api comment
End of an era
The end of the Playbuilder scheme means the only hope of providing safe places for children to play is the Big Society.
THE END of March was the official end of the previous government’s Playbuilder/ Pathfinder project to overhaul the UK’s many ageing, dilapidated children’s playgrounds. The last few years have seen a welcome injection of £235m worth of funding for councils to improve local play facilities particularly in socially deprived areas. The legacy left by the Secretary of
Education, Ed Balls, who implemented the three-year project, has seen more than 3,500 new playgrounds installed and old ones rejuvenated to provide accessible, exciting play sites for children and young teens.
Ed Balls and Andy Burnham also vowed
to help tackle bullying and crime in play areas and other public spaces, improve road safety and work with town planners and developers to create more child friendly public spaces, ending the ‘no ball games’ culture.
But what will happen now to the future of playgrounds; how will the Big Society
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bflmagazine.co.uk
continue to fund much needed areas designated for children to play? At a time when fundraising is facing hard times, with individuals struggling financially and local businesses having to tighten the purse strings, charitable giving and sponsorship will be dramatically reduced. The playbuilder funding was aimed at
improving play opportunities for older children aged 8-13, that had previously been lacking. The scheme brought many communities together with children and their families working to create exciting new playgrounds. As the country faces a huge battle against child obesity these playgrounds will also contribute to improving the health of our children, with the long term benefits being massively significant. Increasingly sedentary lifestyles, a ‘cotton-
wool’ culture and a lack of accessible, exciting playgrounds has slowly led to a dramatic reduction in the amount of time children play outdoors and, more shockingly, play has been devalued in our society. Numerous studies have made a
significant link between the alarming rise in cases of childhood obesity and lack of exercise. Childhood obesity is a legitimate national health care issue and costs the country around £2bn annually and shortens lives by nine years, due to the associated health problems. Some health experts even
believe we’ll soon see parents outliving their children.
The playbuilder scheme should mark a moment in the history of child policy when the state recognised that one of the most effective interventions for children was to simply make space for them to be themselves. Thousands of play areas are still in
desperate need of bringing into the 21st century but our only hope in providing safe places for our children to play is the Big Society.
www.api-play.org
For a copy of the current API Directory of members, contact: Deborah Holt,
Association of Play Industries, Federation House, Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire CV8 2RF. T: +44 (0)24 7641 4999 ext 208 F: +44 (0)24 7641 4990 E:
api@api-play.org W:
www.api-play.org
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