Impact of Play Streets - Physical Activity and Public Health

Playing Outis a national organisation supporting a growing UK-wide street play movement. As well as thousands of people working on a voluntary basis in their own streets and cities, we have a small staff team based in Bristol.

Playing Out

Playing Out talks to Dr William Bird MBE founder of Green Gym and Intelligent Health, about the impact of play streets on activity & health.

<h3>Are you working to increase physical activity levels for children and families? </h3>You might be a council officer, an elected member, or working for a third sector organisation in public health, active travel, healthy lifestyles, children and families, or something related.You might be a parent or a local community activist wanting to create positive change for children and communities where you live.This webinar will inspire, motivate and provide evidence for how play streets can support increased physical activity levels and improved health and well-being for children and communities.We will interview <a href="http://www.intelligenthealth.co.uk/prevention-is-best-medicine/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Dr William Bird MBE</a>, who has worked tirelessly throughout his career to promote active lifestyles as ‘prevention is the best medicine’. He appears regularly on BBC breakfast and has a strong interest in how our environments promote health. He created <a href="https://www.tcv.org.uk/greengym/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Green Gym</a> and the first <a href="https://www.walkingforhealth.org.uk/walkfinder" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Health Walks programme</a>. His organisation <a href="http://www.intelligenthealth.co.uk" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Intelligent Health</a> is now partnered with Playing Out to promote play streets as the next step from their popular game and health intervention <a href="https://www.beatthestreet.me" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Beat the Street</a>. See more on William below. Playing Out will present the evidence from Bristol University and other sources which recommend play streets as one part of the solution for tackling the physical activity and well-being crisis currently facing our children.There will be an optional Q&amp;A at 11-11.30pm if you want to ask questions. <h3>William Bird Bio</h3>Dr William Bird MBE is a highly influential GP with a vision of making a lasting difference to people’s health and wellbeing by supporting them to become more active. Ever since he was a child, William has been fascinated by the connection between humans and their environment, so it was inevitable he would set up a company - Intelligent Health - whose aim is to improve health through community interventions. Beat the Street their flagship programme has encouraged more than 1.4million people to get moving and improve their health. Intelligent Health are now working in partnership with Playing Out, to promote play streets as the next step for families to take after completing the Beat the Street game. In 2015, William was named by The Independent as one of the top 100 people making Britain a happier place, and in 2010 was appointed MBE for services for health and physical activity. Read more about Dr Bird <a href="http://www.intelligenthealth.co.uk/prevention-is-best-medicine/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">here</a>.<h3>Context /Background</h3>Even before lockdown, only 18% of children in the UK were getting the recommended 60 minutes a day of physical activity, contributing to obesity and other major health problems and with children from lower income households the worst affected. For decades, public health officials have struggled to find effective answers to the question, “how do we get children more active?”But one very obvious, vital - and cheap! - solution is often overlooked. Unstructured outdoor play is fundamental to children’s healthy development and is also one of the easiest, most natural ways for children to be physically active in their daily lives, as well to socialise and have fun. Given the chance, children want to play outside together and when they do, they are naturally active. As one mum has put it, ‘playing out is them getting exercise without noticing.&quot;Resident-led play streets are not a ‘magic bullet’ - they only happen for a few hours a week or month - but they are a huge step in the right direction. By giving children time, space and permission to play freely together on their doorstep, they not only increase activity levels but bring deeper benefits for children’s wellbeing and healthy development. They are also simple, low-cost and community-building.Most importantly, play streets are a way to start changing things for children in a bigger way, building the conditions needed for them to have more freedom and physical activity in their everyday lives: safe, child-friendly local environments; strong, supportive communities and a normalisation of children playing out near home.<h2>How to join?</h2>Once you have registered, we will send you a link to join the zoom meeting two days before the event, and a password on the morning of the event.IMPORTANT: Please check your junk mailbox as the emails will come direct from Eventbrite.How much does it cost?It&#x27;s free! We want it to be available to everyone.However, if you / your organisation would like to make a donation it will go towards our running costs as a very small non-profit organisation (currently a team of five, most part-time).I can&#x27;t make it - can I watch afterwards?We will record the discussion and share afterwards. If you can&#x27;t make it, please sign up to our mailing list to receive the recording.<a href="https://playingout.us5.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=30c4a9fcbf6e97d0e088a2611&amp;id=f525b5a1c3" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Sign up to our mailing list here</a>Any questions? email hello@playingout.net<h3>Feedback from play streets this summer:</h3>Had a fantastic play out this week in Cambridge. Thank you Playing Out for the advice to help us make it covid safe. […] There was basketball, and basketball on rollerblades. […] When the skipping rope came out one Mum turned out to be an expert and showed us loads of new tricks and rhymes.

Impact of Play Streets - Physical Activity and Public Health

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Impact of Play Streets - Physical Activity and Public Health

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