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Children’s Centres, schools and youth services, to promote and spread information
about formal and informal local play spaces, and with the pathfinders to develop and test a
local communications toolkit.
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Nationally, and in support of local communications, we will work with partners in tackling the
current perceptions and barriers which exist about freedom and play for children in our society.
Through our communications campaign we will endorse freedom and play for children,
supporting the Staying Safe campaign on children’s safety which will include messages on
children’s safety being everyone’s responsibility.
4.30 The Government’s obesity strategy Healthy Weight, Healthy Lives 26 includes an integrated
marketing programme to inform, support and empower parents to make changes to their
children’s diets and level of physical activity. In autumn 2008 the Department of Health will
launch a campaign to emphasise the benefits of active family life, focusing on fun and
relationships.
Negative perceptions of children and young people
4.31 “ There’s nothing for older children and young people to do so they congregate by the swings, slides
and put off younger children.” (Member of DCSF’s Children and Youth Board)
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“You don’t play with children you don’t know, especially those who are older than you, because they
might hurt you.” (Girl, 12 27 )
Parents and children report that one of the things that stops them playing outside is groups of
young people hanging around play areas. Young people too often get labelled by the
behaviour of a few of their peers, and can start to feel alienated from the community in which
they live. Aiming High for Young People sets out proposals on proactive action to address the
challenge which young people face in growing up in a culture that has widespread negative
perceptions of youth, and in which nearly three-fifths of the media coverage of young people
focuses on negative stories.
Government will counteract negative perceptions by generating a wider awareness of
the positive contribution young people make to their communities. This is linked to work
to promote places to go and things to do for young people and involvement by young people
in their local communities. Local areas are encouraged to consider the development of youth
provision alongside roll out of the play capital programme to support these messages.
Excessive health and safety fears
4.35 During the Staying Safe consultation, several local authorities and play organisations raised
concerns about a perceived rise in litigation claims, understanding about risk assessment, and
the effect this has – for example, the closing down of local adventure playgrounds. There is a
lack of hard evidence on the extent to which this is a real issue, and so through this
26 www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_082378
27 Plain English Research on Play, Sherbert Research for DCSF and COI, 2008
40 Fair Play: A consultation on the play strategy