Your Council working with you to create a healthier environment

More than just child's play

Hull City Council is working with partners across the city to ensure children and young people can enjoy safe, imaginative and adventurous forms of play

Whether it's climbing trees, making dens, or going skateboarding, children and young people naturally want to play and explore the world around them.
But playing is more than just having a good time and burning off energy, it's vital for children as they grow up.
It keeps them fit, develops their imagination, creativity and problem solving skills, and helps them make friends.
And this is why Hull City Council has consulted with a range of organisations, voluntary and community groups, parents, children and young people across the city to develop a play strategy for the year ahead.
The strategy will ensure children and young people have no shortage of places to go and things to do, and that the city's youngsters can make positive choices about how best to fill their spare time.

Sense of adventure

"I'm sure all parents and adults know how important play is for their children and already provide them with lots of opportunities to play," says Cllr Christine Randall, the deputy leader of Hull City Council.
"We are here to assist parents and families by providing safe and supervised play opportunities that are affordable and easy to access.
"With the increase of traffic on the roads and the fact that many children now have their own televisions and computer games at home, it may be that many parents are happy for young people to play indoors.
"We want to encourage them into the open air to enjoy the benefits of taking part in adventurous and care-free forms of play."

The pictures below and opposite show open access play sessions organised by Child Dynamix. The sessions, which are free to attend and held across Hull, bring opportunities for outdoor play into the heart of the community and all under the watchful eye of play rangers

Benefits to health

Indeed, one of the city's play venues – the adventure playground in Stonebridge, east Hull – has recently been recognised by the government's Department of Children, Schools and Families as a centre of good practice.
Open six days a week (after school on weekdays during term time and all day in the school holidays), the imaginatively designed site has been growing in popularity since it first opened about a year ago and already has 600 regular users aged from five to 16.
Children and young people, supervised by play leaders, can enjoy themselves and improve their health at the same time.
"Introducing appropriate risk and challenge into play activities is an important way for children to learn coping and social skills as they grow up," says Linda Loft, a Hull City Council play development officer.
"Taking part in physical play activities is fun and helps children and their families improve their general health and well being."

Give it a try...

Below is just a selection of the many play opportunities available in Hull.

• Scrapstore and the Play Rangers visit sites across west Hull to provide play equipment and supervised sessions for five to 16 year olds. Activities include circus skills, roller skating, football and cricket.
  
  This month they will be visiting:
  Jack Kaye Walk
  Saturdays, 11am - 1pm
  Marton Grove
  Saturdays,1.30 - 3.30pm
  St George's Road park Saturdays,11am - 1pm
  Welsted Street
  Saturdays, 2 - 4pm
  Massey Street
  Sundays, 11am - 1pm
  Riley Playing Fields
  Sundays, 2 - 4pm

• Play Day will be held in Queen's Gardens on August 5. Last year 4,000 children and young people attended and enjoyed crate climbing, human table football, and other forms of play. Expect another fun-filled event this time around!

• Hull City Council runs eight play centres for five to 12 year-olds which have a variety of activities including sports, arts and crafts, cookery, team games and trips out. They are at:
  Buckingham Primary School; Newington Primary School; Thorpes Community Centre; Spring Bank Community Centre; Ainthorpe Primary School; the Oval Play Centre in the Humberside Police Youth and Community Centre; Gillshill Primary School and Southcoates Play Centre at St Aidan's Church Hall.

• Planet Play is run by Child Dynamix and is based at Flinton Grove off Preston Road. It is a play club for five to 14-year-olds and is open Mondays to Fridays in school term time from 3.30-7pm and on Saturdays from 10am to 3pm. Membership is £5 per child for 12 months, which covers admission to evening sessions and most holiday activities

info

For more information on play in Hull visit www.hullcc.gov.uk or phone 300300, and for mobile play opportunities call Scrapstore on 328750 and Child Dynamix on 788839.