
principles that have been
around for generations.
But sometimes we need
to be reminded that
children’s opportunities
to play in their community
are precious and shouldn’t
be eroded or lost forever.
We hope that the ideas presented
here will either inspire you and your
neighbourhood to replicate the
examples given or, even better, help
you come up with your own ideas
to enhance children’s play. If being
playful represents a sense of optimism
in human cooperation then Play in
Action offers a ‘can do’ tool kit to
promote family friendly public space
and child friendly communities.
As adults we all have a shared
responsibility to ensure children have
the same childhood experiences that
we enjoyed when we were young. It’s
all to play for and now it’s up to you!
32
Children’s
opportunities
to play in their
community are
precious and
shouldn’t be
eroded or
lost forever.
Acknowledgements
Play in Action was funded by the
Department for Education.
Play in Action was produced by Bristol
City Council, Youth and Play Service
in partnership with CSV in Bristol.
Play in Action would like to thank the
many individuals and organisations
for their contributions to the pilots
and the development of this tool kit.
Contact details for all the organisations
mentioned, are included on the CD Rom.
Crown copyright and Bristol
City Council, 2011.
The authors and owner of the
copyright in these materials hereby
give permission for their use in any
manner whatsoever provided such
use is on a not-for-profit basis.
All drawings and photos copyright
Bristol City Council and reproduced
with the kind permission of all the
children and adults who either
took them or appear in them.
Printed on Horizon Offset, a PEFC and FSC certified paper.
Design and illustrations by TinCat Design www.tincatdesign.co.uk
33
If being playful represents
a sense of optimism
in human cooperation then
Play in Action offers a ‘can do’
tool kit to promote
family friendly public space and
child friendly communities.
35
Case card 1
I want to be a play volunteer in my community!
Community Service Volunteers
(CSV) Play Rangers in Bristol offer
open access play sessions for
children of ages 8 - 12. They take
place in parks and outdoor public
spaces in Hartclife, Withywood and
Knowle. And they are free.
Children choose the kind of play activities
that they would like, this could be, arts and
crafts, den building, or team games, so
sessions can sometimes be messy, often
adventurous, but always fun. The Play
Rangers are out in all weathers, even on
the coldest winter days, building fires to
let children and parents cook something
warming and delicious.
Volunteers of all ages are attracted to
having fun outdoors with the Play Rangers,
and a warm welcome is given to anyone
interested in helping with these exciting
play activities.
Parents and grandparents come down to
watch the children and Play Rangers using
the Park Pods, which contain nets, ropes
and other materials to play with. Parents like
to volunteer by helping the Play Rangers
to organise and pack materials away at the
end of the session and generally help the
children make the Pod their own.
While the programme of play sessions
runs throughout the year, there are also
special events and festive celebrations,
like the summer family fun days in the
Park, the Halloween Spooky Parade and
the Christmas Party. Volunteers provide
a crucial role in ensuring their success by
helping out with the planning, promoting
and organising of the events.
Over time, some of the volunteers, inspired
by their positive experiences of supervised
open access play, choose to learn more
about play work. The Play Ranger teams
signpost volunteers to a range of training
opportunities from practical taster sessions
to accredited programmes, which can then
lead to play work qualifications.
There are a few examples where volunteers
have been involved from a young age
as mini-rangers. Gradually, the young
people develop and are given additional
responsibility as they get older, gain a youth
and play accreditation and can secure a
position as a Play Ranger. They are then able
to inspire and recruit future volunteers from
the local community.
How the tool kit was applied to a Spooky Parade:
Step One
There is a history of carnivals in the area that
local people reminisce about. Spooky Parade
was a way to reduce mischief but enable
positive spooky behaviour during Halloween.
Step Two
Flyers promoting activities and calling for
volunteers went out to schools, youth clubs,
libraries, community groups and houses
along the Parade route. Advertisements were
placed in the local press and on the radio.
