Api Supports Appg Call For
Holistic Cross-Party Strategy For Children
A clarion call to put play at the heart of
government policy on child health and
wellbeing has been welcomed by the
Association of Play Industries (API). The API
supports the central recommendation of
the All Party Parliamentary Group on a Fit
and Healthy Childhood for government to
adopt a holistic strategy to support child
development. Launching its report to
Parliament, the group’s co-Chair, children’s
advocate Baroness Floella Benjamin,
called on politicians from all parties to
acknowledge the vital role of play in
children’s lives and particularly in helping
tackle the physical inactivity crisis.
Key recommendations for government in
the report that win API support are:
In the House of Lords this week,
high quality public play facilities. The API
•
Play to be embedded within a Whole
Baroness Benjamin asked what plans the
campaigns at the highest levels for policy
Child Strategy under the aegis of
government has to introduce a national
recognition for play and is a member of
a Cabinet Minister for Children
strategy for play as part of a holistic
the All Party Parliamentary Group for a Fit
responsible for cross-departmental
approach to child health and fitness,
and Healthy Childhood, Children’s Play
roll out and co-ordination;
after which a number of parliamentary
Policy Forum and Federation of Sports and
colleagues agreed to convene a meeting
Play Associations.
•
Government to require local
authorities to prepare children and
young people’s plans including
•
•
Speaking at the report’s parliamentary
Deborah Holt, API Association Manager,
launch, API Chair Mark Hardy said: “This
tel: 024 7641 4999 or
emotional consequences;
comprehensive report covers many
Funding for play to be ring-fenced
aspects of play and play provision but a
within local authority budgets;
single unifying message is that children
Address barriers to outdoor play for
Extend the Sport England Primary
programmes to all schools with a
broader scope to incorporate a wide
variety of physical literacy activities
including play;
Communicate through public
information campaigns to parents
and families the value of active
outdoor play, including benefit:risk
assessment;
•
For further information about the
Association of Play Industries, contact:
obesity with its physical, mental and
Spaces and Sport Premium
•
recommendations further.
strategies to address overweight and
children of all ages and abilities;
•
to discuss the APPG’s report and
Improve public sector procurement
practice for public play provision.
74 Landscape & Urban Design Issue 16
will always play provided they are given
the opportunity to do so. We must ask
ourselves if our children today have the
same or better opportunities to play than
we did. If they do not, then we must
address that. This report makes some
strong recommendations which if followed
will have a positive impact on creating
more opportunities for children to play.
High quality public play facilities bring
innumerable benefits to local communities
that reach far beyond simply providing
children with a fun place to play.”
Recent research by the API amongst
families shows that over 80% of parents
think there should be funding for more
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