SAPA St Andrews Play Association

Too often children can be overlooked - but what happens in childhood impacts the rest of our lives and who we are as a nation. Watch our Executive Chair Baroness @annelongfield's intervention today to support amendments on children's rights in the Children's Wellbeing Bill 👇

Children's right to play needs to be incorporated into English domestic law. #playsufficiency #article31 theguardian.com/politics/2025/…

Play is utterly essential, not a nice-to-have. Providing children with the time, the space and the right to follow their own ideas, for their own reasons, in their own way, is essential. I’m proud to back @TomHayesBmouth and participate in the @APPGonPlay’s work.

Our Exec Chair @annelongfield was asked to give evidence to the @CommonsCMS Committee alongside #PlayCommission colleagues @Paul_Lindley @timrgill @EugeneMinogue @playingout and @nicoladnoble about putting play back into every aspect of children's lives 👇

Very proud to see the #ActiveStreets scheme, I pioneered at @CityWestminster via the @ActiveWCC strategy still growing and thriving. x.com/eugeneminogue/… Check it out active.westminster.gov.uk/activestreets, it includes permanent Play Streets, School Streets (which have all been made permanent) and Street Play sessions - as well as StreetMakers, which provides training and activation for these #ActiveStreets! The scheme was developed in partnership with @PlayingOut and it informed and shaped the @transportgovuk updated guidance which was launched on the same day as #ActiveStreets in 2019 x.com/eugeneminogue/… #ItAllStartsWithPlay! #EverythingToPlayFor 🚲 🛴 🛹🛼 🛝🤸🏼‍♂️🌳🏡🏘️

Good to see this extra investment in youth provision. The forthcoming Youth Strategy is a huge opportunity to rebuild services that were lost during the early 2010s, boost enrichment activities, and support vulnerable children through youth work. theguardian.com/society/2025/a…

Free of charge NO HAF REQUIRED 5 WEEK PLAYSCHEME REGISTRATION REQUIRED

Ahead of tomorrow’s launch of the Raising the Nation Play Commission’s report to Gov’t ‘Everything to Play For: A Plan To Ensure Every Child in England Can Play- here’s a little video showing some ideas for play that children shared with us. youtube.com/watch?v=QJWQxI… @CfYoungLives

Excellent news

Grab yourself a cuppa and have a look at these beautiful pictures of London #adventureplaygrounds @LDN_Museum. Wouldn't the world be a better place if we had one in every neighbourhood today! londonmuseum.org.uk/collections/lo…

🎉 Shoutout to January’s VIY MOTM… Jamie! From plastering to joinery, Jamie’s expertise and mentorship have been transforming spaces and inspiring young people across the East Midlands. Interested in mentoring with us? Drop Karen a line at karen@teamviy.com to get involved! 👏

Wow what a transformation. A huge thank you to @volunteerityourself VIY for this amazing revamp of our little play project. The staff and young people love it ❤️

Thank you to our local ward community fund for the money for replacement Defib pads. This is a vital piece of life saving equipment we have here at St Andrews Play Association. #lifesaving #Defibrillator #saveslives

