Chamber
Meeting of the Parliament 31 October 2013
31 Oct 2013 · S4 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
Play Strategy Action Plan
On 7 August, part of the city centre of Aberdeen was essentially turned into a playground, with 250 to 300 children participating in the Aberdeen national play day, which included face painting, an obstacle course and a bouncy castle. It was organised by the Aberdeen play forum, whose role is to increase play opportunities in Aberdeen, working with public and private organisations in the city and with charities and voluntary and community organisations to raise awareness of the importance of play. That kind of approach ties in neatly with the strategy that the minister has launched, which I welcome greatly.
I think back to my time as a councillor when work was undertaken in my ward to reinvigorate some of the play areas in the community—one at Sluie park in Dyce and two in the Princess Drive area of Dyce—which had fallen into disrepair and were not well used. In one case it was about bringing partners and funding together to put new equipment in place and to change the layout of the park and make it much more vibrant and well used. In the other case, it was about bringing in some street art on the ground, which reinvigorated the area and has made it very well used by the young children round about.
There are other areas in my constituency where there is a lack of modern play facilities. In some cases, such as in Forrit Brae and Bucksburn, play facilities have been removed with no prospect of their being replaced.
I take on board the point that members have made about the funding issues, which I recognise, because I encountered them when I was working as a councillor to reinvigorate some of the play areas. We need to think outside the box, if you will, about how we approach this. We cannot simply say, “There’s not enough funding in local authority budgets, so we can’t make progress.” We need to find creative ways to encourage new play facilities and play areas to be developed. One of those might be to look to the private sector and to consider whether, in the same way that some local authorities set sponsorship for roundabouts, sponsorship of play parks could fund play facilities.
We also need to consider the prohibitive cost of play equipment. We need to look at whether the companies that are supplying play equipment are offering true value for money and whether they are asking the price that ought to be paid for such equipment.
Ken Macintosh’s anecdote about the Wendy house reminded me that children sometimes do not need expensive play equipment—imagination is all that is required. In my intervention on “No ball games” signs, I was trying to make the point that we sometimes do our level best to prevent play from happening in certain areas. However, when I was growing up “No ball games” signs were very good for goalposts. We need to think about how we are encouraging children to use open spaces.
I will focus the remainder of my speech on the issue of children with disabilities and additional support needs. The Conservative amendment is a welcome addition that will enhance and strengthen the motion.
Here are some testimonials from families who have difficulty in accessing leisure and play facilities:
“There isn’t anything suitable for our young daughter with autism”;
“No afterschool clubs or groups to cater for his needs”;
“There is nowhere for him due to age and height restrictions”;
“Physical access. 1:1 support needed—can’t do that with another child to support, physically too difficult”;
and
“It is very stressful for our son and us as he doesn’t do well in crowded places”.
I recognise those as issues that I have encountered when looking at the play opportunities for my own son.
The facilities that people would like to see are:
“Sensory rooms and more soft play for ASN”;
“Relaxation, play and learn, movement, ball, storytelling”;
and
“To have somewhere to access as a family or with your child with ASN; to have somewhere we could go as a family”.
In the north-east—not necessarily in my constituency—there are opportunities for families with additional support needs. Kool Kidz, in Insch, is a soft play centre that tries to hold special requirement sessions on a monthly basis—the next one is on 20 November. I have been to one of those sessions and they are extremely welcome. Hoodles, in Oldmeldrum, is one of the top soft play areas according to a Netmums survey. It holds a special requirement session on the last Thursday of every month, which runs from 5.30 to 8 pm. Today, for Hallowe’en, there are prizes for the best boy and girl in fancy dress.
There are good examples of organisations and private enterprises that are reaching out to make their areas more accessible to children with additional support needs. It can be difficult for families with children with additional support needs to access such facilities when they are open to the main stream, as they can be very busy and crowded. If a child has particular sensory issues or a lack of ability to understand the concept of waiting and taking turns, or if a child wants to use only the middle one of three slides, it can be difficult to explain that to other children and parents.
There is a facility in the north-east—in Westhill, in Dennis Robertson’s constituency—called SensationALL, which is designed specifically to cater for children with additional support needs. It has sensory provision, toys and other opportunities for sensory play, and at present it is fundraising to increase the availability of its play facilities.
I will end by quoting Dr Seuss because, frankly, any opportunity to do so should be taken:
Oh, the places you’ll go! There is fun to be done!
There are points to be scored. There are games to be won.
And the magical things you can do with that ball
will make you the winning-est winner of all.
