Do the Right Thing: children's rights progress report

18 Play

What the Committee said:

"The Committee recommends that the State party strengthen its efforts to guarantee the right of the child to rest and leisure, to engage in play and recreational activities appropriate to the age of the child and to participate freely in cultural life and the arts. The State party should pay particular attention to provide children, including those with disabilities, with adequate and accessible playground spaces to exercise their play and leisure activities."

Progress to date

• The two-year £4 million Go Play fund ended in December 2011. Its purpose was to promote free play opportunities and build capacity in the play sector, through Inspiring Scotland's venture philanthropy model. Part of the project included the creation of an Outcomes and Evaluations Framework in partnership with Evaluation Support Scotland and a subsequent logic model and play framework. Following the successes of Go Play's most positive results we have invested a further £3 million funding package over three years from 2012-13 (Go2Play) which will continue to help build capacity in the sector and focus on promoting free play opportunities through play rangers and providing a number of enhanced landscapes for play.
• The Scottish Government's PlayTalkRead campaign aims to encourage parents and carers to play, talk and read more with their babies and young children to help drive home the importance of positive interaction with their children from day one. The project's primary aim is to offer practical support and ideas on how to create the best foundations for children's development. Now in its third phase, PlayTalkRead is touring Scotland on a bespoke bus, visiting the hearts of communities, covering all 32 local authority areas in its first year.

Next steps

• We will work with Inspiring Scotland to fund play rangers in Glasgow, North Lanarkshire, Aberdeen, East Ayrshire and Dumfries and Galloway.
• We will continue to work with Grounds for Learning towards the creation of enhanced play spaces in Stirling, Clackmannanshire and South Lanarkshire in the first year.
• We will continue to develop the PlayTalkRead campaign, building on the successes to date.