Play Scotland launches ‘Getting it Right for Play’ on UK Playday 2025

Play Scotland's Jenny Lester tells us about Play Scotland's upcoming Aberdeen event and the launch of the Getting it Right for Play toolkit. 

To mark Playday 2025, Play Scotland is hosting a play event in Duthie Park, Aberdeen on Wednesday 6th August from 12-4pm.

At this event Play Scotland is having a playful launch of the revised Getting it Right for Play toolkit, a key resource designed to help local authorities assess local play spaces and produce a Play Sufficiency Report.

The event is free to local families and will have plenty to offer including: Aberdeen Park Rangers will be running nature based activities, including butterfly games; Aberdeen City Library service will be running Bookbug; Splat Messy Play will be bringing arts and crafts to life; Peep will be bringing fun songs, stories, play activities;  Aberdeen City Council, Creative Learning – Geronimo, using Makedo tools and loads of cardboard, families will team up with artists to create giant games and imaginative worlds; and ScrapAntics need your help to construct a playground out of old junk pieces.  There will be free fruit snacks available from CFINE.

Playday, the national day for play in the UK, takes place this year on Wednesday 6 August under the theme ‘Spaces for Play’, highlighting the importance of inclusive, accessible, and welcoming environments where all children can play freely.

Paul Liddell, Chair of Play Scotland, welcomed the toolkit: "I am pleased that Getting it Right for Play has been shaped by extensive engagement with families, communities, and organisations, with a strong focus on the voices and experiences of children and young people with additional support needs. This guidance acknowledges the specific needs and barriers specific groups of children face and provides local authorities and local community groups with practical assessment tools to help them evaluate and improve play opportunities and spaces."

Getting it Right for Play reflects Scotland’s strengthened commitment to children’s right to play, aligned with the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 2019, National Planning Framework 4, and the UNCRC (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024. It also supports delivery of Scotland’s Play Vision Statement and Action Plan 2025:2030, which recognises place as a primary driver which can create ‘free, accessible, inclusive and safe public play spaces, developed in consultation with children and families.’

Marguerite Hunter Blair, Chief Executive of Play Scotland, said:

“Getting it Right for Play supports the implementation of our world-leading framework for children’s right to play in Scotland, so that every child can play, have fun and enjoy their childhood. Local authorities are key to upholding every child’s right to play, and they can do this by using the toolkit to engage with children and communities in the assessment and development of play spaces.”

Eva Silveirinha de Oliveira, Green Spaces Project Development Officer at City of Edinburgh Council, praised the toolkit:

“The Getting it Right for Play Toolkit is a fantastic and useful resource: very inclusive and well thought-out.”

Jennifer Lothian, Strategy, Policy & Development Manager, East Lothian Council, called the resource “excellent”, saying, “I am sure it will be a very valuable guidance document for many years to come.”

By launching on Playday, Play Scotland celebrates the power of play and reaffirms its commitment to ensuring every child in Scotland has access to spaces that are free, inclusive, and designed with their needs at heart.