Is your local play area in need of some luuurve? London Play is on the hunt for London’s saddest playground – so we can help you turn it around in 2023.
Is your local play area in need of some luuurve? London Play is on the hunt for London’s saddest playground – so we can help you turn it around in 2023.
London Play is on the hunt for London’s saddest playground. We know there are some amazing playgrounds in the capital! But there are also too many that fall short for our children. We want to put the spotlight on them in the hope of making things better.
Playgrounds can be sad for any number of reasons. Perhaps yours has pitiful play equipment or appalling access. Or is it rubbish-strewn, dangerous, or just plain neglected? Whatever the reason, we want to hear from you. Please send us pics of your sad play area – in your local park or green space, or housing estate.
Share your sad playground pics on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram using the hashtag #LondonsSaddestPlayground – or simply send to us at info@londonplay.org.uk.
Don’t forget to state the location of the playground and make sure you include a way of contacting you.
Deadline for entries is 5 pm, Monday 06 February.
We will put all entries to the public vote. The winner, to be revealed on Valentine’s Day, Tuesday 14 February, will get some BIG love. London’s saddest playground will become the poster child for our campaign to improve local play facilities in London; and the team at London Play will work alongside the winners with aim of making it #LondonsGladdestPlayground in 2023. So, what are you waiting for? A ray of hope on #bluemonday so get clicking and sharing!
One more thing…
We would also like to hear about poor play services or policies in your area. For example, after school clubs or holiday play schemes which are threatened with closure or reductions in the services they provide. Or maybe there are too many signs prohibiting play on your housing estate. Email us at info@londonplay.org.uk with details and we will try to help!
This two year project sees London Play working alongside local play campaigners, supporting them to successfully challenge threats to local play spaces or services; and influence decisions relating to play.
Islington’s Waterside Adventure Playground was named London’s Adventure Playground of the Year 2022 and Lewisham’s Ashwater Road took the gong for Play Street of the Year at a noisy celebration in London’s West End yesterday.
Some 250 excited children converged on the Prince Charles Cinema yesterday to see the short films they had made about the places they love to play up on the big screen – and find out if they had won prizes.
The event was nearly derailed when compere Charlie was abducted by aliens, but he returned – albeit with feet in place of fingers – to keep the atmosphere just on the right side of anarchy with the help of young adventure play expert and co-host, Adil.
The more adventurous the play, the more highly the film was rated, and it was BIG fires, the inventive use of old tyres and bits of wood, and a rocking soundtrack that set the reel from young Watersiders apart in a strong field. Sienna, aged 10, said she likes Waterside because: “It’s local and I know lots of people there and it’s fun. There’s lots of things to climb on and you can invent fun games.” Aja, 7 added: “I like the dens at the back.” Children from the winning group will be whisked away for a ‘winter wonderland’ adventure in the woods outside London later in the year as their prize.
Children at Barnard Adventure Playground, which won the top award in 2021, had chosen the winners – but did not know which playground they had scored highest until it was revealed on stage, to great excitement. Five other adventure playgrounds were shortlisted for the big award: Hackney’s Shakespeare Walk (SWAPA), Three Corners in Islington; Haringey’s Somerford Grove, Richmond’s Marble Hill and Roman Road in Tower Hamlets.
Play street of the year
Lewisham’s Ashwater Road (above) won the Janet Dalglish London Play Street of the Year award with young residents’ film documenting how their street had been transformed since they started their play street in summer last year. Film director Alma said: “We spent a year and a half going in and out of lockdown, and new people had moved onto the street. We wanted to get to know them.” The elated group won £150 of play street equipment for their efforts.
Other awards
The Bright Idea Award was won by Haringey’s Somerford Grove Adventure Playground, featuring kids’ ingenuity with loose parts, mud and mess. Best Flick went to Marble Hill Adventure Playground in Richmond, whose doco-style film featured kids interviewing each other about their much-loved play space. Their prize is a group trip on the London Eye, thanks to Marks Barfield Architects. Special awards were also given to Max Roach (Best Acting Oscar); Lumpy Hill (Soggy Bottom Award) and Shakespeare Walk (SWAPA) for its original soundtrack, made by children. A special film also paid tribute to playworker Celestine Lamontage, retiring after 27 years from Bethwin Adventure Playground.
