SAPA St Andrews Play Association

I've been a playworker for 30 yrs at St Andrews Play Association.
Supporting Play and a child's right to play always x

[London Play @londonplay]

What do we want? MORE PLAY! Join us Thur 11 June 4.30pm for a child-led takeover of Parliament Square. Celebrate the #InternationalDayofPlay and take part in the biggest game of #TheFloorisLava you've ever seen! @APPGonPlay @RightToPlay_UK @PlayEngland
https://t.co/XiPN38eal3

[Centre for Young Lives @CfYoungLives]

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 👇

[London Play @londonplay]

Children's right to play needs to be incorporated into English domestic law.
#playsufficiency #article31 https://t.co/FN6eTamv2M

[Tom Collins MP @tomcollinsworcs]

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.

[Centre for Young Lives @CfYoungLives]

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 👇

[Eugene Minogue @EugeneMinogue]

Very proud to see the #ActiveStreets scheme, I pioneered at @CityWestminster via the @ActiveWCC strategy still growing and thriving.

https://t.co/JUBndhLPJw

Check it out https://t.co/O0RrCuhCW2, 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

https://t.co/rVB5IirAtp

#ItAllStartsWithPlay! #EverythingToPlayFor

🚲 🛴 🛹🛼 🛝🤸🏼‍♂️🌳🏡🏘️

[Centre for Young Lives @CfYoungLives]

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. https://t.co/Hx7KQOqGFu

[SAPA St Andrews Play Association @fray2lisa]

Free of charge
NO HAF REQUIRED
5 WEEK PLAYSCHEME
REGISTRATION REQUIRED

[Paul Lindley OBE @Paul_Lindley]

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. https://t.co/wUrqdiTmxY
@CfYoungLives

[Woodgate Adventure Playground @WoodgateAP]

Excellent news

[London Play @londonplay]

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! https://t.co/RAvkgLxTyh

[Volunteer It Yourself @VIYproject]

🎉 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 [email protected] to get involved! 👏

[SAPA St Andrews Play Association @fray2lisa]

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 ❤️

[SAPA St Andrews Play Association @fray2lisa]

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

[SAPA St Andrews Play Association @fray2lisa]

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

[Eugene Minogue @EugeneMinogue]

‘Play renaissance: this is the year play gets serious’ - @Nesta_UK

https://t.co/oTtIZXWojb

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

[Play England @PlayEngland]

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.

https://t.co/RLJy2u3ZKn

[Tom Hayes MP @TomHayesBmouth]

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 👇

[Helen Maguire BEM MP 🔶 @helenmaguiremp]

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.

[SAPA St Andrews Play Association @fray2lisa]

@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? 😓