Open space strategies regulations and play sufficiency assessments regulations - drafts: consultation analysis

3. Analysis of Responses to the Children and Young People's Survey

This section analyses responses to the second aspect of the consultation, the Children and Young People's survey. Two versions of the survey were created and distributed - one for primary school aged children and one for secondary school aged children and young people. Responses were gathered from both individuals and group respondents. This survey was promoted, coordinated and responses collated by Play Scotland on behalf of the Scottish Government. A summary of the demographic characteristics of the respondents to the survey can be found in the introduction section of this report, along with a description of the methodology used.

Both versions of the survey consist of both open and closed questions. Due to the open nature of most of the questions in the survey, and the difficulty involved in accurately quantifying group responses to the survey, a qualitative analysis was chosen as the main means of examining the results of the survey. Where different types of responses to questions are listed, these are done so in the order of frequency (with the first item in the list indicating the most frequent type of answer, the second item indicating the second-most frequent and so on). Where closed questions were asked in the survey, the analysis also presents tables providing a quantitative summary of responses to those questions. The analysis proceeds thematically, looking at responses to different questions in the survey as they relate to key topics covered, such as ways of playing and the perceived quality and quantity of local open spaces and play areas. The full list of survey questions can be found in Annex B of this report.

Favourite Ways to Play

Firstly, the primary school aged survey asked, "What are your favourite ways to play?" Options of different ways to play are offered and the individual and group responses to this question are shown in Table 22 below.

As can be seen, "be active" (for example by running, jumping, sliding or playing ball games) was the most common answer selected by individual respondents, while "be adventurous" (including activities such as climbing, hanging upside down and swinging high) was the most commonly chosen answer amongst groups. Taking both types of respondents together, the next most frequently chosen answers were "make things", "use wheels" and "hang out". The three least common answers were "get wet or grubby", "be quiet" and "feel free".

Table 22: What are your favourite ways to play? (Primary school survey, question 3)

	Number of individuals	Number of groups
Be active: run, jump, slide, swing, ball games, skip, chase.	97	27
Be adventurous: climb, be daring, hang upside down, jump from high up, swing high, walk on logs	80	28
Hang out: meet friends, chat, laugh, shout, sit around (generally hang around)	63	15
Make things: create, draw, paint, build things, make dens	81	19
Use wheels: cycle, scooter, skate, skateboard	74	22
Be quiet: imagine, dream, invent, hide, chill	32	14
Get wet or grubby: paddling, mud, digging, buckets, mixing	44	17
Feel free: get out of the house, express yourself, away from adults, be yourself	29	16
No answer	1	2

Quantity and Sufficiency of Local Open Spaces and Play Areas

The Children and Young People's survey also explored the following questions with primary and secondary school-aged respondents, which related to the quantity and sufficiency of open and play spaces:

• Primary school aged survey question 4: Do you have places to play in your favourite ways in your local area? Where are they? Are there enough?
• Secondary school aged survey question 3: What spaces are there for play, recreation, informal sports and hanging out where you live?
• Secondary school aged survey question 5: What are they like, and are there enough?

Most commonly, respondents listed open spaces and play areas local to them, often preceded by a "Yes" indicating that they do feel they have places nearby where they can play in their favourite ways. By far the most frequent types of places mentioned were local parks. This was followed by woods, sports pitches, and open spaces at locations near to schools. For example, one respondent answered "Yes the park, it has swings and things. There is also a skatepark there. I can't think of anything to add."

Other respondents listed one or more local places in which they liked to play, but along with the caveat that either these places were not sufficiently well equipped or that there were not enough of them to enable them to play as they would like. For example, one respondent stated that "there's a local park but it's not well equipped", while another answered "kind of but not really as the park needs done up. They have taken away the best bit - the tyre swing. And some of the play stuff is just for little kids."

Other respondents simply answered "no" or "not enough", sometimes alongside complaints with regards to the condition of local play areas and the consequent need to travel long distances to access opportunities to play.

When secondary school-aged respondents were asked about the spaces respondents have in their local areas for playing, recreation, informal sports and hanging out, several key themes emerged:

• Local parks were identified as nearby spaces in which respondents could play or hang out;
• There were complaints about the lack of appropriate spaces in respondents' local areas - either because respondents felt there were no such spaces or because those available were not seen as well-suited to respondent needs, and;
• Other spaces than parks were identified for play or hanging out, such as sports pitches and community centres.

