CLIMBABLE PLAY SCULPTURES

SAND AND WATER

FIRE PITS

CLIMBABLE PLAY SCULPTURES

PLAY TUNNELS

London Play Design

Tree Houses

 

Here it is! Developed by London Play with eight of London’s great adventure playgrounds – tools for survival in tough times; and to celebrate adventure play always.

This toolkit is designed to guide adventure playgrounds everywhere through the process of monitoring, measuring and evaluating the effectiveness of what they do – and using that information to make the case for their continued survival. We hope it will result in greater recognition and celebration of the benefits these unique places bring to the communities they are located in. Download it in 10 sections below – plus a really useful library of data collection tools which work in playful settings. Please try it out and do get in touch with any questions: nic@londonplay.org.uk

 

 

Section 1 – Introduction

Section 2 – What is Monitoring and Evaluation?

Section 3 – Overall Aims and Specific Aims

Section 4 – Objectives and Outputs

Section 5 – Outcomes and Indicators

Section 6 – Preparing to Collect Data

Section 7 – Data Collection Methods

Section 8 – Analysing Data

Section 9 – Writing your Report

Section 10 – Sharing your Findings

Play Works – Toolkit (complete 4mB download)

Play Works – Data Collection Tools (5mB download)

Play Works Toolkit Section 1
Play Works Toolkit Section 3
Play Works Toolkit Section 5
Play Works Toolkit Section 7
Play Works Toolkit Section 9
Play Works Toolkit - complete
Play Works Toolkit Section 2
Play Works Toolkit Section 4
Play Works Toolkit Section 6
Play Works Toolkit Section 8
Play Works Toolkit Section 10
Play Works Data Collection Tools

FIND WHERE TO PLAY

VISIT OUR PLAY MAP
 

Here it is! Developed by London Play with eight of London’s great adventure playgrounds – tools for survival in tough times; and to celebrate adventure play always.

This toolkit is designed to guide adventure playgrounds everywhere through the process of monitoring, measuring and evaluating the effectiveness of what they do – and using that information to make the case for their continued survival. We hope it will result in greater recognition and celebration of the benefits these unique places bring to the communities they are located in. Download it in 10 sections below – plus a really useful library of data collection tools which work in playful settings. Please try it out and do get in touch with any questions: nic@londonplay.org.uk

 

 

Section 1 – Introduction

Section 2 – What is Monitoring and Evaluation?

Section 3 – Overall Aims and Specific Aims

Section 4 – Objectives and Outputs

Section 5 – Outcomes and Indicators

Section 6 – Preparing to Collect Data

Section 7 – Data Collection Methods

Section 8 – Analysing Data

Section 9 – Writing your Report

Section 10 – Sharing your Findings

Play Works – Toolkit (complete 4mB download)

Play Works – Data Collection Tools (5mB download)

Play Works Toolkit Section 1
Play Works Toolkit Section 3
Play Works Toolkit Section 5
Play Works Toolkit Section 7
Play Works Toolkit Section 9
Play Works Toolkit - complete
Play Works Toolkit Section 2
Play Works Toolkit Section 4
Play Works Toolkit Section 6
Play Works Toolkit Section 8
Play Works Toolkit Section 10
Play Works Data Collection Tools

FIND WHERE TO PLAY

VISIT OUR PLAY MAP
 

Dragons, dinosaurs and serpents emerge from hewn logs and rugged tree stumps, challenging children to climb, ride, befriend or create their own fantasy around them.

IMG 1 – Don’t get too close to that fiery dragon’s mouth!

IMG 2 – Lloyd Park, Waltham Forest

IMG 3 – The dragon has landed – in the aptly named Wingfield Park, Walthamstow

IMG 4 – Visitors to this park include a duck and a frog.

IMG 5 – Little Miss Muffet watch out!

IMG 6 – Ribbit ribbit. The Woodberry Down Estate in Hackney, part of London Play’s Access to Nature project.

LONDON PLAY DESIGN
Dragons, dinosaurs and serpents emerge from hewn logs and rugged tree stumps, challenging children to climb, ride, befriend or create their own fantasy around them.
LONDON PLAY DESIGN
Dragons, dinosaurs and serpents emerge from hewn logs and rugged tree stumps, challenging children to climb, ride, befriend or create their own fantasy around them.

