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Between 2011 and 2023, public playground budgets fell by more than £350m. As a result, between 2013 and 2023, almost 800 public-use playgrounds across the UK closed, with budget constraints commonly cited as the driving force.  Although public-use playgrounds have suffered as a result of budgetary concerns, outdoor play remains vitally important to childhood development. This kind of play informs children about the world they live in, encourages social function and teaches valuable lessons about the environment. Here, the educational play experts at Playdale take a look at the key role that playgrounds play in childhood development, and the lessons that our children can learn through considered playground design.

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Bubbles Play

Why are Playgrounds so Important?

We cannot understate the impact of outdoor play on other aspects of children’s lives. 97% of teachers say that outdoor play is critical for children to reach their full potential. From boosting social skills to simply giving children an opportunity to let off steam, outdoor and adventurous play can reduce anxiety and depression among children. With the recent worrying news that almost 70,000 children in the UK are suffering as a result of inadequate mental health support, adventurous play is more important than ever.

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Outdoor Classrooms

Outdoor play is also important when it comes to boosting children’s ability to carry out independent risk assessments. Lack of access to outdoor play means a growing number of children “reaching the end of their primary school years without having had enough opportunities to develop their ability to assess and manage risk independently,” says Helen Dodd, Professor of Child Psychology at the University of Exeter. Adventurous play helps children learn how to distinguish between safe risks and unsafe risks, teaching them independence as well as decision-making skills.

As of today, 2.3m children in Britain under the age of nine live more than a ten-minute walk from the nearest playground, according to the latest Green Space Index research. This amounts to one in three children without sufficient access to areas of play, with those from less wealthy households disproportionately affected. This calls for further concern, with the health and socialization benefits of outdoor play further affecting the social mobility of children – implicating education and wellbeing in their most formative years.

Dedicated outdoor play areas are therefore hugely important to childhood development. The design of these areas – and the acts of play they facilitate – are hugely important in teaching children important life lessons that they can carry forward.

Being Active

According to Save the Children UK, just one in four children play out on their street regularly, compared to three in four of their grandparents’ generation. Data shows that children are regularly chastised by parents or neighbours for being loud or excitable in the street, discouraging them from further outdoor play.

With this in mind, the importance of dedicated outdoor spaces is clear. Giving today’s youth a place to make noise, run, and be free is vital to uninhibited development. Every child has a right to play, according to the UN, and playgrounds teach children the value of being active in a space that’s safe and won’t cause disruption.

Ben, aged seven, was quoted by Fields in Trust saying:

“At home, I get bored and lonely easily, but I feel energized and free when I am playing outside.” The benefits of outdoor activity are felt immediately by children, supporting their levels of concentration and improving sleep through exercise.

According to the latest Sport England survey of 100,000 children, 53% of children do not meet the recommended daily hour of exercise. Children from less affluent backgrounds are more likely to be less active, with only 44% meeting the Chief Medical Officers’ guidelines. This, in combination with less wealthy children being more likely to live more than 10 minutes from a playground, emphasises how crucial safe, public areas of play are in supporting social mobility and fair access to public amenities.

Social Skills

Time spent at the playground gives children a chance to practice their social skills in a less-regulated environment than the classroom. This helps boost social skills such as listening and comprehension, reading social cues and even apologising to peers for mistakes.

Playground design can inform and facilitate social actions, too – communal equipment is important in encouraging children to come out of their shell and spend time together. One study noted how children interacted more with other children and less with their parents or supervisors with the introduction of certain playground equipment.

Barry Leahey MBE, President of Playdale Playgrounds, comments: “Children learn that their actions have consequences – even if their parents or teachers might not be able to intervene right away. Understanding that fact helps children reinforce the good lessons they receive at home and school. When children make decisions, even those with unintended consequences, they learn. Learning to develop critical decision-making skills is a huge factor in building confidence, helping them to begin their journey to becoming increasingly independent in their formative years. Playgrounds are crucial in giving them a safe environment to practice this.”  

Inclusivity Lessons

Through play, children of various ages have the opportunity to learn important lessons about inclusion and community. School and public playgrounds provide a space for children to interact independently with peers of different ability levels, increasing understanding and acceptance of children living with disabilities.

Considered, accessible playground design helps facilitate communal methods of play that bring children together. Inclusively designed playgrounds go above and beyond dedicated areas for wheelchair users, offering a range of different equipment that differently abled children can interact with in alternative ways.

49% of families with disabled children found that their local playground had some form of accessibility problem. In fact, the UK-wide investigation by Scope found that more than 1,000 playgrounds had little or no accessible equipment, with some playgrounds deemed a health risk to disabled children. The lack of features such as appropriate fencing, or the inclusion of uneven floor surfaces and faulty equipment, is a cause of concern for parents. Loose surfaces, such as muddy grass and wood chips, can also affect disabled people, preventing those with mobility issues from accessing the equipment.

With 70% of disabled children in the UK using a public playground at least once a week, they’re key in helping to boost social skills and encourage interactions between children of all ability levels. Going forward, Leahey says, “accessible and inclusive playground design will help to teach understanding and consideration for the future generation of adults.”

