www.playengland.org.uk

Toolsforevaluatinglocalplayprovision:AtechnicalguidetoPlayEnglandlocalplayindicatorsOctober2009PlayEnglandpromotesexcellentfreeplayopportunitiesforallchildrenandyoungpeople.
PlayEnglandprovidesadviceandsupporttopromotegoodpractice,andworkstoensurethattheimportanceofplayisrecognisedbypolicymakers,plannersandthepublic.
PlayEnglandaimsforallchildrenandyoungpeopleinEnglandtohaveregularaccessandopportunityforfree,inclusive,localplayprovisionandplayspace.
PlayEnglandispartofNCB,issupportedbytheBigLotteryFund,andisthegovernment'snationaldeliverypartner,workingtoimplementthenationalPlayStrategyinEngland.
NCBpromotesthevoices,interestsandwell-beingofallchildrenandyoungpeopleacrosseveryaspectoftheirlives.
Asanumbrellabodyforthechildren'ssectorinEnglandandNorthernIreland,NCBprovideessentialinformationonpolicy,researchandbestpracticeforourmembersandotherpartners.
NCBaimsto:challengedisadvantageinchildhoodworkwithchildrenandyoungpeopletoensuretheyareinvolvedinallmattersthataffecttheirlivespromotemultidisciplinarycross-agencypartnershipsandgoodpracticeinfluencegovernmentpolicythroughpolicydevelopmentandadvocacyundertakehighqualityresearchandworkfromanevidence-basedperspectivedisseminateinformationtoallthoseworkingwithchildrenandyoungpeople,andtochildrenandyoungpeoplethemselves.
NCBhasadoptedandworkswithintheUNConventionontheRightsoftheChild.
PublishedforPlayEnglandbytheNCBNCB,8WakleyStreet,LondonEC1V7QETel:02078436300Website:www.
ncb.
org.
ukRegisteredcharitynumber:258825NCBworksinpartnershipwithChildreninScotland(www.
childreninscotland.
org.
uk)andChildreninWales(www.
childreninwales.
org.
uk)NCB/PlayEnglandOctober2009TheviewsexpressedinthisbookarethoseoftheauthorsandnotnecessarilythoseofNCBorPlayEngland.
Toolsforevaluatinglocalplayprovision:AtechnicalguidetoPlayEnglandlocalplayindicatorsContentsAcknowledgementsForewordHowardSimmonsSection1:Backgroundandintroduction51.
1BackgroundtothePlayEnglandlocalplayindicators51.
2Thetechnicalguide81.
3Thelocalplayindicators91.
4Practicalstepstowardsasuccessfuldatacollectionandanalysis101.
5Definitions101.
6Planningandresources121.
7Checkingandsortingdata14Section2:Children'sparticipationinplay:Indicator1152.
1Householdquestionnairesurvey152.
2Householdsurvey–distributionanddatacollection162.
3Checkingandstoringthedata182.
4Dataanalysisandreporting18Section3:Accesstoplayablespace:Indicator2203.
1Auditandsitesurvey203.
2Undertakingtheaudit223.
3GeographicInformationSystemsmapping253.
4Checkingandstoringthedata303.
5Dataanalysisandreporting31Section4:Thequalityofplayablespaces:Indicator3374.
1Qualityassessment374.
2Sitesurveys384.
3ThePlayableSpaceQualityAssessmentTool(Appendix2a)394.
4Howtocarryouttheassessments404.
5Checkingandstoringthedata474.
6Dataanalysisandreporting474.
7Interpretingthedata47Section5:Children'ssatisfactionwithplayablespace:Indicator4485.
1Questionnairesurveyofchildrenandyoungpeople485.
2Childrenandyoungpeoplequestionnaire:distributionanddatacollection485.
3Checkingandstoringthedata535.
4Dataanalysisandreporting53Toolsforevaluatinglocalplayprovision:AtechnicalguidetoPlayEnglandlocalplayindicators2Feedbackonthisguide55AppendicesTheseareavailableasseparatedocumentsfromthePlayEnglandwebsiteAppendix1:HouseholdquestionnairesurveyAppendix2a:QualityAssessmentTool-GuidelinesanddefinitionsAppendix2b:QualityassessmenttoolscoresheetAppendix3:Children'ssatisfactionquestionnaireToolsforevaluatinglocalplayprovision:AtechnicalguidetoPlayEnglandlocalplayindicators3AcknowledgementsAuthorsMainguidanceAshleyGodfreyAssociates:PhilBack,PeteSinclair,PeterTaylor,HakiKapasi,AshleyGodfrey,LynnBennett.
QualityAssessmentToolINSPIRE:HakiKapasi.
ChildrenandyoungpeoplesatisfactionquestionnaireBristolCityCouncilYouthandPlayService,TomWilliams,WendySharp,DominicHubbock,VinCallan,SeniorPlayworker.
Thanksalsogotothefollowingpeoplefortheirhelpwiththedevelopmentoftheevaluationtools:ChrisBarr,SamanthaBarratt,LamisaBegum,LynnBennett,AmandaBethell,DaveBoucker,AngeliqueBrorsson,AlanBurrows,NicholaButler,IssyCole-Hamilton,NeilColeman,MickConway,RichardDavidson,JoanFisher,KellyFogarty,JohnFreeman,JohnGodwin,JonGorton,DyeLockyer,DaveMarsh,SusanMcIntyre,ChrisRichards,KeithRimmer,KenRyan,LakhvirSahota,MaryVadai,KenWatkins,IanYates.
Toolsforevaluatinglocalplayprovision:AtechnicalguidetoPlayEnglandlocalplayindicators4ForewordbyHowardSimmons'Rigorousandregularself-assessmentisafeatureofeffectiveorganisationsandpartnerships.
Goodorganisationsandpartnershipsuseitaspartoftheirperformancemanagementtoidentifyhowwelltheyknowtheircommunities,ifoutcomesarebeingimproved,howeffectivelyresourcesareused,andwhatneedstobedonetosustainandfurtherimprovegoodperformance.
Wewillusetheinformationthatpartnershipsandorganisationsusetoevaluateandmanagetheirownperformancewhereverpossibletohelpgaugehowwellperformanceisbeingmanagedinorganisationsandacrossareas.
'ComprehensiveAreaAssessmentFrameworkdocument(AuditCommission,2009)Measuringthenature,valueandimpactoflocalservicesandprovisionisbecomingincreasinglyimportantasprovidersandfundersseektoensurethebestandmosteffectivevalueformoneyprovisionforlocalpeople.
Playprovisionisnoexceptiontothis.
Notonlywillrobustevaluationhelplocalauthoritiesandtheirpartnersbetterunderstandtheneedsofthecommunitiestheyserve,itwillalsohelpensurethoseneedsaremet,andthatresourcesaredirectedtochildrenandyoungpeoplemostinneedofimprovedplayopportunitiesandexperiences.
PlayEngland'slocalplayindicatorshavebeendevelopedastoolsforlocalevaluationandprovideinformationabouttheextenttowhichchildrenandyoungpeopleplayoutsideintheirlocalneighbourhoods(participation),thetypeandqualityofplayablespacesavailabletothem(accessandquality)andwhattheythinkaboutthesespacesasplacesforplay(satisfaction).
ThenewComprehensiveAreaAssessment(CAA)examineshowwellcouncilsareworkingtogetherwithotherpublicbodiestomeettheneedsofthepeopletheyserve.
Itdrawsonthedetailedworkofdifferentinspectorates,includingOfstedforChildren'sServices;alongsidetheviewsoflocalresidents,peoplewhouselocalservicesandotherstakeholders;theNationalIndicatorSet(NIS)andtheinformationbeingusedtomanagepublicserviceslocally.
Thelocalplayindicatorsaredesignedtoprovidelocalauthoritiesandpartnershipswiththislocallycollectedperformancemanagementinformation.
ThiscanalsobeusedasanevidencebasetounderpintheachievementofmanyindicatorsintheNIS,includingNI199(Children'ssatisfactionwithparksandplayareas).
1Thelocallyassessedsatisfactionindicatorwillbeusefulforlocalauthoritiesandpartnershipsinlookingindetailatchildrenandyoungpeople'sviewsoftheirlocalplayablespaces,complementinganddrivingupperformanceunderNI199.
Wheretherearetwotierauthorities,withcountyanddistrictcouncils,manyservicesthathaveasubstantialimpactonqualityoflifeandoutcomesforchildrenandyoungpeopleareprovidedatdistrictlevel.
Theseincludestrategichousingissues,crimeanddisorderreduction,planning,managingthequalityandimprovementofthelocalenvironmentandprovisionofplay,leisureandrecreationfacilities.
Localplayindicatorsarethereforeasimportanttodistrictcouncilsandtheyaretotoptierauthoritiesinhelpingtoselfassesstheoutcomesanddeliveronlocallydeterminedprioritiessuchasplayprovision.
HowardSimmonsAuditCommissionComprehensiveAreaAssessmentlead,LondonRegion1PlayEngland(2009)Howchildren'splaycontributestotheNationalIndicatorSet.
London:NCB/PlayEngland.
Availableonlineat:www.
playengland.
org.
uk/resources/play-national-indicator-set.
pdfToolsforevaluatinglocalplayprovision:AtechnicalguidetoPlayEnglandlocalplayindicators5Section1:Backgroundandintroduction1.
1BackgroundtothePlayEnglandlocalplayindicatorsThePlayEnglandlocalplayindicatorshavebeendevelopedtosupportbothtop-tierandsecondtierlocalauthoritiesinassessingandmanagingtheirownperformanceinprovidingplayopportunitiestolocalchildren.
InadditiontheycancontributeevidencetounderpinanumberofindicatorsintheNationalIndicatorSetincludingthoserelatingto:stronger,safercommunities;theoutcomesforchildrenandyoungpeopleofbeinghealthy,stayingsafe,enjoyingandachieving,makingapositivecontributionandeconomicwell-being;tacklingexclusionandpromotingequality;andenvironmentalsustainability.
LocalauthoritiesmightthereforechoosetousethelocalplayindicatorsasparttheirevidencebaseforComprehensiveAreaAssessment.
InApril2009thegovernmentintroducedNationalIndicator199(NI199)intotheNationalIndicatorSet.
NI199collectsinformationabouttheextenttowhichchildrenandyoungpeoplearesatisfiedwiththeparksandplayareasintheirlocalarea.
ThisinformationiscollectedthroughtheannualTellUssurveyandisavailabletotoptierlocalauthoritiesthroughtheannualreportofthesurvey.
ToptierauthoritieswillbeinspectedagainstthisindicatoraspartoftheirComprehensiveAreaAssessmentandwillbeabletojudgetrendsintheirownperformanceovertimeandcomparetheirresultswiththoseofotherlocalauthorities.
Thisprocessisseparatefromthelocalplayindicatordatacollectionprocessandwillbeundertakencentrally.
AllChildren'sTrustsshouldbeseekingtoreviewlocalplayspaces,asoutlinedinthestatutoryguidancetoChildren'sTrusts2andtheforthcomingguidancedocumentEmbeddingthePlayStrategy3publishedbyPlayEnglandforconsultationinautumn2009.
Thelocalplayindicatorsofferasetoftoolstomeasuretheperformanceoflocalauthoritiesinprovidingappropriatefacilitiesandspacesforplayandinformalrecreation.
