API’s Power of Playgrounds Research: Design For Supporting Child Development

Supporting Children’s Development Through Better Design

Creating spaces that support children’s development and wellbeing is an important responsibility for local authorities and schools. Playgrounds contribute to this by giving children opportunities to be active, social, imaginative and independent.

As members of the Association of Play Industries (API), we’re pleased to support its Power of Playgrounds campaign, which is raising awareness of new research it commissioned to provide further evidence of the value of these spaces.

What The Research Tells Us

Analysis of the British Children’s Pre-School Play Survey found that playgrounds are the most-used place for children to play away from home, spending an average of 139 hours a year playing in them.

It also found that more frequent playground use is associated with better mental health and wellbeing, including fewer emotional difficulties.

Read The Full Report

For those responsible for providing play spaces, this raises an important question: How can we design playgrounds that make sure children get the full benefits of outdoor play?

How Design Can Maximise The Benefits Of Play

If a playground is to support children’s physical development, wellbeing and social experiences, it needs to offer a rich variety of ways to play.

Creative Play works with councils and schools to develop playgrounds around the needs of the children who will use them. For example, we can help you:

• Support physical development with equipment offering varied movement, challenge and levels of difficulty.
• Encourage social and imaginative play by creating spaces that invite children to play together and develop their own games.
• Increase participation by considering accessibility across the whole playground, rather than treating inclusion as an isolated feature.
• Provide choice by combining active play with quieter opportunities to pause, observe or play differently.
• Make better use of the site through considered zoning and layout, ensuring equipment works together as part of a coherent play environment.

Review The Playground Before Installation

Following a consultation, tailored 3D playground designs bring the proposed play space to life before manufacture and installation. They allow stakeholders to see how the proposed space will look and function, making it easier to assess the design against its objectives and make confident decisions about investing in a playground that supports children’s development and wellbeing.

The API’s research strengthens the case for providing children with high-quality opportunities to play. Creative Play’s role is to help you turn that opportunity into a playground designed around what your children and community need.

Planning a new outdoor play area or improving an existing one?

Talk to Creative Play about designing a space that supports children’s development and wellbeing.