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A group of young children play outside on grass with a multi-coloured parachute

Charities set to benefit from £550,000 in outdoor play funding

Posted 21.07.23 by Alice Hinds

Thousands of Scottish children living in deprived areas will soon have access to more community outdoor play spaces, as the Scottish Government announces more than half a million pounds in funding for local charities.

Organisations providing outdoor play initiatives will receive a share of £550,000 to expand their projects throughout the year and during school holidays, benefitting an estimated 14,000 children across the country.

Children’s Minister Natalie Don announced The Outdoor Community Play Fund during a visit to Renfrew YMCA (click here for more), one of the 32 charities that will benefit from the investment.

The Minister said: “Outdoor play has an incredibly positive impact on our children’s mental health, wellbeing and confidence. It can teach them how to solve problems, assess risks, boost their physical activity and provide opportunities to meet and interact with others.

“However, options for children to play safely outdoors can be limited, especially for children in deprived areas. At a time when families are struggling with the cost of living crisis, it is even more essential that we provide this vital support to ensure there are outdoor play options available, free of charge, for families across Scotland.”

Other charities set to receive funding include Glasgow’s Concrete Garden (click here for more), North Edinburgh Arts (click here for more), and Under The Trees (click here for more) in Falkirk.

Inspiring Scotland Director of Funds Julia Abel added: “All children have the right to play – not only is it vital for their mental health and wellbeing, but is also supports children to learn social and emotional skills while boosting their physical activity.

“The beauty of outdoor community play is that it’s child-led, enabling children to use their creativity and imagination to develop their own ways to have fun, overcome barriers, while teaching life-enhancing skills that will make positive effects all the way into adulthood.”

A photo of some young people sitting in a large tree on its branches. The tree has leaves and there is a grassy park in the background.

News: Community Play Fund aims to get families outdoors

Posted April 12 2022, by Jennifer Drummond. Photo © Anna Cervinkova

Thousands of children from deprived communities across Scotland are set to benefit from improved outdoor play opportunities

The Scottish Government has announced an increased investment in its Outdoor Community Play Fund in order to help more children access high quality outdoor play.

It will also fund four new pilot projects designed specifically to improve opportunities for children with additional support needs.

Announcing the increased funding, Clare Haughey, Scottish Government Children’s Minister said:

“All children have a right to play and there is strong evidence that playing outside can benefit children and young people’s health and wellbeing.

“We know that families from more deprived areas and those with additional support needs can sometimes find it difficult to access play opportunities. By increasing our investment in the Outdoor Community Play Fund in 2022-23, we will help more children to access quality outdoor play in their communities, to be active, meet friends and have fun.”

The Fund has been increased by £50,000 to a total of £550,000 for 2022-23.

Benefits of outdoor play

The Scottish Government’s Outdoor Community Play Fund supports charities that facilitate outdoor play for children and their families.

In previous years, children and families in some of the most deprived areas have benefited from free, organised outdoor play activities aimed at improving their health and wellbeing. Charities worked with young people and their families to play and learn together, help to improve attachment, and to strengthen bonds and parental confidence in supporting their children.

Last year more than 5,500 young people participated in organised outdoor play session.

Click here to find out more about the Outdoor Community Play Fund on the Inspiring Scotland website.

A photo of a young child standing on some grass, she is wearing a pink coat with the hood up and is looking off towards the right.

News: New fund to upgrade Scotland's play parks

Posted 25 Aug 2021 by Jennifer Drummond

Play parks across Scotland are due to be modernised with money from a £5 million fund which has been agreed between the Scottish Government and COSLA.

Each of the 32 local authority areas will receive a share of the funding to improve existing playparks and enhance play opportunities for local children and young people.

The funding is the first round of a total planned £60 million investment for play park renovations over this parliamentary term.

Scottish Government Minister for Children, Claire Haughey, said:

“We know that play is an absolutely crucial part of children’s health and wellbeing and as we continue to recover from the pandemic, playing outside will allow children to reconnect with each other and allow them to return to enjoying their childhood.

“Our overall investment of £60 million will ensure that all children across Scotland have access to quality play in their own community and helps deliver on children’s right to play, enshrined in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

“We will continue to listen to children and young people throughout this process to ensure our funding is spent on play spaces that work for all.”

The plans however have already been met with some criticism.

Just days before the announcement of the fund, the Scottish Daily Express reported on a leaked document from COSLA which expressed scepticism about the play park upgrade plan.

The document reportedly reveals concerns from the local government umbrella body about the “impracticability” of refurbishing all play areas in the country, whilst also acknowledging there may be occasions where “critical maintenance” takes priority ahead of refurbishing or upgrading.

