Nunsmoor Centre Trust Summer Weekend Play Project

General Overview

The Nunsmoor Centre Project was focused on increasing the amount of time spent

outdoors and participating in physical activity for children aged 0-12 in the local area.

To fulfil the project aim the Play Rangers engaged children and families through the

use of crafts, sport and physical activity, and free play in three zones (Zone A,B and C).

Zone A consisted of sports including ping-pong, bikes, football,scooter, hoops and toys,

Zone B consisted of arts and crafts with paints, accessories and colouring materials

and Zone C was messy play with sand, water play and quiet area, in collaboration with

the FOOTSTEP’S Nursery. The weekend sessions were structured in three zones

where the participants had to book in advance for the desired zone and get 45 minutes

in each of the zones. The rangers would then clean the area and equipment ready for

the next family this would be repeated throughout the day at the end of each family

session. The play rangers took an hour starting at 11.00a.m. to clean and arrange the

equipment for the day. Activities were delivered, by supporting the families in their play

sessions. Activities were planned and prepared prior to each weekend. Depending on

the age range and capabilities of the children there was a range of either/or sport and

craft see figure 1.

Crafts Sport Equipment Messy Play

Kites Ping Pong Bikes Spades

Painting Basketball Scooters Rakes

Birds and finger

painting with

feathers

Football Karts Buckets

Colouring General games Hula Hoops Animal Shapes

Fence paint using

lollipop sticks

Balls Sieves

Play Dough crafts Basketball Hoops Water Play

Drawings Seesaws Foam using soap

Glitter Art

Figure 1- Range of Activities and Equipment

Play Rangers began tidying away equipment between 5.00 and 5:30p.m. This helped

to ensure efficiency and punctuality regarding the closing of the centre and provide

families with time to end their activities and help to pack up. Attention to the way

sessions ended and clearing and cleaning was undertaken needed extra time and care

due to unexpected circumstances of coronavirus where all equipment had to be

cleaned thoroughly and put away therefore more time for this procedure had to be

allocated.

The project was successful in providing a safe space for the community’s families and

youth during the summer and the challenges of Covid 19., It was enjoyed by all

involved. This was also a safe place for the children in a time where facilities were few

over the summer break since everything had been closed , not all venues had been

able to reopen and the families had been in lockdown. It gave the children an additional

motivational boost to be seeing other children and young people as well as involving

parents in interacting and playing with their youngsters..

Diversity In The Community

Across the project 30+ ethnic backgrounds used the play project and participated in the

activities provided. The booking system evidenced that we had a wide range of

ethnicities booking from Pakistani to Indian to English nationalities as well as children

and young people with additional needs. The numbers of those with a diverse range of

needs was higher than in our previous years' Summer Play Projects. We weren’t able

to accommodate the same numbers as last summer due to the Covid 19 pandemic.

This meant that not all the children and young people from previous years were able to

attend. We were very sorry that this was the situation but it was important, for

everyone’s safety, ,that numbers were carefully controlled We missed some of the

children and young people from previous years. We hope that next year we will be able

to welcome them all in the normal way. However, the booking system and the

attendance of people has been excellent. The Summer Play Project definitely provided

a safe meeting place for children, young people and parents from all different cultures

and backgrounds in a Covid safety compliant way.

Highlights

The equipment provided by the centre was well received by the parents and children.

The arts and crafts at Zone B being especially popular. Differently from last year, this

was the most popular activity where children would spend the most time and was the

most heavily booked zone. This appeared to be influenced by the change in the way

we had to work. It was extremely positive to see parents being more engaged in that

zone with their children. We found that the number of young people attending on their

own had reduced substantially this year (the over eights who previously did not need a

parent in attendance). The bookings were mostly families with small children as the

parents were in charge of making the bookings and attending with their children. It has

been unfortunate that we were unable to accept young people on a drop in basis as in

past years due to the pandemic situation. The children thoroughly enjoyed the messy

play and also made that area a quiet zone to chill and play with their siblings. There

were many positive comments regarding the art and craft area which was very well

received. The children and young people enjoyed the time and activities and spending

time with each other.

The activity packs for the children have also been a success. These were funded by

NBSE.this Summer along with funding to provide extra support for the project . We had

received a grant from the Dockray Fund to support the main running of the project.

Each pack was filled with lots activities for children and young people to do at home.

Parents who wanted to keep their children occupied at home were very pleased with

them.

We received some great feedback from parents some of which have been included in

the feedback section of this report!

