Inquiry calls for a new National Play Strategy for England
The Raising the Nation Play Commission, a year-long independent inquiry into why play is critical to the wellbeing and development of children, and how it can be restored to every childhood in England has published its final report. Everything to Play For: A Plan to Ensure Every Child in England Can Play sets out a compelling and urgent case for placing play back at the heart of public policy — and childhood itself.
It does more than just diagnose the problem. It offers a practical, evidence-informed solutions. It proposes a new, cross-departmental National Play Strategy, led by a Minister for Play and backed by a £125 million annual investment fund. It puts forward bold measures to address the digital displacement of play — including banning smartphones in schools, raising the digital age of consent to 16, and regulating addictive app features targeted at children.
It also calls for a national ban on ‘No Ball Games’ signs, the restoration of play within the school day, and planning reforms to make play an expected and essential feature of every neighbourhood
The report highlights that playgrounds are often underfunded, poorly maintained, or designed with limited input from children themselves, rendering them inaccessible to disabled children and parents or carers.
If play spaces are designed without incorporating the views and needs of all likely users, there is a danger that many groups of people in the community will feel excluded from the benefits. We heard frequently that public playgrounds, parks, and other play spaces do not meet the needs of all children, rendering them inaccessible or even dangerous.
It also states that children are spending more and more time in front of screens, from an increasingly younger age. They are less physically active than any previous generation, and less likely to play away from home in the way that previous generations felt safe and able to do. it found that all too often these worrying trends are heightened among children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).
Research by Scope has found that only 1 in 10 playgrounds are accessible to disabled children and nearly three-quarters of playgrounds are places where it would be difficult for disabled and non-disabled children to play together.
As a result, more than half of families with disabled children report that it is difficult to find play and leisure equipment which meet the needs of their children.
The report’s main recommendations include:
- A new, cross-departmental National Play Strategy for England with a 10 year vision, led by a Minister with responsibility for Play. This should be backed by an annual budget of £125 million to the end of this parliament, part-funded by measures including the Soft Drinks Industry Levy and unspent funds currently held by councils and collected from developers to mitigate the impact of new developments.
- A statutory Play Sufficiency Duty for local authorities, bringing England in line with Scotland and Wales.
- Legal protections for children’s rights, including incorporating the UNCRC into domestic law, and protecting all children against discrimination in accessing play.
- Child-friendly neighbourhoods as part of reviving a culture which embraces play and childhood independence and which gives parents confidence to allow their children to play again. This includes reducing the speed and volume of traffic where children play, live, and learn. It should become easier for parents and communities to organise safe play in their streets, and there should be a national ban on ‘No Ball Games’ signs. There should be greater use of play streets, play rangers, play buses, mobile play stations, and toy libraries to bring play to more communities and families, with a focus on children living with disadvantage.
- Schools are supported to harness the power of play for learning. Schools should be supported and required to develop their own play plans and there should be high quality training for school staff in play. Play should be embedded into the primary curriculum. There should be Government guidance protecting play at break time and lunchtime, alongside a restoration of lost play time. All primary schools should move towards adopting ‘always-active’ uniforms.
- The National Planning Policy Framework and related guidance should be updated to require developers and planners to adopt pro-play policies in all new developments.
- Parents and carers are supported and empowered to help their children to play. The Department for Education should introduce an awareness campaign for parents on the importance of play and how they can help their children to play more as part of the push to increase school readiness.
- Play is made a foundation of children’s early years, including the roll out of play-focused Family Hubs with parent play champions to support and encourage play.
- Embed play in healthcare settings and recognise and use it as a tool to improve public health outcomes. The Department of Health should recognise the importance of play in its 10 year health plan and establish a national ‘play-on-prescription’ pilot.