London Play’s chair, Melian Mansfield said: “Congratulations to Waterside, Somerford Grove and Marble Hill adventure playgrounds. Their films show how important these magical places are in the lives of the children who play there – and underline that play is not just a ‘nice to have’ extra, it is vital for children’s healthy development and wellbeing. Well done too, to the young residents of Ashwater Road and all the other groups that made such wonderful films.”
Riders on (inflatable) horseback brought some regal silliness – and play street inspiration – to Rigdale Road’s Jubilee street party.
TOWER HAMLETS: A new play street could be in the making following a successful Jubilee street party in Rigdale Road. The borough of Tower Hamlets is a late-comer to play streets, having only recently adopted a policy to allow residents to open their streets regularly for play. London Play is working in the borough this year to make sure residents are aware that this is now a possibility, and support them to apply to become trail blazer play streets for the borough.
A Jubilee competition run by London Play invited those planning street parties to enter a PLAY-tinum prize draw and win a ‘polo’ set to bring some regally-flavoured playfulness to their day. Rigdale Road was the winning street and the sight of be-crowned children galloping on inflatable horses, brandishing hockey sticks and with velvet cloaks flowing behind them delighted young and old alike.
The organiser commented:
It was such a lovely surprise to win the London Play Street competition for play equipment for our Jubilee Street Party. The street hockey – adapted by the London play team to be Royal polo! – was a real hit. It gave the children a fun and energetic game to let off steam and great time was had by all.
The organising committee for the street party was really interested to learn about play streets and is keen to work with London Play to explore the possibilities. The organiser added:
Having the opportunity for neighbours to socialise while the children play safely in the street would be fantastic. Hopefully the initiative can be well received across the streets, estate blocks and parks throughout the borough.
Tower Hamlets is one of four boroughs being targeted for support in the final year of London Play’s Playful Communities project. Islington, Hammersmith and Fulham and Lambeth are the other three boroughs, where residents who are interested in starting a play street will get one to one support and free play street kits.
26/07/22: As the country sweltered in record heats last week, some playgrounds became no-go areas with metal slides reaching temperatures of over 71 degrees.
Tower Hamlets' Mayor John Biggs has spoken out about how vital play is for children as we emerge from the worst of the pandemic, as a new playground at Millwall Park opens.
Children will be begging their parents to visit older relatives this autumn thanks to a pioneering partnership between Hallmark Care Homes Foundation and London Play.
The play charity will be unveiling what is hoped to be the first of many ‘Play Gardens’ at multi-award-winning care provider, Hallmark’s newest care home Midford Manor, when it opens in Bath later this year.
Announced to coincide with Global Intergenerational Week, the Play Garden will offer a perfect setting for children and older people to come together in joy following more than two years of the Covid-19 pandemic. Shaped by future care home residents and local children, the design of the garden will be inspired in part by memories of residents’ own childhood play experiences. Children will also be involved, with a “Design Your Own Playground” competition for schools running throughout this spring.
Older people’s reminiscences will be captured in an illustrated ‘Book of Midford Manor Play Memories’, to be housed within the play structure for older residents to read to younger visitors to the play garden.
It is hoped that the Midford Manor Play Garden will be the first of many such play gardens to feature in care homes across the country – bringing wide-ranging benefits to young and old alike. It is widely accepted that children who regularly mix with older people see improvements to their language development, reading and social skills, while older people are less likely to suffer loneliness and will experience better physical and mental health.
“Every future Play Garden will have the imprint of childhoods past while offering a new generation a place to create their own play memories”
Paul Hocker, director, London Play
Stephen Burke, CEO of Hallmark Foundation said:
“We are delighted to fund London Play to create the country’s first Play Garden. It will promote intergenerational interaction in the new care home and encourage a family friendly environment where children will love visiting their older relatives. It’s a win-win for all generations and we hope it will encourage other care homes to use their outdoor space creatively.”