Barriers

Our biggest barrier for this year's play ranging has been Covid-19. As we commenced

the project it appeared to be a major challenge but, by the end, it felt as if most things

were possible despite having small barriers which could be overcome. We had to keep

parents, children and workers safe in all situations therefore, hand sanitizers, hand

gels, masks as well risk assessments were in use and adhered to. This allowed

everyone to remain safe. The rangers ensured that everyone knew all the safety

precautions and procedures in place which they needed to adhere to when they

attended the sessions...

Barriers to activities being run by staff included poor weather, ranging from full days of

heavy rain to very blustery afternoons. The weather also resulted in very quiet days

with very low attendance on one afternoon. On that occasion it prevented staff from

being able to provide sports activities because the rain was torrential Zone B was very

popular and helpful in bad weather since it was situated under the awning away from

the rain.

Time slots of 45 minutes were allotted for each zone. Some zones were more favoured

than others, some children got bored in zone A for forty five minutes but enjoyed the

same length of time in Zone B. The promotion of the Summer Play Scheme had to be

targeted, rather than an open drop in this year, due to the pandemic. Rangers were not

able to welcome young people to a ‘drop in’ service as in former years. Updates and

information was mainly spread on social media sites such as Facebook and by word of

mouth and through networking. Some improvements to this could be made by

providing newsletters to send to the regulars or e.mailing out to those attendees from

previous years who were prepared to share e.mail addresses.

The main play area was closed this year due to a delay in maintenance procedures

being completed and signed off due to the lock down This has been very frustrating

both for the rangers and for the attendees. It has meant that movement and space

were both restricted and children did not have as much freedom to run in a wide open

play area as in previous years This was disappointing for everyone but sadly another

situation which arose due to the lock down.

Practical Implications

In the future the project may benefit from having a quiet area for the children with

additional needs and want a 1-1 conversation with parents or a ranger. Further,

advertising was highlighted as an important reason some parents did not attend since

they were not aware that we were open during the summer. Some parents even

suggested that they wish it was open during the weekday too as a mid-week session

for the children to come for an hour just to play and spend time outdoor doing sports

and arts would be really beneficial. It would also be good to have the nursery for

families who requires special attention during their stay as it is a big space and

provides plenty of room to play or sit and chat.

If the booking system still remains in place in the future, the rangers would suggest that

a notice to any parent who books in and does not attend should be sent by email or a

polite phone call to them to explain that their place could potentially be taken by

someone who has not been able to make a booking as there were no spaces left, but

could have been given the space if the parent had informed the team that they would

not be able to attend and no longer needed the slot. This is something that was

observed by rangers who have been very disappointed at having to say’ no’ to some

parents and young people when there was space due to non attenders In the end

rangers did allow some parents and children to come and use the zone, on the day,

applying all safety measures, in place of the non- attenders as it seemed very unfair

that they should miss out.

Feedback from the attendees

Emma, Ethan’s Mum- “Ethan’s had a great time, he’s loved coming, we’ll definitely be

coming the next time”.

Shabab, Hamza’s Dad- “This is so wonderful initiative, I didn't even know a place

where kids can come and play around”

“I have never played with my children like this, it’s good”

“Can you show me how to make a kite my children have been asking all week” I (Patsy) said “of course, let’s all make a kite together”

Hamza said “I’m going to wait for the wind so i can fly my kite, can I take it home?”

Humera, Ibrahim’s Mum- “ This has been my routine every weekend to come here

with the kids, we enjoy it so much”

Conclusion

As the project went on it was well received by the community and there was a stable

flow of attendance with the exception of poor weather and restrictions due to Covid-19.

Also, attendance had high peaks for some regular parents who attended every

weekend and booked the same slots. The structure of the day worked well because it

allowed rangers to be flexible regarding activities they chose and the time seemed

reasonable and gave enough time to clean and prepare. The materials provided by the

Nunsmoor Centre Trust were excellent and in abundance. Also, the diverse experience

of the rangers allowed for skills to be gained, and improve the activities on offer. An

important factor expressed when conversing with parents was that the summer project

was free and readily available for the time scheduled.

As a result, we believe the project has benefited the community providing a safe and

exciting space for the families and children in the area. All feedback has shown a

desire for the play area to stay open during the Summer, at least, and ideally during

other holidays.

Ateea Riaz and Patsy Gibbons.

Play Rangers

Photographs from Play Ranging Scheme (2020)

The Activity Packs for the children

Some Arts and Crafts done by children in Zone B

Messy and Free play done by children in Zone C