PLEASE NOTE: Due to the parliamentary timetable, the APPG on Play meeting scheduled for Wednesday 29 April 2026 will no longer take place.
Parliament is scheduled to rise on 30 April 2026, with prorogation likely to take place on 29 April 2026 (TBC) ahead of the King’s Speech. This timing also coincides with the Local Elections on 7 May 2026 and the State Opening of Parliament on 13 May 2026.
The next meeting of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Play will take place on Wednesday 29 April 2026, from 17:00–18:30 in Committee Room 20, House of Commons.
Attendance is strictly by invitation only.
Contact: appg@playengland.org.uk for further information or to express interest in attending.
This session will focus on Article 31: The Right to Play, exploring how a child rights-based approach to play can be embedded across policy, planning and practice.
The meeting will examine the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), including Article 31, which recognises play as a fundamental right, and what this means for national and local decision-making.
The session will bring together legal, policy and practice perspectives to explore how the right to play can be implemented in practice.
Discussions will include:
An overview of Article 31 and the UNCRC, examining the legal and policy framework underpinning children’s right to play, and practical approaches to delivering the right to play, including the Space, Time, Acceptance, Rights (STAR) framework, presented by University of Reading.
A detailed exploration of General Comment No. 17 (2013) including the obligations on government to secure children’s right to play and the measures required for implementation, presented by Play Wales.
Insights from Play Their Way, highlighting child-first approaches in sport and activity, and how children’s rights to play, develop and be heard can be embedded in practice, presented by UK Coaching.
Meeting Slide Deck