By having a national play strategy, we can make Scotland’s children the winning-est winners of all.
15:23
I think back to my time as a councillor when work was undertaken in my ward to reinvigorate some of the play areas in the community—one at Sluie park in Dyce and two in the Princess Drive area of Dyce—which had fallen into disrepair and were not well used. In one case it was about bringing partners and funding together to put new equipment in place and to change the layout of the park and make it much more vibrant and well used. In the other case, it was about bringing in some street art on the ground, which reinvigorated the area and has made it very well used by the young children round about.
There are other areas in my constituency where there is a lack of modern play facilities. In some cases, such as in Forrit Brae and Bucksburn, play facilities have been removed with no prospect of their being replaced.
I take on board the point that members have made about the funding issues, which I recognise, because I encountered them when I was working as a councillor to reinvigorate some of the play areas. We need to think outside the box, if you will, about how we approach this. We cannot simply say, “There’s not enough funding in local authority budgets, so we can’t make progress.” We need to find creative ways to encourage new play facilities and play areas to be developed. One of those might be to look to the private sector and to consider whether, in the same way that some local authorities set sponsorship for roundabouts, sponsorship of play parks could fund play facilities.
We also need to consider the prohibitive cost of play equipment. We need to look at whether the companies that are supplying play equipment are offering true value for money and whether they are asking the price that ought to be paid for such equipment.
Ken Macintosh’s anecdote about the Wendy house reminded me that children sometimes do not need expensive play equipment—imagination is all that is required. In my intervention on “No ball games” signs, I was trying to make the point that we sometimes do our level best to prevent play from happening in certain areas. However, when I was growing up “No ball games” signs were very good for goalposts. We need to think about how we are encouraging children to use open spaces.
I will focus the remainder of my speech on the issue of children with disabilities and additional support needs. The Conservative amendment is a welcome addition that will enhance and strengthen the motion.
Here are some testimonials from families who have difficulty in accessing leisure and play facilities:
“There isn’t anything suitable for our young daughter with autism”;
“No afterschool clubs or groups to cater for his needs”;
“There is nowhere for him due to age and height restrictions”;
“Physical access. 1:1 support needed—can’t do that with another child to support, physically too difficult”;
and
“It is very stressful for our son and us as he doesn’t do well in crowded places”.
I recognise those as issues that I have encountered when looking at the play opportunities for my own son.
The facilities that people would like to see are:
“Sensory rooms and more soft play for ASN”;
“Relaxation, play and learn, movement, ball, storytelling”;
and
“To have somewhere to access as a family or with your child with ASN; to have somewhere we could go as a family”.
In the north-east—not necessarily in my constituency—there are opportunities for families with additional support needs. Kool Kidz, in Insch, is a soft play centre that tries to hold special requirement sessions on a monthly basis—the next one is on 20 November. I have been to one of those sessions and they are extremely welcome. Hoodles, in Oldmeldrum, is one of the top soft play areas according to a Netmums survey. It holds a special requirement session on the last Thursday of every month, which runs from 5.30 to 8 pm. Today, for Hallowe’en, there are prizes for the best boy and girl in fancy dress.
There are good examples of organisations and private enterprises that are reaching out to make their areas more accessible to children with additional support needs. It can be difficult for families with children with additional support needs to access such facilities when they are open to the main stream, as they can be very busy and crowded. If a child has particular sensory issues or a lack of ability to understand the concept of waiting and taking turns, or if a child wants to use only the middle one of three slides, it can be difficult to explain that to other children and parents.
There is a facility in the north-east—in Westhill, in Dennis Robertson’s constituency—called SensationALL, which is designed specifically to cater for children with additional support needs. It has sensory provision, toys and other opportunities for sensory play, and at present it is fundraising to increase the availability of its play facilities.
I will end by quoting Dr Seuss because, frankly, any opportunity to do so should be taken:
Oh, the places you’ll go! There is fun to be done!
There are points to be scored. There are games to be won.
And the magical things you can do with that ball
will make you the winning-est winner of all.
By having a national play strategy, we can make Scotland’s children the winning-est winners of all.
15:23
In the same item of business
The Presiding Officer (Tricia Marwick)
NPA
Good afternoon. The first item of business is a debate on motion S4M-08099, in the name of Aileen Campbell, on the play strategy action plan.
The Minister for Children and Young People (Aileen Campbell)
SNP
Maria Montessori said that “Play is the work of the child.” If we are a country that truly wants to become the best place to grow up in, we need to become a ...
