#4 MILLION FUNDING BOOST FOR OUTDOOR PLAY EQUIPMENT
FOR THE UNDER FIVES - HODGE
8 May 2001 12:00 AM
The Government today pledged #4 million to help provide outdoor play
equipment for early years and childcare providers in disadvantaged
areas.
Confirming the Government''s commitment to provide quality play and
learning experiences for young children, Education and Employment
Minister Margaret Hodge said:
''Giving children the chance to enjoy outdoor play with good quality
play equipment is vital for children''s physical well being and for
their social and creative development. Recent research (Listening
to young children: The Mosaic approach, by the Thomas Coram Research
Unit) has confirmed the importance of outdoor play for children in
their early years.
''Many small playgroups and nurseries have not been able to provide
regular access for their children to good quality outdoor play. This
new #4 million funding boost will help nurseries, playgroups and some
schools with under-fives the opportunity to think creatively about
this challenge. They can use the money to buy equipment or to
provide or upgrade an outdoor play ear. They could provide a joint
accessible play space for a number of groups. In some areas,
especially rural areas, partnerships may choose to invest in a
mobile facility. A local nature garden might be funded or a
partnership may buy equipment that could be loaned to different
groups.''
Margaret Lochrie, Chief Executive of the Pre-school Learning
Alliance, said:
''The #4 million of additional funding to support outdoor play in the
early years is very good news indeed. Access to outdoor play is
important for all children, and has the potential to support their
progress in all areas of learning and development as well as giving
scope for a lot of fun and enjoyment.''
The Government also launched new guidance Promoting Play in
Out-of-School Childcare. The guidance has been produced on behalf
of the DfEE by the Children''s Play Council to help partnership
expand and develop play provision in their area. This new guidance
will help partnerships make informed decisions about how they spend
the new funding.
NOTES TO EDITORS
1 Margaret Hodge was speaking at the Park View Pre-school, Senior
Street, W2 5TL in West London.
2 A total of #4m is available to fund the provision of outdoor
play equipment. Priority will be given to Early Years Development
and Childcare Partnerships (EYDCP''s plan childcare and nursery
education at a local level) with wards in the bottom 20% of the DETR
index of multiple deprivation. However, every partnership will
receive a funding allocation. The proposed allocations are attached
at Annex A.
3 The new guidance Promoting Play in Out-of-School Childcare has
been produced on behalf of the DfEE by the Children''s Play Council
to help partnerships expand and develop play provision in their
area. This guidance is available from Prolog, DfEE Publications, PO
Box 5050, Sherwood Park, Nottingham, NG15 0DJ. Tel: 0845 6022260.
E-mail: dfee@prologistics.co.uk
4 Listening to Young Children: The Mosaic approach'' by Alison
Clark and Peter Moss (Thomas Coram Research Unit, Institute of
Education). Published by National Children''s Bureau and Joseph
Rowntree Foundation, 2001. ISBN 1 900990 62 8. Available at cost of
#11.95 per copy plus P&P, from Book Sales, National Children''s
Bureau, 8 Wakely Street, London EC1V 7QE. Tel: 020 7843 6028/29. Fax:
020 7278 9512. www.ncb.org.uk
5 The findings from ''Listening to Young Children'' are backed up
by those from another small-scale study, by the Daycare Trust,
''Listening to Children''. This involved talking to 45 children at
three nurseries. Children nearly always put the garden at the top of
their list of `best things'' at nursery, and used this space to play
imaginary games. ''Listening to children: Young children''s views on
childcare: a guide for parents''. Published by Daycare Trust, 1998.
ISBN 1 871088 28 3. Available from Daycare Trust.
