Hansard

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 important things that we can do to improve children’s health and wellbeing across Scotland. Play is good for the child, as it gives them confidence and the ability to communicate and share with other children.

When Jayne Baxter spoke about her grandchildren, it reminded me that my two grandkids spent their early years in a tenement. It was a lovely tenement house in a lovely place, but there was no play area for them. They moved away—10 years ago, now—and within a year I could see a huge difference in their confidence and their physical abilities. Therefore, Jayne Baxter made a very good point. As for George’s inner child, I think that he is still playing.

The action plan addresses four domains: “In the Home”, “At Nursery and School”, “In the Community” and “Positive Support for Play”. I will concentrate on the last of those and will explain why in a minute. First, here comes an episode of “All Our Yesterdays”.

When I was a kid, during the holidays we left the house in the morning, come rain or shine, came home at lunchtime—sometimes—and then came home for dinner, hopefully to go back out to play before bedtime. We played hide and seek or allevio and hid up trees. We played best man’s fall, with branches for guns, and then rolled in the mud once we had been shot with those guns. We played football, and occasionally cricket, in the summer, with jumpers for goals or stumps. We came home dirty, hungry, scraped and bruised, but happy and fulfilled.

For lots of reasons, many of which have been articulated, we seem to have lost the opportunity for children to go out and play without structure or supervision, which is why the strategy recognises the benefits of active play. In many ways, things were easier back then and, although money may have been extremely tight—it certainly was in my case—we did not have the stresses that exist for many families now. Throughout my constituency there are families who find the pressures of life so great, and the existence of grinding poverty so wearing, that they do not have the time, or in many cases the expertise, to play with their children. By the time their children go to school—or sometimes, tragically, even by the time they go to nursery—the children can be difficult to control and to get involved in play or any other activity.

That is where the fourth strand, or domain, comes in. In my case, I am talking about the Jeely Piece Club, which is a magnificent organisation that I am extremely proud to have in my constituency and has already been named by the minister as a fine example of outdoor play provision. Founded in 1975 by a group of parents in Castlemilk who wanted to provide play opportunities for their kids, the club initially ran play schemes during the school summer holidays. In time, funding was raised to run activities all year round, before the club became the hugely successful nursery and play centre that it is today.

The Jeely Piece Club now has two bases in Castlemilk, is open for 342 play sessions a year and delivers a 10-week holiday programme. Its play zone receives more than 22,000 visitors a year. As the only soft play centre in the area, the Jeely Piece Club is the only centre that is focused on meeting the free-play needs of children up to 12 years of age—the most important time. The club has also opened an outdoor children’s play park and has opened up access to Castlemilk wood for outdoor play, as part of its go play project. More than 1,000 kids a year take part in the club’s outdoor activities, which include climbing trees, building dens and learning about nature.

As well as being a well-run organisation that delivers not only the successful play schemes, but a nursery either free or for a nominal fee, the Jeely Piece Club seeks to deliver personal development for children and families, some of whom are growing up in highly adverse social and economic circumstances. We know that living in chaotic households can have serious emotional and physical consequences for children and their parents, which can, unless they are addressed in early childhood, have a lifelong adverse impact, with consequential issues for the family and society as a whole. As an organisation that is trusted by parents, the community and agencies, the Jeely works mostly with the mothers in aiming to help them to help their children, through play and other interventions, to overcome those issues and to develop, so that they can start primary school with the skills that are needed to engage with the wider education system.

There is no doubt that the difference that the Jeely makes to the local community cannot be overstated. A huge vote of thanks is due to Tracey Black, Grace Lamont and all the staff, volunteers and parents who work so hard to make the Jeely a success. Members should just listen to this direct quote, which emphasises what the club means to some of the parents:

“If the Jeely hadn’t been here, there is a 99% chance my children wouldn’t be with me now.”

Now, that is making a difference.

A recent study by Stanford University, based on American statistics and an American pilot study, showed that early intervention and working with parents who need support and assistance, both during pregnancy and until the children reach school age, is among the most important tools that can be used to reduce crime. There was a 59 per cent reduction in child arrests by age 15 for children who had gone through the programme, compared to children who could have used the help but did not get it because of the limits of the pilot. That mixture of early intervention and play, which has had such an impact where it has been tested in America, is having a similar impact when used by the Jeely and other like-minded organisations.

The Scottish Government has made a commitment to make Scotland the best place in the world to grow up and we know that it is better for all of us if we invest in such programmes now rather than pay a far higher price later.

It is also crucial that we move away from the belief that play has to be expensive, as has already been mentioned by a number of members. One of the parents who are quoted in the strategy noted:

“I’ve learned kids are happy playing with almost anything, you don’t have to buy expensive toys.”

We are all guilty, I suspect, of thinking that giving kids a happy Christmas involves spending a lot of money on them. As has already been mentioned, the truth is that often they will play more with the box than with the expensive gift that has been bought for them.

We have a choice to make about what sort of country we want our children and their children to live in. There is a wealth of research out there that tells us that the best way to address economic inequality, poverty and crime is to invest in early education programmes, including our play strategy, and in coaching parents who require help. The play strategy is not a magic bullet, but it is a tool that we must use to fight the poverty that blights too many children and their families in Scotland today.

The strategy will play a huge role in the years ahead as we work together to make Scotland the best place in the world to grow up in. I hope that the strategy gets the cross-party support that it deserves.