General Manager of Midford Manor Care Home, Carol Britton said:
“A Play Garden will be invaluable to our residents and their families, it will encourage families to come more often and the visit will be a more pleasant and enjoyable one. We are delighted that Hallmark are pushing the boundaries and raising the bar and that we will have the opportunity to add a new and exciting level of innovative engagement to and with our local community. Making care homes accessible and inviting for all generations is absolutely imperative.”
The Garfield Weston Foundation has thrown its support behind a play-led recovery for children in London over the coming year, with a generous £20,000 grant to London Play.
The Garfield Weston Foundation has thrown its support behind a play-led recovery for children in London over the coming year, with a generous £20,000 grant to London Play.
It has been a tough couple of years for London’s children. The pandemic has disrupted their schooling, play, friendships and home lives; and as we head into winter, they continue to face significant uncertainty. The proportion of children living in poverty (40 per cent prior to the outset of the pandemic) has grown. With the £20 cut to Universal Credit last month, an additional 70,000 children in London joined them. It is no surprise that young people’s mental health has deteriorated; and two thirds of parents are concerned about the long-term impact of the pandemic and associated lockdowns on their children’s wellbeing.
“We are hugely grateful to the Garfield Weston family for their support and recognition of the crucial importance of play for children in London. As we continue to emerge from the pandemic this grant will help provide London Play with the stability needed to adapt and respond to the challenges ahead.”
Melian Mansfield, London Play chair
Play will not solve all the problems that children face, but it will help them cope. Some 74 per cent of parents agree that play has helped their children deal with the negative impacts of the pandemic. Despite this, opportunities to play – spaces and services – continue to decline. Play Association Tower Hamlets closed earlier this year after 19 years; Southwark Council is building new housing on vital green spaces including Peckham Park and Bells Gardens; and adventure playgrounds are struggling to survive.
London Play has its work cut out over the coming year and beyond to ensure that the crucial importance of play in children’s lives is understood by decision makers and so prioritised. We are committed to further improving and preserving opportunities for play in London and have plenty of ideas for innovative, fundable projects to do this. Over the last tumultuous 18 months we have delivered emergency play parcels to 6,000 children and supported adventure playgrounds to open for 2,000 otherwise excluded children. This summer alone we put play front and centre of London’s great reopening, staging a series of colourful popup go kart build and race events across the capital; took 60 children into the wilds of Essex to camp and build; and brought residents on streets across the capital closer together through the simple power of play.
We love doing projects like these! But like many charities we struggle to fund the less tangible aspects of our work such as organisational development, administration, and fundraising; without which we could not do all the ‘fun stuff’. The grant from the visionary trustees at Garfield Weston Foundation will provide London Play with some much-needed stability to navigate the fast-changing waters ahead.
Islington’s Barnard Adventure Playground has been named London’s Adventure Playground of the Year today as the hotly anticipated annual event returned to the West End with a squeal and a roar (and a few rude squelchy sounds too)!
A fortnight of ‘Formula Fun’ go kart building excitement will kick off in The Regent’s Park this weekend, where the charity London Play is staging the first in a series of pop-up events for children across central London this summer.
London Play has joined academics and other play campaigners in calling on the government to support 'a summer of play' to help children recover from the stress of lockdown and a year of Covid upheaval.
Islington’s Barnard Adventure Playground has been named London’s Adventure Playground of the Year today as the hotly anticipated annual event returned to the West End with a squeal and a roar (and a few rude squelchy sounds too)! Playgrounds in Merton, Lambeth and Hackney also came away with awards.
Knights, dragons and princesses at Barnard AP
Around 200 excited children from across the capital converged on the Prince Charles Cinema today to watch the films they had made about the places they love to play up on the big screen; and take part in some very welcome live pandemonium after covid forced proceedings online last year.
The film from the winning playground used Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Born to Run’ as the soundtrack, and left viewers in no doubt that 2021 had been a summer to remember for the young residents of Islington who play there. Children were shown growing pumpkins, dressing up, making go karts, slinging mud, having cardboard slide races and swinging from way, way up high. But it was clear that it is the people – the friends and playworkers at the playground – that are its ‘secret ingredient’. Selena, aged 10 said:
“Barnard is the best because I love Sarah [playworker].”
