Grass roots UK initiative encourages children to get off the couch

Children’s activity levels in the United Kingdom are “at an all time low” according to recent research, with only one in five children getting the recommended minimum physical activity requirements.

 

Australian research suggests similar struggles for children, with The Sector recently reporting on a rise in obesity levels, declines in outdoor play, and challenges for children in meeting requisite activity requirements.

 

In a bid to combat the issues as found in the UK, for the last 10 years a grassroots organisation called ‘Playing Out‘ has been focused on encouraging children to get more physically active, through a program designed to help children “take back their streets”, mirroring a time in the 1970’s and 1980’s where it was common for children to play outside with one another.

 

In an upcoming edition of the Routledge journal Cities & Health, Alice Ferguson, co-director of the program, writes about why and how she, with other local parents, first set up ‘Playing Out’.

 

“I grew up in the city, and a lot of time was spent just playing out with friends, on my own street and around the neighbourhood. This was the norm for most children in the 1970s. At the time, it was just about getting out of the house and having fun, but without realising it we were also getting a lot of physical activity, developing resilience and social skills, getting to know our local ‘patch’ and gaining independence.”

 

“A group of parents in my neighbourhood felt strongly that we wanted our children to have the same freedom and sense of belonging in their community that we’d had in our own childhoods. We looked around and realised that playing out was no longer normal – so we decided to do something about it.”

 

In 2009 Ms Ferguson and her neighbours decided to create a temporary ‘play street‘ for a few hours one day after school. They formally closed their road to through traffic using the council’s existing road closure procedure.

 

The following summer, the group ran a pilot where they supported other residents on six local streets to do the same, allowing more children to play outside. Local politicians got behind the idea, and the council developed a ‘Temporary Play Street Order‘ (TPSO), which allowed residents to apply for a whole year’s worth of regular closures in one go.

 

Since then, 59 other UK councils have followed suit, enabling over 800 street communities across the UK to organise regular playing out sessions, directly benefiting an estimated 24,000 children. Playing Out supports all this through providing free advice and resources for residents, councils and community organisations, as well as building a peer-support network of parents and ‘activators’ around the country.

Our long-term vision is for all children to have the freedom to play out where they live, every day

In Cities & Health, Ms Ferguson writes about the impact that ‘Playing Out’ has had on children’s lives and their communities. Research by Bristol University has shown that Playing Out has raised children’s physical activity levels – children are three to five times more active when playing out than they would be on a ‘normal’ day after school; brought neighbourhoods together; reduced social isolation; and helped residents become more actively involved in their communities.

 

Perhaps the most notable impact of Playing Out, Ms Ferguson writes, has been to change the way people view children’s right to play on their street. Through media coverage and direct engagement with communities, this parent-led movement has made children playing out more visible and ‘normal’, removing some of the barriers preventing parents from allowing their children to play outside.

 

However, to continue this momentum of cultural change, Ms Ferguson believes policies are needed that will make streets, estates and neighbourhoods safer places for children to play on a more permanent basis.

 

“We only ever intended this model as an interim, emergency measure. Being able to play out on your own street once a week or once a month, closely supervised by adults, is a poor replacement for ‘real’ playing out; the freedom to just go out your front door, meet up with your mates, have an adventure and come home when dinner is ready. Our long-term vision is for all children to have the freedom to play out where they live, every day.”

 

“To do this we must tackle the root causes of the problem. Amongst other things, this will inevitably involve reducing the dominance of cars in our streets and cities, something politicians have been reluctant to do – but we are starting to see a shift in the right direction”. Ms Ferguson said.