Thelocalplayindicatorsfocuson:childrenandyoungpeople'suseofspacesandfacilitiesforplayandinformalrecreationchildrenandyoungpeople'saccesstospacesandfacilitiesforplayandinformalrecreationchildrenandyoungpeople'sexperienceofspacesandfacilitiesforplayandinformalrecreationthequalityoflocalspacesandfacilitiesavailableforplayandinformalrecreation.
2DCSF(2008)Children'sTrusts:Statutoryguidanceoninter-agencycooperationtoimprovewell-beingofchildren,youngpeopleandtheirfamilies.
London:DepartmentforChildren,SchoolsandFamilies.
3PlayEngland(2009)EmbeddingthePlayStrategy.
London:NCB/PlayEngland.
www.
playengland.
org.
uk/playstrategyToolsforevaluatinglocalplayprovision:AtechnicalguidetoPlayEnglandlocalplayindicators6Thistechnicalguidancedescribesthelocalplayindicatorsandtherecommendedmethodsofdatacollectionandanalysis.
AdetailedreportonthedevelopmentandpilotingofthelocalplayindicatorscanbefoundonthePlayEnglandwebsite.
PlayEnglandbelievesthattheprimaryaimoflocalauthorityinvestmentinandsupportforlocalspacesandfacilitiesforchildrenandyoungpeople'splayandinformalrecreationshouldbetoincreasethenumbersandfrequencyofchildrenandyoungpeople–fromallsocialgroups–playingfreelyintheirlocalneighbourhoodorinstaffedplayfacilities.
Evidenceshowsthatthisisgoodforchildrenandyoungpeople,goodforfamiliesandgoodforsupportinginclusivecommunities.
Thelocalplayindicatorsseektomeasuretheextenttowhich,wherevertheyliveorspendthemajorityoftheirfreetime,childrenandyoungpeoplehaveaccesstospacesandfacilitiesforplayandinformalrecreationwhich:passthe'threefrees'test,i.
e.
freeofcharge,wheretheyarefreetocomeandgoandfreetochoosewhattheydowhilethereareaccessible,welcomingandengagingforall,includingthosewhoaredisabledorhavespecificneedsandwishesallowforthedifferingneedsofpeopleofdifferentagesandwithdifferentplayinterests.
Localauthoritieshaveaduty,undertheChildrenAct2004,toworkacrosstheirserviceareasandwithotherorganisationstopromotethewell-beingofallchildrenandyoungpeople.
Thisdutyincludespromotingchildrenandyoungpeople'swell-beingandrecentstatutoryguidancetoChildren'sTrusts4highlightstheimportanceofworkingcloselywithotherorganisationsincludingthoseinvolvedintheprovisionofplayandrecreationalopportunities.
EmbeddingthePlayStrategyoffersdetailedguidancetolocalauthoritiesontheimplementationofthestatutoryguidance.
Althoughmuchlocalprovisionforchildrenandyoungpeople'sfree-timeactivityismadebythecommunityandvoluntarysector,localauthoritiescanonlybesurelocalchildrenarewellprovidedforiftheyadoptastrategicapproachtothedevelopment,deliveryandsupportofappropriateandqualityspacesandfacilities.
Localauthoritysuccessinpromotingopportunitiesforchildrenandyoungpeople'splayandinformalrecreationshouldthereforeincludeindicatorsforthefullrangeofprovisionitsupports,includingthatfromthecommunity,voluntaryandsocialenterprisesectors,notmerelythatprovideddirectlybythelocalauthority.
PlayEnglandisalsoworkingwithgovernmenttodevelopanationalmapofplayprovision,guidancetolocalauthorityplanningdepartmentsonthe4DCSF(2008)Children'sTrusts:Statutoryguidanceoninter-agencycooperationtoimprovewell-beingofchildren,youngpeopleandtheirfamilies.
London:DepartmentforChildren,SchoolsandFamilies.
Toolsforevaluatinglocalplayprovision:AtechnicalguidetoPlayEnglandlocalplayindicators7considerationofplayablespaceinlocalopenspaceauditingandplanning5andtrainingforlocalauthorityofficers,inplanningandotherrelevantdepartments,toincreasetheirknowledgeandunderstandingofchildren'splayandtheirroleintheprovisionofmoreandbetterplayablespaces.
6Thisworklinkswithlocalevaluationusingthelocalplayindicators,inparticularthroughmappingfortheaccessindicatorandqualityassessmentsforthequalityindicator.
1.
1.
1TheplayofferThelocalplayindicatorshavebeendevelopedaroundthemodeloftheplayofferdescribedinDiagram1below.
Thisstartswiththeconceptofallchildrenandyoungpeoplehavingaccesstoavarietyoffacilitiesandspacesforplayandinformalrecreationintheirneighbourhood.
Thereisevidencetosuggestthatwherethoseopportunitiesexistthenallchildrenaremorelikelytoplayouti.
e.
participate.
Theyaremostlikelytodothisiftheyaresatisfiedwiththeexperienceandwillbenefitmostifthefacilitiesandspacesareofhighquality.
Themodelemphasisestheimportanceofconsideringhowthevarietyoffacilitiesandspacesisaccessibletospecificsocialgroups,andofincludingequitymeasureswithintheperformanceindicators.
Diagram1:The'playoffer'5PlayEngland(2009)BetterPlacestoPlaythroughPlanning.
London:NCB/PlayEngland(pendingpublication).
6ThePlayShaperprogrammeisanintegratedtrainingpackagetobeofferedtoalltoptierlocalauthoritiesinthenexttwoyears(2009–2010).
www.
playshaper.
org.
ukEQUITYLeadstosuccessfulOUTCOMESSupportedbytheQUALITYofspacesSupportedbyACCESStospacesSatisfactionPlayablespaceFacilitiesandspacesforplayandinformalrecreationParticipation(Usage)Toolsforevaluatinglocalplayprovision:AtechnicalguidetoPlayEnglandlocalplayindicators81.
2ThetechnicalguideThisguidancehasbeenpreparedtoprovidelocalauthoritieswithaclearunderstandingoftheperformanceindicatorsforplay.
Itprovidescleardescriptionsanddefinitionsoftheindicators,datasourcesandmethodsforcollectingandanalysingthedata.
Indetailtheguidance:explainsthepurposeoftheperformanceindicatorsandtheperformanceinformationsystemensuresthatthedefinitionsareprecisebutpracticableexplainswhatshouldbemeasuredexplainshowthedatawillbecheckedandauditedexplainshowthedatashouldbecollectedprovidesdatacollectionformstoensurethatitispossibletomatchdatathatcomesfromdifferentsourcesexplainsthetechnicalpropertiesofeachindicator,example,withrespecttosamplingscheme,responserateinsurveys,andprecisionprovidestheprotocolsonhowthedatawillbecheckedandauditedexplainshowthedatawillbeanalysed,andwhethertherewillbeanyadjustmentforcontextindicateshowtheresultswillbepresented,includingtheprotocolswherebyinstitutionsorindividualsmaybenamedpubliclydemonstrateshowuncertaintywillbeconveyedtosafeguardagainstover-interpretationandmisinterpretation.
Theindicatorsandtheprocessofcollectingthenecessarydatahavebeenpilotedbysixlocalauthorities.
Thesewere:ChelmsfordDistrictCouncilAlargelyruralareainwestEssexbasedonthecountytownofChelmsfordbutalsocoveringanumberofsmallervillages.
Chelmsfordistheonlydistricttohaveparticipatedandhasprovidedvaluablepointersonthecapacityofdistrictstodelivertheseindicators.
KirkleesCouncilAmetropolitancouncilinWestYorkshirecentredonthelargetownofHuddersfieldandalsocoveringarangeofsmallertownsandvillages.
Kirkleeshasalargerangeofplayprovision.
ManchesterCityCouncilAnentirelyurbanmetropolitancouncilcoveringalargeanddiversecommunitywhichincludesamajorcitycentreandinnercityundergoingsignificantregeneration,andsuburbanareas.
BoltonMetropolitanCouncilCoveringthelargeurbanareaofBoltonanditsimmediatesurroundings,northwestofManchester.
TheRoyalBoroughofKensingtonandChelseaAWestLondonboroughthathassomeaffluentdistrictsalongsidewardsthatareincludedinthe10percentmostdeprivedinEngland(IndicesofDeprivation,2007).
BristolCityCouncil.
AlargeunitaryauthorityinthewestofEnglandthatcoversaprimarilyurbanareawithadiversepopulationbase.
Toolsforevaluatinglocalplayprovision:AtechnicalguidetoPlayEnglandlocalplayindicators9Weareverygratefultothemanystaffinvolvedateachoftheseauthoritiesfortheirconstructiveandenthusiasticapproachtopilotingtheindicatorsandtotheircontributiontorefiningthisguidance.
1.
3ThelocalplayindicatorsTheperformanceindicatorsforplayprovisionaredefinedinTable1.
Table1:LocalperformanceindicatorsIndicator1ParticipationMethodofgenerationDescriptionThepercentageofallchildrenandyoungpeopleagedfrombirthto16years(fromallsocialandethnicgroups,includingthosewhoaredisabled),whoplayoutforatleastfourhourseachweek.
HouseholdsurveyIndicator2AccesstoavarietyoffacilitiesandspacesMethodofgenerationDescriptionThepercentageofchildrenandyoungpeopleagedfrombirthto16yearsthathaveaccesstoatleastthreedifferenttypesofspaceorfacilitydoorstep,localandneighbourhood),atleastoneofwhichisadedicatedplaceforplayandinformalrecreation,whichareallwithineasywalkingorcyclingdistanceasdefinedinTable3.
OpenspaceandplaystrategyauditsGISmappingIndicator3QualityoffacilitiesandspacesMethodofgenerationDescriptionTheproportionofplayspacesandfacilitieswithhighscoresforlocation,playvalueandcareandmaintenanceasassessedusingthePlayableSpaceQualityAssessmentTool.
QualityAssessmentToolIndicator4SatisfactionMethodofgenerationDescriptionThepercentageofallchildrenandyoungpeople(fromallsocialandethnicgroups,includingthosewhoaredisabled),whothinkthattherangeandqualityofplayfacilitiesandspacestheyareabletoaccessintheirlocalneighbourhoodisgood/verygood.
QuestionnairesurveyofchildrenandyoungpeopleToolsforevaluatinglocalplayprovision:AtechnicalguidetoPlayEnglandlocalplayindicators101.
4PracticalstepstowardsasuccessfuldatacollectionandanalysisFromtheexperienceofotherschemes,itisimportantthatyoutrytoensurethatthefollowingrequirementsarefulfilled.
Clearleadershipisessentialforgoodprojectmanagement.
Inparticularitisimportantthatyoutrytoavoidsplitresponsibilities.
Youwillneedaprojectmanagerwiththeauthoritytodriveitthrough.
Itisalsoimportantforyoutohavearapidreplacementpolicy,shouldthelocalprojectmanagerbecomeillorleave.
Itisimportanttoestablishclearandunambiguouscommunicationsprocedureswithinternalteams,particularlyregardingtheprotocolsfordatacollection.
Itisessentialforyoutosetacleartimetableforyourresponsibilitiesintheproceduresfordatacollection,dataanalysisandreportingoftheresults.
Thisshouldobviouslybecompatiblewiththetimetablefordatacollection.
Buildinsomeslippagetimebecauseitisinevitablethattherewillbedelaysinobtainingoranalysingsomeofthedata.
