Play Scotland

Playrights-Dec 2025-Issue 3, Vol. I Show submenu for "Read" sectionRead

to make playtimes inclusive and accessible, but most importantly, fun!

Dive in to Marguerite Hunter Blair's article (Play Scotland's former CEO) below to read how learning about these experiences is vital in building inclusive play environments. 👇

issuu.com/ipaworld/doc...
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"Designing for play means listening to those who live with it's absence" (Professor Sukanya Krishnamurthy, Trustee of PS, 2019-25)
Voices of children and young adults with Additional Support Needs is crucial when designing and maintaining play spaces. We need to understand what is needed 1/2

Fiona, our Play Pedagogy Lead, is presenting on-demand at the IPA USA Virtual Conference About Play, available to watch now. She shares Scotland’s work embedding play pedagogy in primary schools, with insights on children’s rights, inclusion & wellbeing. Register via the QR code.

Snow Day! Learning From Free Play Playing outside on snow days affords kids crucial lessons that they cannot learn at school.

How is everyone managing with the ice and snow we've had recently? Whether or not children are off for a snow day, it offers opportunity for risky, outdoor play, and it's free! All you need is warm clothes and the fresh air to let the imagination run wild.

www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/play...

Children’s play experiences are enriched by skilled Playworkers who can turn physical spaces into places of opportunity, imagination and belonging.

🖐 Hands up if you're a proud Playworker! 🖐

Play Scotland is a proud sponsor of these awards.
#Playworkersdoplaywork

www.playworkawards.org.uk

The Annual Playwork Awards are taking place on the 2nd & 3rd March this year. Play is vital to the health and wellbeing of children, and these awards are designed to recognise and celebrate those that deliver play!

Recess Is Becoming Too Safe A former teacher explores how

"Part of learning prudence and wisdom is the freedom to make decisions, including the wrong ones".

💡 Play is the same. Monkey bars are a curious child's best friend, let's encourage children to imagine, assess their surroundings, take a small risk, and have fun! 🎉

ifstudies.org/blog/recess-...

Come along to our Loose Parts Play training on 12th February!

📦 Learn how to instil an imaginative approach to play that allows children to explore, learn, and play with simple, everyday objects! 🧹

www.playscotland.org/schools-chil...

Stop missing out on Play Scotland's newsletter 🗞 delivering updates on all things play to your inbox at the beginning of every month.

Sign up as a member to receive the newsletter & access the discount code on all training!

📌 No spam!
www.playscotland.org/about/member...

The Scottish Government is consulting on updates to school premises regulations to help ensure schools are safe, accessible and support children’s learning, wellbeing and play.

The consultation is open until Tuesday 24th March and your input is imperative!

consult.gov.scot/learning-dir...

'My disabled son can finally play with his brothers' Rupert, 7, used to watch his brothers play at the local park until his mother campaigned for change.

Play parks are at their best when everyone can get involved, just like all play. This family in Nottinghamshire has recently had a new accessible play park installed, which means little Rupert can now join in with his siblings at the playground, a wonderful story!
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Fiona Kirkland, our Play Pedagogy Lead, showcases the work of Play Scotland and speaks to students about the importance of play, loose parts and the child’s right to play at West Lothian College Children and Young People’s Rights Conference #Article31 #moreplayplease #playeveryday

Born to Play: Where next for Play? The final session of Upstart’s 'Born to Play' Book Club series: a Q and A with Tim Gill, Mary Ramsay, Tam Baillie and Prof John McKendrick

What does the future hold for play in Scotland and beyond? Join our CEO Mary Ramsay, Tim Gill, Tam Baillie and Prof John McKendrick for the final session of Upstart's Born to Play book club series: a Q&A to explore where play is headed 📍

The image title reads 'keeping children safe online' alongside a QR code to sign up to the event and the logos for Police Scotland, Education Scotland and Parenting Across Scotland. Beneath it reads 'Wednesday 25 February 2026, 5:30-6:30pm, online (zoom)'

Join us, alongside Education Scotland and Police Scotland on Wednesday 25 February from 5:30-6:30pm to hear all about how we can help keep ourselves and our children and young people safe online.

Sign up here: www.eventbrite.com/e/cyber-scot...