When secondary school aged respondents were asked about what these spaces are like and whether there are enough of them, common descriptions included:

• Local spaces that are run down or in poor condition. For example, one respondent stated that "the equipment is old, rusty. In one of the parks dogs foul in it… There are not enough spaces."
• Local spaces that are unsuitable for their age as they are too small, or only have equipment which is meant to be used by smaller children rather than teenagers. One respondent stated that local spaces were "nice but at the park near me there's nowhere for teenagers". Another described their local park as "small and not for teenagers."
• Positive comments about local open spaces and play areas, with one respondent describing their local park as "nice and big."

Overall, respondents expressed a range of positive and negative perceptions with regards to the quantity and sufficiency of their local open spaces and play areas. Broadly speaking, primary school aged respondents were somewhat more likely to be positive about the sufficiency of local spaces than secondary school age respondents.

Travelling to and from Open Spaces and Play Areas

The Children and Young People's survey explored travel in the following questions:

• Primary school aged survey question 5: How do you most often get to the place or places that you play in? By walking, cycling, wheeling etc? Or by bus or car?
• Secondary school aged survey question 4: How do you normally get to the places you play in? By walking, cycling, wheeling? Or by bus or car?
• Secondary school aged survey question 12: Is it easy for you to get to the open spaces and play areas you want to go? If not, why? Are there other things that put you off going, and what could make it easier?

An analysis of the closed questions is presented in Table 23 below.

Table 23: How do you most often get to the place or places that you play in?

	By walking, running, skipping, jumping	By car	By cycling, scooting, wheeling	By bus, train, or tram	A mix	Not answered
Primary school individuals	54	43	16	1	15	1
Primary school groups	14	18	9	3	9	6
Secondary school individuals	5	4	0	1	0	0
Secondary school groups	1	2	0	0	1	0

As can be seen, taking all responses together, "by walking, running, skipping or jumping" emerges as the most common way of getting to play areas, followed by taking the car (which was a slightly more common answer amongst group respondents). Overall, "By cycling, schooling or wheeling" and "a mix" were the joint-third most common answers amongst all respondents, while "by bus, train or tram" was the least frequent means of travelling to places to play in. The answers may be reflective of the fact that most respondents played near to their homes or schools.

When secondary school age respondents were asked about the extent to which it is easy to get to the open spaces and play areas they want to go, they talked about:

• finding it easy to travel to play areas, including comments such as "yes, easy to get on to a traffic free cycle path";
• difficulties with travelling to play areas, for example because of "busy roads (and) poor lighting"; and
• additional efforts they had to make to get to open spaces and play areas because of particular factors such as disabilities.

Amongst all individual and group responses to the secondary school aged survey, the proportion stating that it was easy to get to play areas and open spaces was similar to the proportion stating it was difficult.

Quality of Local Open Spaces and Play Areas

The Children and Young People's survey explored the quality of local open spaces and play areas through the following questions:

• Primary school aged survey question 6: What are the best things about playing, hanging out and doing hobbies in your local area?
• Primary school aged survey question 7: What are the worst things about playing, hanging out or doing hobbies in your local area?
• Secondary school aged survey question 6: Are some places better to play or hang out in than others?
• Secondary school aged survey question 7: Why are they good / what features do they have (e.g. slopes, plants, trees, water, things to sit on, steps, shelters, wi-fi….)?
• Secondary school aged survey question 8: Why are some places not-so-good, and what would make them better?
• Secondary school aged survey question 13: What are the best things about playing or hanging out near where you live?
• Secondary school aged survey question 14: What are the worst things about playing or hanging out near where you live?

When talking about the best things about playing, hanging out and doing hobbies in their local areas, the most common themes to emerge were:

• Seeing and/or making friends (which was by far the most common theme). One respondent, for example, said the best thing about playing in their local area was that "I get to see my friends and have a good time", while another said that "playing around with friends" was what they most enjoyed.
• Having fun. Some respondents referred to fun in quite a general way, with one stating that "the best thing about playing is that I get to have fun"; while others referred to somewhat more specific types of fun, such as "lots of outdoor fun in the woods."
• References to specific equipment present at local play areas and open spaces, for example swings and slides.