FIND WHERE TO PLAY

VISIT OUR PLAY MAP
 

Two thirds of London’s adventure playground organisations report that they are now delivering new services, with many becoming vital hubs for food distribution.

Adventure playground organisations have been quietly supporting children and families in some of the capital’s most disadvantaged communities for decades. So it is no surprise that our recent survey confirms they have adapted quickly to respond to the huge additional challenges these same families now face in light of the coronavirus pandemic.

Adventure playgrounds may have closed their gates to children in person, but two months into lockdown, it is clear that they are not resting on their laurels. Two thirds of the adventure playground organisations which responded to London Play’s recent survey report that they are now delivering new services, with many becoming vital hubs for food distribution. Others are moving their play offer online and some are delivering emergency play packs to their most vulnerable families.

As demand for food banks soar, the team at Max Roach Adventure Playground in Lambeth is delivering ‘happy lunches’ and play packs by bicycle to their most vulnerable users. Nearby Grove Adventure Playground is also using two wheels to deliver food parcels while Haringey’s Somerford Grove has seen a big increase in demand for the fresh surplus food it is distributing from the Felix Project .

Adaptations
Other adventure playgrounds have adapted their play services – with some, in particular those catering specifically for children with special needs, opening on a very limited (often family by family) basis over recent weeks. These include Haringey’s Markfield, Haywards in Islington, The Ark in Newham and Kids Adventure Playground in Hackney and all have put in place rigorous cleaning regimes and updated risk assessments.

For playgrounds whose gates remain closed, ingenuity in developing online play ideas and resources is much in evidence. In Islington, Awesome CIC has set up the ‘Adventurers Hangout’ featuring a treasure trove of films with playful ideas. From Lambeth, the Triangle Play Zone offers children a weekly timetable with Zoom and Houseparty play and games sessions, nature club activities and videos, fitness and boxing sessions. Weekly challenge videos are a highlight, including Toilet roll kick ups and paper plane flying. And who could fail to raise a smile with Redbridge’s ELHAP Monday morning disco this week?

Social distancing
But as one survey respondent pointed out, these online initiatives “do not replace play,” and adventure playground teams, concerned about children being stuck inside for so long, are keen to welcome them back in person as soon as possible. There are big questions about how social distancing will be implemented when playgrounds are able to open again and whether such limitations on play will in fact be counterproductive to children’s wellbeing. Triangle trustee Anne-Marie Martin said: “Clearly attendance will be limited, and it is hard to reconcile the ethos of adventure play with social distancing, but I am sure we will find a way.”

In the meantime, although 80 per cent of playground organisations have had to furlough workers, a majority of those still working are using the time away from running physical face to face sessions to ensure that they are in a strong position when they are able to resume; writing funding proposals and carrying out essential maintenance on their playgrounds.

Says Harriet Simmons, manager of the Adventure Play Hub: “Our playground has had some much needed TLC and we’ve been working with volunteers on re-decorating and other repairs. We’ve attended funding opportunities and support/advice cluster meetings via Zoom which has been very useful.”

 

It’s almost impossible NOT to play when you sit in the sand or dip your fingers in the water. Sand, water, stones and mud; beaches and rivers are like a magnet for children and offer the opportunity to create, destroy, experiment and immerse themselves in play.

  • IMG 1 – Some foot refreshment after some hard out climbing action…. Waterside Adventure Playground, Islington
  • IMG 2 – A day at the beach – in Islington? Waterside Adventure Playground
  • IMG 3 – Digging for treasure, building a castle or creating a channel – the endless possibilities offered by sand and water. Waterside Adventure Playground, Islington
  • IMG 4 – A day by the river in Waterside Adventure Playground, Islington

FIND WHERE TO PLAY

VISIT OUR PLAY MAP
 

Toasted marshmallows anyone? Fire places and pits offer a contained space for children to play with fire and learn to respect it. A fire also provides a different sort of focus for gathering, socialising, cooking and eating in a way that few city dwellers have the opportunity to experience.

