Street Play Project in Leeds aims to develop and protect outdoor space for children’s play though providing outdoor play provision and involving local community in play.
This play provision is an example of:
The Street Play Project is a regional project, run by a charitable organisation. It offers free open access, outdoor play to children in the area. Locations vary from local parks, school grounds or school spaces. Children take part in other challenging and natural forms of play, spending time building campfires climbing trees and making tree house.
The playworkers believe that supporting children to play in their own community allows them to master and manipulate their own environment. By providing limited resources, the children are encouraged to use their imagination and source natural materials or use natural structures. The children have opportunities to experience new forms of play through natural elements such as fire.
Children take the lead on what they do during the sessions making decisions about how they wish to play. Families and the wider community are consulted about what areas the children play in and the kind of things they do. Parents are encouraged to join in with the play sessions and become involved with training. The play providers aim to get community volunteers involved as playworkers and help them to get trained. By doing this, the supporting and understanding of play becomes embedded in the community.
There are three members of staff in each of the three teams. Qualifications include postgraduates in playwork or teaching, as well as second year sports and playwork staff. The service is receiving three-year funding from the Big Lottery Fund (BIG) and some of the sites have been mentioned in the Play Strategy. The project is evaluated regularly and has used First Claim quality assurance for the provision.
This free provision is aimed at children and young people aged between 5 and 13 but older and younger children do attend. The service runs throughout the year in day times, evenings, holidays and weekends and attracts on average around 20 to 30 children per session.
Andrea Hey (Play Development Community worker)
St John’s House
Leeds Play Network
Park Farm Industrial Estate
LS11 5SE
Tel: 0113 201 6790
Email: andrea@leedsplaynetwork.org.uk
Page updated December 2008