London Playwire

The benefits of play

Freedom to play

Time for play

Space to play

Sessional playworker

Year: 2021

 

The London Playwire is a quarterly (ISH) newsletter featuring the latest news from London Play and on play in London. Sign up at the bottom of the page to get it straight to your inbox; and see recent past issues below.

London Playwire Winter 2024: Good riddance January

Is January actually the least playful month of the year? It certainly feels like it! But we are ‘glass half full’ kinda people here so we are going to focus on the positives in this issue of the London Playwire. Not least of which is that January is like, SOOOOO over already.

 

London Playwire Summer 2023: What’s your summer play adventure?

Happy holidays everyone! School’s out for most kids and this time next week we reckon pretty much all of London’s 1.8m children will be on the lookout for free holiday adventures. Envious eyes will be turned towards those lucky enough to live near one of the capital’s magical adventure playgrounds. But if not… fear not.

 

London Playwire Spring 2023: capital’s playgrounds face a future of neglect

The biggest survey of council play provision in a decade has some uncomfortable findings.

 

London Playwire Winter 2023: seeking London’s Saddest Playground

How is your 2023 going so far? Our new year’s resolution was to get more regular with the quarterly London Playwire. So we’re feeling pretty smug to squeak this in your letterbox before the end of the month! This edition features our campaign to find London’s Saddest Playground – send us your nominations pleeeeeease!

 

London Playwire Summer 2022: Prescriptions for play?

With summer temperatures on the rise, this issue of the London Playwire connects the dots on mental health and play as the post-covid crisis continues to make headlines. Plus news on all the movers and shakers in the London adventure play scene. Entries for the London Adventure Play Awards are open!

 

London Playwire December 2021: Playing catch up?

In this issue of the London Playwire, as well as catching you up with all our news, we look at the evidence now emerging about the negative impacts the pandemic has had on children’s lives. Sobering reading, which also serves to highlight just how crucial play is; now and in the months and years to come. So as 2022 beckons, there is no let up. We will continue to work to ensure that all of London’s children can exercise their right to play outside, daily, near where they live.

London Playwire July 2021: Surprise surprise!

We are back and very pleased to introduce you to the first issue of our new-look Playwire (ta-daaah)! We are also mega-excited to announce the launch of three – yes, three – brand new websites, all celebrating and raising the profile of play in London. Read on for all the details plus lots of opportunities for you all out there making play happen. Full steam ahead for a summer of play!

 

 

Donate to us
A single donation will help us with our work today; a regular donation will help us plan for the future. There are a number of ways that you can donate:
Read More
Current work
Play streets
Would you like your street to come alive with play? The good news is that in many parts of London, starting a play street is fairly easy.
Read More
Play news
Major commission recommends social prescribing for child mental health
The Commission on Young Lives has recommended the roll out of a major programme of social prescribing for mental health wellbeing, enabling GPs and health professionals to pay for youth activities such as sport, art music and drama.
Read More

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
 

Play is so important to optimal child development that it has been recognised by the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights as a right of every child

Children’s right to play is enshrined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Article 31 recognises: “the right of the child to rest and leisure, to engage in play and recreational activities appropriate to the age of the child and to participate freely in cultural life and the arts.”

What is play

  • Play is self-chosen and self-directed.
  • Play is intrinsically motivated—means are more valued than ends.
  • Play is guided by mental rules, but the rules leave room for creativity.
  • Play is imaginative.

What are the benefits of play

Play is essential to development because it contributes to the cognitive, physical, social, and emotional well-being of children and youth.

https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/119/1/182

 

Physical: unstructured play gets children moving and improves coordination, motor skills and balance; building muscle and bone density

Emotional: children experience anticipation and frustration and learn to self-regulate through play. Building self-confidence and esteem; experimenting with various emotions; and releasing emotions from trauma are three aspects of emotional development achieved through play.

 

Social: unstructured play gives children the opportunity to create their own games and make the rules; honing their skills in negotiation, making compromises, conflict resolution, promoting inclusion, team working and tact, among others.

Cognitive: play allows children to test and experiment, learn through trial and error and are free to make mistakes free of judgement or serious consequence. Imagination, understanding, predicting, remembering, communicating are all part of

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
 

Children have the right and need to play. Every child in London should be free to play safely, near to where they live. London Play works to raise awareness among decision makers, influencers, parents and teachers about balancing risk against the vast benefits of play.

But parents and carers are fearful of allowing their children to play out unsupervised:

Traffic: this is the biggie and with good reason. Children are prevented from playing in their street; but also from walking to the park to play because of fears about their ability to negotiate busy roads.

