Frequently asked questions

When you have decided what you want to do and considered the possibilities you will need to create a plan. This will help focus your ideas, facilitate access to funding and act as a guide for future development.

Where can I get funding for my project?: Increasingly funding and sustainability depends on you being able to show that your project is run well and that local children, families and communities are benefiting from it. If you are looking for continued funding you will need to show the difference your play provision or service is making in your local community and show how you are encouraging as wide a group of children as possible to use the provision. The sources of funding change all the time, so check that you're using the most up-to-date information on any particular funder before you apply. Also, think creatively about other funders who may be interested in your work, particularly those who want to see benefits for local communities, improvements in the environment or in children's health.
Where can I get advice about improving our local play area?: If you are a community group or parish or town council planning to develop your own play space, use good design principles: Design for Play provides guidance and useful case studies of what can be achieved. The Children's Play Information Service provides guidance on what to look for in a play designer. You can seek help from your local council - nearly all local authorities now have a local play strategy with a designated play lead, there will also be someone responsible for developing and maintaining play areas, usually in parks, leisure or environmental services departments.
I'm running a group but struggling to keep it going. What can I do?: Community play organisations say that there are a number of factors which help their sustainability and attract funding. It helps to have a clear plan that shows potential partners and supporters what you want to achieve. If you are seeking funding it will also help if you can demonstrate sound budgeting and financial management with existing or previous funding. Your promotion and publicity will help local agencies become aware of your group and encourage new people to become involved. It's also worth building relationships with high profile local figures such as councillors, your local MP, as well as local play champions and others with influence who may be able to help raise the profile of your project.
How can I get people involved in my project?: To successfully establish your project will need a range of skills and knowledge, persistence and energy. You will need support from a variety of people including local agencies and other voluntary groups who can offer time, knowledge, skills and moral support. It will help if you have a project leader: someone who can drive the project forward, make contact with other agencies and local groups; who is able to argue your cause with many different types of people and help make sure a cross-section of the community is consulted and can actively participate in your project. Publicity and promotion will make people aware of your group and what you are trying to achieve and be a means of recruiting new volunteers and supporters and engaging with the community. You will need to find partners and supporters including local play champions and others with influence to help raise your profile.
Where can I go for one-to-one advice and other organisations that can help?: To find out about what is happening in your area and local sources of information, contact your local council and ask for a copy of your local play strategy and the contact details of the lead officer for play provision. You can also find out about what is happening in your area through your local family information service. You will also be able to find out about organisations that can help through your local school, children's centre or other play and youth providers in your area. There are a number of national organisations that provide support and advice for community groups through affiliated members or local projects. The Children's Play Information Service produces regularly updated fact sheets on national and international organisations that provide information on children's play.
What are my legal responsibilities for managing a play area?: If you are planning to develop a new play area, or you are responsible for the management and maintenance of existing play provision, staffed and un-staffed, you will need a basic understanding of the rules and regulations and legal obligations you need to follow. This may include land ownership and planning permission, keeping children safe, health and safety, insurance, registration and inspection of staffed play provision.

The Managing Risk in Play Provision: Implementation guide has been written for those responsible for managing play provision and contains guidance on the legal and policy context, the role of standards and guidance, how to undertake a risk-benefit assessment, how to manage benefits and risks, technical inspections and introduces the practice of dynamic risk-benefit assessments used in staffed play provision

Design for Play provides advice on: boundaries and fences, play equipment, providing natural elements for play, ground modelling, planting, natural features, impact absorbent surfaces, self-build play features, vandalism and general maintenance.

If you are employing staff and volunteers you will need to understand basic employment law, health and safety and safeguarding legislation, inspection criteria and guidance, and underpinning good practice.
What about health and safety and insurance?: If you are providing a play space for children or any activity using staff and volunteers you will need an understanding of the rules and regulations about health and safety and keeping children safe.