Other less common things identified as "the best things" included doing sport, adventurous play (for example by climbing trees), and getting fresh air. Secondary school aged respondents were somewhat more likely to mention open space as a positive aspect of playing or hanging out near where they live, and less likely than primary school aged respondents to mention seeing or making friends and having fun.

When the surveys explored the worst things about playing, hanging out and doing hobbies in their local areas, the strongest themes to emerge were:

• Boredom, most commonly because respondents either felt there was not enough to do at their local play areas or because they were now too familiar with their local places. One respondent, for example, stated that "the same places can get boring, there's not much to do", while another felt that "it can get boring as there aren't different spaces we can walk to from home".
• Litter or rubbish, and broken glass in particular. For instance, one respondent described their local play area as "often littered with glass from broken bottles", while another stated that "there is too much litter and dog poo around the grassy places and the streets have a lot of litter."
• Equipment being broken or in poor condition. For example, one respondent felt that "everything is old and broken... it all needs cleaned and fixed."

Other less common themes included older children or adults being loud, intimidating or threatening; a lack of particular amenities such as sports pitches; and complaints about poor weather conditions such as rain, coldness and mud. Similar kinds of themes emerged from primary school aged and secondary school aged respondents in this part of the survey.

When secondary school aged respondents were asked about whether some places are better to play or hang out in than others, there were varied responses. Some felt that some local places are better to play or hang out in than others. Other respondents felt there were not really any local places which are particularly better than others. In addition, some young people expressed the view that they don't really have anywhere in their local areas to play in, outside their own homes.

When respondents were asked about their reasons for some places being better than others they mainly discussed particular play features - such as swings, slides and sandy areas - which made some local places better than others. Others suggested having some form of shelter as being a benefit.

Other features identified in response to this question included the presence of a large amount of space in which to walk or play in preferred play areas, and the presence of sensory play activities.

When asked for their reasons for identifying some spaces which were not-so-good and how these could be improved, respondents suggested:

• more or better play equipment, including particular types such as swings and flying fox rides;
• additional space due to some places not having sufficient space, including space for older children in particular; and
• more seating, for example benches, which would improve local open spaces and play areas.

Overall, then, respondents were most likely to identify seeing and making friends, having fun, and specific play equipment such as swings as being the best things about playing and hanging out in local spaces. Boredom, litter and broken or poorly maintained equipment were those most frequently seen as being negative aspects of their play experience. There were a range of positive and more negative viewpoints regarding the quality of local play areas and open spaces amongst respondents.

Frequency With Which Respondents Play Outside

The consultation with children and young people also explored the following question about the frequency of outdoor play:

• Primary school aged survey question 8: How often do you play outside? Is it often enough? What stops you playing out more often?

When asked how frequently they played outside, respondents answered in the following way (ordered from most frequent to least frequent):

• All of the time / every day / very often (by some distance the most common response);
• Sometimes / a few times a week / quite often, and;
• Rarely / not very often / never.

In their comments, respondents also spoke of the important influence of the weather on the frequency with which they play outside. Some respondents specified that they play outside much more in the summer and less frequently during the winter.

The second part of this question, asking respondents whether they felt they played outside often enough, was asked as a closed, multiple-choice question, with the numbers of respondents selecting each answer presented in Table 24.

Table 24: Is it often enough? (how often you play outside) (Question 8, Primary school age survey)

	Yes - I play out enough	No - I wish I could play out more	I am not sure	Not Answered
Individuals	50	62	16	2
% of individuals answering question	39	48	13
Groups	5	17	2	9
% of groups answering question	21	71	8

As can be seen, there was a spread of responses. Almost half of individuals responding (48%) stated that they wished they could play out more often than they did, while 39% felt that they played outside enough. With regards to group respondents, a majority (71%) answered that they wished they could play out more, while just over one in five (21%) stated that they played outside enough.

When respondents were asked about anything that they felt stopped them from playing outside more often the main issues identified were:

• bad weather (by far the most common single factor mentioned), in particular the rain and coldness during winter;
• a lack of variety of things to do in local play areas and open spaces; and
• concerns about the safety of local play areas and open spaces.

