PlayNationMag

ICYMI: STA (Swimming Teachers' Association) President and Executive Director of Puddle Ducks Franchising Ltd, Ali Beckman, talks about the importance of play in teaching children how to swim. Read more: https://bit.ly/4f9f5su

ICYMI: Alan Herron, chief executive of PlayBoard NI, shares some updates on the region's latest policy developments. Read more: https://bit.ly/3OJygyt

ICYMI: Marguerite Hunter Blair, CEO of Play Scotland, talks about the key topics discussed at the recent 'Participation, Play and Recreation Seminar' held in Dublin. "When decision makers at local and national level collaborate with young people on the issues that affect them, great things can be achieved." Read more: https://bit.ly/3Zn9B7U

Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council (BCP Council) has published an ambitious, multi-million pound plan to transform and renovate its children’s play parks and teenage wheeled sports areas. The five-year strategy will see an investment of £3.9million in phase one alone and includes replacing worn out equipment and “dramatically improving” provision across Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole. The proposal is to fund the improvement works primarily from the Community Investment Levy, paid to the council by developers to support local infrastructure. In preparation to the strategy – and to gauge the level of improvements needed – BCP officers have visited every one of BCP’s 171 play spaces and examined each of the 1175 individual pieces of play equipment. They have established what equipment needs immediate repair, which spaces need general improvements, and which need total replacement and renovation or re-purposing of those spaces. Read more: https://lnkd.in/e3afin54 #play #playpark #playground #publicleisure John Challinor

ICYMI: PlayNationMag talks with Amber Ogunsanya-William - the NSPCC's first ever Champion of Childhood - about her career to date and the transformative power of play. "Through my personal experience, I understand that play is a universal superpower, transcending language and cultural barriers" Read more: https://bit.ly/4ioMC4L

ICYMI: Eugene Minogue, executive director of Play England, wants play to be at the heart of policy-making and is calling for the government to publish a new, national pay strategy. Read more: https://bit.ly/4f7rugy

The revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), published yesterday (12 December) includes a key amendment for the play sector – the protection of formal play spaces. The NPPF sets out the government’s planning policies for England and how these are expected to be applied. The latest, revised framework replaces the previous NPFF which was initially published in March 2012 and last revised in December 2023. The amendment considering play appears under Section 8: Promoting Healthy and Safe Communities, specifically in Paragraph 104. It states: “Existing open space, sports and recreational buildings and land, including playing fields and formal play spaces, should not be built on unless an assessment has been undertaken, which has clearly shown the space to be surplus to requirements (or that it will be replaced by equivalent or better provision).” Play England has welcomed the change, calling it a big manifesto win. It also said the revision underscores the Government’s growing recognition of the importance of protecting, enhancing and providing spaces to play. Read more: https://lnkd.in/ejP9BF3W Eugene Minogue, Richard Shaw #play #playspaces

ICYMI: The second issue of PlayNationMag is now available, packed with industry news, interviews and updates. Amber Ogunsanya-William Eugene Minogue Ali Beckman Play England Play Scotland PlayBoard NI SAPCA The Sports and Play Construction Association Read more: https://bit.ly/3VlvfrG

A new woodland is being created at the New Forest Showground in Brockenhurst, Hampshire, with the help of pupils from Brockenhurst Church of England Primary School and William Gilpin Church of England Primary School. The ‘mini-forest’ has been planted as part of a Hampshire County Council Forest Partnership's commitment to grow thousands of trees. Designed to create a place for families and children to explore, the area has seen the planting of a mix of nearly 2,500 UK native tree varieties. Once completed, the project will form an immersive, educational and wellbeing focused space. Read more: https://lnkd.in/gvqgF2bc #play #wellbeing #forestry #outdoors Forestry England, New Forest National Park Authority

STA (Swimming Teachers' Association) President and Executive Director of Puddle Ducks Franchising Ltd, Ali Beckman, talks about the importance of play in teaching children how to swim. Read more: https://bit.ly/4f9f5su