Play England has published a new 10-year strategy for play, launched at the House of Commons.
The University of Sheffield, working in partnership with Play England, have supported the development of this new major strategy and campaign. Entitled ‘It All Starts With Play’, the strategy draws on research from Dr Michael Martin, Lecturer in Urban Design and Planning, and Dr Paul Brindley, Senior Lecturer in Landscape Architecture.
At the core of Play England’s strategy is a call on the new government to introduce play sufficiency legislation in England (similar to Scotland and Wales) – to support every child to have the right to play. The charity has partnered with Tom Hayes (Labour MP for Bournemouth East) to launch the first-ever All-Party Parliamentary Group on Play.
Play’s England’s executive director, Eugene Minogue, said: "Children’s freedom to play hasn’t just declined – it’s been squeezed out. The strategy highlights the scale of the challenge for policymakers, necessitating a rethink on how we plan, govern, fund and design for play – across streets, schools, services and society."
The campaign for play sufficiency, covered by national news media including The Guardian, would see a duty to provide space for children to play on new development embedded in planning law.
Tom Hayes MP said: "We’re building a cross-party campaign for a national strategy that puts children first, protecting play spaces in law and ensuring access to inclusive equipment. That means launching a new All-Party Parliamentary Group for Play. It means dusting off and updating the National Play Strategy, written 17 years ago. It means coming together to put kids first."
By combining expertise from the School of Geography and Planning and the School of Architecture and Landscape, The University of Sheffield is offering crucial interdisciplinary analysis and research to support Play England and the APPG group’s ambitions. Currently, Dr Brindley and Dr Martin, together with Play England, are working on a live pilot initiative to create a digital dashboard capable of supporting councils in England to plan more strategically for play.
Dr Michael Martin, Lecturer in Urban Design and Planning, said: "Paul and I were delighted that our research supported this landmark campaign and helped Play England launch their mandate for play sufficiency legislation in England. Our ongoing partnership with the national charity will also see us engage directly with the strategy’s implementation. Already we have begun developing new ways to understand and plan for play provision. Together with Play England, our collaborative goal is to bolster children and young people’s opportunities and right to play, we are very proud to be part of this major national campaign."