GETTING SERIOUS ABOUT PLAY
Today sees the publication of the first ever Government-sponsored nationwide Review of play facilities for children and young people. An official Launch takes place at Coram’s Fields and Harmsworth Memorial Playground, Guilford Street, London, WC1 at 1O.3O am.
At the last General Election, the Government promised to earmark £2OO million of National Lottery money from the New Opportunities Fund (NOF) for new and improved children’s play facilities. Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell asked Frank Dobson MP to lead a Review to draw up a national strategy for the distribution of the money.
Introducing the Review Report, Frank Dobson said –
“Children spend most of their spare time playing. It is part of the process of growing up both physically and mentally. Active play is good for their health and helps counter obesity. Children need safe and stimulating places to play. They want to be safe from traffic, from bullying, from child molesters, from drug addicts.
“Far too many children have nowhere safe to play. They either don’t get out to play or they play in places where they aren’t safe. So they are either deprived of the pleasure and stimulation of being able to play with their friends or they are in danger. That is bad for them and for the peace of mind of their parents.
“This Review seeks to make sure that the extra money the Government has promised from the National Lottery goes to the areas and children most in need of better quality play facilities. Our recommendations cover inner city, suburban and rural areas. We want 8O per cent of the funds to be allocated in line with local levels of child deprivation, not subject to a bidding process. It is for Ministers to decide whether to concentrate the money on a limited number of the worst off areas or to allocate some to every local authority.
“Every area should be required to devote some of their extra funds to improved access to mainstream play facilities for disabled children. Special attention should also be given to the needs of girls and to children from local ethnic and religious minorities who may feel excluded.
“We do not seek to lay down the law on what sort of play facilities should be developed or improved. Play projects of all types have been successful. Some of all types have also failed. The only test of success is whether they are used. The report spells out the factors which we believe lead to success. It is up to local people to decide what age groups to cater for, what will work best in their area. ‘Horses for courses’ is the best approach.
“As society changes and new public concerns, such as child obesity, loom larger, play facilities must be ready to change. We therefore recommend that 2O per cent of the extra funds should go to promote innovation and raising standards which, if successful, can be applied across the country. Some ambitious new approaches will fail while some succeed.
“Most of our Report is geared to purpose-built provision. But most play is informal – on local streets and open spaces which need to be made safer. Even more important is the need to prevent the elimination of informal play opportunities. Local councils and Government departments must recognise that what to developers or planners may appear a brown field site has been an informal playground for generations of local children.
“Play cannot be made risk free. Learning to judge risk is one of the benefits children get from play. Generations of children have survived falls with bumps and scrapes. Children haven’t changed but society has. And this is hindering children’s play. The blame culture, increase in litigation and consequent rises in the cost of insuring playgrounds is making life more expensive and difficult for councils and voluntary organisations alike. It is my personal view that Parliament may need to give special statutory protection to play organisations and to help with their insurance problem.
“Where possible, all play projects should include some form of supervision or surveillance. This will cost money but by protecting both children and play facilities it is usually good value for money.
“£2OO million is a lot of money. But spread across the UK it won’t go very far. So we recommend every effort should be made to augment it by tying play projects in with other developments, eg new school building, refurbishment of a local park or a regeneration project. Although it is not Government policy, I believe that a commitment to continue lottery funding of play facilities for the next decade would help guarantee the future of children’s play and would also be a sensible and popular use of lottery funds.
“Until recently, play has not been given a high enough priority by decision-makers despite the fact that people rate the need for more activities for teenagers as more important to their neighbourhood than policing, local schools and the health service. Children and young people spend more time at play than taking part in sport or art or cultural activities. Yet, when it comes to funding, play lags miles behind.
“Finally, I believe that all concerned with play projects should apply a simple but demanding test. They should be able honestly to give the answer ‘yes’ to the question ‘Would this be good enough for my children?’”