Stanley, also 10, added: “Barnard has a lot of space to have fun and you are able to meet new people soon because so many people go there.” Or, as Bruce put it: “I want to know if love is wild… Oh, will you walk with me out on the wire?”
Children at Redbridge’s ELHAP, London Adventure Playground of the Year in 2019, decided on the winner. Barnard was up against three other finalists: Lambeth’s Tulse Hill, Islington’s Waterside and Tower Hamlets’ Roman Road adventure playgrounds. Of Barnard the ELHAP judges commented approvingly: “I liked the children shouting,” and, “They had a huge variety of things.” The winning prize is a pizza and ice cream party at their playground.
Acacia AP Coolest Place to Play Award
The Coolest Place to Play award was won by Merton’s Acacia Adventure Playground, whose film featured a very cool snail named Felicia and some dizzying nest swing action. A tutorial on making ‘ugly potion’ as a kind of therapeutic and safe revenge was a highlight of the ‘Best Flick’ film from Lambeth’s Triangle Adventure Playground. Meanwhile summer at London’s ‘Most Inclusive’ playground – Hackney’s Homerton Grove – looked like one big, long and of course, very welcoming party!
The event also featured the West End premiere of a short film from London Play about a specially adapted play street project that was run during the last national covid lockdown. The Play Street Carousel film featured older and younger residents on locked down streets across the capital on camera, sharing their favourite street games and looking forward to playing them in person when restrictions lifted.
London Play’s chair, Melian Mansfield said:
“Congratulations to Barnard, Acacia, and Triangle on their awards – and all the groups that made these wonderful films showing us how very important adventure playgrounds are in the lives of young Londoners. As we emerge from the worst of the pandemic, we must ensure that these vital places are celebrated, promoted and protected for children, now and in the future.
“Play is seen by some as frivolous but it is hugely important and never more so than today. The Play Street Carousel film demonstrates how play on the doorstep has the power to bring people together across cultures and generations. London Play will not give up fighting for more and better play opportunities for London’s children.”
See the shortlisted films below – or the gallery under for images from the awards event. For media enquiries and more high-resolution pictures of the event and/or winning playgrounds please contact Fiona Sutherland via info@londonplay.org.uk.
A fortnight of ‘Formula Fun’ go kart building excitement will kick off in The Regent’s Park this weekend, where the charity London Play is staging the first in a series of pop-up events for children across central London this summer.
London Play has joined academics and other play campaigners in calling on the government to support 'a summer of play' to help children recover from the stress of lockdown and a year of Covid upheaval.
A fortnight of ‘Formula Fun’ go kart building excitement will kick off in The Regent’s Park this weekend, where the charity London Play is staging the first in a series of pop-up events for children across central London this summer.
Part of the Mayor of London’s ‘Let’s Do London’ campaign, the Formula Fun fortnight will see teams of children at work in 19 central city locations, building and decorating their own go karts. They will be competing not only on speed, but also on WOW factor; with plans for spectacular themes set to reflect some of London’s most popular and iconic attractions.
The launch event at The Regent’s Park will feature two teams of children building karts on the theme of woodland fairies and Shakespeare, in homage to the park’s famous outdoor theatre. Themes for subsequent events include Carnival Fun, the London Eye, St Paul’s Cathedral and the London Aquarium; as well as Elephants and Castles; famous London Markets and British Royalty.
Teams of super-keen children have been selected and are already busily dreaming and planning their karts. Not all the build sites will be open for the public to watch the karts take shape; but the completed karts will take a lap or two of honour around their surrounding neighbourhoods. Locals, visitors, shoppers and workers are being encouraged to come out and watch the mini-parades to show their support for children who have had their opportunities to play and socialise with friends seriously limited during the pandemic.
