Play spaces:

planning and design

Introduction

Children playing out in local communities will access a wide range of places where their play is supported the local street, a patch of open ground, car park, lane or playground. Many parents and community members often see the playground as the most appropriate place but see it as inadequate as a space for playing in. A number of the aspects that cause parental concerns relate to the safety of the space and the state of play equipment if it is broken and in disrepair. Whilst we must not forget that given the opportunity, children will play out in their local community wherever they can, whether its on the way to school or the local play area, there are ways for parents, carers and members of the community to make improvements and influence changes to designated play spaces, both on an individual basis or getting together with others locally. We can all make simple improvements to a local play area to make the space more appealing to all members of the community. This begins with tackling issues that we can all have an affect on.

Getting together

Individually we can make changes to improve our local play space, but getting together with other interested parents and carers or community members will have a greater effect. For example by joining together to help keep the play space free from litter or forming a Friends of play space group to campaign and fundraise to make bigger improvements to the play space, such as removing out-dated play equipment or planting trees and bushes for children to play in.

Often the presence of adults within a play space will offer a sense of safety for younger children and may help other parents to give permission for their children to play out. It is beneficial for children to know who lives in their community, as it gives them a sense of belonging and a sense of place as well as an understanding of the locality they live in. Parents and carers can also benefit from a more social play space meeting and interacting with other parents can add to the sense of community for families. Adult presence has the potential to support children to become independent and low-key supervision will ensure overall safety of the place. There may be elements of the play space that can be developed by the community. Getting children and young people involved can help them shape the space and give them a feeling of ownership. Planting trees/bulbs, digging, painting, building and clearing litter are great ways of involving the community in the development of the play space and raising awareness of the developments being made. Children and young people may input their ideas during informal chat at community events make sure there is a way to record their ideas.

Simple improvements

We can all make small inexpensive and easy to manage changes to our local play space. Ideas for making the play space more interesting for children and young people include gathering materials that children like to play with and taking them into the play area. For example, cardboard boxes are a good resource for making dens, if there is no shrubbery and an old sheet tied to a climbing frame can also make a good den. Benches or picnic tables can add benefit to parents and carers visiting with younger children by providing a place to sit and chat, and spend time outdoors in their local community whilst their children are playing.

Friends of ... and local community groups

Where there is local interest in improving a play space, to make it more appealing or better equipped to meet the communitys play needs, forming a Friends of play space group to plan possible changes is the most effective way to fulfil local aspirations. There is a voluntary council in each local authority in Wales. They provide free advice and guidance regarding the best way to formalise a community group from drawing up terms of reference of how the group will operate, to providing free training in running and being part of a group, to helping with funding applications to replace play equipment. The local voluntary council can link interested individuals and groups with local community groups or organisations already in existence in the area, that may have a similar interest or idea or already carrying out work that would support you. Also, across Wales we have play associations that can advocate and support the proposed improvements. The play associations also provide information about the play opportunities available in the area, and help to signpost specific areas of information in relation to play spaces and play opportunities. Play associations will often facilitate a network for sharing information and providing practical help. Play Wales, the national charity for childrens play, provides further information and contact details for all the play associations in Wales: www.playwales.org.uk/page.asp?id=466

Quality play environments offer a variety of opportunities: challenge and uncertainty both on a physical and emotional level loose parts natural and man made materials that can be manipulated, moved and adapted, built and demolished movement running, jumping, climbing, balancing, rolling other children and young people with a choice to play alone or with others, to negotiate, co-operate, fall out, and resolve conflict rough and tumble play fighting the four elements earth, air, fire and water the natural world weather, trees, plants, insects, animals, mud the senses sounds, tastes, textures, smells and sights. Although we have an historical understanding of how a play area can look, it is possible to provide for childrens play in a way thats more than swings and roundabouts.

Play areas and creating playable spaces

When we ask children and adults about playing outside, it is generally interactions with the natural world that are mentioned as being of the greatest enjoyment. Climbing trees, building dens, making mud pies, damming streams, water fights, rolling down hills and making daisy chains are some of childhoods simplest pleasures.