#cyber #onlinesafety #children #youngpeople

Has your school signed the active uniform pledge?
Make play times easier by ensuring an always-active uniform! 👇

🌿🔥 “Gie me ae spark o' Nature's fire, That's a' the learning I desire.”
– Robert Burns

Through play in nature, children learn by exploring, imagining, and problem-solving.

Let’s keep the spark alive by protecting time, space and opportunities for children to play outdoors.

💸 January can feel tight – but play doesn’t have to cost a penny ✏️📄

With just pen and paper, you can enjoy hours of fun:
🎲 Play noughts and crosses, or other paper games
🖍️ Make up a comic or cartoon
🗺️ Draw a treasure map and invent an adventure

Let’s celebrate low-cost, no-cost play 💛

Play for all: Rights, Responsibility and Inclusive Practice
Thurs 22 Jan 6-8pm:
⚖️ The legal context of play as a children's right
🧒 Your responsibility to provide inclusive play opportunities
🎨 support play experiences that bring children together across differences
buytickets.at/playscotland...

How outdoor classrooms are shaping young minds, from Denmark to Hong Kong Malvern College and International College believe in the power of outdoor learning and growing in nature’s classroom to build curiosity and resilience.

🎉 The message is spreading far and wide: Forest schools in Hong Kong are embracing Risky Play for children as young as 2! Forest School camps, wellness and wilderness activities (not just for children!), and classroom learning in the great outdoors 👇

www.scmp.com/special-repo...

Gatehouse Welcomes New Inclusive Play Park Dumfries and Galloway Council is delighted to announce the opening of the new inclusive play park in Garrie's Park in Gatehouse of Fleet – the fourth

👏 We're delighted to see the opening of another inclusive play park!
Play is a right for every child, and achieving that means more spaces must be inclusive and accessible.

It's fantastic to see Scotland giving this the importance it deserves! ✨

www.dgwgo.com/community-fo...

Don't forget to book your place for our next training, this coming Tuesday 13th January.

Learn how to design and implement a robust policy that supports a play pedagogy approach within your school.

Book through our website: www.playscotland.org/schools-chil...

Are your children off school today because of the snow?
While school closures are stressful to manage, a fresh coating of snow can provide the most magical playground for day off fun!
Find out top snow play ideas: www.playscotland.org/resources/sn...

Happy New Year from Play Scotland!
We're working on our first newsletter of 2026.
To make sure you get the latest play news straight into your inbox each month, sign up as a member today - it's free!
playscotland.org/about/member...

How a radical experiment to bring a forest into a preschool transformed children’s health In Finland, kindergartens are exposing children to more mud, wild plants and moss - and finding changes to their health that show how crucial biodiversity is to wellbeing

Playing in the mud is fun! But new research also shows it is transformative for children's health. Children who play in dirt have:
🦠 less disease-causing bacteria on their skin
⚪ increased T cells in the blood
🩺 better immune system regulation
www.theguardian.com/environment/...

“Play is as natural to children as breathing. It is a universal expression of children, and it can transcend differences in ethnicity, language, or other aspects of culture.”
Charles Schaefer and Athena Drewes:

Congratulations to Cherie Morgan, our outstanding Director of Projects, on her new role of CEO of Planning Aid Scotland!

This is a great appointment and a well-deserved next step for someone who has brought vision, commitment, and warmth to everything she's led.

Best wishes for your new role!

🚨 Report Published: Scottish School Grounds Survey Report 2025

We hope this report will inspire advocacy, investment, and innovation to ensure that all school grounds across Scotland are vibrant, inclusive spaces for play, learning, and community use.

www.playscotland.org/resources/pr...

Why Playing is Good for You, According to Science "Play isn’t just a frivolous pastime for children. It’s a powerful, even essential, tool for healing," writes Cas Holman.

"Amid the grief, displacement, and uncertainty that mark the asylum seeker experience, play offered something universal and deeply human: relief. Connection. Joy."
What a wonderful article about the power of play for healing!
time.com/7327163/play...

"Excellent training, I have attended a lot of play training in the past, but this was one of the best for networking and useful guidance"

Our 2026 training courses are now open for booking!

They can fill up quickly, so please book your space in plenty of time: buytickets.at/playscotland

We're putting the finishing touches to our last newsletter of the year!
Sign up as a member to receive the latest play news straight into your inbox, along with a great discount on training courses.
playscotland.org/about/member...