Step Three
Worked with local people and children
during the Play Ranger sessions to develop
the parade using their ideas for floats
and costumes.
Step Four
Asked for help in stewarding the event
and gave adults and young people
specific volunteering tasks on the
parade day so they felt needed/involved.
Attended community meetings to
explain the importance of volunteer
involvement to the success of parade.
Step Five
All staff were fully briefed in supporting the
volunteers, they wore ‘staff’ high-vis jackets
and were CRB (Criminal Records Bureau)
checked. Anyone could join in with the
Parade and parents were responsible for
their children’s safety.
Step Six
CSV co-ordinated the Parade, ensuring the
relevant authorities had the information
they needed, that policies and insurances
were in place and that a detailed event brief
was issued to all staff and volunteers.
Step Seven
The main stakeholders from the community
and parks groups put time, money and
promotion into the event, before and on
the day. Good will messages from other
important people, such as councillors and
MPs, were sent to the media and read out at
the event to show their support.
Step Eight
Links to other local community groups
helped CSV to promote the play activities
and recruit volunteers from the locality.
On-going partnership work has led to what
children call BIG P events (P stands for Play!)
in the holidays.
Step Nine
Good partnership with the council and
other local organisations helped with the
success of the project.
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Number of children:
Approximate cost of the Spooky Parade:
Annual cost of Play Rangers delivering sessions three times a week:
25
270
£2,800
£30,000
Case card 2
We want to play at our children’s school!
Given the opportunity, parents often
like to stay around in the playground
at the end of the school day and
this can be encouraged with the
promotion of Stay and Free Play.
Stay and Free Play allows parents to join
their children for free play on the school
grounds after school. Glenfrome Primary
School began by trialling a Stay and Free
Play club for a day a week.
The school offers an opportunity for parents
and carers to meet, chat, watch over and
interact with each other and their children.
This builds relationships and bonds that are
carried back out into the community.
The school community benefits from
Stay and Free Play in a number of ways.
By providing more opportunities for fun,
children can lead happier and healthier lives.
And enabling this to happen within the
grounds underlines the importance of the
school as a focal point of the community.
The parents make valuable links to the
school and other parents which in turn
create supportive relationships and a
cohesive school community. Teachers and
other staff at the school gain awareness of
the importance of play.
Stay and Free Play has been initially
supported by experienced playworkers but
is gradually moving to an organised model
by parents and the school. Initially, skilled
playworkers planned and facilitated sessions
and brought additional resources to the
playground such as firewood, woks, scrap
art materials, bats, balls and tarpaulins.
The Stay and Free Play model is designed
to develop the skills and confidence
of volunteer parents to take over the
facilitation of the session. With this in mind,
the playworkers coach parents to take
on additional responsibilities through the
course of the programme, such as sourcing
playful materials, planning activities and
carrying out risk assessments, until parents
can lead the session on their own. The
sessions, resource details and contact
information are recorded and presented as
a handbook to parents and included on the
Play in Action CD Rom.
”It’s great to come to Stay and Free
Play as I only used to have very brief
chats with other parents at collection
time but now I am making friends
with them”. Parent, Glenfrome School
How the tool kit was applied to Stay and Free Play:
Step One
Step Six
An Ofsted report had identified play as
a priority. Parents were eager to address
this issue.
The long term aim was to make the Stay
and Free Play model self sustaining. This
meant it could be run by the parents.
Step Two
Step Seven
Flyers were handed out to all pupils
and practical taster sessions held in
school time.
Initial start up funding came from the council
who wanted to help the school improve in
terms of play.
Step Three
Chalk boards were available at all sessions
for children and adults to add ideas for
future activities.
Step Four
A fire with hot drinks and innovative
play ideas drew in adult helpers and
inspired them.
Step Eight
Other schools have heard about Stay and
Free Play and were keen to try it too!
