Playday activities used to renew call for play strategy

Play Their Way (a national movement to transform the way children are coached in sport and physical activity through child-first coaching) and Play England used the interest in Playday to renew a call on PM Andy Burnham to revive the last Labour government’s National Play Strategy. At a Playday event in Westminster, both organisations urged the Prime Minister to finish the work he began in 2008.

The call came after new Play Their Way research – conducted by Ipsos UK on behalf of UK Coaching and released for Playday – suggests that nearly three quarters (72%) of parents with children (aged 5-17) thought that children in general spent too little time engaged in active play while 49% of children (aged 8-16) said they would like to spend more time playing active games for fun during their free time.

Parents surveyed felt that the biggest barriers to children having more ‘active play’ included: Time spent watching TV, videos or streamed content (60%) Time spent gaming (58%) Time spent on social media (56%) Lack of suitable or safe spaces (46%)

Of the children surveyed, suitable spaces were also referenced by those aged 8-16. Some 30% said that one of the things that stopped them spending more time ‘doing active play with friends’ was that there were not enough places to play outside.

When it comes to taking part in sport, 40% of parents surveyed said their child(ren) had stopped taking part in a sport because it was ‘not fun enough’, highlighting the vital role played by coaches and the importance of the child-first coaching initiative, an evidence informed approach that prioritises fundamental rights of all children taking part in sport, including their right to play.