What We Do

Play Scotland is the lead organisation for the development and promotion of play in Scotland.

We work to make the child’s right to play a reality.

More play, better play.

To do this, we:

Raise Awareness »
Empower Parents, Practitioners, & Communities »
Lead Research »
Influence Policy »
Support Members »

Raise Awareness

Why: Everyone should know what play is and why it is important.

Play Day

Play Scotland sit on the steering group for Play Day.

Play day is a celebration of children and young people’s right to play.

Find out more about Play Day here »

Intro to Play Video Series

Play Scotland produce short videos on play topics that are easy to understand and share.

Watch our Intro to Play Video Series here »

Social media

Play Scotland has an active social media presence where we share the latest news, research and ideas in the play sector.

The Play Well Podcast

Each month we interview an expert on play and release a new episode of our podcast.

Subscribe to our podcast or listen on YouTube.

Empower Parents, Practitioners, & Communities

Why: share ideas and develop practice to ensure high quality and diverse play opportunities.

Play ideas

We have a huge selection of play ideas, resources, and tools to support and extend play.

Find our collection of play ideas here »

Training

We run online training courses on a variety of topics relating to play.

Check out our Training page for upcoming courses or get in touch with our Learning & Development Officer Alex Wallis to discuss your training needs.

Schools

We work with schools to deliver a number of projects to increase play throughout the school day.

We run OPAL (Outdoor Play and Learning) Scotland – a school improvement program that transforms the quality of playtime. Find out more here.

Find out about other ways that your school can get involved here »

Out of School Care

We work with settings and childminders to embed best practice on play.

Find out more about how to get involved here »

Communities

We offer guidance to communities who want to increase the amount and quality of play in their area.

Find out more about how to get involved here »

Lead Research

Why: demonstrate the power of play, build new knowledge and best practice to increase and improve play in Scotland and to

Action research projects

We work with partners and settings to co-create action research projects to develop knowledge and best practice.

Find out about our projects here »

Create Guidance and tools

We create guidance and tools on play. Our resource library has a wealth of information and guidance.

Find out more about our guidance and tools on play »

Highlight research

We share the latest research and reports on play from academics from around the world.

Find out more about research on play here »

Influence Policy

Why: ensure successful creation and implementation of play policy and ensure children’s voices are heard in the creation and implementation of play policy

Local Authorities & Planning

We support local authorities respond to Scottish Government policy and guidance on play, including Open Space Strategies and Play Sufficiency Assessments, in order to deliver increased play and physical activity for children in Scotland.

Find out more about the support we offer to local authorities on play and planning »

Play Strategy

We work as part of the Play Council for Scotland to support the Scottish Government to deliver Scotland’s Play Strategy.

Find out more about Scotland’s Play Strategy here »

Consultation responses & White papers

We frequently respond to consultations from the Scottish government to build a world-leading policy framework for play in Scotland. We work to ensure that children and young people’s voices are heard on key policies and strategies.

Read our consultation responses and white papers here »

Manifesto for Play

As well as working on specific policies and strategies, Play Scotland also has a radical vision for the future of Scotland as a playful nation. We call on all political parties to commit to supporting these Ten Asks For Play #TenAsksForPlay.

Read our Manifesto for Play here »

Support Members

Why: to link up and support people who are passionate about play

Benefits

Discount on all our training courses, workshops and networking events.
Regular e-updates, newsletters and information on consultations
Connection with others in the wider network of play provision across the four nations and beyond
Opportunities to feed in to local and national policy
Voting rights at our General Meetings and on resolutions of the organisation