Media release: Under embargo until 00:01 Friday 20 Jan
2012
Play England calls for
community action to help children missing out on outdoor
play
More local support to help children play outside is being called
for by Play England, part of leading children's charity the
National Children's Bureau, as it launches the 'Love Outdoor Play'
campaign. The initiative is backed by a growing body of research
showing that children today do not have the same opportunities to
play outside as their parents did, and are missing out on everyday
childhood experiences.
The research shows that:
- Just 21% of children play outdoors every day near home,
compared to 71% of their parents when they were a child;
1
- 7 out of 10 parents feel that taking their children to an
outside space to play is a real treat and children feel the same,
with a reported 59 per cent wishing they could play outside in
natural places more and; 2
- one third of today's children say they have never built a den,
32 per cent say they have never climbed a tree and one in ten
children have never ridden a bike.
The Government has awarded £2 million through a Big Society Fund
to the Play England Free Time Consortium, a group of 17 local and
specialist organisations working together to increase children and
young people's opportunities for play and recreation. The
money will enable the consortium to drive community involvement so
that they can help make their neighbourhoods places where children
can play outside more often.
Catherine Prisk, Director of Play England, said:"Playing
outside, chalking on the pavement, climbing trees and riding your
bike are simple pleasures that many of today's children are missing
out on. Play is essential for children's health and happiness now,
and is also essential for making friends, building key skills for
the future and for feeling you are part of a community. The Love
Outdoor Play Campaign - backed up by real opportunities offered by
local organisations across the country - will make it easy for
everyone to get involved in making England a place where children
once more have the freedom to play outside every day after school
and in the holidays."
Minister for Civil Society, Nick Hurd said:"I think we all know
the importance of play to children. Over the past ten years a
culture of red tape has stifled the freedom of children to climb
trees, make dens and enjoy the simple pleasure of outdoor play.
That is why we have awarded £2 million to Play England so that they
can get more people involved in creating invaluable opportunities
for children to play outside - this is all part of our drive to
create a bigger stronger society where people are empowered to make
a difference to their community."
The consortium brings together local voluntary sector groups
from across England who will offer a range of volunteering
opportunities that include street parties, holiday play schemes,
helping out on adventure playgrounds, or becoming a trustee.
It is expected to create over create over 20,000 new
volunteering opportunities. There will also be one off
opportunities to help build new play spaces - such as making rope
swings or digging paddling pools - and for professionals to help
their local play organisation with their website or their business
plans. In addition there will be special programmes for young
people to volunteer in their own communities, and further
afield.
Volunteering has always been at the heart of play services
across the country providing invaluable benefits for local
communities, children and the volunteers themselves. At
Shiremoor Adventure Playground in North Tyneside Justine, a parent
who regularly takes her five-year-old to the playground,
started volunteering 16 months ago. Inspired by the staff and
the amazing work they do with the children and young people, she
discovered a grant that could help them plug gaps in funds.
Justine applied for the grant, and last October, the playground
received £4,400 from the Big Lottery Fund to run weekly youth
sessions. She now volunteers at the playground five days a week and
last year started an NVQ level 2 in Playwork.
Justine said: "Volunteering has increased my confidence and
given me perspective on what I want to do with my life. If someone
had said to me a year ago I'd be doing this I'd have said no way
- I'd never have thought I'd go back to college. Kids can
always turn everything into a positive, they have me on a high all
the time - I love it!"
She continued: "Whatever your skills, whatever time you have to
spare, there is a way that you can help your neighbourhood become a
place where children have more freedom to play outside. "
The public is being asked to take the first step, by logging
onto www.LoveOutdoorPlay.net
to find out how they can get involved. Through the blog,
email, Facebook and Twitter supporters will be kept up to date with
opportunities across the country - and they are also invited to
share how their support is helping more children have the freedom
to play outside a bit more every day.
ENDS
NCB media Office on 020 7843 6045 / 6047,or media@ncb.org.uk for
enquiries/interview bids. Out of hours mobile 07721 097 033
Cabinet Office Press Office, 22 Whitehall LONDON SW1A 2WH
Elise Simpson 0207 276 0393
www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk
Out of hours telephone 07699 113300 and ask for pager number
721338
Notes to editors
Research was carried out by:
1 ICM in June 2007 for Play England to support
Playday 2007.
2 OnePoll in June 2011 for Savlon/Play England to
support Playday 2011
Unicef reports continue to show that England is still one of the
unhappy places to grow up.
Across the UK we've just celebrated 20 years since we signed the
UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Yet what do we do to
support article 31 - the right of all children and young people to
have freedom to play and time and space for recreation?
About Play England
Play England is part of the leading national children's charity the
National Children's Bureau (NCB), and 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 those who have an impact on children's lives to support and
champion play as an essential part of childhood. For further
information or to talk to a media spokesperson, call 020 7843 6045
or 07721 097033 or visit www.playengland.org.uk.
The Play England Free Time Consortium brings
together 17 local and specialist voluntary sector organisations
supporting children's play from Torbay to North Tyneside. The
Social Action Fund is contributing £2 million to support the
consortium in campaigning to increase social action in support of
outdoor play for children, in promoting outdoor play, providing
play resources and setting up or expanding play schemes through
social action, so that far more children can enjoy outdoor play on
their own streets, in local parks and play spaces, in adventure
playgrounds, after school and in holiday play schemes. Projects
will also support parents in setting up local groups to increase
outside playtime and offer young people - including disabled
children - dedicated volunteering programmes both in their own
neighbourhoods and further afield. For more information please go
to www.playengland.org.uk or
www.loveoutdoorplay.net
About the National Children's Bureau
The National Children's Bureau's (NCB) mission is to
advance the well-being of all children and young people across
every aspect of their lives. As the leading national charity
which supports children, young people and families, and those who
work with them, across England and Northern Ireland, we focus on
identifying and communicating high impact, community and
family-centred solutions. We work with organisations from across
the voluntary, statutory and private sectors through our membership
scheme and through the sector-led specialist networks and
partnership programmes that operate under our charitable status www.ncb.org.uk