Interview - Alice Ferguson, co-director, Playing Out

Today, it is a national movement supporting children’s right to play outside for their health, happiness and sense of belonging. Ms Ferguson describes how their vision has spread to more than 1,000 UK street communities.

DESCRIBE THE INSPIRATION BEHIND PLAYING OUT

My neighbourhood in South Bristol is close to the city centre, with mostly terraced housing, few green spaces and busy roads. When our children were young, my neighbour, Amy and I, started to feel frustrated that their freedom to play out was so restricted, mainly because of the traffic that dominated local streets. So we had an idea that would both provide a temporary solution and start to change things more deeply. We knew that you could apply to have a street party, so why not use this procedure to close the street to traffic one day after school, giving over the space to children, we thought. We applied for a street party application from the council; consulted with residents; developed a safe model for opening up the street for children’s play – and, after a few months, Playing Out was born.

WHAT ARE PLAY STREETS AND WHAT DO THEY INVOLVE?

The term ‘Play Streets’ originally referred to inner-city streets which, from the 1930s onwards, were designated by the local authorities to serve as informal playgrounds during certain hours. Today, Play Streets are synonymous with the term ‘playing out model’ or ‘temporary play streets’ and refer to the current movement of resident-led temporary road closures for play. They are usually organised by neighbours on their own street who value the need to create a safe space for children to play out together on their doorstep.

Essentially, all that’s needed is permission from the council – 86 councils now have Play Street applications online, buy-in from the residents and volunteer stewards to monitor the road closure. Residents don’t have to move parked cars and they can still drive in and out of the street at walking pace. There is an emphasis on free, child-led play over a short period of time – usually between one and three hours – and it has the potential to become part of regular street life. When people see a Play Street in action, it’s a light-bulb moment. To see children cycling, scooting, skating, skipping, playing hopscotch, kicking a ball around and making up games with their neighbours is a joyous occasion. It helps build community spirit and gives children a sense of ownership of their neighbourhood, which encourages active citizenship. Tim Gill described it as ‘the most exciting, visionary initiative I’ve heard about for the last decade or more’.

HOW CAN PLAYING OUT HELP?

In 2012, after receiving funding to help us support other local streets, we set up Playing Out as a community interest company. We are a small company, with just four members of staff, but we have more than ten years’ experience in organising Play Street sessions and supporting others to do the same, both on the ground in Bristol and through our network of local parent and resident ‘activators’ across the UK.

Our Play Streets model is detailed on our website, along with all the resources needed, including guidance videos, but we also provide individual support, where needed, and we run regular training and webinars on Play Streets aimed at parents, activists, community organisations and councils.

WHAT OTHER WAYS HAS THE ORGANISATION EVOLVED, ESPECIALLY AS A RESULT OF THE PANDEMIC?

We’ve been involved in various research projects, and from 2015-16 we trialled a model of Play Streets on tower block estates in Bristol. We’ve always been conscious that free, outdoor play in public space is needed even more for children without private gardens and those who have less access to organised activities. Covid has really brought home the need for what respected play researcher Wendy Russell calls ‘spatial justice’. It has always been our long-term ambition to stand up for children’s right to play outdoors freely, but the pandemic has brought this to the forefront.

Over the past year, our focus has moved more into campaigning, working with groups such as Just for Kids Law and PlayFirst to ensure children have the right to a Summer of Play. Moving beyond Play Streets, we want to see bigger changes taking place in street planning and social housing policy, making sure that children live in child-friendly cities. Most of all, we want the Government to acknowledge outdoor play is a basic need and right for all children that should be encouraged, not only for physical activity but as a necessary prerequisite to a happy, healthy and rounded childhood.

CAN NURSERIES AND SCHOOLS GET INVOLVED?

School Streets and School Play Streets are two simple ways to make it safer and healthier for children to walk and cycle to school by closing the street outside school to cars during key times. They also reduce air pollution and enable children to play safely with their friends. School Streets have really taken off around the UK since the Government announced funding and support for them in 2020 – in part as a way to enable social distancing outside the school gate. A School Street is a daily timed closure outside the school gate at drop-off and pick-up times, enforced using signage, physical barriers or cameras. A School Play Street is a one-off or regular closure outside the school or nursery gate for around one hour after school with volunteer stewards managing the closure points. Like a normal Play Street, it allows children to play out safely and brings the community together.

A School Play Street tends to be led by the school community – with permission from the council – and gives people the experience of the street being closed to cars and all the benefits that can bring. We have a free downloadable guide to ‘Organising a school play street’ on the website, informed by the great work done by Hackney Play Association to support diverse school communities across the borough. School Play Streets can also be a really good way to introduce the idea to a community and encourage parents to go off and do it on their own street!

• www.playingout.net