Step Nine
Stay and Free Play is part of the council’s
strategy to improve play and parental
involvement in schools.
Step Five
The lead parents and playworkers were
CRB’d. All children attended with an adult.
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Number of volunteers:
Number of children:
Approximate cost of start up Stay and Free Play sessions:
50
240
£3,000
Case card 3
We want to represent children’s play at
neighbourhood forums!
Barton Hill Settlement (BHS) is a
community resource centre for
Barton Hill and the surrounding area
in East Bristol. It was established in
1911 and is managed by a board of
trustees of local people who provide
a wide variety of services supporting
community development.
The aim of BHS is to build a stronger, more
self-confident, and cohesive community
through enabling people to come together
and giving them opportunities to deal with
the issues that affect their lives.
BHS nurtured the enthusiasm of the
volunteer parents by providing play training
and facilitated meetings to enable parents
to discuss issues affecting local play spaces.
Helping parents to develop play sessions
and play spaces has led to a greater number
of adults in the park. This has dramatically
reduced the racist incidents and promoted
a safer perception among the community,
so much so that Somali families now use
the local parks and play areas.
The demographics of the area changed
rapidly from a traditionally white area to a
mixed community with a significant number
of Somali families. As part of this change
there were incidents of racist behaviour
which needed addressing.
However, BHS combined their volunteer
programme – the People’s Hive – with
their Play Ranger Team and brought about
tremendous positive change including
making the local park a safe place for all
children to play.
Parents were encouraged to take an interest
in the play sessions through family fun
days and play days. Over time they came
to realise how valuable free play in the
community was for their children. And they
enjoyed coming together to meet other
parents with a shared interest.
Some of the parent volunteers fired up by
their interest in outdoor play have gone
on to campaign for more adventure play
opportunities suitable for older children.
Some of the volunteers participate in
park forums to represent play interests.
Six of the volunteers have embarked on
further play training leading to professional
qualifications, one of which has been
recruited by Barton Hill Settlement as a
Play Ranger.
How the tool kit was applied to support Neighbourhood Play:
Step One
Step Six
A need to encourage and facilitate
children’s play to break down the
cultural barriers in a community.
A local play plan was drawn up with
the local community and the help of
key organisations.
Step Two
Flyers and posters to local flats and
shops. Promotional material was translated
to include the local Somali community.
Step Three
A group of 13 and 14 year olds wrote a
funding bid which included all their ideas for
a play space. Families and individuals were
consulted through four public meetings
held in the area.
Step Seven
Help and guidance from local organisations,
residents and council departments.
Step Eight
Volunteers represented children’s play at
a range of local meetings and forums.
Step Nine
The Play Rangers have grown from a strategic
aspiration to a council-funded service.
Step Four
There was something for everyone, a
selection of volunteer roles suited a wide
range of skills and interests and attracted
people from all sectors of society.
Step Five
Play Rangers and volunteers CRB’d
by Barton Hill Settlement.
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Number of volunteers:
Number of children:
32
449
Approximate cost of the volunteer pilot:
£10,000
Annual cost of Play Rangers delivering sessions three times a week:
£30,000
Case card 4
We want to reclaim streets for children’s play!
The street represents a traditional
play space that children can access
outside their front door.
However most of the time, cars – both
parked and moving – dominate our streets
to such an extent that play possibilities
become limited. Two Bristol-based projects
have challenged this and are re-establishing
streets as play space.
Streets Alive and Playing Out events are
simple but effective ways to reclaim street
space for children’s play. As everyone can
join in, they provide a fun and fantastic
opportunity to meet neighbours. Street
play helps children to make friends and
feel more at home in their street, as well
as being a great way to get active.
Streets Alive (streetsalive.org.uk) helped
12 streets organise ‘playful’ street parties in
Bristol last year. Most aspects of the events
were organised by the residents. Streets
Alive lent a hand by providing a Play Kit, road
signs and bunting. Afterwards, they carried
out house-to-house surveys which revealed
that the children playing in the street was
the most popular part of the event.
