Projects
Play services for children
We worked with the Children's Play Council on two projects about children's play provision and its potentially beneficial effects.
First, we mapped local authorities' existing play provision and their strategies for developing play opportunities, in order to inform debate on how to enhance provision for children's play. This work involved a national survey of regional play training and representative organisations, a survey of all the local authorities in a particular region and a detailed study of four local authorities, including an in-depth analysis of structures and processes and a mapping of provision at the level of individual sites. The resulting report both summarised the results of the surveys and identified possible policy issues arising.
Second, we conducted a wide-ranging review of literature that provides evidence for the beneficial effects of play for the over 5s.
The aim of the work was to enhance awareness of the substantial role of play in children's development and well-being, and to enable a consideration of how provision might potentially be improved.
View/download the literature review.