Current Work Category: Play streets

PROJECT: Jelly Sports

FUNDER: London Marathon Foundation

DATES: January 2024 – December 2025

As the name suggests, Jelly Sports occupied the wobbly and exciting – yet largely unexplored – space between play and sport. This two year project transformed doorstep space in streets or estates in ten communities across the capital.

Between the rigid rules of sport and the free creativity of play, the space between is adaptable and full of creative promise. Whereas sport can be intimidating for some, and especially those who are least active, Jelly Sports got children and their grown-ups exercising without even realising it. 

Each participating neighbourhood received a Jelly Sports starter kit and a few games ideas to get them going and they were off! Children got creative and made up more games to get the whole neighbourhood involved.

We have collected these in the Jelly Sports Digital Book (right). Have a look and see if you can get your neighbours out having fun on your own doorstep!

PROJECT: Formula Fun

FUNDER: Mayor of London/Greater London Authority

DATES: August-September 2021

London Play’s Formula Fun fortnight ran between 21 August and 5 September 2021, bringing colour, action and joy to central London neighbourhoods where residents had just begun to emerge following months of restrictions imposed to manage the coronavirus pandemic. It was part of the Mayor’s Let’s Do London  campaign,  designed to attract visitors back to London to aid the recovery of the hospitality, culture and retail sectors.

With the support and encouragement of London Play’s mobile kart crew, hundreds of children, some of whom had never before even held a screwdriver, turned piles of wood and wheels into exquisitely engineered and lavishly decorated go karts. They were works of both speed and beauty. The spectacle of children proudly and noisily parading their creations through the streets and past some of London’s most iconic landmarks, brought people out to celebrate not only their achievements but also the hope of a return to life-as-we-knew-it, pre-covid, in our great capital.

My favourite thing? Drilling and building the go kart. And sanding, I really like it. Also driving the go kart and pushing it. It’s all been really fun in fact!

Project participant

I am really proud of them and of our neighbourhood.

Local councillor

PROJECT: Play Street Carousel

FUNDER: The National Lottery Community Fund

DATES: January-October 2021 (interim lockdown project)

The Play Street Carousel was a unique project that harnessed the power of play to strengthen bonds between neighbours, even as the pandemic kept them apart.

A suitcase full of art materials and audio-visual equipment was passed between households on a street, on the ‘Play Street Carousel’. Covid-safe protocols were in place.

Each household used the materials to document a street game of their choosing. A cornucopia of games was collected from across generations, cultures and household types. Contributions have been collated into a ‘recipe book of street play’ and a film of the project has been made. These will provide a wonderful legacy of a strange time in history; and the book of games will become a valuable idea trove for future play streets.

Following the lifting of restrictions in late July, each participating street was invited to run an event to celebrate. Residents had the chance to play their games together and watch the film featuring their contributions. With two participating streets in each of four boroughs: Croydon, Haringey, Kingston and Redbridge; the Play Street Carousel street parties will go down in play street history!

In October 2021 we resumed work on the mainstream Playful Communities project, and hope that 2022 will see an explosion of play on the street following months of limited lives.

For more information on this project contact catherine@londonplay.org.uk

CLICK ON THE SUITCASE TO VISIT OUR DEDICATED LONDON PLAY STREETS WEBSITE TO SEE THE FILM AND DOWNLOAD THE BOOKLET OF GAMES

NB You will need to create a free log in  – once you have done so, the door will open to these and a veritable cornucopia of play street resources – guidance, tips, inspiration and more for play street organisers and aficionados!

Funder: Heritage Lottery

Play Streets Past and Present got modern youngsters looking at the strips of concrete and tarmac outside their homes with new eyes.

The screams of delight of children playing on London’s streets of the past are ringing in the ears of kids living in those same streets today. Thanks to a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund, London Play spent most of 2014 working with an oral historian and the Museum of London on this fascinating investigation into play on the street in London’s past.

Six streets across London were selected to take part in the project – which aimed to capture the memories older residents had of playing out as children, and to  revive that tradition by passing their stories onto younger generations through creative art and play sessions.

And revived it was!  Inspired by recollections of the fascination with outer space, children in Haringey found themselves taking off for distant galaxies in their self-built cardboard space rocket; Islington kids had a splash turning their street into a temporary river; and the teddy bears came out to play in Waltham Forest.

Take a look at the case studies and resources available for download below.

For more information about the project, please email project worker Catherine Togut or call 0203 384 8510.

Funder: National Lottery

Children’s freedom to roam – to independently go to the shops, the park or walk to school has been steadily shrinking over the last three generations. This pilot project aimed to reverse this.

This six month pilot project focused on the Palmers Green neighbourhood in the London Borough of Enfield. The aim is that it will become a place where children are welcomed by the community and can independently enjoy everything the area has to offer.

We worked with play street organisers, shop keepers, local schools, cafe owners, bus drivers, street scene workers, community policing teams, postal workers and others in the community, to raise awareness and understanding of the importance of independence in child development and how they could support it. They were encouraged to make small changes to the way they work, like taking time out to talk to the children they see during their daily routines – and handing out stickers to children that they see playing well and independently.

The project included running play sessions with volunteers, walking buses to parks and play events. A series of ‘Safe Points’ were established around the neighbourhood including at the community café in the park, the corner shop or the train station – allowing children to play freely in the knowledge that they can find a trustworthy adult if they encounter a problem. A ‘peer buddies’ system established networks of children who could play together.

We hope that Palmers Green will be the first of many Play Quarters to be established across London and ultimately beyond it.

You can also like the Play Quarters Facebook page for regular updates on activity!