Street parties can inspire residents to take
further action on community safety, traffic
and parking, and other local issues. In this
way, street parties are an effective tool
for promoting traffic campaigns to create
family friendly neighbourhoods such as
20mph zones, home zones, and other
design, planning and engineer measures
to calm traffic and reduce car accidents.
Street parties are particularly effective at
promoting play if organised on a specific
date like National Play Day or The Big
Lunch. They range from simple tea parties in
back gardens to street parties for the whole
neighbourhood.
Events are usually self-organised and
funded and well attended. For example,
the turnout at street parties is rarely
less than 50% and can be as high as
85%, which is very high compared
to other community events.
The Playing Out project was set up by
parents in Southville, South Bristol, who
decided to simply ‘open up the street’ for
play after school. The project highlights the
desire of children to play out on the street
and of parents to feel that they can safely
do so. Playing Out is designed to be as close
to normal life as possible, just without the
danger of cars.
Residents close their street to through traffic
for a few hours after school, when children
most want and need to run around and let
off steam. Residents take turns to steward
either end of the street, redirecting traffic
and ensuring residents drive in and out safely.
Children are simply given the space and
permission to play freely.
The project’s website playingout.net is
a great resource if you’d like to do this
on your own street. You can also contact
the organisers for help and advice.
How the tool kit was applied to Playing Out:
Step One
Step Six
The usual prompts for a Playing Out
event include: concern for children’s
welfare, a perceived lack of opportunity
for outdoor play and people not really
knowing their neighbours.
Some streets choose to go on to form
residents groups to tackle other issues in
their area, others prefer to keep it informal.
Often residents have skills such as facepainting that they can offer for the day.
Step Two
Step Seven
Promotional and informative flyers
go to all residents of the street.
Council policy and documents such as
‘Making Play Matter’ and ‘Playing for Real’
support the aims of Playing Out.
Step Three
All residents have the chance to be involved
in planning the event. Children and
residents decide what they want to do
on the day.
Step Four
Step Eight
Step Nine
A good relationship with the council makes
applying for road closures a straightforward
and supported process.
Stewarding is a vital role. It is also one
that can be used to encourage residents
who don’t have their own children, to
get involved.
Step Five
Parents have ultimate responsibility for their
children at the event but all the neighbours,
in particular the stewards, will be looking
out for their safety.
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Number of volunteers per event:
10-15
Number of children:
40
Approximate cost of a Street Closure:
£0
Case card 5
I want to volunteer on an adventure playground!
For children in dense urban areas
where playing in open spaces is
often not an option, staffed
adventure playgrounds provide
a fantastic alternative.
Adventure playgrounds increase the range
of play opportunities. They are places where
children can be themselves and have fun
making friends with other children of all ages.
Staffed by qualified play workers, they
provide safety but also increase the
confidence of children to play freely.
Additionally, adventure playgrounds are
an ideal way of bringing parents together.
Informal social bonds and support networks
are soon formed, which are often crucial
lifelines in inner-city neighbourhoods.
playground and was recognised by the
council as Volunteer of the Year in 2007.“
The management committee fundraise to
invest in the development of the play sessions
and facilities. The playground staff work in
partnership with the management committee
to organise events such as Bristol’s Got
Talent. This was a highly successful
community event held at the playground
and attended by well over 500 children
and parents. Training is available for parent
volunteers on the management committee
to increase their skills and capacity to support
the playground. Volunteers have attended
training in fundraising skills, bookkeeping,
and food hygiene.
In fact, many parents feel that there’s a
greater cohesion in their community owing
to their new play provision. Furthermore,
through volunteering at the playgrounds,
parents often learn valuable skills.