“Children don’t need shorter holidays or longer school days. They need more play”

1 April 2021

Margaret McLelland, manager of St Mirin’s Out of School Club –  a recipient of funding from Children in Scotland’s Access to Childcare Fund – explains why play is so fundamental to childhood and learning. This article was originally published by Inspiring Scotland as one of their practitioner guides resources

There has never been a more crucial time for play not only in Scotland but across the world. A global pandemic has deprived children of so many play experiences. Media are covering the “gap” and “loss” of learning and how Scotland might address the impact of “lost learning”.

Our children don’t need more school, reduced holidays, extended educational days. They need more play! Mental health and wellbeing are a priority for our children. This needs to be intact before children even begin the process of learning and what better way to do this than through play?

As manager of an out of school club based in a primary school we have been engaging with the school long before the pandemic. We now recognise there is even more additionality we could offer and bring to the school. As play practitioners and professionals we are highly trained, and our skills and expertise have the potential to enhance the whole school community.

It starts with relationships, from there we build mutual respect between the teaching staff and the play professionals. This has certainly raised the profile and understanding of play by highlighting what can be achieved through play. By this I mean play indoors and especially outdoors, play guided by the playwork principles, play in both its forms of structured and unstructured, play that is spontaneous, self-directed and assists children to meet their own needs, play that involves risk, compromise, negotiation , trust, choice, collaboration and empowerment for children. The teaching staff have an understanding of play to an extent but their educational understanding of play at times does not lend itself to play in the biological sense.

Our play journey

So, we are embarking on a journey to incorporate more play in the school day not only for lower primary years but the whole school. Our initial aim was to enthuse school management that play is a perfect vehicle in which learning unfolds and unravels. Play is the universal language of childhood and enabling playful environments for children provides them with a plethora of opportunities to develop their imagination and curiosity. The physical benefits of play are well known. Play (particularly outdoor play) increases wellbeing, increasing oxygen levels, heart rates, activity levels and obesity but the mental health benefits and development of soft skills enhanced by play are much less well known and understood. As an out of school service, we hoped we might highlight this in the school we operate within.

How to bring more play to your school

We approached our head teacher about the possibility of bringing more play to the school day. Our initial discussions enabled us to recognise the educational drivers, but we were able to introduce how play could provide an excellent platform for learning in a more autonomous way. Together we discussed how we might introduce play and it may have the potential to enhance learning experiences and outcomes for children. Finally, we agreed what was to become a plan! There has been challenges, but we are taking tentative steps towards a more playful school. One such challenge is addressing the view that play is frivolous, it’s what children get to do as a reward or its “messing around”. The complexity of play can mean it can be some of that but professional observations of play can unravel exactly what is being achieved and learned by children even in the “messing around” stages of play.

Our initial attempts at bringing play to the school day were very positive. We started by introducing play professionals to the playground. Children were naturally drawn to these playful adults and engaged almost immediately in active play. To us this was a great introductory starting point not only for the children but for the teaching staff on duty in the playground. We recognised immediately this was play however we realised our intervention style was leading and our preferred state is to be observing and leaving the content and intent of play to the children. But it was a starting point. Even though our team were involved in play our skilled observations told us which children were demonstrating leadership whist others were content to follow. It was also noticed which children were at ease in play whilst others required adult play cues to get involved. The challenge for play professionals was being very aware we were not staying true to our play principles.

However, we promptly agreed this was an excellent stating point on which to build trust with children. So, we viewed this stage as an introduction to play in its simplest form. Our other school involvement was to explore health and wellbeing in playful experiences. This was a one-hour sessions, 5 days per week for small groups of children (max 8) We used play to help children recognise feelings and emotions. Again, this is a more structured type of play but a very worthwhile pilot in which we learned there is most certainly a need for playing more therapeutically with children. Throughout the weeks we introduced the concept of play to the school we were receiving excellent feedback from the school staff team. We engaged in numerous meetings with the head teacher and we laid out our initial plans to bring more play to the school day. We advised the head teacher that this, to us, was a starting point as true play not peppered by outcomes would still achieve and benefit children.

Even in this early stage of our pilot we were able to highlight some children who may need some support to further engage and this finding was echoed by the school as some children were receiving educational support. This highlighted that play can be used to assist children with social and communicative skills which in our play world are as important as academic success.

The challenges and successes

Then COVID and lockdown stopped all of us in our tracks. Since March 2020 we have been unable to further our journey with this. Even being back briefly the restrictions made it impossible to mix certain groups and social distancing meant the whole school physical space and environment prevented us moving forward. The second lockdown came rapidly after the first and today (February 2021) we are hopeful we will be returning to school 15th March. The fantastic news is that St Mirin’s Out of School club has been successful in a major funding bid to the Access to Childcare Fund.

Our application included funding even more play into the school day. We commenced a breakfast and play club which is receiving excellent feedback from families. This funding will also enable us to increase our time working within the school day enabling more play and playing therapeutically to gain best outcomes for our school community. We will also be operating two nights per week 6pm-8pm with our “Simply Play” model. This will very much be guided by our playwork principles of self-directed play.

