It's A Lottery Win For Play In Salford (article taken from Salford Online)
Hundreds of children from Salford have helped the city bid successfully for £642,500 from the Big Lottery Fund.
The Money will fund nine play projects across the city over the next three years, and will help to deliver Salford's Play Strategy, which is developing play opportunities across the city over the next five years.Providing better play provision lies across a range of policy areas that includes: planning; open spaces; transport; health; education; and childcare. In order to plan play services in the city, the council needed to know what was available and where there were gaps in provision. Two hundred children and young people aged between 4 and 18 were consulted, as well as adults, and Salford City Council staff responsible for play.
Play is an important element in tackling child obesity, anti social behaviour, and mental health problems that have been attributed to lifestyles that are more sedentary and restricted than at any time in recent history. Play is what children and young people do when they follow their own ideas and interests in their own way, and for their own reasons. It allows children and young people to: learn who they are; learn what their capabilities are; explore the world around them; and practice their skills and perceptions. Play can be creative, physical, imaginative and emotional.
The most popular sentiment was that children just wanted somewhere safe to play.
Ten year old Daryl Shaw from Ellenbrook School and WASPS After School Club who took part in the consultation said: "Play is really important; it's the best way to spend your time."
Lead Member for Children's Services, and Salford Play Champion Cllr John Warmisham said: ""We are delighted to receive this award, which will benefit children and families right across Salford by providing them with safe, quality play opportunities. Play is an essential element in the social, physical and mental development of children and young people. We listened to their requirements in developing the Play Strategy to enable us to deliver the play opportunities that meet their needs.
Allan Hergreaves, Managing Director of Grumpy who will be running three of the projects said: " This is fantastic news. I believe that children and young people are society's most important and most valuable resource. As adults we have a fundamental responsibility to ensure that all children and young people are afforded the best possible play opportunities and facilities. Salford's Play Strategy lays down a firm commitment to making all this possible. I am delighted that Salford has been successful with its bid to the Big Lottery Fund. Children are the future, invest in them."
Nine projects will be funded by the Big Lottery Fund, these are:
1. Salford Play Service: (city wide) Run by Salford City Council. This will establish a play team for Salford, consisting of a play co-ordinator and four playworkers.
2. Everyone Can Play: (city wide) Run by Grumpy and Salford Families. This project will deliver inclusive play and leisure activities for children and young people with a disability in the holidays and after school.
3. Activ8 Traveller Programme: Run by the Child Action North West, and Duchy Youth and Community Project in Duchy. This project will work with the traveller community and others in the Duchy area.
4. Salford Links Children through Play: Salford Link Community Relations Project will deliver this project in Eccles. It will provide play work with children and young people aged 5 - 12 in an established community project, which may have some female only sessions.
5. Everyone can play IN Claremont & Weaste: Run by Grumpy in Claremont & Weaste. It will deliver open access, free play opportunities in parks and open spaces.
6. ICY - Activities for all: This project will be delivered by Spurgeons in Irlam and Cadishead. The funding will provide open access play facilities for children aged 5 -12 building on the success of play and activity workshops in summer 2007.
7. Swinton Families Play Zone: Swinton Families will deliver this project in Clifton. It will provide twice weekly child-led after school activities, which will operate on a drop-in basis for children in the area around the new children's centre at Mossfield Primary School. It will also run school holiday provision at the children's centre and open space at Clifton Green, Clifton playpark and Livia Woodlands site.
8. Everyone Can Play IN Winton: Grumpy will deliver this project in Winton. It will deliver open access, free play opportunities in parks and open spaces across Winton. This will include school playing fields. In the winter sessions will also be delivered in community venues.
9. FUN D.M.P (Fun, Dance, Movement and Play): Salford Community Leisure Ltd will deliver this in Claremont, Weaste, Duchy and Winton. It will provide a dance / movement coach to co-ordinate, promote and deliver creative play opportunities.
An action plan has been produced, which cites six aims for the development of play over the next three years. These are:
Promote play in Salford.
*To raise the quality of the delivery of play opportunities across Salford.
*To raise the quality and use of outdoor play for children in Salford.
*To ensure comprehensive consultation on all play developments, and embody the opportunity for children and young people to help define and deliver future play strategy and facilities.
*To ensure that all children from Salford are able to benefit from an increase in the range and accessibility of indoor and outdoor play opportunities.
*To establish a resourced, supported and sustainable play team.
Play in Salford will also benefit from The Children's Plan, announced by the Children's Secretary, Ed Balls to the House of Commons on 11 December, which includes £225 million of new government funding nationally over three years for 3,500 playgrounds to be rebuilt or renewed and made more accessible to disabled children. The plan also promises a wide-ranging national play strategy next year, to include training for 4,000 playworkers. A Play Pathfinder programme will also pilot 30 new staffed adventure playgrounds or supervised play parks and look for innovative approaches to promoting and supporting playable space and community involvement in play provision.
