PLAYLINK / Free Play Network

The future of the Planet.

The future of the Planet.

One of the greatest challenges facing our society at the moment is the active involvement of children and young people in their communities and the decisions that directly effects their lives.

Helping children and young people develop the skills, knowledge and understanding to take a central role in their community will reap rich rewards for everyone.

We must have the confidence to trust their judgement and give way to their ideas, feelings and hopes for the future.

Every generation has come forward with great thinkers, innovators and entrepreneurs that take the age forward.

The global challenges we face in the next thirty years will be unprecedented.

How children learn to play together and play to learn about one another will probably contribute towards saving the Planet.

Their knowledge and understanding of themselves, society and the natural and built environment always starts with play.

I welcome the Government’s initiative to promote the value of children’s play and make lottery funding available to focus attention and raise the profile of play within local authorities and the wider community.

However, all this will come to nothing unless we see the real opportunity within this programme. This is not about repairing and replacing equipped play areas in public parks, valuable though this outcome will be for many children who have little or nothing in their neighbourhood.

This programme must be about children, for children and with children.

Although I have only been involved in the play arena for a few short months I have been surprised at how little children and young people are discussed and involved in planning for their play. There are simply too many invested professional interests around.

“What does he know about play. I’ve been involved in play for years and know everything there is to know. I know every standard and have read every rule in the book. Indeed, I wrote the book!

I expect this will upset many who have devoted their lives to children’s play but I would be interested to hear if anyone agrees with my view that we need a radical rethink about what children’s play should mean in this Country and how we should use the lottery funding to start the evolution. You could say the future of the Planet depends on it.

Posted by: Lindsay Newton, Head of Development, Dudley Children's Services, -1 June 2020, 1-:28

Adults didn't consult me when I was a kid (i am 43)and formal play is often better than it was in 1969. But oppotunities to play, freedom from percieved and real danger and less apprehensive parents allowed kids to play. Some play space has been lost (most of the cherished spaces I used still exist except the old allotments) and replaced by improved equipped areas which kids cannot use because getting there is too dangerous.At 4 1/2 i walked to school with my 6 year old brother, at 10 we went fishing all day riding 5 miles there and back, building dens in the peat bogs and growing veg in the back garden. I doubt many parents would allow this today because of the danger. How can we achieve this lost freedom in todays society?

I thinks schools and school grounds could play a very important role in connecting the environment to play, to education and to the planet.But it needs to be accessible beyond school hours.It is the decade of sustainable education (World Wide UN Iniative)so howcome it is not high on the agenda.


Posted by: Phil Nicholson, Snr landscape Architect, Bedford Borough Council, -1 June 2020, 1-:28

I am replying because I see no one else has and I didn't want you to imagine you had said something wildly controversial. You are not alone in seeing the importance of involving children and young people in their own futures, it is a very well established view - if not the practice as often as it should be.
Posted by: jo, play strategy, penwith district council, -1 June 2020, 1-:27