Finally,theprojectmanagerneedstobeclearonanumberofthings:First,onthedefinitionsofwhatyouaremeasuringandreportingon.
Thenextsectionwillhelpyouonthis.
Anyambiguitiesremaininginthesedefinitionsshouldberesolvedbydiscussionwiththeconsultants,notbysecond-guessingwhatshouldbetherightwayorbydialoguewithotherlocalauthorities.
Itisvitalthatlocalauthoritiesmeasureandreportthesamedata,forthereliabilityofperformancemeasurement.
Second,ontheproceduresforobtainingthedataneededtomeasurethefourperformanceindicators.
Youneedtoeitherimplementtheseproceduresormonitorthembeingconductedbyotherorganisations.
Third,onthedesiredoutputsofthepilot,iethemeasuresofthefourperformanceindicators.
Thesemeasureshavetobeconsistentlypresentedbyalllocalauthorities.
1.
5Definitions1.
5.
1Designatedandnon-designatedplayplacesPlaceswherechildrenplaythatmayormaynotbespecificallydesignedforplayorinformalrecreation(designatedornon-designated)andmayormaynotbesupervisedbystafftrainedinplayworkorotherskills.
Theplayplacegrid(Table2)giveexamplesofthetypesoffacilityandspacewhichofferchildrenandyoungpeoplethebestopportunitiesforplayandinformalrecreationandwhichshouldformthebasisofprovisionwherechildrenshouldbeabletoplayfreelyandfreeofchargeintheirownneighbourhoods.
Table2:TheplayplacegridSupervisedandsemi-supervisedNoformalsupervisionDesignatedplacesforplayandinformalrecreationAdventureplaygroundsOpenaccessplaycentresPlayrangerandoutreachplayprojectsMobileplayfacilitiesSchoolplaygrounds(outofschoolhours)Playgrounds/playareas,Bike,skateandskateboardfacilitiesBallcourtsMulti-usegamesareas,Hangout/youthsheltersNon-designatedplacesforplayandinformalrecreationParkswithrangersandgardenersStreetswithwardensResidentialstreetsNeighbourhoodopenspacesParksandgreenspacesBeaches,riversandlakesWoodlandsandnaturalopenspacesRoutestoschoolandplayareasPlayingfieldsandrecreationgroundsPublicsquaresandplazasPublicrightsofway1.
5.
2Supervisedandsemi-supervisedplayprovisionSupervisedandsemi-supervisedplayprovisionwillneedtopassthe'threefrees'test7,thattheyare:freeofchargewherechildrenarefreetocomeandgowherechildrenarefreetochoosewhattheydowhilstthere.
Thismaybedifficulttoassessinsomecircumstances,particularlywherethisinvolvestheuseofschoolbuildings.
Wherechildrenhavetoregisterwhentheyattendasupervisedorsemi-supervisedopenaccessplayfacility,thisis7DevelopedbyPerryElse,SheffieldHallamUniversity2005.
Toolsforevaluatinglocalplayprovision:AtechnicalguidetoPlayEnglandlocalplayindicators12entirelyacceptable.
However,ifchildrenhavetobecollectedbyparentsorachargeismadethenthistypeofprovisioncannotbeconsideredwithintheaccessibilityindicatorbecausethechildrenarenotengagedin'freeplay'.
Unequippedspace-whilethereisnoequipmentorspecificdesignforplay,theareaissuitableandusedforplay.
Itmayonlybepracticabletoauditsuchspacesifundertakenaspartofawideropenspaceaudit.
Toddler/doorstep-smallspacenearhousingspecificallydesignedforplay;mayormaynothavesomesmallitemsofequipmentorotherfeaturesfortoddlersandseatingforadults.
Smallplayarea-primarilyaimedatunder-8swith,offeringavarietyofplayexperiencesand/orseating.
Neartohousing.
Largeplayarea-aimedat5-to11-year-oldchildrenwithalargerrangeoffeaturesofferingawiderangeofplayexperiences,andspace/designforballgames,wheeledsports.
Offersseatingandisneartohousing.
Neighbourhoodplayarea-providingforallchildrenincludingteenagers.
Facilitiesasforlargeplayareabutwithadditionalfeaturesofferingchallengetoolderchildren;youthsheltertypeprovision;andfloodlitMUGA(multi-usegamearea)and/orwheeledsportsfacilities.
Youthfacilities-thesearespacesaimedprimarilyatolderchildrenandteenagers(12+).
Theywillrangefromyouthshelters/meetingareaswithinlocalpublicopenspacetofloodlitMUGAs,skateboardandBMXparks.
Greenspaces-parks,playingfieldsandothergreenspacesopentothepublicandavailableforplay.
Destinationplaygrounds-theseareplayspaceswithinkeysitesthatareaimedatattractingfamilyandsimilargroupsforalongervisit.
Theywilltendtobelargerthanneighbourhoodsites,havecarparkingfacilities,agreatervarietyoffixedequipment,andaccesstofacilitiessuchascafesandpublictoilets.
Otherplayspaces-outdoorplayfacilitiesandplaceswherechildrencanplaythatarenotcoveredbytheabove,includinghomezones.
1.
6PlanningandresourcesCarefulplanningwillhelpensuremoresystematicandrobustdatacollection.
Preferablybeforedatacollectiongetsfullyunderway,oratleastinitsearlystages,thefollowingproceduresrequirediscussionandplanning.
1.
6.
1InternalmarketingEducatingstaffandotherkeyinternalstakeholders-successinperformancemonitoringisoftenamatterofattitude:seeingitasanopportunityandsomethingwhichiscentrallyimportantforthefutureoftheservice,ratherthanathreatandsomethingwhichismarginaltothemainfunctionsoftheservice.
Toolsforevaluatinglocalplayprovision:AtechnicalguidetoPlayEnglandlocalplayindicators13Localmonitoringandevaluationofferstheopportunityfortheservicetomakesignificantimprovementsinitsperformancemanagement.
1.
6.
2StaffingandleadershipIdentificationofanamedprojectmanagertoleadtheprocesswillhelpensureconsistency.
Itwillalsohelptoconsiderareplacement/successionpolicyforillnessorstaffturnoverinthiskeyrole.
Allocationofrolesandresponsibilities,clarifyingwhowillberesponsibleforwhatandwhotheyareresponsibleto,isalsoimportant.
Thekeyresponsibilitiesare:datacollection:householdsurvey;schoolsurvey;openspaceandplaystrategyaudits;GISdataentry;qualityassessmentforplayfacilitiesandspacesdataanalysis:householdsurvey;schoolsurvey;GISmapping;qualityassessmentaggregation.
Certainskillsareimportantforthesuccessofthedatacollectionandanalysis.
Withthisinmind,thelocalprojectmanagerneedstoplanwhoisgoingtodealwithkeytasks-surveydesign,implementationandanalysis;GISdataentryandanalysis;andqualityassessment.
Inparticular,anearlydecisionwillbewhethertouseinternalauthoritystafforexternalstaff.
Inmakingthisdecisionitisveryimportanttoberealisticaboutthecapacityofinternalstafftotakeontheadditionalresponsibilitiesoftheproject.
Internaloptionsincludereciprocalarrangementswithotherdepartmentsregarding,forexample,surveyimplementationorqualityassessment.
Internalteamsforcanbebuiltusingdifferentpartsofthelocalauthorityandbeyond,includingthedepartmentsorsectionsresponsibleforplay(education,leisure,and/orparks);PPG17planning,includingGISdata;researchandinformation;andperformancemanagement.
Appropriatevoluntarysectoragencies,suchasplayassociations,mayalsohaveausefulrole.
Whateverteamisconstructed,itisimportantforeachmembertohaveasharedsenseofinvolvementandfortheteamtohavetheappropriateskillmix:useinitialmeetingswiththeprojectconsultantstoadviseonthis.
Externaloptionsincludecontractingoutanyorallofthedatacollectionandanalysistoexternalorganisations,orusingexistingpartnershipswithorganisations(forexample,alocaluniversity)tohelpthedatacollection.
1.
6.
3OtherresourceinputsTohelpinensuringthatlocalevaluationandperformancemonitoringisembeddedintoservicemanagementanddelivery,ratherthanbeinganadded'extra',itisimportanttoplan,asfaraspossible,touseexistingprocessesandresources.
Itisalsoimportanttousetheexperienceofandinformationfromallrelevantstaffanddepartments.
Relevantinformationisalreadycollectedinmanyauthoritiesandifitisnottheauditofplayablespace,requiredformonitoringlocalplayprovisionanddatacollectionforthelocalplayindicators,willbeausefulcatalystforprogressingthiswork.
Usefuldataforauditingplayablespacesshouldbeavailablein:Toolsforevaluatinglocalplayprovision:AtechnicalguidetoPlayEnglandlocalplayindicators14PPG17openspaceandplaystrategyaudit(seeCompanionGuidetoPPG17andGreenSpaceStrategies:agoodpracticeguideandBetterPlacestoPlaythroughPlanning8)playingpitchassessmentplaystrategyaudit(seeEmbeddingthePlayStrategy9).
Theseinformationsourcessupportdatacollectionfortheaccessindicatorprimarilybuttheyalsoprovidespecific'facilitiesandspaces'promptsforthehouseholdandschoolsurveyswhichdelivertheparticipationandsatisfactionindicators.
Theycanalsoprovideatasksheetforthequalityassessmentsrequiredforthequalityindicator.
Iftheauthorityalreadyconductsregularsurveys(e.
g.
schoolsurveys),thereisapotentialforaddingrelevantquestionstothemtosatisfythesurveyneedsofthepilot.
Theaddedplay-relevantquestionswouldbeonparticipation(totalweeklyhours,frequencyandduration,activity,location)andsatisfaction(withtherangeandqualityofplayfacilities).
Itisalsonecessarytoplanforsufficientfinancetobeabletocollect,analyseandinterpretthemonitoringinformationsoitisimportanttoberealisticaboutthepotentialcoststobeabletoundertaketheexercise.
Costwilldependtoalargeextentonthetypesofinformationalreadybeingcollectedbythelocalauthority.
1.
7CheckingandsortingdataThelocalprojectmanager,oradelegatedperson,needstocheckthatthedatabeingusedfortheperformanceindicatorsarecorrectandthattheresultslooksensible.
Tofacilitateaggregationandcomparisonofthedata,requiredalldatashouldbestoredelectronically.
Checkingthattheresultslooksensiblerequiresaknowledgeoftheservicebeingmonitoredandthereforeprobablyneedstobeconductedbyarelativelyseniormanager.
Itcomprisesexaminationoftheoutcomesandifanyfindingslooksuspiciouslyhighorlow,itwillbenecessarytocheckthatthedataentryandanalysishavebeenconductedproperly.
Atthisstageitisnotpossibletospecifyparametersforwhatis'toohigh'or'toolow'foreachindicator,whichiswhythisisamatterofjudgementbyamanagerwhoisfamiliarwiththeservice.
8Seefootnote59Seefootnote3Toolsforevaluatinglocalplayprovision:AtechnicalguidetoPlayEnglandlocalplayindicators15Section2:Children'sparticipationinplay:Indicator1Indicator1ParticipationMethodofgenerationDescriptionThepercentageofallchildrenandyoungpeopleagedfrombirthto16years(fromallsocialandethnicgroups,includingthosewhoaredisabled),whoplayoutforatleastfourhourseachweek.
Householdsurvey2.
