Why the Right to Play Matters – and Why It Needs Defending
At ROAM, we know that childhood isn’t just about safety or structure, it’s about risk, imagination, and freedom. And we know it needs to be accessible to all children, regardless of economic background, disability, or where they live. On World Children’s Day 2025, under the theme “My Day, My Rights”, we’re reflecting on something central to what we do: children’s right to play.
What Does “Right to Play” Actually Mean?
The right to play isn’t just a buzz word — it’s grounded in law. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) enshrines play in Article 31, affirming that every child has the right to relax, play, and take part in cultural and recreational activities.
In the UK, advocacy organisations like Play England argue that this right must be translated into public policy. Their manifesto calls not only for more play spaces, but also a Play Sufficiency duty on local authorities — a legal obligation to assess and secure sufficient opportunities for play.
What’s Happening in the UK Right Now
There’s real momentum behind this right in 2025. In May, Play England launched “It All Starts with Play!” – a 10-year roadmap aiming to restore a play-based childhood for all by 2035. Central to their strategy is a call for statutory guidance: a Play Sufficiency duty that ensures not just playgrounds, but truly inclusive play services and a trained workforce.
While England is just beginning to formalise these steps, Wales has had Play Suffiency Duty for over a decade and Scotland is quickly catching up with planning law including a legal duty to assess play sufficiency – England’s lag makes this all the more urgent!
This isn’t just talk. Working with MP Tom Hayes, Play England successfully tabled an amendment to the Planning and Infrastructure Bill. If enacted, local planning authorities would be required to assess — and then provide — enough play opportunities in their areas. Not just traditional playgrounds, but space for informal, child-led play.
The Raising the Nation Play Commission reinforced this momentum. This independent inquiry published its report “Everything to Play For: A Plan to Ensure Every Child in England Can Play” on 11 June 2025, coinciding with the International Day of Play. The recommendations are substantial: introduce a statutory Play Sufficiency duty for local authorities; ringfenced funding of £125 million per year for councils to protect and grow play infrastructure that works for all children, including accessible outdoor spaces and provision in areas currently underserved; embed play into health, education, and urban planning as a cross-government priority. Other asks include banning “No Ball Games” signs and making play part of schools more explicitly.
The political landscape is shifting too. MPs and campaigners are pushing for play to be a statutory planning requirement, and a new All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on play has formed, signalling cross-party interest in normalising play in communities.
The commission’s report also points to deeply worrying trends. Many children are now “sedentary, scrolling and alone”, a sharp decline in unstructured, outdoor play is contributing to poorer mental and physical wellbeing. This affects some groups disproportionately. Children with SEND often face additional barriers to outdoor play; families on low incomes may lack access to safe green spaces in their neighbourhoods; children living in temporary accommodation or high-rise flats have fewer opportunities for the kind of free-range play that should be every child’s right. The case for action isn’t just about rights; it’s about health, development, and what childhood actually looks like for young people today.
Why ROAM Cares
This isn’t just policy detail. At ROAM, promoting and campaigning for the right to independent play for every child is core to our mission.
In every ROAM session, children choose where to go, what to do, how to play. We’re living proof that play doesn’t need fancy playgrounds; what’s needed is time, and nature! At a recent ROAM Free session, we watched a group of children spend a very rainy session creating themselves a dry home inside a bush. No instructions, no equipment beyond what they found, no adult direction. Just children, their imaginations, and time. Article 31 in action!
The policy push toward sufficiency matters because play is still unevenly distributed. Some neighbourhoods lack safe, accessible, unstructured play spaces; we’re committed to changing that. By aligning with Play England’s asks, we raise our voice for better funding, better local planning, and stronger children’s rights.
We share the vision of a play-based childhood by 2035. But policy change takes time. Today’s campaigning shapes tomorrow’s green spaces, den building, and freedom to roam. None of this would be possible without organisations like Play England holding the line, and without families and communities demanding better for their children.
What You Can Do
If you care about children having real, unstructured play, not just play that fits into neat boxes, here are some ways to get involved:
Sign and support campaigns: Organisations like Play England are calling for a play sufficiency duty and funding. Lend your voice to theirs.
Ask your local council: What play provision exists in your area? Does your local authority understand play sufficiency? Are they planning for play in new developments and public spaces?
And of course…
Bring children to ROAM, or spread the word about what we do! By participating in or volunteering with ROAM, you’re part of the lived example of what play looks like.
The right to play is fundamental: to grow, to learn, to rest, to dream. At ROAM, we see every stick den, muddy path, game, and moment of independent discovery as part of that right.
It feels like now the calls for play are gathering momentum and policy makers are starting to shift. But it’s not enough to watch from the sidelines. We want to be part of making independent play normal again -not something exotic, but something guaranteed.