Felix Road Adventure Playground’s
management committee is made up of
local parents and actively involves families
and the community in how they run the
playground. Morowa Selassie is the current
chair of the management committee and
has been involved with the playground for
over 30 years. “The playground has been
a lifeline for me and all my children,” she
says. “I’m so happy to put something
back, my son Jahluke who has learning
disabilities, is also a volunteer at the
Parent volunteers also help in the
kitchen to provide hot meals for the
children during the play session. Other
volunteer roles include registering
children as they arrive at the playground
in line with safeguarding measures, and
supporting trips to special places.
How the tool kit was applied at the
Adventure Playground:
Step One
Step Six
Adventure playgrounds are recognised
as unique play spaces specifically designed
for children in urban areas.
Felix Road has clear aims and objectives
in partnership with the council and
charity status.
Step Two
Parents coming to the playground were
informed about the role of the management
committee and the opportunity to be
part of it. Recruiting information was also
included on posters and flyers promoting
events and activities.
Step Three
Children’s meetings were held monthly
and open to any child using the playground.
The children were able to put their ideas
forward on how the playground should
run and develop.
Step Four
The management committee were offered
basic training to help with their roles.
Members have first refusal on activities
and trips but most importantly they have
had a positive impact on something very
important in the lives of children using
the playground.
Step Five
All playworkers and volunteers are
recruited and CRB’d under the council’s
safeguarding policies.
Number of volunteers:
Number of children:
Approximate cost:
Step Seven
Having a management committee
whose members are an active part of the
community keeps the playground in touch
with what the community wants. The
adventure playground is a highly valued
local resource and is well linked in to
supportive networks.
Step Eight
Felix Road playworkers attend
neighbourhood and locality partnership
meetings and are flexible in their approach
to a variety of local agendas.
Step Nine
The adventure playground is seen as a
flagship in the delivery of the council’s
Play Strategy.
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No costs attached to volunteers on
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Case card 6
We want to improve play in our local park!
Play equipment in parks is often
taken for granted. However they are
spaces that children can meet up and
entertain themselves without too
much adult attention.
Carefully chosen equipment allows
children to be inventive in their use and
to explore and challenge themselves while
staying safe.
In 2007, The Greater Bedminster Community
Partnership, the local neighbourhood
partnership, decided to kick-start trying
to improve Gores Marsh Park. They got
talking to local residents who felt the
same and a friends of the park group was
established, called the Gores Marshalls.
An initial master plan was drawn up for the
site by a local landscape architect who then
worked extensively with local residents,
parents and children to develop this.
The Gores Marshalls then worked to
raise money towards bringing the ideas
generated to fruition. In 2008 Bristol City
Council received funds through the Play
Pathfinder Government programme, and
Gores Marsh was an obvious choice of park
to benefit from the improvements as they
already had a plan drawn up for the site.
Work has now been completed on the
play area at Gores Marsh. The design
was developed from the master plan
after extensive consultation with
local school children. Most of their
wishes have been incorporated into an
extensive dog-free area with natural
play features set in new marshland.
Furthermore, a play mound with rock
steps and thrones, a Troll’s bridge, oak
causeways, timber play equipment,
five-a-side football pitch and accessible
paths have been made through the
park. Additionally tree species have been
selected to reflect the marsh character.
The group has not stopped there, spurred
on by their success, the friends group are
continuing to raise money for their park.
They have put in more play equipment and
are now looking at a sensory garden and
other things to improve and develop this
green space so that it can be enjoyed by all.
How the tool kit was applied in the park:
Step One
Gores Marsh park was recognised as
an underused green space.
Step Two
Community meetings were held to
encourage people to take an active
part in the development of the park.
The meetings were promoted through
the local newsletter.
Step Three
The landscape architect went into local
schools to consult the children on what
they wanted to include in the park. The
group also had a consultation stall in the
foyer of the local supermarket.
Step Four
The project was divided into achievable
chunks. The continued success has
helped to keep members interested
and active.
Step Five
Children were consulted during school
time so the school’s safety policies
were followed.
