Active Play and Recreation
Play is an essential part to all children's lives, they develop key fundamental and social skills during play and supports them in developing physically to support with increasing their strength, agility, balance and coordination.
Play is accessible to all children and it gives opportunity for them to explore the world and develop their personal traits. Play can be done quietly, with equipment, without equipment or other persons. It can be done inside or out, it can be vigrouous or relaxed. Whatever the nature of play it is significant in maintaining mental and physical health and well being.
Play is what children and young people do when they follow their own ideas, in their own way, for their own reasons, it can support children by;
- Giving opportunity to enjoy freedom and to exercise choice and control over their actions
- Giving Opportunities to test boundaries and explore risk.
- Supporting a wide variety of physical, social and intellectual experiences
Some of us take it for granted that children Play, it is just what they do...or is it?
Previous generations will be able to remember when they were a child and the type of play activities that children took part in. Children would climb trees, play in streams, ride their bike, play tag games, and play football, rounders and Frisbee at an open space.
This is a different picture in today's play culture; it is much more of computers, TV, mobile phones and interactive technology. There are a variety of reasons for this change for example, technology, safety, where there is a blame there is a claim culture and many more perceptions of why climbing trees and running around a field isn't as appealing as it once was.
The impact of this culture shift however is having a significant impact upon children's health and well being. During childhood is the time when the body is developing at a rapid pace. The body relies on a child playing to increase their bone density, improve their agility, balance and coordination. Play also supports children to interact and become social as well as build confidence and overall well being. Children are now starting to develop health problems associated to inactivity which includes obesity and rickets.
What can we do about it?
Government have empowered Play England, a Big lottery funded project to work across the country supporting local authorities to begin to increase opportunities to play and to educate children and families how to play. The development of strategies will support this work and are based on a number of themes:
- Address 'no ball games' signs
- Increase capacity for play
- Develop a skilled play workforce
- Address issues relating to transport i.e. children being able to travel to play areas
- Get more children out to play
- Working closer with communities
- Increase the participation of children and young people
- Exploring relationship with community and voluntary sector
- Protect open spaces that currently exist
Where can you play?
Play can be done anywhere, with or without equipment, on your own or with friends, inside or outside and at a variety of intensities.
Be creative and think of new ways to play and stay active.
For more information:
Contact a representative from Play England:
Janet Orrock, jorrock@ncb.org.uk, 07540413967
(Redcar & Cleveland and Hartlepool)
Kirsty Thomson, kthomson@ncb.org.uk , 0191 265 8345 (Darlington, Middlesbrough and Stockton)
Amy Davies,adavies@ncb.org.uk
Visit Play England: www.playengland.org.uk
The following documents are attached below:
- Emdedding the Play Strategy (Play England)
- A Play Strategy for Hartlepool
- Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council Play Area Strategy 2007-2010
- Darlington Play and Free-Time Strategy
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