A coalition of 40+ organisations and experts leading on sport, health, play and child rights is calling on the expected incoming Prime Minister, Andy Burnham MP, to make it easier for every child to kick a ball about where they live, for their health and wellbeing.
As the World Cup inspires children across the country, and in the same week that a major report has declared the worsening state of children’s health “a national embarrassment”, campaigners are asking Andy Burnham MP to deliver three simple reforms aimed at restoring children’s free “doorstep play”.
Campaigners say that while the tournament has reignited children’s passion for football, screens are not the main thing preventing them from heading outside for a kickabout.
Instead, traffic-dominated streets, discriminatory “No Ball Games” restrictions and outdated rules governing parks and public spaces keep children out of spaces where once they played, socialised and belonged. As a result, too many are stuck indoors and missing out on the everyday play, physical activity, independence and social connection they need.
The challenge – and damaging health impact – is greatest in communities experiencing the highest levels of inequality, where access to gardens, safe streets, green space and affordable organised sport is often most limited.
London Sport, Play England, the Play Commission, Playing Out, Fields in Trust, with other organisations and experts across sport, health, play and children’s sectors have written to Andy Burnham urging him to take three simple, low-cost actions within his first 100 days as Prime Minister:
- Introduce a clear national prohibition on “No Ball Games” signs and similar blanket restrictions on children’s play.
- Make resident-led Play Streets possible everywhere, through a clear national framework.
- Modernise byelaws to prioritise children’s play, informal recreation and active travel in parks and public space.
The call follows the Government’s positive response to the Culture, Media and Sport Committee’s recent Game On report, including its stated ambition to remove unnecessary “No Ball Games” signs and create more opportunities for children and young people to play.
Campaigners are now urging the next Government to turn that commitment into national action, rather than leaving change to individual councils, housing associations and landowners, which would result in a “postcode lottery” for children’s ability to play.
Ingrid Skeels, co-founder of the Playing Out movement, said:
“Children are desperate to play outside and we need to make that possible for them – especially those who have no garden or access to organised activities. Enabling all children to play in their shared doorstep space for free is one of the best ways to get them off screens, active and connecting with friends in real life.
Kicking a ball around or riding your bike around the block near home is also the most democratic and inclusive foundation for informal sport and nurturing future talent. Creating these conditions for healthier, happier childhoods has never been needed more, when children who have the least are stuck in a spiral of worsening health. It’s time for ‘No Ball Games’ signs and other barriers to be removed from children’s local environments so they can play out every day.
These immediate, low-cost measures would help to address physical inactivity, loneliness, poor mental wellbeing and the loss of children’s independence”.
Emily Robinson, CEO of London Sport, said:
“This World Cup has reminded us of the joy, inspiration and sense of belonging that football can create. But once the final whistle blows, every child should have somewhere safe to kick a ball around close to home.
Too many children are still being told they cannot play where they live. Children shouldn’t need access to a formal pitch, an organised club or parents who can drive them across town simply to be active. The spaces outside where they live should be where they play, move and belong.
These are practical, affordable changes that could be delivered quickly. They would send a powerful signal that the Government is serious about tackling the children’s health crisis through prevention and giving every child the freedom to play”.
Katherine Knight, Director at Intelligent Health and Chair of Rounders England, said:
“If we want to bring hope to the nation, we must start with our children. That means moving past simply banning social media and instead actively finding the places and spaces for them to be heard, to move, and to play. The RCPCH report has made it devastatingly clear that our children are unhealthy and unhappy. While we have excellent strategies from Active Travel England and Sport England, the focus is not joined up. We have to be purposeful about the environments we build for our kids. At Intelligent Health, we’ve seen what is possible when we design cities for play, helping 1 million children and families get moving through Beat the Street. A healthy nation is a stronger nation, and children’s doorstep play is the most natural place to start.”
With around 80% of children’s waking hours spent outside school, campaigners say schools and organised sport cannot solve the children’s health crisis alone. Children must also be able to play, move and socialise safely and freely in the places where they live.
Andy Burnham co-launched England’s previous National Play Strategy in 2008, cancelled by coalition Government in 2010. The letter urges him to renew that ambition for a whole new generation of children, beginning with the three immediate, practical steps
