Play
Letting children go out and play is one of the best things that parents can do for their children's health.
Professor Roger Mackett, University College London, 2004
Not just fun and games
To play is to respond to a natural instinct. But it has a more important function than you might at first realise. In fact, play has a vital role to play in healthy emotional and physical development, enabling children to:
- learn and explore the world around them
- make choices and discover their own solutions
- learn and develop valuable life skills, including confidence, self-esteem and creativity.
Every child deserves the chance to play, and providing good play opportunities is the responsibility of the whole community.
However, increasing pressures in today's society are restricting children's opportunities for play. Parental fears over safety, fewer places to play, increased traffic and building development all contribute to a lack of freedom for our young people.
Play in schools
Play contributes in many ways to health promotion in schools. For example, physically active play helps young people to develop coordination, strength, manipulation and fine motor skills.
It also contributes to a child's sense of self-worth and can help develop a sense of responsibility for actions and choices. It allows children to enact ideas and fears in a safe environment.
The health promoting school can support and develop play in a variety of ways, for example, by:
- involving pupils with the planning and provision of play opportunities in the school
- ensuring that play is incorporated into the learning and teaching curriculum
- providing appropriate environments for play, both outside and inside the school
- providing structured and unstructured opportunities for play in and around the school
- recognising the importance of play in the physical, social and emotional development of young people.
Environments for play
The need for positive and stimulating play environments is crucial to supporting children's well-being and development. Their experience and enjoyment of play will be strongly influenced by the type of environment that they find themselves in.
The health promoting school can work with pupils, staff and families to develop play environments that will enrich children's play experiences, generate feelings of well-being and self-worth and promote positive relationships.
Further information on environments can be found on the School grounds page.
Play Scotland
Play Scotland is the lead organisation for children's play, campaigning to make the right to play a reality for every child in Scotland. It operates at a strategic level to promote the importance of play for children and young people in all contexts:
- at home
- at school
- out of school
- in the streets
- in parks and public spaces.
It also supports and lobbies on behalf of individuals and organisations involved in play. Play Scotland's key areas of work include:
- influencing policy to increase investment and promote awareness in play
- gathering, exchanging and disseminating information on play
- undertaking quality research to provide an evidence base for the other areas of Play Scotland's work and to inform stakeholders.
Play Scotland supports the Scottish Play Forum in helping to provide opportunities for anyone working in this area to meet, discuss issues affecting play and develop their networks. The Scottish Play Forum, which takes place twice a year, also helps to inform Play Scotland's work. Further information is available on the Play Scotland website.
Play Scotland, in partnership with Grounds for Learning and sportscotland, has undertaken a research project about the use of school grounds for play, learning and sport. The project has produced a literature review and the first national survey of state sector school grounds in Scotland. This project has been funded by sportscotland.
Useful links
Play Scotland
The lead organisation for children's play, campaigning to make the right to play a reality for every child in Scotland.
Children's Play Council
The Children's Play Council website brings you the latest play information about its work, conferences and events.
PDF file: Best Play
'Best Play: What play provision should do for children' was published as the result of a partnership between the National Playing Fields Association, PLAYLINK and the Children's Play Council.
Play Safety pages of the RoSPA website
The Play Safety pages of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) website contain information and resources on playground management and the safety of indoor and outdoor play areas. RoSPA offer playground inspections, play area and playing field risk assessments, training courses and information sheets with guidelines on safe play.