There is a raft of material and ideas available about how this can be done, for example:

Changing Minds and Changing Spaces

Design for Play: A guide to creating successful play spaces

(Play England, 2008) This guide explains how good play spaces can give children and young people the freedom to play creatively, while allowing them to experience risk, challenge and excitement. The guide also offers advice on how play spaces can be affordably maintained. It sets out a new approach, tackles some current myths, and challenges providers to think more laterally and creatively about children and young people. It helps those involved in commissioning and designing play spaces to put play value at the heart of their work. Design for Play is available to download for free at: www.playengland.org.uk/resources/ design-for-play

Making larger scale improvements, such as replacing out-dated or broken play equipment, can be a long and sometimes complex and costly process as there are many issues to consider. It can take up to two or three years to make such changes to a play space. However, with the right support, enthusiasm and patience, it is possible. A local community group that can embrace the challenge and support each other through the process is a good start. Firstly, as a group enquire and establish who owns the land on which the play space is situated. It may be the local authority, or a community/town council, or even a local social housing organisation. Once ownership has been established, discussing the plan for improving the play space can begin. Many landowners are happy to support local groups who take an interest in making improvements and will provide information regarding who to contact to help with progress. Generally, it is essential to gain their consent and permission to make any improvements; these discussions can take time. There is always funding to consider where is it going to come from, how much is available and what it is going to be spent on. Landowners will always want to be kept informed on this matter, therefore it is good practice to have a plan or to have identified possible funding streams, before proceeding with this discussion. Many funding streams will ask for guarantee that permission to develop the play space has been secured before they will commit to funding the application. This may only need to be a letter of permission in principle or in some cases, a more formal agreement such as a lease for the land or license for its use, may be necessary. It is not unusual for this type of consent to take several months to organise.

Nature play: Maintenance guide

(Play England, 2009) This guide is aimed at those responsible for developing, delivering and maintaining innovative natural play spaces within parks and similar spaces. It supports those who want to introduce nature play into their play spaces, and does it according to the design principles outlined in Design for Play. The guide also highlights the need for commissioners and designers to consider the management and maintenance implications at the start and throughout the development of a new play space. It helps identify procedures for the ongoing maintenance of these play areas, ensuring that consideration is given to ongoing revenue funding for maintenance, repairs or replacement. Nature Play is available to download for free at: www.playengland.org.uk/resources/ nature-play.aspx

Design and development

Once permission and funding have been secured, the next stages involve designing and deciding how the play area will look. An effective method is to engage with an individual or organisation with design experience and a good understanding of childrens play, to draw up design ideas. This can be a costly process; a budget will need to be secured for this work. Some play equipment manufacturers will offer this service for free, but it is only in relation to their own brand of play equipment. This may not involve other elements of developing the play area, such as planting and land modelling. The design process can take several weeks. A designer will provide creative ideas that takes the site, the communitys play needs as well as the wider environment into consideration. A concept design will be provided, with costing included, which can be used as a discussion tool. When the design has been approved, seeking appropriate companies to build and supply certain elements of the design can begin. This process is known as procurement. Depending on the amount of money available, this process can take up to two months: to gather quotes, or tender briefs and agree who is going to undertake the work and what services they will supply within a given timeframe (usually within 12 weeks).

Repairs and Maintenance

There are practical matters to consider and to be informed about regarding managing a play area in the long term: Liability of potential accidents of users: Many landowners (and sometimes funders) will expect that any play equipment installed in the improvement meet specific European standards for such equipment. Although, this is not a legal requirement we do need to be aware of these standards. Installing play equipment that meets these standards does not negate the need for on-going maintenance checks and repairs, or reduce the risk of liability if a maintenance regime or plan is not in place to manage any risks and liability associated with play equipment. A risk management plan is essential to support the long term use of a play space. How the play space will be maintained: This can range from simple grounds maintenance such as grass cutting and hedge trimming to making sure that any play equipment installed is of suitable quality and kept in good repair. Be aware that when making a funding application, costs for ongoing maintenance and repair usually need to be included, or at least negotiated with the landowner, as they may have resources to contribute to this. Landowners will ask questions regarding plans for the long-term maintenance before considering giving permission. The average life of a play space is approximately 15 years. There is a wealth of information available to support the creation of play areas and playable spaces, from the principles of designing a play space, to managing risk within the play provision. For example visit the Play Areas (www.playwales.org.uk/ page.asp?id=798) and Risk Resources and Research (www.playwales.org.uk/page. asp?id=690) pages on the Play Wales website.

Children have told us time and time again that play is important to them. They have told us that they value time, space and freedom to play. They have told us that freely chosen play is critically important to all children and young people as part of their every day lives and within their own communities. Investing in provision on the ground is the first step in sustaining a lasting benefit and long term outcome more children will have access to play opportunities in their communities. Good spaces to play within a community show the people in that community that playing is important. They create a hub for a community, offering opportunities for adults and young people to become involved and socialise together. Children and families value quality play spaces, the relationships they make through them and the contribution they make to communities.

Conclusion

Produced in partnership with Chwarae Plant and Tri-County Play Association

April 2012

www.playwales.org.uk
Registered charity no. 1068926 A company limited by guarantee, no. 3507258 Registered in Wales

Play Wales is the national organisation for childrens play, an independent charity supported by the Welsh Government to uphold childrens right to play and to provide advice and guidance on play-related matters.