London Play has submitted evidence to the Commission on Play, hoping to move play up the political agenda and prompt the government to commit to producing a new National Play Strategy.
The “Raising the Nation Play Commission”, is led by social entrepreneur and author Paul Lindley in partnership with the Centre for Young Lives. It intends to lead a national conversation about how to encourage and support children to play more – examining issues like the growth of technology and its impact on play, the importance of outdoor space, and whether parents’ attitudes to play and children’s safety have changed how children play.
London Play’s submission was focused on two of the six areas of enquiry for the commission:
- How do we expand places and environments where children can play?
- How can we use children’s right to play to ensure national and local government support children’s play?
On places to play, London Play sets out six recommendations aimed at protecting existing dedicated play spaces but also with a view to supporting and promoting more play in the wider public realm including on streets, in parks and on housing estates. Planning guidance about the quantity, quality and accessibility of play provision in new developments should be monitored and enforced. Based on the experience of working with groups of residents as part of our Trust for London funded Communities Unite for Play project, we also suggest that initiatives to support local people to work with decision makers to improve play in their areas.
On the right to play, London Play supports the call from Play England and others for the government to impose a Play Sufficiency Duty on local authorities, supported by ringfenced funding – and for all local authorities to be required to produce a play strategy.
The full submission can be downloaded below. It is understood that the Commission will report on its work in mid 2025.
