Active Bristol 2008-13 aims to increase physical activity levels in children and young people through the promotion of active play, walking, cycling and use of green spaces.  Active lifestyles have a key role in halting the year on year rise of childhood obesity.

Bristol Playbus 2009 is a mobile play project that works with children aged 0-15 to support learning through play. Our play ranger team works in public parks, which help to make the areas safe for children to play. Play can help improve community cohesion and children’s social interaction. 

In terms of early years work, parents have said that our PEEP sessions have helped them understand their child’s abilities, and has improved their child’s social skills. Over the last financial year we worked with over 3400 individual children and delivered 316 play sessions.

Bristol’s Play Volunteer Programme
Bristol is one of two national pilot schemes looking at developing models of volunteering in support of children playing. Working with partners in the voluntary sector Bristol City Council are recruiting volunteers to work alongside play professionals in parks, neighbourhoods, streets and adventure playgrounds.

We are particularly keen to promote opportunities for young people and intergenerational volunteering in support of play.
We have a wide range of opportunities, so if you would like to volunteer on this programme or you are interested in Play Watch, please contact us.

The Children's Scrapstore provides fantastic play materials for over 150,000 children to enjoy. The best bit is that many of those materials come from business waste!

Clean, safe leftovers from manufacturing and shops are being reused and distributed to over 1300 groups, schools and organisations working with children and young people.

Those bits and bobs that are brought home made of card and string, plastic and cloth are possible because of the work of this charity.

We save groups like these hundreds of pounds each year and are able to provide children with an abundance of stuff for them to use their amazing imaginations on. Visit us here.

Out 2 Play aims to promote outdoor play for children and young people in South Bristol, and offers free open-access play opportunities all year round. In a typical year we work with around 3000 children, through 200 volunteers and 9 parks.

Play Watch is a pilot scheme that aims to recruit young people and adults of all ages to:

•    volunteer alongside play rangers or other staff
•    play an active part in the development and oversight of a local park or play space
•    become local Play Champions who advocate and support play in their community

Involvement may lead to the adults or young people going on to find jobs in the field of children’s services.  

We are producing a Play Watch pack that outlines how any local community group, parks group or interested neighbourhood could implement a Play Watch project.

If you are interested in finding out more please contact us or click here for more information.

The Play & Early Years Training Unit (PEYTU) aims to improve outcomes for children & young people through the education and training of a range of occupational groups, an example of this being a pilot Play Awareness training programme developed and delivered to PCSO’s in Bristol. The impact of this was considerable and this is now being delivered to front line public sector employees to improve multi-agency working with young people.

This programme supports the wider children’s workforce priority to secure better outcomes for young people.

Voscur Children and Young People's Network brings together groups working with children and young people to promote greater involvement in strategic partnerships and understanding of local and national strategies. It includes about 300 groups working with children and young people in Bristol.

Elected voluntary and community sector representatives sit on strategic partnerships and also provide communication channels to influence change in children and young people's services. A monthly e-bulletin is used to communicate with all members.