Housing and playing out

Housing providers are in a unique position to ensure children can play out together on their doorstep, for their health, wellbeing and sense of belonging.

Why doorstep play matters for children

All the evidence shows that children desperately need more time outside, more physical activity, more social contact, more sense of belonging in their communities, more freedom – and more play! Playing out or “doorstep play” – having access to the space right outside your home, whether a street or housing estate – can give them all these things, for free. This access to free, safe outdoor play is a social justice issue for children.

Children playing out in an estate or street community can also be a positive for everyone, bringing parents and neighbours of all ages and backgrounds together and helping to create a stronger sense of community.

Sadly, this everyday freedom and cost-free access to health and wellbeing for children has been hugely diminished over the past few decades due to increased traffic, shifting attitudes and increased parental fear.

But the good news is that children still want to play outside together. Temporary interventions like play streets and playing out sessions on estates show that where the opportunity is provided, children follow their natural instinct to get outside, move and play.

The even better news is that housing providers (councils, housing associations, private landlords or management companies) are in the perfect position to address many of these barriers and restore children’s freedom to play out.

What needs to change in housing

Councils and housing associations have a clear social responsibility to improve the health and wellbeing of tenants, increase community cohesion and empower residents. Enabling children to safely play out together in shared doorstep space would hugely help to achieve these aims.

However, based on our direct experience of supporting social housing tenants over the years, we know that there is a lot that needs to change. Unfortunately, all too often, housing providers are still preventing children from playing out rather than supporting them to do so.

Over the years, we have regularly been contacted by parents living in council, social or managed housing, asking for help and advice. Often, this is because they have been sent a formal letter from their housing provider banning children from playing out in the space immediately outside their homes. Sometimes, parents have even been threatened with eviction if they continue to let their children play out. Usually, these letters are sent in response to complaints from a neighbour about the sound of children playing or other concerns.

“No Ball Games” signs – or the more extreme “No Playing” – are still ubiquitous on housing estates, sending a clear message to children that they are unwelcome in the space outside their own homes, even where it is safe, green or car-free.

In 2021, Ellen Weaver did some informal research with housing providers, aimed at understanding why organisations implement policies and practice which restrict or discourage children’s play on their doorstep – and what would enable them to change this. She found that the main reason was simply a lack of understanding or consideration of the importance of outdoor play for children. It is our aim to change this! A summary of this research, together with evidence of the wider problem and suggested solutions is available to download HERE.

Things are starting to shift

Happily, a small number of councils and housing associations have committed to removing No Ball Games signs – or even replacing them with more positive “please play here” signage. Aberdeen Council led the way on this, pledging to remove all No Ball Games signs in 2015 and starting a “Yes Ball Games” campaign with the Denis Law Trust. Things are moving in the right direction – they just need to move faster!

Based on our direct experience of supporting parents all over the UK to push back against ‘play bans’ over many years, we are now developing a guide for housing providers showing how they can support children to play out, alongside some forward-thinking housing organisations who are already implementing their own pro-play policies.

Below is a summary of what we think a pro-play housing policy should include. Ultimately, we want all housing providers to prioritise children’s need for outdoor communal play near home and to make any changes necessary towards enabling this.

A pro-play housing policy

• Adopt a corporate position clearly and publicly stating support for children’s right to play out near home, for their health, wellbeing and sense of community.
• Ensure all staff are aware of this position, the reasons behind it and what it means in practice.
• Ensure tenants are aware of this position from the outset.
• Clearly distinguish between play and antisocial behaviour and communicate this to residents and staff – see this great example from Peabody Housing.
• Respond to complaints about play in a way that protects children’s right to play whilst seeking to resolve tensions and build consensus.
• Clearly state children’s right to play outside and use shared space in any advertising and tenancy agreements, to ensure there is no ambiguity. Sell it to everyone on basis that child-friendly means better/safer for everyone, including those without children.
• Remove ‘no ball games’ and other signage that deters children from using open space for play, unless there is a very good safety or other reason to keep it. See this great example from Barnet Homes.
• Look beyond playgrounds to define a wider ‘playable realm’ on estates. Give children access to as much safe outdoor space as possible. Research shows that children like to play out as close to home as possible – literally on their doorstep.
• Make existing spaces – streets, greenspace, other – as safe and child-friendly as possible. Prioritise children over cars.
• Design and build new developments with child-friendly principles following best practice, ensuring children can freely and safely play out together semi-supervised. Our close ally, architect Dinah Bornat, has literally written the book on this.
• Support resident-led play streets / playing out sessions or other interventions where needed to kick-start a culture of play.
• Lobby councils to put supportive play street policies (and wider pro-play policies) in place.
• Share best practice and positive outcomes, encouraging other housing providers to adopt similar policies.

Some more positive examples

Wrexham Council is looking into supporting play streets and removing ‘no ball games’ signs as part of an overall approach to supporting children to play out.

Major housebuilder Redrow has launched a “please play here” campaign.

What now?

If you work for a housing organisation and are interested in any of this, please join our Pro-Play Housing Network to link up with other forward-thinking housing providers working towards creating more child-friendly communities. If you are specifically interested in supporting play streets/playing out with your communities you can also join our online play street forum.