Quick hot cheese baguettes for the kids is always a winner 🏆

‘Play renaissance: this is the year play gets serious’ - @Nesta_UK nesta.org.uk/feature/future… After a decade in the wilderness, play is about to rocket up the political and policy agenda in England. From suburban streets, parks and city centres to Whitehall roundtables, a social movement is rapidly gaining momentum. The state of play Over recent decades, a slow-motion crisis has been unfolding as opportunities for children to play outside have decreased. Sustained funding cuts have seen hundreds of playgrounds closed and an absence of policy leadership has worsened this, with England’s first and only Play Strategy (developed by @PlayEngland with Govt.) abandoned in 2010, just two years after it was launched. Despite these worrying trends, the growing social play movement represents a vital turning of this tide. Power play It’s not incidental that a play renaissance coincides with the new government’s calls for a period of national renewal. Play is good for cognitive and emotional development, physical and mental health, and social connectedness. It helps children, and adults, build vital skills in creative innovation, critical thinking and the confidence needed to thrive in a rapidly shifting world. Against a backdrop of declining child mental health, adventurous and outdoor play is a powerful antidote with positive effects on wellbeing. The benefits of play extend far beyond the individual. Play helps families: from joyful everyday encounters to promoting parent-child attachment. Play is society and community. It is a place-maker in the public realm. Toward a playful future The @CfYoungLives #RaisingTheNation commission on play will report in summer 2025. This should offer an ambitious policy vision that supports and further galvanises a multiagency approach from practitioners, campaigners and communities. This could pave the way for more opportunities for children to play. We might see play become more prominent in educational curricula, more embedding of play within the public realm for everyday experiences for adults and children alike, and promotion of play by a wider array of actors such as supermarkets or public transport providers. There will also inevitably be significant barriers to overcome. The hope is that careful policy design, combined with strategic support and concerted effort across the social and private sectors, will ensure fair play for all. 🏫🚸🌿🍁🍂🪵 🚲 🛴 🛹🛼 🛝 🏃🏼‍♂️🏃🏼‍♀️🏃🏾👩‍🦽🚴🏿🚏🚶🏻🤸🏾‍♂️🤸🏼‍♂️🌳🏘️ #PlayCommission #PlaySufficiency #NationalPlayStrategy #Play #FreePlay #PhysicalLiteracy #PhysicalActivity #ActiveTravel #PlayStreet #SchoolStreets #StreetPlay #HomeZones #Parks #FreerangeUrbanNeighbourhoods #FUN #Playces #Splace #PublicRealm #KnowBallGames #UNCRC #Article31

Parliamentary Debate: Provision of playgrounds by local authorities Building on the success of securing vital changes to the NPPF to safeguard formal play spaces, we have partnered with @TomHayesBmouth MP to secure a parliamentary debate on 8 Jan 2025. playengland.org.uk/newsblog/parli…

Yesterday, I led Parliament’s first debate on playgrounds in 8 years, the longest in 17 years since @edballs launched the only national play strategy to ever exist. Playgrounds are about more than play; they’re spaces where children grow, learn, and connect. Yet, they’ve been ignored for far too long, leaving them broken, inaccessible, and outdated. Thank you to the 642 Bournemouth residents who shared your views with me. Your voices rang loud and clear in Parliament, calling for better, safer, and more inclusive spaces for all children, and Minister @AlexJJNorris was very helpful and supportive. It’s time to stop neglecting playgrounds and start prioritising our children’s futures. Here’s my speech 👇

Yesterday, I spoke out about the importance of #playgrounds for our children's wellbeing. These spaces are vital for our children's social, mental and physical development. Without urgent action, generations of children will grow up deprived of these key community spaces.

@PlayScotland Play is at the heart of our project and has been for the last 43 years. We have given generations free play sessions that have been a light in their childhood. Given what's happening in the world atm you would think we would be given more money to be open not have it cut? 😓

📢 New Quality Improvement Framework for ELC is here! From September 2025, the Care Inspectorate & Education Scotland will use it for inspections. This is a key moment to champion play in early years settings! The framework supports high-quality experiences where play is valued, protected & central to children’s learning and development. Let’s embed a play-rich approach and uphold children’s right to play! See link below 👇 #MorePlayPlease #PlayEveryday

@Leicester_News @CityMayorLeic @Leicester_News Leicester city council wants to stop asb? At the same time, is withdrawing funding from the Adventure playgrounds? What do you think the young people will do when we close down??? Come on LCC do the right thing. Reinstate the funding for the playgrounds 🙏

Find out more about how @CityMayorLeic wants to crack down on anti-social behaviour so that everyone can enjoy #Leicester city centre. Details of how to have your say are here: ow.ly/KUnv50UJpG5