1HouseholdquestionnairesurveyToobtaindataforindicator1:Participation,aquestionnairesurveyneedstobeundertakentofindouthowmuchtimechildrenarespending'playingout'.
Toensuredatacompatibilityandreliability,followtheguidancecloselyandcomplywiththespecificsurveyrequirements.
Ifyouareunsureaboutyourcapacitytodothis,helpmaybeobtainablefromthelocalauthoritymonitoringdepartment.
Thesurveyisofprivatehouseholdsandthedatawillbeobtainedprincipallyfromhouseholdswithchildren.
ThetwoquestionsyouneedtoaskareprovidedinAppendix1.
Thesequestionsaredesignedtobecompletedbyadults.
Theyareinappropriateforchildren.
Thequestionshavebeendevelopedwithaviewtotheirbeingincludedinalargerhouseholdsurvey.
Manylocalauthoritiesdistributegeneralhouseholdsurveysfromtimetotime,toseektheviewsoflocalpeopleonimportantlocalissuesandcouncilservices.
Addressesaresampledtoensurethatthereisarepresentativecrosssectionofthecommunity.
Essentiallythissurveyrepresentsasnapshotofpublicopinionatagiventimeandisusedtoinformcouncildecision-makingprocesses.
Thehouseholdsurveyisapostalsurveythatwillentailpostingquestionnairestoselectedhouseholdswithinyourlocalauthorityarea.
Guidanceonthedistributionandcollectionofdataisgiveninbelow.
Thetwoquestionsarelimitedtoaquestionaboutthechildorchildren,andaquestionabouttheamountoftimethechildorchildrenhavespentplayingorhangingout.
Itasksfordemographicdataaboutthechildren,ratherthantherespondentthemselves.
Demographicdataabouttheadultcompletingthequestionnairewouldnormallybeincludedelsewhereinageneralhouseholdsurvey.
Tokeepthequestionsimpleandclear(andhenceeasytoanswertoimproveyourresponserate),wehavesimplifiedsomeofthedemographicdata,particularlyaboutethnicity.
Webelievethequestion,asitstands,isadequateforthelevelofanalysisyouarelikelytoundertake.
ItishoweverpossiblethatyouhavecorporaterequirementsaboutethnicitycategorieswhicharenotmetToolsforevaluatinglocalplayprovision:AtechnicalguidetoPlayEnglandlocalplayindicators16inthissimplifiedquestion.
Youmaythereforewishtoseektheguidanceofcorporateconsultationstaffaboutusingthissimplifiedethnicitybreakdown,bearinginmindthatthehouseholdsurveyofwhichthisformsapart,willincludeamoredetailedethnicityquestionabouttheadultcompletingtheform.
Ifyoudecidetocommissionthesurveyexternally,detailsofmarketresearchcontractorscanbeobtainedfromtheMarketResearchSociety.
Ensurethatyoursupplierhasacopyofthisdocument.
2.
2Householdsurvey–distributionanddatacollectionThesurveymustbeconductedbypost,unlessthereareoverridingconsiderationsforthesurveytoemployadifferentmethod.
Itcanbeundertakeneitheraspartofawidersurveyaskingotherquestionsaboutsportandplay,oraspartofahouseholdsurveybeingrunorcommissionedbyyourauthority.
Note:itisnotrecommendedthatyoushouldonlyaskthesequestions!
Thisisanopportunitytofindoutmoreaboutyourlocalcommunityanditsneeds,andifyouwouldlikeadviceorsuggestionsonotherquestionsthatmaybeappropriatetoaskinyoursurvey,lookatthePlaceSurveyQuestionBank,availableonlineat:www.
communities.
gov.
uk/publications/localgovernment/placesurveymanual0809oraskyourconsultationofficer.
2.
2.
1TimingThesurveyshouldstartbeforemid-term,toavoidthesurveyreachingtoofarintodarkeveningsandinclementweather.
Becarefulthatyouallowsufficientpreparationtimetoachievethistiming;don'tunderestimatetheworkinvolved.
2.
2.
2SampleItisveryimportantthateveryhouseholdintheauthorityareahasanequalprobabilityofbeingselectedforsurvey.
ThebestwayofachievingthisistoselectyoursamplefromthePostalAddressFile(PAF),whichlistsallresidentialpropertiesinyourarea(althoughwithoutthenamesoftheoccupiers).
Ifyoupreferandareconfidentaboutthequalityandcompletenessofthedata,youmayuseyourauthority'sLocalLandandPropertyGazetteer.
YoushouldNOTusetheelectoralregister,asmanypeoplechooseeithertokeeptheirdetailsconfidential(whichmeansyouwon'tbeabletoaccessthem)orsimplyoptnottoregistertovote.
Also,legislationprohibitstheuseofthecounciltaxregisterforthispurpose.
APAFcanbeobtainedforyourauthorityareafromacommercialsupplier.
Ifyoudon'tknowhowtogetone,asktheconsultants.
However,itisperfectlypossiblethatyoualreadyhaveone(forinstanceinyourchiefexecutive'sdepartment)andprovideditislessthantwoyearsoldyoumayuseanexistingPAF.
Toolsforevaluatinglocalplayprovision:AtechnicalguidetoPlayEnglandlocalplayindicators17ThePAFwillprobablybesuppliedinaparticularorder,sobeforeyouuseityouwillneedtorandomiseit(thiscanbedoneinExcel);thefirst5,000addressesinthelistcanthenbeextractedtoformyourbasesample.
Setupaspreadsheetwiththeaddresseslisted,andassigneachaddressauniquereferencenumber.
Thequestionnaireshouldbeprintedwithauniquesequentialreferencenumberonit.
ThisnumbershouldcorrespondtotheentryinyourPAFsample,sothateachaddressinthesamplehasitsownreferencenumber.
Thismeansyouwillbeabletotellwhichaddresseshaverepliedandwhichhaven't.
Therequirementisthatyousecure1,100responsesfromthemailing.
Forthisstudy,thatmeansweneedinformationabout1,100children.
Ifyouaredoingahouseholdsurvey,asampleof5,000shouldbemorethanadequatetoachieve1,100responses,butnotallofthesewillhavechildrenaboutwhomtheycananswer.
Giventhataround29percentofhouseholdshavechildren,andanaverageof1.
8childrenineachofthesehouseholds,wewouldpredictthatahouseholdsurveywouldgenerateinformationabout522childrenforevery1,000formsreturned,thoughthisdependsongettingaproportionateresponsefromeachagegroupinthepopulation.
Tobesureofgetting1,100children,wesuggestyouneedtosecureatotalof2,200responsesasaminimum.
Youmaysendoutasmallerquantityifyouchoose,butyoumustachievetherequirednumberofresponsesoryourresultwilllackthenecessarystatisticalvalidity.
Ifyouareconductingyourownsurvey,thequestionnaireshouldbemailed:withacoveringletterexplainingthepurposeofthesurvey(asampleletterisprovided)inawhiteA4envelopewiththecouncil'snameandlogoonit(thishelpstodistinguishitfromjunkmail)withareplypaidenvelopeenclosed(thishasamassiveimpactonresponseandismuchbetterthansupplyingafreepostaddress)usingsecondclasspost.
2.
2.
3LoggingresponsesAsrepliescomein,logthemonyourPAFsamplespreadsheet.
Twoweeksafterthefirstmailing,youshouldcarryoutasecondmailingtothosepeoplewhohavenotyetresponded.
Thisshouldinclude:areminderletter(asampleletterisprovided)afurthercopyofthequestionnaireinawhiteA4envelopewiththecouncil'snameandlogoonitwithareplypaidenvelopeenclosedToolsforevaluatinglocalplayprovision:AtechnicalguidetoPlayEnglandlocalplayindicators18usingsecondclasspost.
Ifafterafurthertwoweeksyoustilldonothavetherequiredresponse,pleaseasktheconsultantsforadvice.
Wemaysuggestafurtherreminder,oranadditionalsample.
2.
3CheckingandstoringthedataThelocalprojectmanager,oradelegatedperson,needstocheckthatthedatabeingusedfortheperformanceindicatorsarecorrectandthattheresultslooksensible.
Checkingtheaccuracyofthedatainvolvesensuringthat:thesamplingforthehouseholdisrandomandrepresentativeofthepopulationsconcerned,i.
e.
everyoneintherelevantpopulations(localauthorityorschools)hasanequalchanceofbeingselectedforthesurvey)theresponsestothesurveyquestionsappearvalid,i.
e.
theyhavebeencompletedhonestlyandseriouslybytherightpersonsthedataentryforthesurveyscontainsnoerrorsthataffectthevalidityofthesurveyresults.
Forsurveydata,acheckon1in10respondentswouldsuffice.
Bothhouseholdandschoolsurveyshavestandardscriptsfordataentryandanalysis.
dataentrywillbebythelocalauthoritytoadatafile.
Tofacilitateaggregationandcomparisonofthedata,itisrequiredthatalldataisstoredelectronically.
Checkingthattheresultslooksensiblerequiresaknowledgeoftheservicebeingmonitoredandthereforeprobablyneedstobeconductedbyarelativelyseniormanager.
Itcomprisesexaminationoftheoutcomesandifanylooksuspiciouslyhighorlow,tocheckthatthedataentryandanalysishavebeenconductedproperly.
Atthisstageitisnotpossibletospecifyparametersforwhatis'toohigh'or'toolow'foreachindicator,whichiswhythisisamatterofjudgementbyamanagerwhoisfamiliarwiththeservice.
2.
4DataanalysisandreportingFortheparticipationindicator,theprocessissimplytousethehouseholdsurveydatatogeneratetherequiredpercentage.
Beawarethatahouseholdsurveyshouldgeneratedataforthefullagerangerequired-birthto16years.
Thesoftwaretodotherequiredanalysiscanbeaspreadsheet,adatabase,orasurveypackagesuchasSNAPorSPSS.
Theprocedurerequiredistoidentifythepercentageofrespondentswhichhavethenecessarytotaldurationofplay,i.
e.
fourhoursormoreperweek.
Thiswillrequirecomputationofthetotalhoursofplayaweekforeachrespondent,usingtheresponseforaveragefrequencyofplayoccasionsinaweek,multipliedbytheToolsforevaluatinglocalplayprovision:AtechnicalguidetoPlayEnglandlocalplayindicators19averagedurationofeachplayoccasionforeachrespondent.
Thiswillthenenableselectionofthoserespondentswithfourhoursormoreaweek,tobeexpressedasapercentageofthetotalvalidresponses.
Responseswhichare'N.
A.
'or'don'tknow'areinvalidforthecalculationofthepercentageparticipating.
Tocompilethetotalhoursofplayaweekrequiressummationofthepositiveresponsestoalltheseparate'playingoutside'prompts.
Theaveragehoursperweektousearethemid-pointsoftherangesidentifiedinthesurvey,eg2.
5hoursfortherange2-3hours.
Forthehighestrange,over4hoursaweek,pleaseuse4.
5hours.
Inthecalculationofthepercentageparticipating,thedataisnottobeweightedbyanyfactors.
NBsocio-economiccategories,ethnicgroups,disabled,ageandgenderaredisaggregationswhicharenotrequiredfortheheadlineparticipationindicator,buttheywouldberequiredformoredetailedanalysisacrossanumberofservices,ormorespecificparticipationindicatorsforspecificservices,ifrequired.
Thereforeitishighlydesirablethatconsistentquestionsareaskedinthesurveysontheserespondentprofiles.
