It’s been 8 weeks since we returned to play. We kicked things off at Vange ParkPlay on April 10th and have been playing with more people in more parks each week since. It’s fantastic to enjoy being active together again, and we’re grateful to have been supported by local authorities to play in a Covid-safe way.

When the roadmap was announced with a timeline for lockdown restrictions easing, we were ready to go. We’d been working hard over the previous six month to build strong foundations and partnerships, based on learnings from when ParkPlay was live in the autumn. Giving people an opportunity to be active and regain a sense of community is more important than ever, and we wanted to be ready to provide that as soon as possible.

Two months on and we’re now live in six parks in two main areas, Basildon and West London. More than 500 ParkPlayers are registered and we’ve played with over 250 people some weeks. We’re already seeing evidence of impact in all areas and can’t wait to see this growth continue. With the support of local partners and brilliant PlayLeaders, we’ll be bringing ParkPlay to many more parks over the coming weeks, including launching in the North of England in Cumbria and County Durham.

But what have we learnt since returning to play?

1. We’re already having an impact amongst everyone involved in ParkPlay – getting more people moving, creating new energy in the communities, creating new opportunities for local PlayLeaders and volunteers. We’re getting more people active, kids are encouraging their parents to play and we’re creating reasons to be active at other times of the week.
2. We need to focus on creating and maintaining the buzz. ParkPlay is high energy, fun and inclusive. And it’s the people who achieve this – the PlayLeader sets the tone right from the beginning of each session.
3. We want to delight people and never lose the small touches. ParkPlay is able to create a sense of belonging and community precisely because we show we care. Small actions can have huge meaning.
4. We play whatever the weather! Poor weather has undoubtedly impacted attendance but we’ve been resilient and set the expectation that we always fly the ParkPlay flag, no matter what.
5. Strong ties with local communities are what help to create a more committed group of ParkPlayers. This is something we’ve seen in Vange and Northlands, thanks to the existing relationships our partners ATF have in Basildon.

If we were forced to say a lowlight from the past 8 weeks, it would have to be playing through one of the wettest Mays on record. As for highlights, there have been many, but a standout moment was the visit from Mike Diaper at Sport England. Sport England’s support has been fundamental to the success of ParkPlay so far and it was fantastic to see Mike joining in the fun and games at Northlands ParkPlay.

It’s been a brilliant couple of months and this is just the start. We’re scaling sustainably and learning all the time, and are excited to see how many people we can bring the power of play to over the remainder of 2021 and beyond.