The same can be said for racial and gender inclusivity, with current statistics showing that only 40% of black and Asian children engage in physical, outdoor play. Girls are also less likely to play outside than boys, with 44% of girls currently inactive. Safe, accessible and engaging play areas are likely to improve attainment numbers amongst girls and children from a range of backgrounds. This will contribute further to lessons in inclusivity, helping bring our communities closer together.

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Environmental Play

Environmental Lessons

Outdoor play offers children the chance to connect with nature and begin to better understand the world around them. “The play environment itself encourages and informs exactly how children see and interact with the immediate environment,” says Leahey.

There are plenty of factors that affect those interactions, from the area surrounding the park itself to the materials used in the park’s construction. Nature-themed interactions encourage childhood curiosity and an interest in the natural world. For example, woodland play areas do  great job of reinforcing the “natural” element of play.

“This is part of why material choices are so important,” comments Leahey. “Playgrounds should be visually and physically stimulating, but using more natural materials in construction can teach children about the importance of sustainability growing up. Playgrounds must be built to last, also. Too many old-fashioned playgrounds deteriorate too easily from prolonged use. Sustainable materials from trusted sources stand the test of time and can be used for generations."

Lessons Learned

The evidence indicates just how indispensable playgrounds are to childhood development – not merely from a play perspective, but in enhancing and enriching a child’s wider experience and social interactions in an uninhibited environment in which they can be free.

The big picture indicates just how much of a problem the lack of funding for public-use playgrounds can pose. With fewer opportunities for children to socialize, understand their differences and the world around them, emotional and social development could be inhibited.

And, with fewer opportunities to be active, children’s health may continue to struggle. Though childhood obesity has slightly decreased between 2022 and 2023, levels have failed to drop below pre-pandemic levels, indicating the importance of dedicated play spaces for child health.

“So,” surmises Leahey, “we cannot understate the importance of outdoor play spaces for our children. They teach our youth vital lessons, give them safe places to explore, exercise, laugh and more. Not to mention, playgrounds give parents and guardians the opportunity to bond with their children in an engaging and safe space – benefitting the happiness of both guardian and child. If these budget cuts continue, our children will be missing out on an invaluable community resource and the effects will go far beyond playtime.”

References

1. Aggregate Industries. FOIs reveal a continuing decline in play park facilities in the UK. Aggregate Industries. 2023. https://www.aggregate.com/right-play-fois-reveal-huge-decline-play-park-facilities-uk. [Date accessed: 02/09/2024].
2. Fields in Trust. New UK government 'must address play crisis’ as a third of children in Britain do not have access to any nearby playgrounds. Green Space Index. 2024. https://fieldsintrust.org/about-us/news/new-uk-government-must-address-play-crisis-as-a-third-of-children-in-britain-do-not-have-access-to-any-nearby-playgrounds. [Date accessed: 02/09/2024].
3. Grant H. & Duncan P. England’s playgrounds crumble as council budgets fall. The Guardian. 2023. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/aug/04/england-playgrounds-crumble-council-budgets-fall. [Date accessed: 02/09/2024].
4. Gregory A. Almost a quarter of English children are obese at the end of primary school. The Guardian. 2024. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/jan/24/child-obesity-in-england-still-above-pre-pandemic-levels-study-finds. [Date accessed: 02/09/2024].
5. Prisk C. & Dr Cusworth H. Muddy hands report. Outdoor Classroom Day. 2018. https://outdoorclassroomday.com/resource/muddy-hands-report/. [Date accessed: 02/09/2024].
6. Save The Children. Only One In Four Children Play Out Regularly On Their Street Compared To Almost Three-Quarters Of Their Grandparents Generation. Save The Children. 2022. https://www.savethechildren.org.uk/news/media-centre/press-releases/children-today-62-percent-less-likely-to-play-outside-than-their. [Date accessed: 02/09/2024].
7. Let's Play Fair: inclusive playgrounds. Scope. https://www.scope.org.uk/campaigns/lets-play-fair. [Date accessed: 02/09/2024].
8. Sport England. Children's activity levels hold firm but significant challenges remain. Sport England. 2023. https://www.sportengland.org/news-and-inspiration/childrens-activity-levels-hold-firm-significant-challenges-remain. [Date accessed: 02/09/2024].
9. Thomas R. Almost 70,000 children missing out on mental health treatment. Independent. 2024. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/health/children-mental-health-access-b2503797.html. [Date accessed: 02/09/2024].
10. How we protect Children's rights with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Unicef. 2022. https://www.unicef.org.uk/what-we-do/un-convention-child-rights/. [Date accessed: 02/09/2024].
11. Weale S. Adventurous play boosts children’s mental health, study finds. The Guardian. 2022. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/may/20/adventurous-play-boosts-childrens-mental-health-study-finds. [Date accessed: 02/09/2024].
12. Weinstein N. Children missing out on adventurous outdoor play – study. NurseyWorld. 2021. https://www.nurseryworld.co.uk/content/news/children-missing-out-on-adventurous-outdoor-play-study. [Date accessed: 02/09/2024].
13. Yang J. et al. Elevating Children’s Play Experience: A Design Intervention to Enhance Children’s Social Interaction in Park Playgrounds. Sustainability. 2023. Vol 15. Issue 8. https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/8/6971. [Date accessed: 02/09/2024].
14. Fair playgrounds. SEN. 2024. https://senmagazine.co.uk/content/activities/play/21830/fair-playgrounds/. [Date accessed: 02/09/2024].

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