Toolsforevaluatinglocalplayprovision:AtechnicalguidetoPlayEnglandlocalplayindicators20Section3:Accesstoplayablespace:Indicator2Indicator2AccesstoavarietyoffacilitiesandspacesMethodofgenerationDescriptionThepercentageofchildrenandyoungpeopleagedfrombirthto16yearsthathaveaccesstoatleastthreedifferenttypesofspaceorfacilitydoorstep,localandneighbourhood),atleastoneofwhichisadedicatedplaceforplayandinformalrecreation,whichareallwithineasywalkingorcyclingdistanceasdefinedinTable3.
OpenspaceandplaystrategyauditsGISmapping3.
1AuditandsitesurveyThepurposeofindicator2:Accessibility,istoidentifythenumbersofchildrenandyoungpeoplewhohaveaccesstothreeormoredifferentkindsofplayspace.
ThisisdoneprimarilywithinaGeographicInformationSystem(GIS).
Localauthoritiesshouldbeawareofthedifferencebetweenauditsandsitesurveys(seebelow).
3.
1.
1AuditThemainpurposeoftheauditistoobtaindataforindicator2:Accessibility.
Theauditwillprimarilybeconcernedwithcollatingexistingdataheldbyindividuallocalauthoritydepartments.
Informationisrequiredaboutallthespacesandfacilitiesforplayandinformalrecreationwithinthelocalauthorityarea.
ThisinformationmaywellbeavailablefromtheopenspacesportandrecreationneedsassessmentrequiredbyPlanningPolicyGuidance17(PPG17)andundertakenbytheplanningdepartmentfortheLocalDevelopmentFramework.
Additionalinformationcouldalsobeavailablefromtheauditundertakenforthepreparationofthelocalplaystrategy.
10Thespecificspacestobecoveredbytheaudit,inorderofsize,are:TypeA:'Door-step'spacesandfacilitiesforplayandinformalrecreationAsmallspace,withinsightofhome,wherechildren,especiallyyoungchildrencanplaywithinviewofknownadults.
Forexample,thiscouldbeagrassedarea,openspace,residentialstreetinahomezoneorsmalldesignedplayarea,whichislargeenoughtoenableyoungchildrentoplaywithinsightofknownadults.
Thespacecouldincorporatesomeinterestingandattractivelandscapefeaturesand/orasmall10TheauditisrecommendedinEmbeddingthePlayStrategy(PlayEngland,2009).
Toolsforevaluatinglocalplayprovision:AtechnicalguidetoPlayEnglandlocalplayindicators21numberofitemsofplayequipmentandcreateanenvironmentwhichwillstimulateyoungchildren'splay,providingopportunitiesforavarietyofplayexperiences,bearinginmindthatolderchildrenandyoungpeoplemayalsousethespacefromtimetotime.
Adoorstepspacewouldbesufficientlyclosetohomeforthechildrenwhouseittofeelsafeandbeabletointeractwithindividualsandgroupsofotherchildren.
Itshouldalsobecapableofcateringfortheneedsofchildrenwitharangeofimpairments.
Seatingmaybeavailableforcarerstobeabletosit,watchandmeetotherpeople.
TypeB:'Local'spacesandfacilitiesforplayandinformalrecreationAlargerspacewhichcanbereachedsafelybychildrenbeginningtotravelindependentlyandwithfriends,withoutaccompanyingadultsandforadultswithyoungchildrentowalktowithease.
Forexample,thiscouldbeagrassedarea,smallpark,localopenspace,designedspaceforplayorinformalrecreationorschoolplaygroundopenoutofschoolhours,whichisattractivetochildrenastheybegintomovearoundtheirneighbourhoodswithoutbeingaccompaniedbyadults.
Thesespacesandfacilitiesprovidevariedandinterestingphysicalenvironmentsincluding,forexample,naturalfeatures,sandandwater,andincorporatelandscapefeatureswithvaryinglevelsandcontours,whichtestchildren'scapabilities.
Theremightalsobefeaturesdesignedforspecificactivitiessuchasballgames,wheeledsportsormeetingplacesand/orseveralofitemsofplayequipmentofferingavarietyofplayexperiences.
Playfacilitiesmightalsoincludelocalstaffedplayprovisionsuchasplaycentres,play-schemes,playrangerprojectsandadventureplaygrounds.
Thesespacesandfacilitiesshouldalsobecapableofcateringfortheneedsofchildrenwitharangeofimpairments.
Thechildrenwhousethesespacesandfacilitiesshouldfeelsafeandbeabletointeractwithindividualsandgroupsofotherchildrenofdifferentages.
TypeC:'Neighbourhood'spacesandfacilitiesforplayandinformalrecreationAlargerspaceorfacilityforinformalrecreationwhichchildrenandyoungpeople,usedtotravellinglongerdistancesindependently,cangettosafelyandspendtimeinplayandinformalrecreationwiththeirpeersandhaveawiderrangeofplayexperiences.
Forexample,thismightbeapark,playingfield,recreationgroundornaturalopenspacesuchaswoodland,moorlandorabeach,accessibleandattractivetoolderchildrenandyoungpeople.
Thespaceorfacilityprovidesforavarietyofageappropriateplayandinformalrecreationalexperiences.
Itmightprovideavariedandinterestingphysicalenvironmentincorporatingsomeinterestingandattractivelandscapefeatureswithvaryinglevelsandcontours.
Therearelikelytobemorechallengingitemsofequipmentandfeaturesthatmeettheneedsofolderchildrenandyoungpeople.
Largerfacilitiesspecificallydesignedforinformalrecreationcouldbepresent,suchasaballcourt,multi-usegamesareaorskateboardarea,whichcanprovidetheopportunityforavarietyofexperiencestoyoungpeoplewithdifferingskillslevels.
ThesespacesandfacilitiesshouldalsobecapableofcateringforToolsforevaluatinglocalplayprovision:AtechnicalguidetoPlayEnglandlocalplayindicators22theneedsofchildrenandyoungpeoplewitharangeofimpairments.
Thereislikelytobesufficientspacetoplaylargegroupballgamesandseatingandsheltertoenableyoungpeopletosocialisewiththeirfriends.
3.
2UndertakingtheauditThefocusoftheauditwillbeondesignatedplayspaces,andrecreationalandinformalopenspacethathasboththecapacityandthecapabilitytobeusedbychildrenandyoungpeopleforplayandwhichhaspublicaccess.
Thiswillinvolvecarryingoutasurveyusingastandardsurveyformtorecordthelocation,typeofuseandqualityofeacharea.
Theaimsoftheauditwillbeto:provideinformationthatwillprovidethebaselinedatafortheaccessindicatorassessthequalityoftheopenspaceasaresourcethatprovidesopportunitiesforchildren'splay(seesection4).
Theauditprocessisnormallyundertakenintwostages:Stage1–desk-basedresearch.
Stage2–sitevisits.
3.
2.
1Stage1–desk-basedresearchThefirststepistoreviewallexistingdatabasestoidentifythepreciselocationofallsitestobeaudited.
Thiswillideallymeanagridreferenceorattheveryleastafulladdressandpostcodeforeverysite.
Sufficientdetailalsoneedstobegatheredtoclassifyeachpotentialplayablespace.
InformationsourcesBeforeembarkingonanaudit,existinginformationonopenspacesandplayspaceswithinthelocalauthorityshouldbecompiledfromavarietyofsources,including:openspaceauditundertakenforPPG17auditofchildren'splayfacilitiesundertakenfortheplaystrategyaerialphotographshousingassociationsvoluntaryorganisationssuchaslocalrecreationaltrustsrecreationservices/groundsmaintenancerecordsonparksandplayareasplayingpitchassessmentstown/parishcouncilconsultations.
Toolsforevaluatinglocalplayprovision:AtechnicalguidetoPlayEnglandlocalplayindicators233.
2.
2CategorisingopenspaceAsystemforcategorisingopenspaceisshowninTable2(page11).
Adetaileddescriptionoftheindividualcategoriesisalsoprovided.
AuditingsmallerspacesAminimumareatoberecordedwillneedtobeestablished.
Asaguideline,theareaofanunder-7sminifootballpitchisapproximately1,250m2(0.
125ha).
However,tosurveyallsitesabovethisthresholdsizemayprovetobetooonerous,dependingonthecharacteristicsofthelocalauthorityarea.
Auditsofamenitygreenspace11undertakenaspartofanassessmentforPPG17maywellhavesetasizethresholdof0.
2hectares.
Thisisequivalenttoamini-soccer(U9-U10)footballpitch.
Anareaofthissizeisrelativelylargewhenconsideringthesizeofareasthatcanaccommodatechildren'splay.
Itmaythereforebeappropriatetoconsiderreducingthesizethresholdto0.
1hectares,whichisanareaapproximatelyequivalenttotwotenniscourts.
Itislikelythatmostoftheinformationrelatingtosmallerspaceswillalreadybeheldwithinthelocalauthority.
Thedepartmentthatismostlikelytoholddataaboutsmallerspacesinhousingareasisthegroundsmaintenancedepartment.
ThiscouldbelocatedinParks,TechnicalServicesorStreetscene.
RecordsheldbythisdepartmentcouldbeintheformofpapermapsorelectronicdatafromcommonlyavailablesoftwarepackagesandGIS.
ItmaybepossibletoreducetheneedtoauditallthesesmallerspacesbyconfiningthesearchtothoseareasthatcurrentlyhaveaccesstobothaTypeBandTypeCspace.
SmallerspaceswilltypicallybeTypeAspaces.
IfanauditofthesespacesisundertakenitcouldbelimitedtothoseareasthatalreadyhaveaccesstoTypesBandCspacestodeterminewhethertheseareashaveaccesstoallthreedifferenttypesofspace.
Itwillbenecessarytoreviewtheseadditionalspacestodeterminewhethertheyaresuitableforchildren'splay.
Inthefirstplacethisshouldbeadeskexercisetoassessthesite'slocation.
However,thismaynotbeapparentfromaninspectionofthemapsandasitesurveymayberequired.
Itwillbenecessarytobringthisinformationtogetherontoacommonbasetoestablishadefinitivelistofspacespriortoundertakingon-siteassessmentsAuditofsupervisedplayfacilitiesExamplesoftypesofsupervisedplayfacilitythatyouwillneedtoincludeintheauditincludespacesandfacilitiesforplayandinformalrecreationwhichpassthe'threefrees'test12(wherethefacilityisfreeofcharge,wherechildrenarefreetocomeandgo,andfreetochoosewhattheydowhilstthere).
Thesemayincludeadventureplaygrounds,openaccessplaycentres,openaccess11ThetypologyofopenspacessetoutinPPG17states:'Amenitygreenspace(mostcommonly,butnotexclusivelyinhousingareas)includinginformalrecreationspaces,greenspacesinandaroundhousing,domesticgardensandvillagegreens.
'12DevelopedbyPerryElse,SheffieldHallamUniversity2005.
Toolsforevaluatinglocalplayprovision:AtechnicalguidetoPlayEnglandlocalplayindicators24playschemes,andspecialistprovisionfordisabledchildrenorthosewithotherspecificneeds.
Youshouldnotincludeanyfacilitiesthatdonotmeetthe'threefrees'test.
Examplesoffacilitiesthatdonotmeetthisrequirementmightincludeafter-schoolclubswhereafeepayableispayable,childcarefacilities,andfreeaccessjunioryouthclubsatwhichchildrenpayasubscription.
