Leeds campaigners call for government to revive National Play Strategy
A Leeds-based charity and leading child psychologist from the city have joined calls for a new National Play Strategy to help support children in Yorkshire and across the country after new research has found that children are being held back from active play by screen time and a lack of safe spaces to play.
Research by Play Their Way, the campaign run by charity UK Coaching, found that 49 per cent of children aged 8-16 want to spend more time playing active games for fun, while 72 per cent of parents believe children generally spend too little time engaged in active play.
Play Their Way, which aims to transform the way children are coached in sport and physical activity through child-first coaching, and Play England, England’s national charity for play, have called on Prime Minister Andy Burnham to finish work he began.
In 2008, he launched England's first and only National Play Strategy. It was later abandoned, and no strategy has replaced it since.
The call comes as the government prepares to introduce a ban on social media for under-16s, expected to become law in spring 2027.
Parents surveyed identified the biggest barriers to children's active play as time spent watching TV, videos or streamed content (60 per cent), gaming (58 per cent), social media (56 per cent), and a lack of suitable or safe spaces (46 per cent). Almost a third of children said a shortage of places to play outside stopped them playing more with friends.
The research, carried out by Ipsos UK, also found that 40 per cent of parents said their child had quit a sport because it ‘wasn't fun enough’. Play Their Way believes this highlights the vital role played by coaches and the importance of the child-first coaching initiative, an evidence-informed approach that prioritises fundamental rights of all children taking part in sport, including their right to play.
Mark Gannon, chief executive of UK Coaching, said: “Coaches have a vital role in helping our children reclaim and rediscover play that will not only increase the chances of them staying active but improve their mental health, wellbeing and development.
“This research has shown us that children want the opportunity to play more but that there are barriers to them being able to and many of them are dropping out of sport and physical activity because it’s not fun enough. We must address this.”
Dr Charlotte Armitage, a Leeds-based leading child psychologist, former sports coach and author of Generation Zombie: Why devices are harming our children, said: “We need a National Play Strategy alongside the proposed ban on social media if we truly want to support children’s development and help them lead happier and healthier lives.
"A social media ban for under 16’s is an important step in the right direction but it its only half the solution. It must be matched by action towards letting children play more.”
Dame Karen Buck, chair of Play England, said: “Children will play wherever opportunities arise, but too many are growing up without the freedom and conditions they need to do so.
“That means giving children the space and time to play, accepting their presence in our streets and neighbourhoods, and respecting their right to play as part of everyday life.”
The Play Their Way movement was launched in May 2023 to transform the way children and young people are coached by prioritising their rights, needs and enjoyment in a ‘child-first’ approach. The campaign is funded by The National Lottery and is led by the Children’s Coaching Collaborative, a collective of partner organisations.