New 'State of Play' Interim report is published by the Raising the Nation Play Commission

Birth to 19 has been listed as a contributor to the Raising the Nation Play Commission’s Interim Report ‘State of Play’. The report reveals the growing barriers to play in England, including playground closures, concerns about traffic and safety, cuts to park budgets and play facilities, and the growth of a ‘No Balls Game’ anti-play culture and produces a developed number of recommendations to help overcome these barriers. The Raising the Nation Play Commission is a year-long independent inquiry into why play is critical to the wellbeing of children in England. 

Our Executive Director, Christian Bunting and Director: Institute for the Early Years, Rebecca Oberg, comment:  

'Even though this is an interim report, The Play Commission at The Centre for Young Lives already makes a powerful call to action. While this is a serious report, play is of course fun. Play is great for families, communities and helps children thrive, developing communication and a range of soft skills that are so needed. It all starts in early childhood - blowing bubbles, playing pooh sticks and dressing up are playful, fun and free. And everyday play has such a lasting impact on children's future lives. Play is definitely something that we call all rally around!'

The report warns that generations of children are spending less time playing, less time outside, less time with their friends, and more time inside glued to their screens. Consequently, children are growing up unhappy and not considered ‘school ready’. The report details the benefits that play has on child development and calls on the Government to introduce a National Play Strategy to ‘get children playing again’. 

The ‘State of Play’ report lays down foundations for a Play Strategy for England to be proposed to the Government in the Commission’s final report in June. It both highlights the significant barriers preventing children in England from playing, including a reduction in school playtime, and proposes solutions to the Government to make play an integral part of growing up again.

The report highlights:

• Time spent playing outdoors has declined by 50% in a generation and fewer than three in ten children say that they play out on the street.
• At least 400 playgrounds, and probably more, closed across England between 2012-22.
• Over 2m children in England up to age 9 don’t live within a ten-minute walk of a playground.
• The annual park budgets for England fell by more than £350 million between 2011-23.
• Spending on play facilities across England fell by 44% between 2017/18 and 2020/21.
• The distance children are allowed to roam at the age of eight has been estimated to have fallen from six miles to just 300 yards over four generations.

‘State of the Nation’ makes a range of evidence-based recommendations to Government to reverse the loss of play time in schools, including:

• Calling on Government to establish the first National Play Strategy for England since 2008 led by the Department for Culture, Media & Sport. The strategy would set out a clear, long-term vision to ensure children can easily access and enjoy places to play in public, at school, and at home.
• New statutory Department for Education guidance to ringfence time within the school day for breaktimes and lunchtimes, and support for The British Psychological Society’s call for an extra 10 minutes of play to be restored to the school day.
• Ofsted to include play sufficiency – specifically time to play - as a measure of school performance to encourage schools to boost play in school time and reward those schools who value play highly.
• School teachers, staff, and supervisors to receive high-quality and mandatory play training to enable healthy and active breaktimes and playful learning.
• Ringfenced funding for local authorities to maintain and renovate playgrounds and provide new ones in playground deserts.
• The adoption of a legally binding Play Sufficiency Duty for England, bringing England into line with Scotland and Wales, to ensure that local authorities provide sufficient play opportunities and to communicate them to parents and families.
• A Review of the use of ‘No Ball Games’ signs and update byelaws for Parks and Open Spaces to create a more welcoming, heathier, and active environment.
• A national campaign to encourage and support parents to play with their children, as part of the drive to improve school readiness.

To read the full report, please click here.