Cover story
FUND YOUR PLAYGROUND
Play is an essential element of education, yet many schools struggle to fund new resources. Here, school income generation expert Justin Smith shares his tips to get your campaign up and running, plus we explore grant options and profile one school’s success
rimary school children can spend up to a fi fth of their time on the playground: socialising, having fun and, of course, burning off a little excess energy. The Charter for Play, published by Play
England, defi nes play as ‘what children and young people do when they follow their own ideas and interests, in their own way, and for their own reasons’ and when ‘they are not being told what to do by adults’. It’s crucial our children have the freedom to express their
creativity and imagination in a safe and uninhibited way. And suitable play spaces form part of our commitment to provide young people with a good start in life. Yet fi nding the funds to make this happen is not easy. The 2021 annual report on education spending in England indicates that school spending per pupil has fallen by 9% in real terms over the last decade. With such relentless pressures on budgets, how can schools fi nd the money to improve their playgrounds, particularly when some structures cost upwards of £20,000, and a full playground redevelopment may be many times more. The answer, as I describe overleaf, is to develop a clear strategy which explores multiple funding options.
FundEd SPRING 2022 9
IMAGES: CHRIS GORGIO; MACROVECTOR/
ISTOCKPHOTO.COM
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