It is important that you obtain insurance cover to meet your specific needs. Public liability insurance is essential for any play space and providers with staff are required to have employer's liability insurance. If you have a play association in your area, it should be able to offer advice on insurance or contact your local authority. Organisations like the County Playing Fields Association and the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) have schemes to support small and voluntary organisations. Managing Risk in Play Provision: Implementation guide provides guidance on health and safety and insurance, the legal and policy context, the role of standards and guidance, how to undertake a risk-benefit assessment, how to manage benefits and risks, technical inspections and introduces the practice of dynamic risk-benefit assessments used in staffed play provision.
What do I need to know about child protection?: Safeguarding describes a preventive approach to keeping children safe from harm. All play organisations need to develop safeguarding and child protection policies and procedures. This does not just apply to staffed play provision, it is also important you are aware of your responsibilities as a parks watch or friends of parks group. This includes organisations that campaign for improved play spaces in their local area but who do not provide direct play services, particularly where these organisations involve children and young people in consultation, events and other activities. Advice for small voluntary organisations community groups is available from the NSPCC/Children England Safe Network website. If children are involved in promoting and publicising their play provision online via social networking sites you will need to be aware of the guidance for ensuring on-line safety.
Do I need a police check?: If you work frequently with children and young people you will need to ensure there are robust recruitment and vetting procedures in place to help keep children safe. In staffed play provision this will include a criminal records check with the Criminal Records Bureau. If your activity takes place once a month or takes place on three or more days in a 30 day period you will need to register with the Independent Safeguarding Authority under their new vetting and barring scheme. Advice for small voluntary organisations and community groups is available from the NSPCC/Children England Safe Network website.
How can I find volunteers to help me run my local play space?: Volunteers can contribute to the development of a play project in a variety of ways and will bring different skills and experience, as well as energy and enthusiasm to your group or organisation. Some local authorities and voluntary organisations have play volunteering schemes. You should also be able to get advice about volunteering from your local volunteer support agencies. There are a number of national and local agencies that support community groups working with volunteers. This includes youth volunteering. There are national youth volunteering schemes including vinspired. You should contact your local council's youth service to find out more. Young people volunteering in play projects can be valuable in creating inter-generational respect and shows young people in a positive light.
What are the best ways to consult the community?: A group which aims to develop local play spaces or projects should, as a matter of principle, involve local people from the community in all stages of the planning, design and delivery of the provision. Publicity and promotion will make people aware of your group and what you are trying to achieve. Consultation involves working with others who have a similar interest in improving opportunities for children.

If you want to include all sections of the community you need to be aware there may be some people and groups who feel excluded from becoming involved in local consultation because of cultural norms or religious beliefs. You will need to think about what action you can take to enable them to overcome the barriers to their involvement.

Disabled children and their families can also feel excluded. The disabled children's charity KIDS, provides advice on inclusive play and childcare and how to involve disabled children, parents and carers in planning and decision-making.
How can I consult with children and young people?: Children are likely to have strong views on local play provision, including play areas near to where they live. There is no single best model or method for involving children and young people. However, there are some common principles for success, whatever the method used. Experience of consulting children and young people and their active participation has grown in recent years and a number of organisations, including Participation Works, have produced briefings and guidance demonstrating how children and young people can be involved in a range of decisions from design to recruitment of staff.
How can we set up a committee to run our play space?: You may begin as an informal network of people who share the same interests and goals, but if you want to take on responsibility for managing play spaces or creating play opportunities for children, you will need to formalise your group. You will need to consider what model of organisation you will use. Management committees and trustees have a legal responsibility for an organisation in carrying out its duties according to its constitution. You will also need to decide whether to become a charity and develop skills including holding meetings and keeping records.
Where can we get professional advice about design?: The following people can be helpful during the design stage of any new play space: landscape architects, local authority environmental services and parks departments; environmental organisations, for example the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE); Groundwork and the Glass House, a community led design charity, and safety agencies such as the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA). The Children's Play Information Service provides guidance on what to look for in a play designer. You can seek help from your local council - each local authority should have local play strategy with a designated play lead, or will have someone responsible for developing and maintaining play areas.
We want to employ staff for a summer play scheme. What do we need to know?: If you are employing staff and volunteers on an adventure playground, play centre, play ranger or holiday play scheme you will need to understand basic employment law, health and safety and safeguarding legislation, inspection criteria and guidance, and underpinning good practice including the training and qualifications required for playworkers.

If your activity takes place once a month or takes place on three or more days in a 30 day period you will need to register with the Independent Safeguarding Authority under the new vetting and barring scheme. Advice for small voluntary organisations and community groups is available from the NSPCC/Children England's Safe Network website.

If your playscheme is used by children from birth up to 31 August following their fifth birthday you must normally register on the Early Years Register. Ofsted will inspect all settings on the Early Years Register, and these areas have a duty to ensure they meet the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) requirements for welfare, and learning and development framework.

Staffed play provision used by children from 1 September following their fifth birthday to eight years old must normally be on the Childcare Register.

Open access playschemes (where children are free to come and go) do not need to be on the Childcare Register. However, if they cater for children from birth up to 31 August following their fifth birthday they will need to register.

If your playscheme is offered for periods of less than two hours a day or fewer than 15 days a year you do not have to register, but you must inform Ofsted in writing in advance.
Play is something children do naturally: why should I get involved?: There are many reasons why you may want to get involved in developing and supporting play provision. Local people are well placed to identify local need and priorities. Local involvement in play provision is important in bringing communities together, as well as creating places where children want to play. The Charter for Children's Play sets out a vision for play, outlining the basic principles of what play means for children and what we should do to support their right to play and enjoy it. The national Play Strategy stresses the importance of creating child-friendly communities and a commitment to engaging children and communities in designing and developing new play spaces.
We are new project looking for funding. Where should we start?: There are many sources of funding that can be accessed by groups seeking to improve opportunities for children's play. For smaller figures, consider sponsorships, collections and special events; more substantial sums will usually come through grant funding.

These funding sources change all the time, so it is important to check that you are using the most up-to-date information before you apply. There are a number of websites that summarise all the different grants available for voluntary and community organisations.

There also a number of guides and toolkits that advice on successful fund raising. The Children's Play Information Service provides a fact sheet on how to raise funds for children's play with information about potential funders.