Playday 2024 - The Culture of Childhood
Building a brighter culture of play for children and young people
National play organisations call for focused action for play as Playday celebrated across the UK.
As thousands of children and young people come together to celebrate play at local and regional events, the formation of a new UK government provides a timely opportunity to highlight the need for a renewed commitment to play at all levels across society.
This year’s Playday theme focuses on play as the culture of childhood. Play is at the core of children’s lives and is vital for health, happiness, and creativity. Through play:
children develop a sense of, and value for culture
cultural exploration is encouraged, fostering an appreciation for diversity
children work together, negotiate, and build relationships
children feel connected to each other and their neighbourhoods
children create and pass on games, songs and stories.
Despite robust evidence highlighting the multiple benefits of play, the UK Government has consistently overlooked the issue – urgent action is now required if we are to ensure children and young people are able to fully realise their right to play.
This Playday, we invite families, playworkers, decision makers, and all those who work with children across the UK, to join together to foster a culture of play.
Play is every child’s right. On Playday and every day, let’s unite to create a more playful future for our children and young people.
Eugene Minogue, Executive Director at Play England said:
“Playday provides us with an important and timely reminder of the cultural value of play! Ask adults what they loved most about being a kid, and their mind is likely to drift back to the games they played with other children. Some of the best childhood memories are rooted in long summer days playing games outside, many culturally unique to the UK – such as kerby, headers and volleys, hopscotch, bulldog, skipping and many more!
However, children today are experiencing many barriers to play. As their freedom and opportunities to play have declined, so has their physical and mental health as a result. It is therefore vitally important that the new government urgently address the decline in children's play over recent decades. We need to give children their childhood back! That’s why we are calling for the introduction of play sufficiency legislation and development of a new national play strategy in England.“
Download the full press release