AgainthisinformationwillneedtoberecordedonadatabaseorspreadsheetandmappedonaGeographicalInformationSystem(GIS).
DestinationplayspacesInmanyareastherearedesignatedplayspacesdesignedtoattractpeoplefromlongdistanceswhowillcome,oftenasafamilyorgroup,andspendtimewithchildrenplayinginthesortoffacilitiestheymightnototherwisehaveaccessto.
Ifthesedestinationplayareasareinresidentialareas,providingfree,localplayopportunitiestothechildrenandyoungpeoplelivingnearby,theycanbemappedaccordingthefunctionsdescribedabove.
Iftheyareonlyavailabletochildrenwhotravellongdistanceswithadultstheyshouldnotbemappedaspartoflocalprovision.
3.
2.
3Stage2–sitevisitsInadditiontothedeskresearchitmaybenecessarytovisitsomeofthesitesidentifiedinStage1.
Itwillbenecessarytovisitallthesitesthataretobeassessedforthequalityindicator(seesection4).
Itisworthensuringthatyouhavesomeformofidentityoraletterofauthorisationwithyouwhenundertakinganysitesurveys.
Eitheramemberofthepublicoranofficialmaychallengeyouabouttheworkyouareundertaking.
Itissometimesnecessarytoverifythatyouhavetherequiredauthority.
Amodelproformaassessmentformhasbeenincludedinappendix2b.
Youmaywishtomodifythistocaptureanyadditionalinformationthatyoufeelisnecessaryorisofvalueforotherpurposes.
Themainpurposesofsitevisitsareto:fillgapsinsite-specificinformationnotsecuredthroughStage1undertakequalityassessments(seesection4).
3.
2.
4DatarecordingandoutputsAnauditshouldproducethefollowingkeyoutputs:amapofopenspace(usingGIS)categorisedaccordingtothetypologyaqualityassessment.
Oncecollected,dataforeachsitewillneedtoberecordedonadatabaseorspreadsheetandmappedonaGIS(seesection3.
5).
Toolsforevaluatinglocalplayprovision:AtechnicalguidetoPlayEnglandlocalplayindicators25AuditattributedatarecordsheetTheauditattributedatarecordsheetshouldincludeatleastthefollowingfields:uniquesitereferencenumbersiteaddresstypeofspace,egTypeA'doorstep'space(smallequippedplayarea,amenitygreenspaceorhomezone)presenceoffeaturesorequipmentwithaprimaryagerangeof0to5yearspresenceoffeaturesandequipmentwithaprimaryagerangeof5to11yearspresenceoffeaturesorequipmentwithaprimaryagerangeforteenagersdoesithaveanadventureplaygrounddoesithaveatoiletdoesithaverefreshmentsisitaccessibletodisabledchildrenandyoungpeopleisitaplaybuildersiteisitaplaypathfindersitequalityassessmentscoresforlocation,playvalueandcareandmaintenance.
gridreference.
ItshouldberecordedusingaspreadsheetwhichcanbeimportedandassociatedwiththeGISmaps.
Theuseofhandheld,mobileunitscangreatlyspeedthisprocessupandimproveconsistency.
Ideally,theunitsshouldhaveGPSasthiswillautomaticallylinktheinformationbacktothesite,butevenstandarddataloggerswillreduceprocessingtimebackattheoffice.
3.
3GeographicInformationSystemsmapping3.
3.
1WhatisitandwhatdoesitdoGISataverybasiclevelisacomputerisedformofmapping,utilisingalayerprincipleofmapsoverlaidwithmappeddata.
Forexample,abasemapofanurbanarea(layer1)canbeoverlaidwithamapofrecreationalspaces(layer2)andfurtheroverlaidwithcensusdemographics(layer3).
TheGISnotonlyunderstandsthepreciselocationofeachoftheselayersandtheircomponents,butcanalsoanalysethespatialrelationshipsbetweenthecomponentsondifferentlayers.
Forexample,utilisingtwoofthelayersmentionedabove,youcandeterminethedemographicprofileofthepopulationthatlivewithinaspecificdistanceofanumberofplayspaces.
Furthermore,youcanidentifyareaswhicharedeficientinrecreationalspaces,Toolsforevaluatinglocalplayprovision:AtechnicalguidetoPlayEnglandlocalplayindicators26i.
e.
areaswheretheresidentsaremorethanaspecifieddistancefromtheirnearestplayspace.
Finally,itshouldalsobeunderstoodthatdigitalmapsinGISarenotjustpictures.
Anydatabaseinformation(knownasattributedata)associatedwiththedigitalmaps,e.
g.
name,condition,type,size,etcisalsoavailableforanalysis.
3.
3.
2WhatyouwillneedYouwillneedtohaveaccessto:GISreasonablyexperiencedpersonneltodeployandanalysethedataintotheGISdigitisedmapsofallplayspaces(pointsorpolygons).
Polygonswillgivemoreaccurateresultsandareessentialforallbutthesmallestofspaces.
demographicsatCensusOutputArealevel–thesewillneedtobemappablei.
e.
matched/joinedtopolygonsorcentroidsofCensusOutputAreas.
3.
3.
3GeneralmethodologyThispartoftheguidancelooksspecificallyatthedeploymentofamethodologywhich–utilisingGIS–willallowtheuserto:identifythelocationofdifferenttypesofplayablespacecreatecatchmentareas(buffers)aroundeachoftheseplayablespaceslookatthelocationanddistributionofrelevantpopulationdataidentifythenumbersofchildrenthathaveaccesstoanappropriatenumberofdifferenttypesofplayablespaceprovidebasicinformationontheuseofthetwoprimaryGISinstallationscurrentlyinusewithinmostlocalauthorities(MapInfoandESRIArcview/ArcInfo).
Note:thefollowingsectionsareaimedatstaffthatarecomfortablewithGIStaskssuchas'creatingbuffers','clipping'polygonsandselectingfeaturesbasedonlocation.
Ifyouarenotfamiliarthesetypesoftasks,thenyoumayneedsupportfromsomeoneinyourGISdepartmentortraining.
3.
3.
4Identificationofplayablespaces.
Thefirststageintheprocessistoidentifysourceswithintheauthorityandwithinotherrelevantorganisationsfordigitalmapsofallplayablespaces(seeMap1).
IfGISmapsaren'tavailablethenmapswillneedtobedigitizedfortheareaunderconsideration.
TheplayspaceswillneedtobecollatedandsortedaccordingtothetypologysetoutinSection3.
1.
1.
Inordertodothis,thefilesetsandassociateddatawillneedtobeimportedintoyourGIS.
Westronglyrecommendthatseparatelayersandtablesarekeptforeachclassification.
Thiswillallowforeasierinterrogationofthedatalaterintheprocessandwillalsomakethecreationofcatchmentareasandbuffersmorestraightforward.
GISworksonasystemoflayersandcandisplayandanalysemorethanonelayeratatime,sothisshouldbeverystraightforward.
Toolsforevaluatinglocalplayprovision:AtechnicalguidetoPlayEnglandlocalplayindicators27Map1:Mapshowinglocationofdifferentexamplesofplayspace3.
3.
5CreationofCatchmentAreaBuffers.
BuffercreationisagainastandardfunctionwithinallGISinstallations.
ThebuffersneedtobecreatedinaccordancewiththerecommendeddistancesoutlinedinTable3.
Therearetwodifferentapproachesthattheusermightencounter:Creatingbufferswhenallspacesaremixedinonelayerortable.
IftheopenspacedataisheldintheGISinonetableorlayer,andtheenduserisfacedwithanassortmentoftypologiesand/orbufferdistancesthenthedatamustcontainanumericfieldidentifyingthebufferdistanceforeachplayspace.
TheGIScanthenbuildthebufferbasedonthisvalue.
Ifeachtablecontainsspacesrequiringthesamebufferdistancethenthefieldmentionedaboveneednotbepresent.
Inthisscenariotheenduserwillcreatethebuffersaroundeachspacebyenteringtherequireddistance.
Thedifferenttypesofplayablespacethereforehavedifferentbufferspecifications.
Thelarge,well-equippedopenspacewithawiderangeoffacilitiesdrawsvisitorsfromawiderareathantheverysmallopenspacewithoutequipmentofanykind.
Itshouldbenoted,however,thatthesebuffersmaywelloverlapeachother,andthattheywillneedcloseexaminationsothattheycanbetrimmedandadjustedtotakeaccountofbarrierstomovement(thelargecatchmentareareflectsthesepointsandhasalsobeentrimmedwhereitmeetstherailwayline,whichisabarriertomovement).
(Seemap2.
)Toolsforevaluatinglocalplayprovision:AtechnicalguidetoPlayEnglandlocalplayindicators28Catchmentstrimmedforbarrierstomovementcanbeproducedwithoutroutingsoftware.
AnyGISsystemcancreateabufferaroundapolygon(initialcatchment)thatcanbemanuallytrimmedtotakeaccountofbarrierstomovement.
Thismaybesomewhattimeconsumingbutisnotamassivetask.
Table3:DistancethresholdsforcatchmentareasDistancecriteriaTypeofspaceWalkingdistance(m)Straightlinedistance(m)TypeA:'Doorstep'spacesandfacilitiesforplayandinformalrecreation10060TypeB:'Local'spacesandfacilitiesforplayandinformalrecreation400240TypeC:'Neighbourhood'spacesandfacilitiesforplayandinformalrecreation1000600Map2showsthebuffersaroundeachtypeofspaceinaccordancewiththedistancesshowninTable3.
Map2:CatchmentareasgeneratedaroundplayspacesToolsforevaluatinglocalplayprovision:AtechnicalguidetoPlayEnglandlocalplayindicators293.
3.
6WhattodowhentwoplayablespacesoverlapWhencalculatingandgeneratingbuffersorcatchmentsaroundplaysitesaproblemmayoccurifonesite(egadesignatedplayspace)islocatedwithinanothersite(egapark).
Inthisinstanceabuffermustbegeneratedaroundeachofthesites.
Therefore,becausethereareineffecttwosites,anyhouseholdorareafallingwithinbothcatchmentsisclassedashavingaccesstotwoplayspaces(plusanyothersitmayhaveaccessto).
Furthermore,ifthebuffergeneratedaroundthedesignatedplayspacedoesnotextendbeyondtheboundaryofthepark,thenitmustbegeneratedfromtheperimeterofthepark.
Onceagain,anyhouseholdfallingwithinthisbufferandthebufferoftheparkisclassifiedashavingaccesstotwotypesofplayablespace(plusanyothersithasaccessto).
3.
3.
7Accessingandanalysingpopulationdata.
Oncethebuffershavebeencreatedtheuserwillneedtocalculatepopulationstatisticstoidentifythenumbersofchildrenoryoungpeoplewhohaveaccesstothreeormoredifferenttypesofplayablespace.
Populationdataisavailablefromanumberofsourcesandwhilstgreateraccuracymaybeobtainedbyusing(forexample)schoolrollorPCTdata,werecommendthatcensusdataatCensusOutputArea(OA)isdeployedintotheGIS.
Thisallowsformoreconsistentresults–particularlyifcomparisonsbetweenauthoritiesarelikelytoberequired.
Alllocalauthoritieshaveaccesstothisdataandinformationoritcanbedownloadedfromwww.
neighbourhood.
statistics.
gov.
uk.
3.
