The Reccy Rangers project, with Through the Doorway to Healthy Living and Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council, offers open access provision. It gives children the opportunity to engage in free, supervised sports and leisure activities in public outside spaces.
This play provision is an example of:
Reccy Rangers is essentially a van filled with various arts, craft, play and sporting equipment, and designed by young people from the local area. The rangers will bring the van to different areas of the borough to create play environments for children and young people. They operate in green or recreation areas within housing estates or playing fields in the rural villages. Schools are visited during term time, while other locations are chosen over the holiday period. Reccy Rangers offers support and advice to communities on how to incorporate play opportunities for children and young people.
All children can attend the sessions because games and activities are tailored to the children’s individual needs. Inclusive play is encouraged and as the sessions are held within local communities this is easier to achieve.
The Reccy Ranger play van encourages children to become active in a manner that is fun. The rangers also aim for children to taking pride in their environment and becoming involved in volunteer work. As they work in partnership with other organisations they have the opportunity to see what other local communities offer. The Reccy Rangers also assists the local communities if they are experiencing problems with litter or dog mess.
The rangers provide regular clean ups of play areas and multi-games play areas and can report vandalism or incidents of hate crime to the council or police. Also by building relationships with children and young people they can build trust and respect with them and help build safer communities for all. The van is perceived as a solution in today’s social climate, where parents are less likely to allow their children to play in these spaces freely and a solution to increased play provision in Shrewsbury's sparsely populated rural communities.
The provision offers a variety of free play and structured activities, children can choose what they want to do and there are no expectations for them to provide a finished article. All activities are child led and appropriate to age and ability. The play providers regularly consult with children and parents and their suggestions of how to improve the service are noted. Children and young people were involved with the range of equipment purchased and on the designs for the vehicles.
Parents are welcomed and encouraged to stay to play and to volunteer. All these times volunteer CRB checks are processed and they are offered training opportunities in play. Family fun days take place over the summer where everyone can come along and take part in activities. The rangers are also being used more to provide consultations with children and young people for new play areas and other issues that affect them.
Staff qualifications include 4 STAFF, NVQ Level 3, Level 2, in Playwork or relevant sports coaching qualifications. In-depth policies and procedures relating to Equal Opportunities, Child Protection and Health and Safety are followed. Initially the Reccy Rangers received funding through the borough council and the county council, but since then the project has expanded and is currently funded through. The Big Lottery Fund, Shropshire County Council, Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council, and the Community Safety Partnership.
The Reccy Rangers operates in a mixture of urban and rural areas, predominantly areas of social housing and areas of disadvantage. The service runs during school lunch times, after school, evenings and holidays. It is free of charge and provides a service all year round. Children’s ages range from 3 to 16 year olds, although younger children sometimes attend with siblings or parents. They cater for a large group of children and have had up to 40 attending a session. Attendance rates increase in streets rather than recreation area as parents feel their children are safer and not far from their homes.
Dorothy Jones (Play Development Officer)
The Guildhall
Frankwell Quay
Shrewsbury SY3 8HQ
Tel: 0174 328 1531
Email: dorothy.jones@shrewsbury.gov.uk
Page updated August 2008