Ken Macintosh (Eastwood) (Lab)
Lab
On the UNCRC, is the minister still considering changing the wording in the Children and Young People (Scotland) Bill to “having due regard to” as opposed to...
Aileen Campbell
SNP
The Education and Culture Committee has taken a lot of evidence on that, and the process will be on-going through the stages of the bill. We are certainly ve...
Mark McDonald (Aberdeen Donside) (SNP)
SNP
Does the minister take a view on the prevalence of “No ball games” signs in many areas, which often act as a deterrent to outdoor play for children and which...
Aileen Campbell
SNP
Absolutely. As I said, people should view open spaces as being equally for the benefit of children across the country and should allow children to access the...
Liz Smith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con)
Con
I doubt that anybody will quibble with the central ethos of the play strategy that we are debating this afternoon, as it goes without saying that play is par...
Aileen Campbell
SNP
I take on board Liz Smith’s points. I know that we have an ideological difference when it comes to the approaches in the bill, but she is keen on culture cha...
Liz Smith
Con
I thank the minister. I do not disagree with that. There are some deep-seated issues, and I heard the minister say earlier that she believes that in some sit...
Jayne Baxter (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab)
Lab
I am pleased to open for the Labour Party in this debate and to welcome the publication of the Scottish Government’s play strategy and action plan. I have wo...
Aileen Campbell
SNP
I made it clear in my opening speech that the strategy was not just about the play sector but about bringing lots of different departments together. For exam...
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Elaine Smith)
Lab
I must ask Jayne Baxter to draw to a close.
Jayne Baxter
Lab
Okay. I thank the minister for her comments.There are some big aspirations in the action plan, and I hope that the minister will return to the chamber in the...
The Deputy Presiding Officer
Lab
We now come to the open debate. I remind members that if they wish to speak in the debate, they should press their request-to-speak buttons. That is particul...
George Adam (Paisley) (SNP)
SNP
I welcome this debate and the Government’s play strategy action plan. The Scottish Government says that it wants Scotland to be the best place in the world t...
Ken Macintosh (Eastwood) (Lab)
Lab
I thank the minister for bringing this debate to the chamber, and particularly for her excellent timing. I do not imagine that I am the only one here who wil...
Liz Smith
Con
Ken Macintosh has made an exceptionally valid point. Does he agree that we should be concerned when what I would call common sense about some children’s play...
Ken Macintosh
Lab
I entirely agree with that point, and I might get the chance later to talk about the risk-averse culture. Yes, there are stories of people banning conkers an...
The Deputy Presiding Officer
Lab
I remind members that speeches should be of six minutes. I call Mark McDonald, to be followed by James Dornan.15:17
Mark McDonald (Aberdeen Donside) (SNP)
SNP
On 7 August, part of the city centre of Aberdeen was essentially turned into a playground, with 250 to 300 children participating in the Aberdeen national pl...
James Dornan (Glasgow Cathcart) (SNP)
SNP
There is no doubt that there are clear long-term economic and social benefits attached to play, and that investing in children’s play is one of the most impo...
The Deputy Presiding Officer
Lab
Before Christian Allard begins, I remind members to address one other by their full names, not only because that is required by protocol, but because it make...
Christian Allard (North East Scotland) (SNP)
SNP
I welcome the Scottish Government’s action plan. We judge a society by how it looks after its children. As many members have mentioned, we have a lot to lear...
Anne McTaggart (Glasgow) (Lab)
Lab
I am pleased to contribute to this important debate on the Scottish Government’s play strategy and the wider efforts that are being made to ensure that Scotl...
Fiona McLeod (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (SNP)
SNP
It is extremely important that the minister talked about the fact that article 31 of the UNCRC mentions that every child has the right to play. That is the r...
Stewart Maxwell (West Scotland) (SNP)
SNP
It is too easy to dismiss play as a trivial activity for children. The reality is that play is about much more than just having fun. Like many other members,...
Mary Fee (West Scotland) (Lab)
Lab
Like all my colleagues in the chamber, I fully support the development of a national play strategy. Play and recreation are essential to the health and wellb...
Aileen Campbell
SNP
I have a constructive point to make. I hope that Mary Fee would welcome the early years task force, which is the group that administers the change fund. Fami...
Mary Fee
Lab
I thank the minister for that clarity. Those families are an important section of society, and I am pleased that they will not be overlooked.I fully support ...
Richard Lyle (Central Scotland) (SNP)
SNP
I support the play strategy, as a father and grandfather. My grandson Ruaridh is now a year and a half old, and he teaches his grandfather how to play—of cou...