Other respondents mentioned a lack of inclusive play areas, a lack of people to play with in respondents' local areas, and parents being too busy to accompany respondents to play areas.

Overall, while many respondents feel that they play outside very often, a significant proportion would like to play outside more than they currently do. The most common barriers to playing outdoors were the weather; a perceived lack of things to do in local areas; and safety concerns.

The Variety of Local Open Spaces and Play Areas and Priorities for Improvement

The following questions explored the variety and priorities for change amongst respondents:

• Primary school aged survey question 9: If you could wave a magic wand, what more / other / better places would you have to play, hangout or do your hobbies in your local area? What, of these ideas, is the most important – what are our priorities for change?
• Secondary school aged survey question 9: Do you have the right variety of spaces, places in your local area and activities to take part in?
• Secondary school aged survey question 10: Do you prefer it when all the things you want to do are in one place, or do you prefer a variety of different places, or you don't really mind?
• Secondary school aged survey question 11: Are there things you can't do near where you live, that are important to you?
• Secondary school aged survey question 15: If you could wave a magic wand, what more / other/ better places would you have near where you live for play, recreation, informal sports and hanging out? What, of these ideas, is the most important – what are our priorities for change?

When primary school aged respondents were asked to identify what other places they would like to have to play, hang out or do hobbies in locally the most common priorities were:

• More and better parks nearby, including parks which have more space to play in and parks with better play equipment (such as swings, climbing frames and sandy areas);
• Skateparks; and
• More areas for playing sports, such as football pitches, basketball courts and tennis courts.

Other suggestions included BMX or bike parks and paths, swimming pools, climbing walls and more inclusive play areas.

Secondary school aged respondents had the following main priorities:

• Outdoor, sheltered seating areas to hang out in;
• Parks or play areas aimed at teenagers and older children; and
• Better spaces to play sports in such as tennis and basketball.

Other suggestions included climbing walls, places with accessible play equipment, skateparks and bike paths.

Secondary school aged respondents were asked for their views on the variety of spaces, places and activities available to them locally. The majority of all respondents (including seven out of nine individual respondents) felt that their local areas do not have the right variety of activities.

When asked about their preferences around having things to do concentrated in one place or spread out across a variety of different places, there were mixed views, as shown in the table below.

Table 25: Do you prefer it when all the things you want to do are in one place, or do you prefer a variety of different places, or you don't really mind? (Secondary school age survey, question 10)

	All in one place	A variety of different places	Don't really mind	Not answered
Individuals	1	1	6	2
% of individuals answering question	13	13	75
Groups	0	2	1	0
% of groups answering questions	0	67	33

Secondary school aged respondents were also asked if there were things they can't do near where they live which are important to them. They commonly discussed:

• Hanging out with friends, particularly in areas which are sheltered, feel safe and appropriate for teenagers;
• Feeling they can do the things that are important to them; and
• Playing a particular type of sport (examples given include badminton, football, basketball and netball).

Other suggestions to this question included BMX or off-road cycling and just being able to go for a walk, if paths and roads were improved.

Overall, both primary school aged and secondary school aged respondents identified a wide range of potential improvements to local open spaces and play spaces. In addition, the majority of secondary school aged respondents felt that their local areas did not have the right variety of spaces, places and activities. Having spaces to hang out with friends and playing sports were important priorities for change.

Other Issues Raised by Respondents

There were some additional issues raised by respondents to the Children and Young People's survey which are relevant to the analysis.

Firstly, a minority of respondents expressed a consistent concern around the lack of accessibility and inclusivity of play areas and open spaces, for children with disabilities. They emphasised the importance of sensory play and accessible equipment.

Distance was raised as an issue or concern across a range of questions in the surveys. A number of respondents, for instance, highlighted the need to be driven to their nearest or preferred play area as an important factor limiting the frequency of their play. Others highlighted the impact of the quality of nearby roads and pavements on accessing open spaces and play areas.

In addition, some respondents suggested there was a need for more indoor places to play in because of the role of the weather in making outdoor activities unappealing.

Finally, some respondents emphasised the benefits of spending time in natural environments. They spoke of this as one of their favourite aspects of local places, or as an aspect of play and open spaces they would like to experience more.