Pro-play housing network

Housing providers – councils, housing associations and landlords – have a lot of control over the use of shared outdoor space on streets and estates. They are therefore in a unique position to help (or hinder) children to play outside. Read more here.

Aims of the network

Playing Out and Clarion Housing have jointly set up a ‘pro-play housing network’, encouraging housing providers to work together to support children’s right to play out on their doorstep.

All housing providers are invited to join this network or come along to a meeting to find out more. We aim to hold 6 meetings per year, mainly online. We also aim for this network to be action-focussed, with three key aims:

• Influencing policy change (internal and external)
• Reversing ‘No Ball Games’ culture
• Sparking community-led play

See our full aims and objectives in the Pro-play network terms of reference.

For more information or to sign up to the network, email: [email protected]

Members

The network is open to all housing providers. Current members include:

Clarion Housing Group/Clarion Futures. The largest housing association in the United Kingdom with 125,000 properties across more than 170 local authorities, Clarion is developing a play strategy that would support children’s right to play out across all their communities. Work has already begun to remove No Ball Games signs in some areas and Clarion’s community team have also been supporting playing out sessions.

SNG (formerly Sovereign Housing) provide and manage over 84,000 homes across the South of England, including London. Their website says, “We wouldn’t consider children playing ASB – although the noise can sometimes be annoying, children playing is important for their health and personal development”.

Hyde Housing. Playing Out worked with Hyde Housing in 2015 to run an innovative project called ‘Please Play Here’. Although the project came to an end, they still support children’s right to play out saying, “Play is an essential part of every child’s life and is vital for the enjoyment of childhood as well as their health, well-being and development”.

Peabody Housing. Liz Connelly, Senior Landscape Construction Manager says, “We recognise how important it is for a child to have the ability to play on their doorstep and our outdoor spaces are an extension of our residents’ homes. Children have a human right to play”.

Lambeth Council aim to become a child-friendly borough, raising children’s rights including their right to play.

Tower Hamlets Council has recently undertaken a project to map and assess all play spaces in the borough.

HACT. The official charity for the housing sector supports the pro-play network by communicating its aims widely throughout the sector. Clarion and Playing Out gave a webinar about the pro-play work to their members.

Action

What has the pro-play network done so far?

Everyone in the network recognises they have work to do within their organisations to change a long-term culture that has not historically prioritised children’s right to play. Just being in the network and coming to meetings to hear about and discuss the issues is an important step in the right direction. Most have also been taking these discussions back to their organisations and helping to shift the conversation internally.

As well as individual efforts by member organisations, the network has collectively helped to raise awareness about the importance of play and the role of housing amongst the wider sector. It has also fed into national policy consultations such as the Inquiry on Children, Young People and the Built Environment and the Play Commission.

We are currently working towards a joint statement on removing No Ball Games Signs.

Further info

For more information on housing and playing out, see: https://playingout.net/play-streets/info-for-councils/housing-and-playing-out/