PRESS ENQUIRIES:
John Shield 020 7925 5107
john.shield@dfee.gov.uk
Lisa White 020 7925 5392
lisa1.white@dfee.gov.uk
PUBLIC ENQUIRIES:
0870 000 2288
NEWSDESK:
020 7925 6789
news.desk@dfee.gov.uk
ANNEX A
Outdoor Play Equipment
Total
Barking & Dagenham
#37,290
Barnet
#8,490
Barnsley
#38,360
Bath and North East Somerset
#6,230
Bedfordshire
#13,380
Bexley
#15,250
Birmingham
#176,290
Blackburn with Darwen
#32,320
Blackpool
#23,040
Bolton
#32,960
Bournemouth
#11,300
Bracknell Forest
#5,000
Bradford
#86,090
Brent
#30,860
Brighton and Hove
#16,230
Bristol
#40,980
Bromley
#10,390
Buckinghamshire
#7,210
Bury
#14,380
Calderdale
#18,480
Cambridgeshire
#8,770
Camden
#24,800
Cheshire
#24,260
City of London
#5,000
Cornwall
#26,600
Coventry
#43,890
Croydon
#15,620
Cumbria
#33,510
Darlington
#12,460
Derby
#26,850
Derbyshire
#35,350
Devon
#13,700
Doncaster
#44,980
Dorset
#7,970
Dudley
#27,690
Durham
#62,040
Ealing
#28,220
East Riding of Yorkshire
#12,220
East Sussex
#19,520
Enfield
#29,610
Essex
#39,760
Gateshead
#28,830
Gloucestershire
#16,980
Greenwich
#43,680
Hackney
#56,380
Halton
#26,560
Hammersmith and Fulham
#15,450
Hampshire
#12,320
Haringey
#42,690
Harrow
#5,000
Hartlepool
#18,280
Havering
#11,600
Herefordshire
#8,380
Hertfordshire
#6,080
Hillingdon
#6,980
Hounslow
#13,570
Isle of Wight
#13,140
Isles of Scilly
#5,000
Islington
#39,840
Kensington and Chelsea
#12,970
Kent
#55,070
Kingston upon Hull
#41,600
Kingston upon Thames
#5,000
Kirklees
#44,990
Knowsley
#34,850
Lambeth
#49,070
Lancashire
#85,920
Leeds
#58,380
Leicester City
#54,990
Leicestershire
#9,080
Lewisham
#42,660
Lincolnshire
#17,490
Liverpool
#83,800
Luton
#22,100
Manchester
#86,320
Medway
#16,920
Merton
#7,090
Middlesbrough
#26,280
Milton Keynes
#10,660
NE Lincolnshire
#45,190
Newcastle upon Tyne
#74,750
Newham
#38,340
Norfolk
#19,990
North Lincolnshire
#12,300
North Somerset
#8,650
North Tyneside
#22,180
North Yorkshire
#9,060
Northamptonshire
#28,820
Northumberland
#22,450
Nottingham City
#50,150
Nottinghamshire
#49,020
Oldham
#37,410
Oxfordshire
#10,560
Peterborough
#20,640
Plymouth
#27,100
Poole
#5,000
Portsmouth
#11,820
Reading
#9,830
Redbridge
#17,470
Redcar and Cleveland
#22,230
Richmond upon Thames
#5,000
Rochdale
#31,140
Rotherham
#35,130
Rutland
#5,000
Salford
#38,560
Sandwell
#57,680
Sefton
#29,960
Sheffield
#45,680
Shropshire
#6,610
Slough
#11,900
Solihull
#15,860
Somerset
#12,840
South Gloucestershire
#5,000
South Tyneside
#29,710
Southampton
#20,670
Southend
#9,990
Southwark
#52,330
St Helens
#30,970
Staffordshire
#31,190
Stockport
#13,810
Stockton-on-Tees
#23,280
Stoke on Trent
#44,010
Suffolk
#24,240
Sunderland
#47,570
Surrey
#6,000
Sutton
#9,100
Swindon
#11,350
Tameside
#31,920
Telford & the Wrekin
#18,930
Thurrock
#18,960
Torbay
#17,840
Tower Hamlets
#54,470
Trafford
#11,850
Wakefield
#44,320
Walsall
#40,440
Waltham Forest
#39,410
Wandsworth
#10,110
Warrington
#15,640
Warwickshire
#17,230
West Berkshire
#5,000
West Sussex
#9,000
Westminster
#16,390
Wigan
#36,940
Wiltshire
#5,000
Windsor and Maidenhead
#5,000
Wirral
#39,200
Wokingham
#5,000
Wolverhampton
#41,010
Worcestershire
#10,460
York
#5,000