National Play Conference 2026
October 8-9 | Warwick
Play England and SAPCA have joined forces to launch the first-ever National Play Conference in 2026 – a landmark one-day event designed to bring the play sector together at a pivotal moment.
The conference will take place on Friday 9 October 2026 at The Slate, University of Warwick.
The evening before, on Thursday 8 October 2026, the same venue will host the Play England AGM and inaugural National Play Awards, celebrating excellence, innovation and achievement across the play sector.
Event sponsor
The inaugural National Play Conference will bring together the people, places and systems that shape children’s play. Grounded in Play England’s strategy - It All Starts with Play! the Conference will connect playwork and play provision with planning, design, construction, local government, health, education, research, policy and community leadership to explore how we create the conditions all children need to play.
The Conference will explore how we create the conditions children need to play: places and spaces that welcome play; skills and people that enable and support play; systems that protect children’s right to play; and a society where play is accepted as a normal part of everyday life.
The Conference will provide a national forum for the people and organisations that create, enable, influence and advocate for play across children’s everyday lives. This includes playworkers, local authorities, planners, designers, educators, health professionals, community organisations, researchers, policymakers, funders, industry partners and others whose decisions shape children’s opportunities to play.
Through a carefully curated programme of keynote addresses, panel debates and practical learning sessions, the event will explore the most pressing issues shaping play today and into the future.
Delegates will hear from an influential speaker line-up, including policymakers, sector specialists and innovators connected to play. Speakers will be announced over the coming months, with the first announcement welcoming Tom Hayes MP, Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Play, as a keynote speaker. Amber Ogunsanya-William and Oscar will co-host the Conference, guiding delegates through the day and helping keep children’s experiences, rights and perspectives at the centre of the conversation.
Discussions will span the political landscape around play, wellbeing and public health, as well as topical issues such as adventure playgrounds, the ongoing challenge of getting children more physically active, the realities of the current planning climate and funding issues.
The Conference will also showcase emerging ideas, evidence, policy and practice that are reshaping how play is understood, planned for, supported and experienced across communities and systems.
With insight, inspiration and practical takeaways at its core, the National Play Conference aims to inform, challenge and connect the entire play community.
For anyone working in, or alongside, the UK play sector, the National Play Conference will be an essential date in the diary.
Pricing
PLEASE NOTE THAT THE CONFERENCE HAS NOW SOLD OUT!
Awards Dinner - 8 Oct £70 (plus VAT)
Day Delegate - 9 Oct £70 (plus VAT)
Full package (Dinner & Day) £130 (plus VAT)
Dress code (day) - Business casual (dinner) - Smart casual
Accommodation Booking Information
Accommodation at Radcliffe, Warwick Conferences for Thursday 8 October 2026 is now sold out.
If you still require overnight accommodation, please see the list of alternative hotels nearby using the link below. Please contact your chosen hotel directly to check availability, confirm rates and make your booking.
Enquiries
For all enquiries, please contact the Event Manager, Karen Maxwell
Day One - Thursday 8 October
National Play Awards
The Awards are rooted in Play England’s ten-year strategy - It All Starts with Play! and celebrate the people, places, practice and progress creating the conditions for all children to play. Awards are presented across Spaces, Skills, Sector and Society, alongside two Play Personality of the Year awards recognising the outstanding contribution of children and adults to play.
National Play Awards finalists announced
The evening at a glance;
7.00pm Drinks reception
7.30pm Guests seated, welcome and opening remarks
7.45pm Dinner service commences
9.00pm Awards presentations
11.00pm Close
National Play Conference
Day Two - Friday 9 October
Amber Ogunsanya-William and Oscar will host the day, bringing together the programme’s conversations on policy, evidence and practice.
Discussions will span the political landscape around play, wellbeing and public health, as well as topical issues such as adventure playgrounds, the ongoing challenge of getting children more physically active, the realities of the current planning climate and funding issues.
The event will also act as a showcase for the latest innovations that are redefining how play spaces are designed, delivered and experienced.
With insight, inspiration and practical takeaways at its core, the National Play Conference aims to inform, challenge and connect the entire play community.
For anyone working in, or alongside, the UK play sector, the National Play Conference will be an essential date in the diary.
Confirmed speakers and contributors
Tom Hayes MP, Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Play.
Dr Naomi Lott, Lecturer in Law at the University of Reading and Associate Fellow at the University of Oxford’s Bonavero Institute of Human Rights. She will explore how her STAR framework – Space, Time, Acceptance and Rights – can help put children’s right to play into practice.
Dr Michael Martin, Lecturer in Urban Design and Planning, and Dr Paul Brindley, Senior Lecturer in Landscape Architecture, at the University of Sheffield. They will introduce Playces, the national digital dashboard developed with Play England and SAPCA member Passport365 and explore how spatial evidence can guide investment and tackle inequalities in play provision.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), with a contribution on the £18 million Playground Fund and the role of play in the National Planning Policy Framework.
And lots more!
The National Play Conference at a glance;
8.00am Registration and arrival
9.00am Welcome and opening, including children’s voice
9.30am A national moment for play: what should England do next? – Tom Hayes MP, Chair of the APPG on Play
10.00am Creating the conditions for the right to play: Space, Time, Acceptance and Rights
10.30am Morning break
11.00am Planning for play sufficiency: evidence, policy and investment – including the official launch of Playces
11.45am Accessible, inclusive and integrated: what does good play provision look like?
12.15pm Looking ahead: National Festival of Play 2027, followed by a children’s performance
12.30pm Lunch
1.30pm The future of the play workforce: recognition, standards and a stronger profession
2.00pm Provocation: Who owns the street?
2.15pm Play everywhere: creating the conditions for play across children’s lives
3.00pm Launch of the University of Exeter Outdoor Play Research Centre
3.10pm Afternoon break
3.30pm What can sport and coaching learn from play? Putting children’s voice, choice and journey first
4.00pm Free to Play UK: investing in the conditions for play
4.15pm Closing session: From conference to action – what happens next?
4.30pm Conference close
Download the full programme.
#ItAllStartsWithPlay