3.
8Identifyingthenumbersofchildrenthathaveaccesstoanappropriatenumberofdifferenttypesofplayablespace.
Theresultoftheprocessinthefirstinstanceisamap(Map3)showingtheresidentialareasthatfallwithinthecatchmentsofoneormoreplayablespace.
Theywillalsoshow,therefore,thoseareasthatfalloutsidethecatchmentsofanyplayspace,oronlyfallwithinthecatchmentofoneortwotypesofspace.
Toolsforevaluatinglocalplayprovision:AtechnicalguidetoPlayEnglandlocalplayindicators30Map3:MapshowingareasthatfallwithinthecatchmentsofthreeplayablespacesOncetheseareashavebeenidentified,usingappropriatedemographicsatCensusOutputArealevel,itwillbepossibletodeterminethetotalnumbersofchildrenintherelevantagegroupswhohaveaccesstoadequateplayprovision,aswellasthosethatdonot.
3.
4CheckingandstoringthedataThelocalprojectmanager,oradelegatedperson,needstocheckthatthedatabeingusedfortheperformanceindicatorsarecorrectandthattheresultslooksensible.
Checkingtheaccuracyofthedatainvolvesensuringthat:allrelevantplayfacilitiesandspacesareincludedintheauditsusedfortheaccessindicatoralltheseplayfacilitiesandspacesareavailablefordeploymentinaGISaspolygonsandthateachpolygonhasappropriatedata.
Forthefacilitiesandspacesdataderivedfromtheaudits,itisnecessarytocheckeveryentry.
GISrequiresareferencenumberforeachspaceandthedrawingofdigitisedpolygons.
Checkingthattheresultslooksensiblerequiresaknowledgeoftheservicebeingmonitoredandthereforeprobablyneedstobeconductedbyarelativelyseniormanager.
Toolsforevaluatinglocalplayprovision:AtechnicalguidetoPlayEnglandlocalplayindicators313.
5Dataanalysisandreporting3.
5.
1MappingthedataCombiningPlaySpaces,BuffersandPopulationDataintheGIStogetresultsfromESRIArcInfo/ArcViewSoftware.
13ThetwomainGISdeploymentsinlocalauthoritiesareMapInfoandESRIArcInfo/ArcView.
TheguidancebelowgivesmoredetailhowtoextractpopulationdatafromtheGISandgetyourresults.
Thesedescriptionscannotbeadefinitive'howto'instructionmanualbuttheyshouldhelpamoderatelyexperiencedGISusertoextracttheresults.
However,ifyouarenotfamiliarwithGISsystemsyouwillneedsometrainingandsupport.
3.
5.
2GettingyourresultsusingESRIsoftwareThissectionprovidesaguideonhowtogenerateplayspacecatchmentareasandcalculatenumberofchildrenagedbirthto16withaccesstoatleastthreedifferenttypesofplacespaces(TypeA,B,C:doorstep,localandneighbourhood)usingArcGISsoftwareversion9.
1.
Step1.
GeneratethecatchmentareasOncetheplayspacedatasetisdigitallycapturedinESRIformatandqualityassuredcreateamultiplebufferusingtheBufferWizardinArcMap.
Createthebuffersbasedonadistancefromanattribute.
Inthiscaseusethefieldyoupreviouslyaddedtoyourplayspaceattributestablecontainingthethreebuffervalues(60,240,and600).
(SeeTable3)Oncetheplayspacebuffershapefileiscreatedstartaneditingsessionandtrimthecatchmentareapolygonstotakeaccountofphysicalbarrierstomovementse.
g.
railwaylines,rivers,mayorroads,etc.
Step2.
GenerateOutputAreasCentroidsUsetheFMEsoftware(http://www.
safe.
com/products/fme)ifavailabletocreatecentroidsfrompopulationdataboundaries–the2001PopulationfiguresbyOutputAreascanbedownloadedfromtheOfficeofNationalStatistics(http://neighbourhood.
statistics.
gov.
uk).
Duringtheconversionprocessremembertoimportthefieldcontainingthenumberofchildrenaged=3AND(("SUM_TypeC">=3)OR("SUM_TypeC">=2AND"SUM_TypeB">=1)OR("SUM_TypeC">=1AND"SUM_TypeB">=2)or("SUM_TypeC">=1AND"SUM_TypeB">=1AND"SUM_TypeC">=1))Step4.
CalculatenumberofchildrenlivingintheselectedcatchmentareasRunaselectionbylocationtoselectalltheoutputareapopulationcentroidsthatfallCOMPLETELYWITHINtheselectedcatchmentareas.
CreateanewshapefilefromtheselectionCalculatenumberofchildrenastotalvalueandaspercentageonthetotalboroughpopulation.
Step5.
AggregatethedatatoboundariesChoosenewlycreatedpopulationcentroidsdatasettobejoinedtotheareaboundariestobeusedtosummarizethedatai.
e.
wardboundaryareas.
RunaJoinbyLocationonthedataboundariestogetthetotalcountsofchildrenpereachboundaryarea.
CreatethematicmapsusingtheSumfield(totalnumbersandpercentage)3.
5.
3GettingyourresultsfromMapInfoSoftware.
ThestartingpointinMapInfoistoopenaboundaryfilecontainingcensusOutputAreas.
TheexamplebelowisbasedonManchesterdata.
TheobjectivehereistocreateasubsetofCensusOutputAreaswhichfallwithineachofthebuffersyou'vecreated.
ThefirststepistocreateasubsetofOA'sforManchesterandadd3integercolumns–(oneforeachbuffer).
Inthisexamplethesecolumnsarecalled'In_60m','In_240m'and'In_600m'.
Youwillthenneedtousethe'Query>SQLSelect'functiontoselecttheOA'sthatfallwithinthe60mbufferlikebelow.
Thetwotableslistedinthe'FromTables'sectionofthedialogueboxare:Toolsforevaluatinglocalplayprovision:AtechnicalguidetoPlayEnglandlocalplayindicators35Manchester_OAs–thisisalltheOutputareasthatfallwithintheManchesterLocalAuthorityarea.
All_60m–thisisthetablethatcontainsthe60metrebuffersdrawnaroundtheplayspaces.
The'WhereCondition'partofthedialogueboxshouldfillitselfinautomaticallybutifitdoesn'tsuggestaspatialjoinasshownbelow,youwillneedtousethe'Columns'and'Operators'dropdownliststocreatethejoininthisway.
RunningthiswillthencreateaselectionwhichwillinitiallybedisplayedasaQuery.
MakeanoteoftheQuerynumberandthenusetheTable>UpdateColumnfunctiontoupdatethecolumn'In_60m'intheQuerywithavalueof1–asshownbelow.
Toolsforevaluatinglocalplayprovision:AtechnicalguidetoPlayEnglandlocalplayindicators36Updatingthequerythenalsoautomaticallyupdatedthetableitwasderivedfrom(whichwasthelistofManchesterOAs).
ThismeansthatifanOAhasa'1'inthecolumnthenitiswithinthatbuffer.
Youwillthenneedtorepeatthisprocessforeachoftheothertwobufferlayers.
YoucannowusetheOutputarealistinthistabletoadddemographic(census)datawhichyoushouldhaveatOutputArealevel.
Ifyourdemographicsareavailableatadifferentgeographiclevel,thenusethesamemethoddescribedabove,butchangethetablenamesinthedialogueboxesasrequired.
Toolsforevaluatinglocalplayprovision:AtechnicalguidetoPlayEnglandlocalplayindicators37Section4:Thequalityofplayablespaces:Indicator3Indicator3QualityoffacilitiesandspacesMethodofgenerationDescriptionTheproportionofplayspacesandfacilitieswithhighscoresforlocation,playvalueandcareandmaintenanceasassessedusingthePlayableSpaceQualityAssessmentTool.
QualityAssessmentTool4.
1QualityassessmentThemorechildrenplayoutfreely,themoreopportunitiestheyhavetobuildfriendshipsandanetworkofsocialcontacts.
Playingouthelpstobuildtheirbodies,getsthemfitandteachesthemvitalskillssuchas:planning,negotiating,beingcreative,notbeingafraidtotakerisksandtoexperiment,havingfunandenjoyingthemselves.
Theassessmenttoolaimstohelpproviderscreatethebestpossibleconditionsforthatnaturalandmostimportantactivityforchildren.
Theaimofthequalityassessmentistoassessthequalityofchildren'splayspaces.
Itisdesignedasatooltohelpplayproviderslookatthespacesavailableforchildren'splay,nearwheretheyliveandgotoschool,andassesswhatsortofimprovementscouldbemadetoenhancetheuseandqualityofthosespaces.
TheQualityindicator,wascommonlyselectedbythelocalauthoritiesthatparticipatedinthepilotstudyasoneofthemostusefulofthefourindicators.
However,therewasconcernthatifthisindicatorwasusedfornationalcomparisonsthesubjectivenatureofthejudgmentscouldleadtoinconsistencies.
Itdoes,however,haveconsiderablepotentialasaninternalmanagementtoolforestablishingprioritiesforimprovementandcouldbecombinedwithsomeoftheotherindicatorsegbymappingtheresultsandcombiningthesewiththefindingsfromtheaccessindicatorandthesatisfactionindicator.
Inthisassessmentwefocusonthreemajoraspectstochildren'soutdoorplayprovision:thelocationofplayareas,theplayvalueandthecareandmaintenance.
Theguideoffersguidelinesfortheassessmentofthethreedifferenttypesofplayablespacetowhichallchildrenandyoungpeopleshouldhavefreeaccessintheirlocalneighbourhood.
TypeA:DoorstepspaceandfacilityTypeB:LocalspaceandfacilityTypeC:NeighbourhoodspaceandfacilityToolsforevaluatinglocalplayprovision:AtechnicalguidetoPlayEnglandlocalplayindicators384.
2SitesurveysThemainpurposeofthesitesurveydiscussedinsection3istoobtaindataforthequalityindicatorinordertodeterminetheproportionoffacilitiesandspacesthatareratedasgoodorverygood.
Sitesurveysareforassessingthequalityofplayablespaces.
Inaddition,itmaybenecessarytosurveysomeofthesmallerspacesthataretobeincludedintheaudittodeterminewhethertheyareinfactsuitableforchildren'splay.
Beforeembarkingonanysitesurveysfirstidentifythetypesofspacetobevisited(seesection3.
1.
1onsamplingbelow)andensuretherearesufficientcopiesoftheassessmentscoresheetsforeachtypeofspace.
(Appendix2b)Aqualityassessmentofeachspaceusingthecriteriasetoutintheassessmentsheetsisrequired.
Antspacedefinedasaplayablespaceshouldbeassessedagainstallthreecriteria.
Notallspaceswillbeabletoofferafullrangeofplayopportunitiesbutitisimportantthatchildrenhaveaccesstoarangeofplayexperiences.
Localknowledgeofotherplayablespacesintheareawillhelpwiththeinterpretationofthefindings.
4.
2.
1SamplingSomeauthoritieswillbeunabletoassessalltheirsitesatthesametimeeachyear,becauseresourcesareinsufficienttoallowthis.
Insuchcases,itwillbemorerealistictotakeasample.
Twoformsofsamplearepossible:1Astraightforwardproportionofeachtypeofsite,suchas25percentofallsites.
Thissampleshouldbe:Proportionatetoeachtypeofsite(i.
e.
