Our News Category: Play news

Marking 10 years since the Play Sufficiency Duty was introduced in Wales, Play Wales has published a preview of its upcoming literature review, looking at the links between play and wellbeing.

Play Wales has published a summary of its forthcoming publication, Playing and being well. Undertaken by Dr Wendy Russell, with Mike Barclay and Ben Tawil from Ludicology, it’s a review of recent research into children’s play, social policy and practice, with a focus on Wales.

Commissioned by Play Wales, the literature review investigates the connections between play sufficiency and children’s wellbeing. It draws mainly on academic research, across a range of disciplines, but also draws on professional, advocacy and practitioner literature where appropriate. The review focuses on the role of play in children’s wellbeing, children’s play patterns, and adult support for children’s play.

The summary includes information about:

• the scope and approach of the literature review
• an overview and findings from each of the chapters in the review
• the authors’ proposal of a relational capability approach to children’s wellbeing through actions to create conditions that support playing
• closing thoughts on adults’ responsibility for children’s play.

This review has been carried out 10 years after the commencement of the Play Sufficiency Duty and while the Welsh Government was undertaking its Ministerial Review of Play. The evidence gathered in the literature review will inform this ongoing work.

The full literature review will be published later this year. Download the summary here: Playing and being well

Being involved in play streets has changed people’s perceptions of street use, improved children’s health and created stronger communities, according to a national survey.

More than three quarters of respondents to Playing Out’s survey said that the children on their street enjoy better mental and physical health as a result of play streets; while the vast majority also believe that play streets have led to stronger communities and a greater sense of belonging.

Confirming again what play street proponents have long understood, the survey report will provide would-be play street organisers, councils and play advocates everywhere with wonderful evidence, both qualitative and quantitative, to make the case for play on the street.

“There have been so many magical moments. One of my favourites is when two of the older girls, my daughter and a friend who have been playing out on the street since they were 4, decided to organise a talent show.”

Notably for those who are interested in the potential for play streets to inspire new uses for street space that is not dominated by cars, some 64 per cent of respondents confirmed that being involved play streets had helped change their perceptions of street use.

For the full report, click here (Playing Out website).

An extra 56,000 children in England are leaving primary school obese due to habits embedded during the pandemic, a large study has found.

Their study, published in the journal PLOS One, also found that the sharp uptick, affecting 56,000 extra children, would mean an additional lifelong healthcare cost in this cohort will amount to £800 million with a cost to society of £8.7 billion. U

Prof Mark Hanson, an emeritus professor of human development and health at Southampton and a co-author of the study, told the Guardian that the figures warranted immediate action and that new policies should be aimed at the under-fives, given that in some cases obesity in older children “may be impossible” to escape. “Once established, obesity has proven to be difficult to reverse. Some 60%-85% of children with obesity remain obese in adulthood, increasing their risks of future ill-health.”

More on this story is in the Guardian or the research paper is available for free here.

Children are a priority for people across the UK, with 84 per cent of adults responding to a recent survey saying that they think it’s important for political parties to outline their plans for children and young people in their manifestos.

The figures were released by the Children’s Charities Coalition, to coincide with the launch the Children at the Table campaign as the country prepares for a general election. The coalition comprises five national children’s charities: Action for Children, Barnardo’s, National Children’s Bureau, NSPCC, and The Children’s Society, which are calling on the government and all political parties to work together to improve the lives of babies, children and young people, put children’s needs and voices at the heart of decision making, and spend more of the nation’s wealth on babies, children and young people.

The data  highlights that children feel politicians don’t understand their lives and aren’t listening to them. The charities surveyed 1,000 children and 1,000 adults, Some 62 per cent of UK children think that politicians don’t understand the issues that affect children and young people today; while almost three quarters (73 per cent) don’t feel that children are listened to by politicians. Only 16 per cent of adults believe that politicians fully or mostly understand the issues that affect children and young people.

“A child’s happiness and life chances are shaped by the circumstances of their birth and early life experiences,” said Action for Children CEO Paul Carberry. Yet in the UK today, around 4.2 million children are growing up in poverty and the wellbeing and mental health of the country’s children is in decline.

“We’re asking the next Prime Minister and Chancellor, regardless of political party, to ensure children’s voices are heard so they can meaningfully engage in policy development. We want to see an ambitious strategy to put children’s needs at the heart of the next government and make the UK one of the best places in the world to grow up, with more of the nation’s wealth invested in babies, children and young people.”

Baroness Floella Benjamin, Vice President of Barnardo’s, and former BBC Playschool presenter, said:

“As I always say, ‘Childhood lasts a lifetime’ – so I’m extremely proud to support this campaign to give children a voice in decision making which will affect their whole lives. With widespread poverty, inequality and shrinking support for children and families, there has never been a more vital time to put children at the centre of political parties’ plans for the next government.”

More on this story can be found on Action for Children’s website.

The former Children’s Commissioner for England, Anne Longfield, has announced the launch of a new think tank for children.