Our journey has only just begun, and it is new territory for school and out of school to collaborate and work in partnership in such a way. It has had its challenges but for the most part early indications are that this joined-up approach of play and learning can be one of the same thing. Learning through play in all its forms is in my opinion the best method for some children to learn.

Strengthening access and affordability

The Fund provides grants focusing on priority groups most at risk from poverty

Find out more

The value of outdoors play-based learning

Inspiring Scotland originally published Margaret's blog in their practitioner guide series

Find out more

Manifesto for School Age Childcare

The Scottish Out of School Care Network has published a series of calls

Read more

Families need services that are 'here to stay'

The final report of our CHANGE project sets out how to improve local childcare

Find out more

Shetland childcare setting scoops prize

Hame Fae Hame Shetland, funded by the Access to Childcare Fund, has won a major award

Find out more

Hope in hard times

Our Manifesto for 2021-26 includes key calls on childcare and the value of play

Find out more

Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan

The Access to Childcare fund addresses one of the actions highlighted in Every Child, Every Chance

Find out more

All local services providing childcare or play for children and young people need to be ‘here to stay’: funded on a long-term, secure basis, major four-year project finds

4 February 2021

MEDIA RELEASE

The final report of a major Scottish childcare project makes a series of calls about how to improve childcare in local communities and through changes to national policy.

CHANGE (Childcare and Nurture, Glasgow East) was set up in 2016 to create a sustainable childcare model with family and community involvement at its core.

Work on the project involved gathering the views of children, parents and local services; setting up a Hub to strengthen local collaboration and challenge childcare barriers identified by families; championing community initiatives and the need for more universal family support; and supporting ‘crisis’ childcare and food provision.

Following four years of work, the project’s final report, ‘It’s our future’: Childcare in Glasgow East, makes a series of recommendations about how to improve childcare, including:

  • All local services that provide childcare or play for children and young people need to be ‘here to stay’: funded on a long-term, secure basis
  • The number of available childminders should be increased so that families have more choice about how and when their child is looked after
  • Out of School Care services must be treated as a core service for it to be sustainable. This should include considering school and community buildings as everyone’s spaces
  • More opportunities for families to play and learn together must be made available, with all food-related work funded to be part of the mainstream offer
  • Parents and carers need childcare to enable them to attend emergency appointments and access public services
  • Families need to be able to access information about childcare that is easy to find and understand. The childcare and family support available must be made easier to navigate for both families and practitioners.

CHANGE found in its project work that local people frequently expressed fatigue about previous interventions that have not improved their lives, and that local staff dealing with stretched resources were often exhausted.

CHANGE staff were also conscious of how issues of class and poverty associated with the project area have been consistently framed in negative terms.

The report calls for the many positive aspects of life in the East End of Glasgow to be celebrated and better understood.

Sally Cavers, Children in Scotland’s Head of Inclusion and CHANGE project lead, said:

“The CHANGE project has sought to address fundamental problems about childcare including fragmented provision, cost, and the need for real community ownership and empowerment. We hope that this report captures the complexity and challenge these issues have presented – but also how much commitment, positivity and expertise communities in Glasgow’s East End possess in answering these problems.

“In terms of improving childcare for families, we need to be focused on the qualities of kindness and dedication we found in the community, and recognise that locally and nationally, we are making progress in improving access to affordable quality childcare.

“However, culture change and real transformation is still required for local services, and huge societal pressures exist for families and services, even more so following a pandemic that represented one of the biggest challenges for generations.”

“As we state in the report, it is our hope that the essence of Glasgow’s East End, combined with effective local and national policy drivers and the possibility of post-pandemic transformation, will result in local community childcare and support services that can thrive.”

The CHANGE project follows work and key recommendations by the Commission for Childcare Reform, which published its findings in 2015.

Click here to download the report

Click here to watch the short animated film and hear community voices on what needs to change

Media contact:

Chris Small, csmall@childreninscotland.org.uk

Further information:

Click here to read more about the CHANGE project
Click here to find out more about Children in Scotland

We Know What We Need

Watch a short animation and hear community voices on what needs to change

Click to watch the film

CHANGE project: final report

Read ‘It’s our future’: Childcare in Glasgow East

Click to download the report

CHANGE project: aims and background

Find out more about the project's ambitions, remit and achievements

Click to read more

CHANGE project: views and expertise

Read blogs about CHANGE, including comment from Senior Project Officer Robert Doyle

Click to read more

CHANGE project: partners

Partnership working has been key to CHANGE's approach

Click to find out more

Hope in hard times

Proposals for early years policy development drawing on the work of CHANGE feature in our 2021-26 Manifesto

Click to find out more

Commission for Childcare Reform

The CHANGE project was informed by some of the Commission's key findings

Click to find out more