LONDON PLAY DESIGN
Toasted marshmallows anyone? Fire places and pits offer a contained space for children to play with fire and learn to respect it. A fire also provides a different sort of focus for gathering, socialising, cooking and eating in a way that few city dwellers have the opportunity to experience.
LONDON PLAY DESIGN
Toasted marshmallows anyone? Fire places and pits offer a contained space for children to play with fire and learn to respect it. A fire also provides a different sort of focus for gathering, socialising, cooking and eating in a way that few city dwellers have the opportunity to experience.

FIND WHERE TO PLAY

VISIT OUR PLAY MAP
 

Dragons, dinosaurs and serpents emerge from hewn logs and rugged tree stumps, challenging children to climb, ride, befriend or create their own fantasy around them.

IMG 1 – Don’t get too close to that fiery dragon’s mouth!

IMG 2 – Lloyd Park, Waltham Forest

IMG 3 – The dragon has landed – in the aptly named Wingfield Park, Walthamstow

IMG 4 – Visitors to this park include a duck and a frog.

IMG 5 – Little Miss Muffet watch out!

IMG 6 – Ribbit ribbit. The Woodberry Down Estate in Hackney, part of London Play’s Access to Nature project.

FIND WHERE TO PLAY

VISIT OUR PLAY MAP
 

Portals to another play dimension and a popular addition to any playspace, underground tunnels are another brilliantly simple concept for stimulating active and imaginative play. London Play has plenty of experience digging itself out of holes so we are uniquely placed to fulfil your tunnel needs.

IMG 1 – Not teletubby land – it’s Woodberry Down Estate in Hackney. Max built this as part of our Access to Nature project.

IMG 2 – This tunnel is less Teletubbies and more ‘escape from Alcatraz’ or ‘burrow under the ruins’… hours of fun at Waterside Adventure Playground, Islington.

IMG 3 – 

IMG 4 – Looks a bit like a mine shaft but no, it’s another London Play subterranean adventure just waiting for some willing explorers.

IMG 5 – Has this creature emerged from that tunnel? What else is lurking? Hackney – Woodberry Down Estate.

FIND WHERE TO PLAY

VISIT OUR PLAY MAP
 

London Play Design makes natural playgrounds for children.

Treehouses, gnarly logs, dragons and enchanted forests are all part of LPD’s wild and wonderful repertoire. London Play Design is a not-for-profit social enterprise, a registered Community Interest Company  and the trading arm of London Play.  Money made from its activities is re-invested to make childhoods better in London and beyond.

Check out the gallery below or visit www.londonplaydesign.org.uk Then get in touch with Max and his team and turn your playground fantasies into reality: max@londonplay.org.uk 

Play news
A study has unearthed a link between the quality and quantity of green space and the mental health of children.
Access to nature
London Play's Access to Nature projects are well underway in four sites across London. Part funded by Natural England under its Access to Nature scheme, which is part of the Big Lottery Fund's Changing Spaces programme, the project aims to encourage children and families into the natural environment and to rediscover the joy of being

FIND A PLACE TO PLAY

Click here to go to our play map and find adventure playgrounds, play streets and all our other favourite places to play in London.
VISIT OUR PLAY MAP
 

London Play Design makes natural playgrounds for children.

We are a not-for-profit social enterprise, a registered Community Interest Company (CIC) and the trading arm of charity London Play.

Money made from our activities is re-invested to make childhoods better in London and beyond.

y

Our Treehouse Gallery

IMG 1 – Built with children and young people at the back of the old Tidemill School in Deptford, this treehouse has seen kids spend many happy hours winching things up and down to one another and playing imaginative games.

IMG 2 – Children at Camden’s Kilburn Grange playground took the lead in building a treehouse complete with rope swing access during a summer 2013 playscheme.

IMG 3 – Not a house for hobbits but a delightfully quirky two story design bringing a bit of extra magic to the woodland area at Mudchute Farm.

IMG 4 – Kings (and queens) of the castle at Kilburn Grange.

IMG 5 – Treehouse at Hayward Adventure Playground. Perfect for children on the autistic spectrum to escape the noise and chaos below.

FIND WHERE TO PLAY

VISIT OUR PLAY MAP