The Centre for Young Lives describes itself as “a new dynamic, innovative, independent thinktank and delivery unit dedicated exclusively to improving the life chances of children, young people, and their families.”

It will build on the work by the Commission on Young Lives, also headed up by Longfield. But whereas the commission was set up to prevent crises for the most vulnerable teenagers, the new centre will help all children in a variety of areas, from reducing child poverty to improving educational outcomes and mental health.

The Centre for Young Lives will be seeking collaborations and partnerships with other organisations and individuals who believe Britain should be the best place for children and young people to grow up, and aims to conduct in-depth research to develop new approaches to improving children’s outcomes.

Longfield told Children and Young People Now magazine:

“Children have been ignored and overlooked. They aren’t at the forefront of any strategic policy within government. We should be outraged and devastated that tens of thousands of children don’t have the support they need to be able to flourish in life.”

Longfield was delighted that the recommendation of the Commission to implement a Sure Start Plus for teenagers programme, has been proposed as a possible Labour party policy if they win the next general election.

“If they were to win the election, we remain convinced that there needs to be a real focus on youth workers, both in terms of preventing young people from getting involved in crime and exploitation and also helping them to succeed in school. Early intervention has always been at the core of what I’ve talked about and done, and this will be at the heart of the Centre for Young Lives approach,” said Longfield.

For more on this story go to CYPNow website

Or click here to go to the Centre for Young Lives website.

Labour’s Child Health Action Plan commits the party to adopting a ‘prevention first’ approach but omits any mention of play.

Noting that “The nation’s children are the biggest casualty of the short term ‘sticking plaster’ politics of the last 14 years,” the action plan outlines seven commitments to ‘create the healthiest generation of children ever’ if Labour is elected to power later this year as is widely expected.

The plan pledges to tackle childhood obesity by banning junk food advertising to children, and implementing a “broad” national curriculum that makes a “wide range of physical activities compulsory for all schools.” Out of school provision of play or sports is not mentioned, but  more detail is likely to come in the Labour Manifesto which will be issued close to the election date.

London Play director Fiona Sutherland said:

“London Play welcomes the adoption of a prevention-first approach outlined in Labour’s children’s health action plan. We hope that the ‘wide range’ of physical activities to be made compulsory in schools under a Labour government will include prioritising free play – and that out of school play provision is also afforded the priority it deserves.”

The plan aims to halve the gap in healthy life expectancy between different regions of England within ten years; and as well as being ‘prevention first’ proposes a greater focus on providing health services in communities. The seven commitments included in the plan are:

1. Cut waiting lists for children.
2. End the crisis in child mental health.
3. Transform NHS dentistry.
4. Crackdown on smoking and vaping.
5. Ban junk food advertising to children.
6. Introduce breakfast clubs for all primary school children.
7. Protect children from the growth of infectious diseases.

Find out more here.

One of the researchers involved in a new study showing a link between access to greenspace and bone strength in children has said it shows that urban planners can make children’s bones stronger, with long-lasting consequences.

Children with more green space near their homes have significantly stronger bones, a study has found, potentially leading to lifelong health benefits.

Scientists found that the children living in places with 20-25% more natural areas had increased bone strength that was equivalent to half a year’s natural growth.

The study, the first of its kind, also found that the risk of having very low bone density was about 65% lower for these children.

Bone strength grows in childhood and adolescence, before plateauing until about the age of 50 and then declining. Increasing the size and accessibility of green spaces for children could therefore prevent fractures and osteoporosis in older people, the researchers said.

The stronger the bone mass is during childhood, the more capacity you have for later in life,” said Prof Tim Nawrot, at Hasselt University in Belgium, who was part of the study team with Dr Hanne Sleurs and others.

“So the real public health message from this study is that urban planners can make stronger bones of children, and that has long-lasting consequences.”

More on this story in The Guardian.

The Scottish parliament has voted unanimously for Scotland to become the first devolved nation to incorporate the UN charter on the rights of the child (UNCRC) into domestic law.

The UNCRC grants all people under the age of 18 a comprehensive set of rights – including rights to health, education, family life, play and recreation, and protection from abuse and harm. Incorporating it into Scots law will make it  unlawful for public authorities, including the Scottish Government, to act incompatibly with the UNCRC requirements.

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Incorporation) (Scotland) Bill is a landmark piece of legislation that incorporates the UNCRC into Scots law to the maximum extent of the Scottish Parliament’s powers. The Scottish government said:

“The Bill empowers children and young people to claim their rights and help to make Scotland the best place in the world to grow up. We will be the first devolved government in the world to directly incorporate UNCRC.”

The bill had previously been challenged by lawyers for Westminster on the grounds that it placed demands on bodies outside the jurisdiction of the Scottish parliament. The revised version of the bill is now waiting for Royal Assent in Westminster, and should take place in January 2024, unless further challenges are made.

Shortly after the vote was passed, the Scottish government also published guidance for local authorities to help them meet the requirements of the new Play Sufficiency Assessment Regulations 2023.

Read more in the Guardian here, or on the Scottish government website here.