Step Six
The Gores Marshalls set themselves up
as a constituted, non-profit-making
environmental body which has helped
them when applying for funding and
other support.
Step Seven
The group worked closely with the local
council and had generous financial and
‘in kind’ support from local companies.
Step Eight
The council’s Play Pathfinders initiative to
improve play spaces throughout Bristol
was a perfect opportunity for the Gores
Marshalls to link with and access the
funding to improve the children’s play area.
Step Nine
The group developed a long term
plan for the site and paid a landscape
architect to design the full project. They
have since raised funds for the different
sub projects and are continuing to
implement the improvements.
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Number of volunteers:
Number of children:
Approximate cost:
38
270
No costs attached to volunteers on park forums
Case card 7
I want to learn how to become a Play Champion!
A group of parents and grandparents
in St Anne’s Park in Bristol were keen
to learn more about how they could
become Play Champions for their
area. Although very motivated, none
of the group were able to detail how
they could put their plans into action
at the start of the course.
for setting up street closures and generally
inviting more play into their community.
From the very first classroom session
the learners’ understanding of play and
providing better free play opportunities has
been challenged and stretched. Following
a talk from the inspiring Dr Maudsley, the
learners began to work out how they could
enable more creative play in their homes,
streets and wider locality.
Learning about Play Rangers and walking
around their own local area that was rich in
natural play possibilities was an eye-opener
for the group. Two of the group are now
interested in training as Play Rangers.
Having the opportunity to meet with Play
Rangers really underlined the benefits of
free open access play after school and how
it could work in St Anne’s Park.
Visiting Bristol Scrapstore inspired the
possibility of Play Pods and using scrap,
whilst understanding how to fundraise to
help achieve their goal.
The Play in Action Learning Communities
Team pilot was an ideal way to inspire this
group of adult volunteers with new play
ideas that could benefit their community.
During the 10-week course the group
learnt alongside their children why play is as
important today as when they were young.
They visited Scrapstore, met Play Rangers,
visited an Adventure Playground, learnt how
to organise an event and learnt the basics
The group are now planning a street
closure to encourage free play and to help
the whole community come together to
celebrate St Anne’s Day (a real local Saint!)
in their local green space.
The group are still at the stage of
consolidating and planning how they can
put what they have learned into action.
But with the information, guidance and
shared play experiences gathered so far
by this group of learning families they are
well on their way to becoming St Anne’s
Play Champions.
How the tool kit was applied in the park:
Step One
The group are very much learning as
they go, developing ideas and working
out what would be best for their area.
Step Two
Step Six
The group have used the sessions to
develop their ideas into action plans.
Step Seven
The group are keen to use a street closure
to promote their ideas for play in St Anne’s
to a wider community.
Throughout the duration of the course the
group have had the opportunity to meet
individuals and organisations who can
support their play ideas.
Step Three
This was a family learning project so adults
and children learnt together and from each
other about children’s play.
Step Four
Step Eight
The group have shared their ideas with
the local school and children’s centre
the Council Play Service, Community
Development and the local Neighbourhood
Partnership.
The parents have shown real energy and
commitment with a 90% attendance
throughout the course. They are continuing
to meet now the course is finished and are
taking it in turns to bring biscuits!
“I didn’t realise how much fun could
be had in my local green spaces!
Step Five
Stranger danger and the risk/benefit of
children being able to play in their local
woods have been paramount to the
learning group.
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Step Nine
The group’s mission is to develop a
community play space for St Anne’s.
We got some really good information
from the workshops and it was
explained clearly so that we can
do things ourselves.”
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Number of volunteers:
Number of children:
Approximate cost:
8
12
£1000
For further information or if you would
like this information in a different format,
for example: Braille, audiotape, large print
or computer disk, or community languages
please contact:
e: [email protected]
t: 0117 352 5716
www.goplacestoplay.org.uk