Adventure playgrounds
Adventure and taking risks is an important part of growing up: it is the way that children learn about themselves and the world around them. Adventure playgrounds provide London's children with the opportunity to take adventurous risks, safe in the knowledge that professional help is there if needed.
There are more than 80 adventure playgrounds across London providing school-aged children with opportunities to play that are difficult to find elsewhere in our busy, urban environment. Fenced and secure, adventure playgrounds are oases of nature in the middle of neighbourhoods.
Typically, adventure playgrounds are open access: there's no charge to come in (though some have had to introduce charges to make ends meet), and children are free to come and go as they please - after school, at weekends and during school holidays.
Most adventure playgrounds have quiet places for children to read or do homework, many have computers, some have after-school clubs which provide formal child-care for working parents. Some run youth clubs for teenagers, others provide a meeting place for parent and toddler groups. All adventure playgrounds have their own buildings as well as outdoor spaces and play structures; and each has its own unique character.
Adventure playgrounds are immensely important play opportunities for children and young people in London, and so London Play supports the city's adventure playgrounds and campaigns to raise awareness of these vital but endangered play spaces.
Fairplay for Children is a well established charity in the Children's play field; they have published a short factsheet on adventure playgrounds: link.
Childhood obesity and adventure playgrounds
The Tackling Childhood Obesity conference in 2007, organised by the cross-government obesity team highlighted how children in London can achieve moderately intensive activity at the capital's adventure playgrounds.
Find out more about the Obesity Programme: link.
Download a summary of the workshop below.
Update November 2010
Play England has published: An Economic Evaluation of Play Provision by Matrix Evidence - September 2010. This research shows that the benefits generated by an adventure playground compared with no playground exceed the costs by £0.67 million, and that every £1 invested in an adventure playground generates £1.32 in social benefits. After school clubs are also judged to provide benefits whose value exceeds their costs.
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