Monday 9 March 2009
Play England, based at NCB, has been
contracted by the Department of Children, Schools and Families
(DCSF) to manage a funding programme for refurbishment for
adventure playgrounds run by the voluntary and community sector.
£1.5 million will be made available through the programme, which
will run from April 2009 to March 2010, and all eligible third
sector-managed adventure playgrounds may apply for up to £19,000 to
update and modify their play spaces.
Adventure playgrounds managed by the third sector play a crucial
role in developing and providing a wide range of play opportunities
for children around the country. The funding for the improvement of
existing facilities will complement additional funding that has
been made available by DCSF via local authorities for 30 new
adventure playgrounds through the play pathfinder programme, many
of which will also be commissioned from the voluntary and community
sector.
Mick Conway, Play England National Practice Manger, said: "Our
community-run adventure playgrounds, supported by local families
and communities, have been a national treasure for generations.
This funding will help them make even more special places for
children."
-ENDS-
Notes for editors:
Play England promotes excellent free play opportunities for all
children and young people. Play England provides advice and support
to promote good practice, and works to ensure that the importance
of play is recognised by policy makers, planners and the public.
Play England is part of NCB and is funded by the Big Lottery Fund.
Play England is contracted by the Department for Children, Schools
and Families to support, train and provide guidance to local
authorities that have been allocated funding under the £235m play
strategy for England.
For more information on any Play England publications or work,
contact 020 7843 6300 or visit http://www.playengland.org.uk/
NCB promotes the voices, interests and well being of all
children and young people across every aspect of their lives. As a
membership and infrastructure support agency for the children's
sector in England and Northern Ireland, NCB provides essential
information on policy, research and best practice for our members
and the members of our wide range of partnership bodies, which
operate under our charitable status and are based in our London
headquarters. For further information visit http://www.ncb.org.uk/
The Big Lottery Fund's Children's Play initiative is a £155
million programme. As part of this, BIG has awarded a grant of £15
million to the NCB to deliver the Play England project. The project
offers support and advice to local authorities and agencies to help
them develop play strategies and access grants from BIG's £124
million Children's Play programme. BIG has also made an additional
£16 million available for Playful Ideas, an initiative that will
fund novel play projects which focus on innovation and new ways of
providing children's play.
For further information on this release contact:
Sarah Thorne, Anna Tombs or Aoife Allen, NCB Media Office
Tel: 020 7843 6045/6044 Email: media@ncb.org.uk