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The barriers to play
Accessibility and quality
“Make child-friendly facilities accessible to all children and young people regardless of their parents’
income.” (Parent). 11
“Last time we went to the park most things were broken and the swings were tied up” (Girl, 11 12 )
1.12 While most families have some play facilities within easy walking distancexxi , and this isn’t
generally affected by the family earnings, access to a well-maintained green space does appear
to be related to household income – just under half of households earning under £10,000 per
year do not have access to this type of space xxii .
1.13
1.14
The attitudes of adults may also limit access to play in public spaces. In 2004 85 per cent of
adults agreed that it was important that children could play safely in the street, but a high
proportion would not park their cars an extra 50m away to facilitate this xxiii . Similarly, a quarter of
adults have told a child other than their own to stop playing in the area near their home and
over half of children have at some point been told to stop playing in area near their homes xxiv .
Where play facilities do exist, parents’ views on the quality of these are mixed, with under half of
parents saying that the facilities in their area are good or very good xxv . When asked how facilities
could be improved, over half of adults cited quality issues, identifying the need for a better
variety of apparatus and cleaner grounds. Parents living within easy walking distance of good
quality play facilities are significantly more likely to use them frequently; having poor facilities
nearby does not increase the likelihood of outdoor play xxvi .
Figure 1.1: How parents rate their local play facilities
Key
% Very Good
% Good
% Fair
% Bad
% Very Bad
1.15
Access to play facilities can be difficult for many families with disabled children. Their outings
may be limited because of a lack of funds, transport, and accessible facilities xxvii – for example
suitable toilets and changing facilities.
11 Paper survey, Time to Talk
12 Plain English Research on Play, Sherbert Research for DCSF and COI, 2008
Fair Play: A consultation on the play strategy
11