Scotland’s Next Big Step: Making the Play Vision a Reality

Mary Ramsay CEO, Play Scotland

Opinion

It’s an exciting opportunity to make a tangible difference in the lives of children and help ensure that play is valued and integrated into their everyday experiences

Mary Ramsay CEO, Play Scotland

As I step into the role of Chief Executive at Play Scotland, I’m excited to lead the organisation in this new chapter. With the publication of Scotland’s Play Vision Statement and Action Plan 2025-2030 in March 2025, and the work done by my predecessor to ensure the actuality of the legal framework and policies for Play in Scotland, it’s an exciting opportunity to make a tangible difference in the lives of children and help ensure that play is valued and integrated into their everyday experiences.

In my first professional role, I was part of a staff team that took children from the nursery to a local forest for an afternoon. There was a little boy who rarely used any words, and we had been working with his family and Health Visitor to try and understand whether he needed further support.

It was only our second time in the forest. Some of the children had been playing in the same spot for quite a while when I noticed he was very animated. He scrambled down to his friend and started gesturing. His friend didn’t seem to understand, so he started verbally explaining the urgency of the situation – the pirates were getting closer, you see, and they needed to finish building the boat to row away! The excitement had attracted a few others, so he explained their perilous situation to everyone again. The first two boys scrambled back up the tree stumps to finish building the boat while the others were sent for materials from the surrounding areas. The little boy shouted instructions while he worked, and they all got away just in the nick of time! The bus ride back was full of chatter about their daring escape just as the pirates had appeared, and he walked back into the nursery a few feet taller bursting with stories… That initial experience of the transformative power of play, so evident that morning, and in endless observations since, remains the key driving force for unlocking the right of every child in Scotland to experience play.

In the last year, Play Scotland has continued its extensive strategic and partnership work across both Scotland and the UK, while developing our training and membership offer to support practitioners and parents in their engagement with children. This is alongside increasing our programmes of work, such as Play Pedagogy Award and Outdoor Play and Learning – and publishing a key resource ‘Getting it Right for Play’ designed to help local authorities assess local play spaces and produce Play Sufficiency reports.

Our work will continue to evolve and grow as we move closer to making the Play Vision a reality for every child in Scotland.