The Communities at Play project was formed to encourage parents to enjoy play opportunities with their children.

Fun play workshops are planned just for parents so they can join in with a whole range of play opportunities and
get to grips with some basic play theory. The idea is to encourage parents to give their children more time for
free play and to spend more quality time with their children without TV’s or mobile phones intervening. It is
also a great way for Children’s Centres to get more families to use their facilities and meet more of the local
community.

Sessions are hugely successful with universally positive feedback and a desire for more sessions from the parents
that have attended.  Even the most apprehensive parents find them selves joining in with the activities and gaining
in confidence.   This increased level of confidence will hopefully have a profound impact on their children.

In addition to play workshops, Children’s Links can deliver special sessions around increasing risk and challenge for children and positive behaviour management.
 
It is impossible to gauge the true impact of this project but every parent attending the sessions have left committed to improving their children’s play opportunities and spending more quality time with their children.

An evaluation of a recent Communities in Play project ran in Leicester can be found here. 

“The session was brilliant. I absolutely enjoyed and learnt a lot of ways to improve play.  It would be really nice to have a follow up session.”

“The sessions are informal and flexible and adapted to suit the needs of the parents. Parents find these less threatening than more formal courses and feedback has been extremely positive...”
Sally Grieff, Children’s Centre Leader