Help Provide Active and Creative Play for Children Across the UK with Play Gloucestershire 

This month you can help Play Gloucestershire to provide opportunities to kids in rural and urban areas throughout the country by voting for them in the My Favourite Voucher Codes February charity poll!
This amazing charity offers free outside play activities involving creativity, adventure and exploration in both schools and in the community, helping disadvantaged children to access essential play opportunities to aid their development and wellbeing. 

Find out more about the impact of Play Gloucestershire and how you can help them continue to provide play opportunities for children. 
 

Who Are Play Gloucestershire?

Play Gloucestershire are a UK charity who help children in both rural and urban communities to access outdoor play activities for free. They work primarily around Gloucestershire, with their Play Rangers hosting play activities in Cheltenham, Cotswold, Forest of Dean, Gloucester, Stroud and Tewkesbury. They have a Play Sanctuary where some of their play sessions take place, and they also run child-led sessions in public parks. They have a range of play services so that all kids, whether they need additional support or not, can enjoy their sessions. 

The children they work with come from a variety of backgrounds. They are particularly keen to help kids from disadvantaged backgrounds and isolated communities, who might otherwise not have many opportunities to enjoy socialising with others and engaging in outdoor activities.

There are several obstacles today to kids being able to play outside, from green spaces dwindling to safety concerns, that many families have to rely on technology and indoor activities for entertainment. Play Gloucestershire however, helps the children who engage in their outdoor play activities by giving them the opportunity to socialise with others, use their imagination and creativity during play and get physical exercise for a healthy mind and body. 

What Outdoor Play Activities do Play Gloucestershire Do? 

There are three main types of play activity that Play Gloucestershire hosts for children of all ages. 

Community Play

Their community play sessions are held in public parks and green spaces around Gloucestershire and the South West. All of their activities are free, and are in an easily accessible location for all of the children who attend, being only a short walk or bike ride away from their homes. This means that all children can take part, regardless of any financial or time constraints of their parents, as they can simply walk or ride to the local public green space and join the activities for free. 

There are a variety of games and activities for the kids to engage in during Community Play, and the Play Gloucestershire Play Rangers arrive to sessions with a van full of play equipment. This includes equipment for activities such as water fights, informal sports, den building and creative art, whilst a variety of other equipment-free games are also encouraged such as hide and seek and tag. Community Play is open to everyone as are the public green spaces that these sessions are hosted on. This relaxed, community led environment means that kids can feel comfortable showing up, meeting a variety of other children of all ages and engaging in a wide variety of fun play activities. 

Children who regularly attend these community play sessions can also become Young Volunteers, who help out at sessions and gain valuable working experience. At 16 they then have the opportunity to get paid work as an Apprentice Play Ranger. 

Play Nurture

Their Play Nurture sessions are designed for children who need a bit more support due to physical or mental health issues, often developed through negative childhood experiences. These children often suffer from anxiety and stress, and benefit from a smaller community group where more 1 to 1 support is available to them. 

The play rangers help these children to build resilience, confidence and skills through these play nurture sessions, and use the power of play to help them overcome some of the struggles that they are faced with. The staff who work in their Play Nurture sessions all have training in therapeutic play and/or counselling, and their Therapeutic Play Lead Pip Levett has a postgraduate certificate in Therapeutic Play Skills.

Play Advocacy

Alongside running their play sessions for children all over Gloucestershire, the Play Gloucestershire team also advocate for the importance of play, discuss the needs of children during play activities and help children to speak up about what aspects of play they would benefit from the most. Their Young Volunteers and Play Rangers are always advocating for play and talking to parents, teachers and carers about the importance of play for children's wellbeing. 

How Can I Support Play Gloucestershire? 

You can support Play Gloucestershire this February by voting for them in the My Favourite Voucher Codes charity poll! Visit our Homepage today and cast your free vote to help them secure 20% of our profits this month. 

You can also lend your Support through donations, fundraising or sponsoring Play Gloucestershire. 

Get in Touch with the Play Gloucestershire Team

If you want to find out more about their play sessions, then you can always get in touch with the Play Gloucestershire team. Give them a call on  01452 505548 or email them at info@playgloucestershire.org.uk. 

If Play Gloucestershire have got your vote, then make sure to cast your vote for them by the end of February to help them secure a donation. Be sure to share the poll with friends and family, and help this incredible charity to support children’s wellbeing through play.