Play is vital for children's health, development and friendships - so why has spending on outdoor playgrounds been slashed?

In West Hull Play Park there were even nails and screws in a child’s swing seat. Given that playgrounds are at the heart of every childhood, surely they should be one of the safest places for children, not a danger? Local councils can’t continue to ignore this issue as it’s preventing children from having the proper experience of playing and socialising which are both incredibly valuable in child development.

The state of playgrounds in the UK is bad ... I would describe it as absolutely bare minimum. To make it worse, it’s actually comical how bad some are. Residents on the Ashton Rise estate in Leicestershire described the play area at the new housing development as a ‘joke’. It was created in September 2023 and consists of a pile of nine logs - no proper play equipment in sight. It hit the national headlines because it was so embarrassingly poor. How are children meant to stay entertained and have fun there>

Andrew Wood, managing director of playground manufacturer ESP Play, said: "Ensuring equitable access to quality play spaces is crucial for nurturing healthy, resilient communities. We have long campaigned for more funding for play spaces as we know how vital they are for the health and development of children. We are calling on the government, local authorities and property developers to pay more attention to this essential part of the lives of our young people and to commit to making comparatively small changes to make a huge difference to the lives of children.”

So, investment in playgrounds is needed to help the obesity crisis in the UK. Let's not forget that obesity in children rose by 45% in reception age children (age 4-5) between 2019/20 and 2020/21. It’s hugely important especially for children who don’t have gardens, to have a local playground, for exercise. Even for children who do have gardens, playgrounds are great for the imagination and for socialising, helping enrich a child’s development.

The highlight of my primary school years was getting to go to our local playground at lunchtime in the summer. Everyone played together beyond friendship groups, created their own games, and made connections. It was a truly positive environment, and it’s something I think is important for all children to experience. Playgrounds being unsafe, shut down, and simply just neglected deprives children from having this joyful learning time together.

I'm not the only one with these experiences and the experts all agree on how the importance of playgrounds. Professor Helen Dodd, of Play England, said: “Children who spend more time playing, especially outdoors and adventurously, have better mental health and are more physically active. Children’s play opportunities are affected by the environments around them, with some environments facilitating active, adventurous, engaged play, and others discouraging play. It is therefore really important that children have access to places that support their play such as playgrounds.”

Sadly, technology use and playing digital games indoors have too frequently become a substitute for playing outdoors even though we all know it is so much more beneficial for a child’s mental and physical health to be outdoors. If these problems with playgrounds persist, children are going to be pushed towards technology even further - getting ever more unhealthy along the way.

Children’s wellbeing and health must be considered a priority, and the first step towards this to create a safe place for them to play. So why do local and national governments fail to see the good they could do and the difference it would make to young lives if they just invested more in local playgrounds?

What's the situation in your neighbourhood? You can read the full report here.