London Play director Paul Hocker said:
“Childhood summers are precious, creating golden memories that last a lifetime. After the challenges these kids have faced over the last year and a half, they deserve a summer to remember and that is what our Formula Fun events are all about. We hope local communities and local businesses show their support and celebrate the reopening of our wonderful city and the creativity of the capital’s youngsters.”
The final event will be a four-kart spectacle staged at Spitalfields Market on Sunday 5 September – offering an exciting day out for families. Formula Fun: ‘A la Karte’ will see children decorating their karts on the themes of supporting local eateries: Crosstown Doughnuts, Brother Marcus (Middle Eastern), Players Social (Pizza) and The Duck Truck. It should be a ‘quacker’!
Spectators are welcome at The Regent’s Park event on Saturday 21 August; the London Transport Museum event on Tuesday 31 August; and at the A la Karte grand finale at Spitalfields Market on Sunday 05 September where you can see the children building and decorating their karts.
Unfortunately not all build sites are open to the public but each and every kart will be completing a ‘lap of honour’ around their neighbourhood and audiences are encouraged to come and cheer the children and their creations!
London Play is one of many organisations behind a campaign to ensure that every child has the space, time, and freedom to play this summer as Covid-19 restrictions are eased. Can you sign the #SummerOfPlay pledge?
London is set to become 'Britain's biggest playground' this summer as mayor Sadiq Khan launches a search for five special kids to become London's first Mayors of Play and London Play brings 'Formula Fun' go kart action to the city streets.
London Play has supported a successful resident-led campaign to overturn a decision by Croydon Council to introduce charges for children playing in the street.
Resident Sue Ahmad was “shocked and angered” when she was told that there would be a charge of £234 to renew the licence for a play street that has been running in Thornton Heath since 2018. Her street, Livingstone Road is closed to through traffic for three hours on every second Sunday of the month Between March and October,
“The decision to introduce this charge seems very short-sighted, particularly now; when communities have suffered through more than a year of isolation and separation.”
The council confirmed on June 4 that a £234 charge would be levied to pay the costs of advertising the road closure, despite it not being a legal requirement.
In a letter to Cabinet Member for Sustainable Croydon Cllr Muhammad Ali, London Play deputy director Fiona Sutherland wrote: “The decision to introduce this charge seems very short-sighted, particularly now; when communities have suffered through more than a year of isolation and separation, accompanied by a marked decline in the mental and physical health of both children and adults.Play streets are a cheap and easy resident-led initiative which mitigate exactly these negative impacts. Now more than ever, they should be encouraged.”
A petition challenging the council organised by play street organiser Siobhain O’Hanlon attracted 600 signatures and then yesterday Cllr Ali confirmed on Twitter that Croydon Council “has always supported play street events and will continue to support anyone who wants to organise a play street without any charges.” Officers at the council confirmed there would be no charge and that the earlier notices had been sent ‘in error’.
London Play has joined academics and other play campaigners in calling on the government to support 'a summer of play' to help children recover from the stress of lockdown and a year of Covid upheaval.
The London Play is one of many organisations behind the #SummerOfPlay campaign, to give children the space, time, and freedom to play this summer as Covid-19 restrictions are eased. Can your organisation join the pledge?
For more than a year, children across the UK have been forced to spend time indoors, inactive and isolated from friends due to Covid-19 restrictions. It is not surprising that we have seen unprecedented increases in children’s mental health problems and loneliness, alongside reduced physical activity.
In response, child psychologists, paediatricians and educators have independently and urgently called for play to be central to children’s recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, and many others agree. Together we now are calling for everyone to help make this summer a #SummerOfPlay for children across the UK.
“After everything children have been through over the last year, we are calling on organisations to sign the pledge to support children’s play this summer.”
To join the #SummerOfPlay campaign, please take the pledge to enable all children, in all our communities, to have space and time for play this summer by supporting fun, friends, and freedom.
The Scottish government has pledged £20m in funding to ensure that children have a Summer of Play to help address the impacts associated with extended periods of isolation and reduced participation in normal activities.
London Play has joined academics and other play campaigners in calling on the government to support 'a summer of play' to help children recover from the stress of lockdown and a year of Covid upheaval.
