Incredibly, we are already into the second half of our year-long Raising the Nation Play Commission. Time is flying by, but we’ve already packed so much in, including…

• stimulating conversations about children’s play 
• gathering evidence oN how critical it is to thriving childhoods 
• making the case to demand children get access to more time, spaces, place and permissions to play; and 
• beginning to craft the framework for how the government should and could deliver a National Play Strategy for England.

In doing so, we’ve held evidence sessions with 50 witnesses, received nearly 150 submissions to our call to evidence, spoken with children and young people, and we’ve been on some brilliant play visits.  

There is much more still to come ahead of our final report in June.  

Over the last six months, it's been really inspiring to hear from children themselves about the huge benefits of play – including in schools where we’ve seen children playing at breaktime but also taking part in play-based learning.  

One child summed up his own enjoyment of school play perfectly, telling us, “It makes me feel good, sometimes silly, or out of breath from laughing too much”.  

We’ve also heard about the barriers to play – and there are many. In schools, that can include breaktimes and ‘movement breaks’ being withheld because of bad behaviour, or play being squeezed out of the curriculum.

We’ve heard about the lack of spaces and play areas or facilities in new and existing housing developments, the importance of mobility in public spaces, and how very real safety fears are preventing some children from playing out. 

During a recent evidence session, we also heard how parents’ lack of time and resources can inhibit play outside of school. 

We’re pleased to have been able to raise the profile of these issues, and others relating to play, through the media - ranging from Sky News, to tes, to a double page profile in Children in Young People Now, and pieces in the Guardian, as well as The Times and a forthcoming feature in Financial Times.  In February, we’ll be aiming to amplify our work further as we launch our Interim Report at the end of that month.

We’ve also been able to talk about the Commission at a range of different events, including the Local Government Association, and the Liberal Democrat, Labour, and Conservative party conferences. Our flagship event at Labour Conference – an ‘in conversation’ with Bridget Phillipson, Steve Rotheram, Marcus Davey, and Rachel Boyle – was co-hosted by the Centre for Young Lives and ourselves – and included our partners Impact on Urban Health and API - and Roundhouse. 

In October, we attended the PlayZone consultation to learn more about the development of a social enterprise model to provide space for young families with workspace for parents and flexible play facilities with trained play workers. We also heard about the Good Play Zone and KindHaus projects. 

In November, we visited Sheffield Children’s Hospital to see how play is being used in a healthcare setting. We saw how the hospital uses VR goggles to reduce anxiety for children ahead of operations and the use of needles, or instead of general anaesthetics, with cost and time saving benefits for the NHS.

In December, we hosted a Four Nations Summit, bringing together Alan Herron from PlayBoard Northern Ireland, Marguerite Blair from PlayScotland, and Mike Greenaway from Play Wales. The discussion covered the state of play in the four nations, learnings from their experiences of implementing play strategies and play sufficiency duties, and the potential for future collaboration. 

It was great to see the launch of the Raising the healthiest generation in history report in Parliament a few weeks ago. The TCPA, Playing Out, Fields in Trust, Tim Gill, and Dinah Bornat collaborated to review the evidence from the Levelling Up Committee’s unpublished inquiry into children, young people and the built environment, and produce an excellent set of recommendations. 

The Centre for Young Lives has made submissions to the Curriculum and Assessment Review and the NHS 10 Year Health Plan Review. In its Curriculum and Assessment Review response the Centre made the case for play as a holistic tool throughout the tool day, both inside the classroom as well as at breaktime. For the NHS Review response, the submission argued for play to be used more in healthcare settings, as a social prescription tool, and as a broader indicator of public health. 

 At the end of last year, I spent time in South Africa, with organisations that help children play even in the most difficult environments: be they from gang dominated neighbourhoods, or poverty entrapped homes.  I listened to the children and spoke on television news about the learnings I’ve taken back home and to our Commission’s work, from these first hand experiences.

In March, I will be travelling to Denmark and Finland with Anne Longfield to see the excellent work those countries have done to embed play into childhoods and society. We will be meeting with officials who have helped to firmly establish play as a political and policy priority, as well as seeing great examples of best practice and innovation in action.  

We also have plans for further visits to gather evidence and see best practice, in Scotland, Wales, Birmingham, Leeds, London and to an OPAL school in Maidenhead. 

We are establishing good contacts with the politicians who we hope will take up the recommendations we make in our final report. We’ve met with Government Ministers and officials from the Department for Education and DCMS, including the Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy.

Following the Christmas break, our evidence sessions are resuming, and we are looking forward to delving into the ‘Parents and Play’ and ‘Digital Play’ with our brilliant expert Play Commissioners.  

On February 24^th, we will publish our interim report, making early recommendations and summing up the evidence we have gathered so far.  

Our final report is now only five months away – we will publish it on 11^th June, the International Day of Play - so we are setting our minds to honing the evidence, our stories and argument as we offer the framework in which a National Play Strategy for England can be delivered and planning a series of exciting and playful events around its launch – but more on that to come soon.

Finally, a huge word of gratitude and thanks to our Play Commissioners, Impact on Urban Health, Association of Play Industries, and our other partners, who are continuing to provide such invaluable support and advice.

Keep smiling!

Paul Lindley OBE, Chair of the Raising the Nation Play Commission