The Good Play Pledge

Play is not a luxury. It is how children grow.

Every setting where children spend time shapes how much play they get, and what kind. This pledge is a public commitment to make that shaping deliberate.

It is open to anyone: play centres, nurseries, libraries, leisure centres, family hubs, museums, schools, parks teams, housing providers. Wherever children play.

Signing is free. It is not an assessment, and it does not make you a Good Play Zone. It says you have looked honestly at what you offer, and committed to what follows.

The pledge

We commit to seven things.

1. Range. We will offer children a Balanced Diet of Play. Children need to be active, to pretend and play together, to make and build things, and to be quiet and absorbed. We will make room for all of it.

2. Quality. We will keep it well-maintained, regularly refreshed, and challenging enough that children can stretch themselves rather than getting bored.

3. Inclusion. We will make room for every child. That includes the ones who find our space hard: disabled children, children who need it quieter, and families who cannot easily afford us.

4. Care. We will look after children and the adults who bring them, so that children can play freely and grown-ups can relax and engage positively with their children’s play. Safeguarding underpins our approach.

5. People. Our team will understand why play matters, and will support play rather than police it.

6. Families. We will help families see what their children gain from playing. We will never make a parent feel they are getting it wrong.

7. We will get better. Every year we will review ourselves against the Good Play Framework, name one thing we will do better, and do it.

How this works

Three steps, about twenty minutes.

Leave this field empty

Your organisation

This is what we publish. Name, setting type and town only.

Organisation name *

Type of setting * Please choose Indoor play centre or soft play Family entertainment centre Farm park or outdoor attraction Nursery or early years setting School or out of school club Library Leisure centre or sports facility Family hub or children's centre Museum, gallery or heritage site Park, playground or green space Housing provider or community organisation Local authority service Other

Number of sites covered by this pledge

Town or city *

Region * Please choose East Midlands East of England London North East North West Northern Ireland Scotland South East South West Wales West Midlands Yorkshire & Humber

Website

The Good Play Framework: self-review

Mark each statement honestly. If a statement genuinely does not apply to your setting, mark N/A and say why in the notes box for that area. Your answers are confidential. We publish that you have signed. We never publish your scores.

1 · The range of play

Children need more than one kind of play. This is about whether your setting makes room for the whole range, not just the one you are best at.

1.1  Children can be physically active here, and they can also be still. Both are possible.

Yes Partly Not yet N/A

1.2  Children can pretend, play together, and make or build things. Not only use fixed equipment.

Yes Partly Not yet N/A

1.3  Children can choose what to do.

Yes Partly Not yet N/A

1.4  Children have opportunities to play with other children, on their own, and with their adults.

Yes Partly Not yet N/A

Anything you would point to as evidence, or want to tell us about this area Optional

2 · The quality of play

A good offer that is tired, broken or unchanging stops being a good offer. This is about upkeep, challenge and freshness.

2.1  What we offer is clean, well maintained and fit for purpose.

Yes Partly Not yet N/A

2.2  There is enough challenge that children stretch themselves, and enough variety that a regular visitor finds something new.

Yes Partly Not yet N/A

2.3  Play opportunities engage more than one sense. Texture, sound, light and materials, there is not a single dominant mode.

Yes Partly Not yet N/A

Anything you would point to as evidence, or want to tell us about this area Optional

3 · Inclusion

Every child, including the ones for whom your space is hardest.

3.1  A disabled child and their family can get in, move around and use what we offer.

Yes Partly Not yet N/A

3.2  We have made a specific adjustment for children who find noise, crowds or bright light difficult.

Yes Partly Not yet N/A

3.3  There is a route in for families who cannot easily afford us, or we are free at the point of use.

Yes Partly Not yet N/A

Anything you would point to as evidence, or want to tell us about this area Optional

4 · Care and safety

The everyday conditions that let children play freely and let the adults with them relax.

4.1  It is clear who is responsible for children at all times, and families know it.

Yes Partly Not yet N/A

4.2  Our safeguarding arrangements are current and appropriate to our setting.

Yes Partly Not yet N/A

4.3  The adults who bring children can see them, sit down, and choose the extent to which they engage with the children’s play.

Yes Partly Not yet N/A

Anything you would point to as evidence, or want to tell us about this area Optional

5 · The people

The single biggest difference between a space with equipment in it and a space where good play happens.

5.1  Our team can explain, in plain words, why the play we offer is good for children.

Yes Partly Not yet N/A

5.2  Our team joins in and supports play rather than mainly policing it.

Yes Partly Not yet N/A

5.3  Someone here is named as responsible for the quality of play.

Yes Partly Not yet N/A

Anything you would point to as evidence, or want to tell us about this area Optional

6 · Families and community

Play provision that nobody understands the value of is provision that gets cut first.

6.1  We tell families something about why play matters, not only what is on offer.

Yes Partly Not yet N/A

6.2  We ask families what they think, and we act on what they tell us.

Yes Partly Not yet N/A

6.3  We are connected to our local community: schools, health visitors, family hubs, community groups or similar.

Yes Partly Not yet N/A

Anything you would point to as evidence, or want to tell us about this area Optional

Where you are now

Answer the statements above to see your score

There is no minimum score. Signing is a commitment, not an attainment.

The one thing

Name one thing you will do better in the next twelve months. Be specific. We will ask you about it when you renew.

Which area does it sit in? * Please choose 1. The range of play 2. The quality of play 3. Inclusion 4. Care and safety 5. The people 6. Families and community

What we will do *

The declaration

By signing below, on behalf of the organisation named, I confirm that:

We make the seven commitments of the Good Play Pledge.

We have completed the Good Play Framework self-review honestly, and our answers reflect what we actually do rather than what we intend to do.

We understand that this is our own declaration. It is not an assessment by FUNdamentally Children, and we will not describe it as one.

We understand that signing does not entitle us to use the Good Play Zone name or mark.

We agree to be listed publicly as a signatory, and we understand our self-review answers will not be published.

We will review and renew this annually, and report on the improvement we have named.

Signed

Your name *

Your role *

Email *

Phone Optional

Type your full name as your signature *

Date *

Sign the Good Play Pledge

We will confirm within five working days, add you to the public list of signatories, and send your badge.