‘Stranger danger’:  is also a major parental concern, despite  abductions of children by strangers being thankfully relatively rare (you are about as likely to get struck by lightning). However fears around antisocial and criminal behaviour are real in many neighbourhoods.

Taken together, these have resulted in children’s right to roam being eroded radically over recent generations. Parents in England are some of the most reluctant in Europe to let their children play out. Children in London are less likely to visit a park or greenspace without an adult  than anywhere else in the country – despite the fact that 44 per cent of Londoners live within a five minute walk of a local park. One in 15 children do not visit their local green space at all.

 

Since 2008 London Play has pioneered the return of play to the streets of London – supporting residents to transform their streets into temporary, traffic free playgrounds on a regular basis. We also work hard to change the perception of streets through initiatives such as Car Free Day and Play Quarters.

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

Children have the right and need to play. London Play works to raise awareness among decision makers, influencers, parents and teachers about the vital importance of unstructured play to children’s health and happiness.

But children today spend half the time playing outside that their parents did:

The lure of screens: the amount of time children spend in front of screens has more than doubled over the past 25 years, to more than six hours a day. Some 41 per cent of children agree that screen time has affected their time for play.

Academic pressure: Children in the UK start school earlier than in most other countries in Europe, usually at the age of four. Pressure to perform academically starts immediately, with baseline assessments in maths and English given in the first six weeks; and continues from there.  The government’s coronavirus recovery rhetoric has been centred on academic ‘catchup’. School playtime is also under threat.

Less unstructured free time: out of school and outside the home, children’s time is increasingly focused on structured, supervised activities.

 

London Play strives to communicate the importance of giving time for play the same priority as time for sleep, school and extra-curricular enrichment activities.

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
 

Children have the right and need to play. Every child should have access to safe, good quality places to play, near to where they live. London Play campaigns for more and improved spaces for play, and against downgrading, cuts and closures of existing play spaces.

No space at home: One in four children in London lives in an overcrowded home; and one in five Londoners do not have access to a garden. On both counts, London is the worst of any region in the country. For black and minority ethnic families, and in some parts of London, the lack of private space is even greater.

Decline in public play spaces: Given the deficiency in private play space, public parks and spaces take on crucial importance for London’s children and families. But this is also lacking. London has 19sqm of green space per person (34sqm is considered adequate) – the least of any region in England. This is declining, as local authorities sell off parks, close municipal play areas and defund adventure playgrounds to plug holes in their finances. In a three-year period alone, London councils sold off an area equivalent to 67 football pitches.

Streets off limits: streets, historically doubling as playgrounds for generations of children, make up 80 per cent of public space in London. Now they are dominated by private cars, parked and moving. Parked cars in London take up a space the size of the borough of Southwark and speeding traffic is a major deterrent.

London Play works to support adventure playgrounds and other play providers maintain, improve and sustain existing play spaces. We also spearheaded the ongoing play street revival in London, supporting residents to transform their streets regularly into safe, temporary play space.

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
 

PACE

We are seeking casual playworkers to work across our play and nursery services in Camden.

Hours: Casual, as and when required
Salary: £11.51/hr
Closing date: 11 April 2021
To apply:  download and complete the application form below and send to iola@paceforall.com or post to Iola McCarogher, PACE Head Office, Fairfield Play Centre, Mary Terrace, London NW1 7LR

PACE is a user-led, grass-roots charity founded in 2011 by a group of parents and play work professionals in Camden to establish high quality inclusive play services in the borough. We now operate a range of services for children aged 2-18 years. We enjoy strong links within the local community and employ a highly experienced, expert staff team.

 

We are looking for friendly, positive-minded individuals who wish to help us provide a fun, stimulating play service to children and families.

Upon joining PACE you will help to build the reputation of our young and rapidly expanding organisation by contributing to the delivery of truly inclusive services and striving for excellence.

Your primary responsibilities will be the delivery of high quality positive activities, promoting and supporting the wellbeing and educational opportunities of young people. More information is in the job description which you can download below.

Alternatively, for an informal discussion about the post call 020 7183 5120 (Ext. 1). Please note this post is subject to an Enhanced DBS (Disclosure & Barring Service) check and satisfactory references.

 

Markfield sessional workers JD
Volunteering
TRUSTEES
Islington Play Association Apply by 31 August 2016
Read More
Volunteering
Adventure playground volunteers
London's 80 odd adventure playgrounds would not exist without the creativity, energy, time and effort of volunteers.
Read More

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