Press Release

CHILDREN’S SECRETARY INVITES DEBATE ABOUT PLAY AND SAFETY AS HE ADDS HIS VOICE TO PLAYDAY CAMPAIGN

Today, as an estimated 120,000 children prepared to play out in the streets at 350 Playday events across the UK, Children’s Secretary Ed Balls today underlined that the government is ready for a serious debate about the need to balance concerns for children’s safety with their need for freedom to play outside.

Responding to the Playday campaign – Our Streets Too! - for more to be done to allow children to play out in the streets where they live, the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families told Play England, who coordinate Playday:

"I really welcome the celebration of children's play happening up and down the country today for Playday. Play is vital and should be a key part of every child's life. Childhood is a time for learning and exploring. Through playing and taking part in positive activities, children and young people can learn to better understand the opportunities and challenges in the world around them, and how to be safe. I want parents to be able to strike the right balance between protecting their children and at the same time allowing them to learn and explore new situations safely.

“I recently launched the Staying Safe consultation to find out people's views on how we can allow children to enjoy the great opportunities which are now on offer for them - as demonstrated by today's events. I hope that by discussing these issues we can together ensure that every child can make the most of these opportunities, have fun and develop their potential to the full."

Playday research released earlier in the week found that only 2 in 10 children regularly play outside in the streets and spaces where they live. This compared with the 7 in 10 adults surveyed who recalled that they played out as children on a daily basis.

Respondents cited traffic as the number one offender, with a fear of strangers also factoring high among parents’ concerns. Children themselves were also concerned about traffic but were more worried about bullying than ‘stranger danger’. Adults and children each said that more and better local play areas and safer streets should be the main solutions.

The organisers of today’s 20th annual Playday were today predicting a record attendance of more than 120,000 children at nearly 300 free play events up and down the UK, as a combination of good weather, well-planned publicity and unprecedented media interest in the research findings commissioned for the event saw the highest profile yet for the national campaign to promote children’s right to play.

Adrian Voce, director of Play England, said: ‘Our research this year, highlighting the dramatically reduced opportunities that children have to play out in their own neighbourhoods, seems to have hit a real nerve with the public. Play is fundamental to children’s lives but the spaces where children have traditionally been free to play have become more and more out of bounds. We are delighted that the Secretary of State has lent his support to the campaign and is so open to debating these important issues, central to the debate about childhood itself’.

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