25percentofallTypeAsites,25percentofallTypeBsites,25percentofallTypeCsites).
Spreadacrossthedistrict,notconcentratedinoneparticularlocalityorquarterofthearea.
Chosenatrandomfromalistofallsites(thesitessampledshouldthenbeexcludedfromfutureyears'samplinguntilallothersiteshavehadtheirturntobeassessed).
2Alternatively,aminimumnumberofsitescanbeselectedforassessment.
Thisshouldbeatleast40sitesandshouldincludeatleast15TypeA,15TypeB,and10TypeCsiteschosenatrandomanddistributedacrossthedistrict.
Toolsforevaluatinglocalplayprovision:AtechnicalguidetoPlayEnglandlocalplayindicators394.
3ThePlayableSpaceQualityAssessmentTool14(Appendix2a)DesignforPlay,currentguidanceondesigningsuccessfulplayspaces,publishedbytheDCSF,DCMSandPlayEngland15highlights10keydesignprinciplesforcreatingsuccessfulplayspaces.
Theseprinciplesshouldbeconsideredalongsidethistool,whichincorporatestheprincipleswithintheassessmentframeworkforlocation,playvalueandcareandmaintenance.
DesignforPlay:ThegoldenruleAsuccessfulplayspaceisaplaceinitsownright,speciallydesignedforitslocation,insuchawayastoprovideasmuchplayvalueaspossible.
The10principlesfordesigningsuccessfulplayspacesSuccessfulplayspaces:are'bespoke'–designedtoenhancetheirsettingarewelllocated–inthebestpossibleplaceforchildrenmakeuseofnaturalelements–closetonatureprovideawiderangeofplayexperiences–wherechildrencanplayindifferentwaysareaccessibletobothdisabledandnon-disabledchildren-wheretheycanplaytogethermeetcommunityneedsandarelovedbythecommunityallowchildrenandyoungpeopleofdifferentagestoplaytogetherbuildinopportunitiestoexperienceriskandchallenge–wherechildrencanstretchandchallengethemselvesineverywayaresustainableandappropriatelymaintained-maintainedforplayvalueandenvironmentalsustainabilityallowforchangeandevolution–evolvingasthechildrengrow.
4.
3.
1TheimportanceoflocationResearchshowsthatlocationisperhapsthesinglemostimportantfactorinhowwellchildrenusenotonlyplayareasbutalsoopenspaces.
Ingeneral,childrenliketoplaylocallywheretheycanbeseen,seeothersandmeetothers.
Youngpeopleareabletoroamfurtherandcanthereforeuseneighbourhoodplayareas,althoughtheytooliketofeelsafewherevertheyare'hangingout'.
14ThistoolwasdevelopedbyINSPIREConsultancyLtd.
15ShackellA,ButlerN,DoylePandBallD(2008)DesignforPlay:Aguidetocreatingsuccessfulplayspaces.
London:DepartmentforChildren,SchoolsandFamilies;DepartmentforCulture,MediaandSport;andPlayEngland.
Toolsforevaluatinglocalplayprovision:AtechnicalguidetoPlayEnglandlocalplayindicators40Disabledchildrenandparentsorcarerswithbuggiesshouldbeabletoaccesstheplayareasasmuchasnon-disabledchildren.
Oftenchildrenwillplaywithyoungersiblingswhomayneedtobetakentotheareainabuggyorpushchair.
Thescoringsystemisdesignedtoidentifythesuitabilityofthelocationofplayareasandspaceswherechildrenmayplay.
4.
3.
2TheimportanceofplayvalueTheassessmentdeliberatelyfocusesonthedifferent,innovativeandchallengingwaysinwhichchildrencanhaveawiderangeofplayexperiencesandsensationssuchasrocking,swingingandsliding–thisisparticularlyimportantforsomedisabledchildrenwhoseimpairmentsmeantheycannotforexample,sitontraditionalswings.
Thenaturalenvironmentalsohasplayvaluesoconsiderationshouldbegiventothevariedandinterestingwaysinwhichchildrencanplayintheseenvironments.
Quiet,contemplativeplayisasimportantasboisterousandphysicalplayandalthoughchildrenwillplayintheirownwayinanygivenarea,theirplaycanbeenrichedthroughcreatingappropriateandstimulatingplayenvironments.
Childrenneedtotakeriskstolearnaboutandunderstandtheirowncapabilities.
Riskdoesnotmeancreatinghazardousenvironments,butitdoesmeanensuringopportunitiesforchallengingplayareavailablethroughdesign.
4.
3.
3TheimportanceofcareandmaintenanceAllareaswillrequirethatchildrencanplayfreefromunexpectedhazards.
Thissectionaimstoassessthequalityofcareandmaintenanceofplayspacesandareasandshouldrefertoothertypesofrisk–benefitanalysisbeingundertaken.
4.
4Howtocarryouttheassessments4.
4.
1HowmanypeopleshouldcarryoutthesiteassessmentsAminimumoftwopeopleshouldcarryouttheassessments.
Ideallytheassessmentteamconsistsofthreeormore.
Thiswillhelpalleviatetheinevitablebiasinthescoringandprovideopportunitiesfordebateandcreativediscussion.
Eachpersonshouldassessthesitesindividuallyandthescorescomparedanddiscussedattheendofeachsiteassessment.
Individualscanthenadjustscoresiftheywishtodoso.
Adjustmentsinscoringshouldbedonethroughacooperativedialoguethatenablessharingofdifferentperspectives.
4.
4.
2WhoshouldcarryoutthesiteassessmentsThemostusefulresultswillbeachievedifthesamepeoplecarryoutallthesiteassessmentsinonearea.
Theassessmentscanbecarriedoutbyarangeofpeoplesuchas:childrenandyoungpeopletenantsandresidentsToolsforevaluatinglocalplayprovision:AtechnicalguidetoPlayEnglandlocalplayindicators41playworkersparksandopenspaceofficersandmanagers.
Involvingadiversegroupofpeoplewillgeneratemorepointsofview,perspectivesanddebates,whichcanleadtoamorecriticalassessmentoftheplaysite.
Localresidentswillprobablyonlyscoresitesintheirneighbourhoodwheretheirlocalknowledgewillbeinvaluable.
Ifthesystemistobeusedacrossalocalauthorityconsistencyandcomparativedatabetweensiteswillbeimportant.
Peerassessmentscarriedoutinpartnershipwithanotherlocalauthoritycanalsoprovideavaluableperspectiveandisrecommended.
Theycanhelpbringalevelofobjectivityintotheassessmentprocessandprovideanopportunitytocomparestandards.
4.
4.
3WhentoassessWhilstthisguidedoesnotprescribeaspecifiedtimefortheassessments,itisrecommendedthattheybecarriedoutwhenchildrenandyoungpeoplearemostlikelytobeplayingout.
Ifchildrenandyoungpeoplearepresent,theirviewscouldbesoughtaboutthesite.
And,theiruseofthesitemayindicateitspopularityorotherwise.
Observationsabouthowchildrenandyoungpeopleusethesitecanprovidevaluabledataabouttheplayvalueandlocationofthesite.
4.
4.
4Guidelinesanddefinitions(seeAppendix2a)Theguidelinesanddefinitionsforassessingthethreedifferenttypesofplayspaceareaguideandareneitherfullycomprehensivenordefinitive.
Theysuggestwhatchildrenandyoungpeoplemightexperienceandbenefitfrominthedifferenttypesofspace.
Theroleofthedefinitionsistoprovokethoughtanddiscussionandallowproviderstoviewtheirprovisioninasystematicmanner,butstilltakingintoaccountthelocalsurroundings,otherspacesavailabletochildrenandtheneedsandwishesoflocalchildren,youngpeopleandothercommunitymembers.
Additionalguidancelookingspecificallyataccessandinclusionfordisabledchildren,canbefoundontheKIDSwebsite.
164.
4.
5Thescoresheet(seeAppendix2b)Therearetwopartstothescoresheets.
Thefirstpartisdesignedtoprovideinformationthatmayinadvertentlyaffectthescoringsuchastheweatherandthetimetheassessmenttookplace.
Iftheassessmenttookplaceduringableak,rainymorningduringtermtimetherewillbenoorfewchildrenplaying.
Thesamesitemightlookmoresuccessfulduringahotsummerholidaywhenlotsofchildrenmaybeplayingthere.
Theassessmentsheetprovidesarecordofwhentheassessmentactuallytookplace.
Thefrontpagerequirestheassessorstodefinethe'site'.
InalargeTypeCparkforexample,theassessorsmightrestrictthesitetoaspecificradius16KIDS(2009)InclusivityAssessmentTool.
London:KIDS.
Availableonlineatwww.
kids.
org.
ukToolsforevaluatinglocalplayprovision:AtechnicalguidetoPlayEnglandlocalplayindicators42ratherthanincludethewholepark.
Thisinformationwillensureconsistencyofscoringbetweendifferentassessorsanddifferentyears.
Oftenthefirstimpressionsofasitecanbeimportant.
Firstimpressionsmaygiveaclueastowhetherthesitelooksinvitingtochildrentoplay.
Firstimpressionscanbecomparedtotheactualscoresandfurtherdiscussionscantakeplaceaboutanydiscrepancies.
Thescoresshouldprovidedataformakingsomeplanningdecisions.
ThesectionJudgementsforplanningistobecompletedattheendoftheassessmentsoncescoreshavebeenanalysed.
Thissectionwillprovidearecordoftherationaleforthedevelopmentdecisionsforeachsite.
Theactualscores(from1to5)aretobeconvertedintopercentagescorestoallowforweightingandcomparisonsbetweensitesandbetweenthelocation,playvalueandcareandmaintenancesections.
Theaimofthescoringsystemistoidentifywhichplayareaandwhichparticularaspectsoftheplayareaneedsimproving.
Finalscoresarecalculatedasapercentageofthepossibletotalscore.
Foreachcriteriontheminimumfinalscoreis20%.
InthefictitiousexampleinTable4below,FlipFlopplayareascoresrelativelyhighoncareandmaintenance(78%)butlowerinlocation(54%)andplayvalue(48%).
Sandcastleplayareascoreshighonlocation(73%)andlowonplayvalue(38%)asdoesTurnAroundplayarea(69%and43%respectively).
ThelocalauthorityresponsibleforSandcastleplayareamightreviewthedesignoftheplayarea,consultwithlocalchildrenandyoungpeople,andimprovetheplayvalueofthatparticularsite.
Itmightdecidethatgiventhelowscoringinallareas,PrimalplayareashouldberemovedandthefundinginvestedintheSandcastleplayarea.
Table4:Playareascores-fictitiousexampleTypePlayareaLocation%scorePlayvalue%scoreCareandmaintenance%scoreAFlipFlop544878ASandcastle733881BTurnAround694356BPrimalplay555257CTreetops805446CPottersPark656478Toolsforevaluatinglocalplayprovision:AtechnicalguidetoPlayEnglandlocalplayindicators43Thescoringsheetalsocontainstargetsforimprovements.
ThescoresforTreetopsplayareashowthatitisinagoodlocation(scoring80%)butneedstoincreasethescoreforplayvalue(54%).
Thelocalauthorityresponsibleforthesitemightdecidetotakestepstoincreasetheplayvaluebylookingatthedesignandlayoutoftheplayarea.
Insometypesofplayspacesitmaynotbepossiblescoreafull100%becauseofthelocationandsize.
Thisshouldberecordedinthefrontpageoftheassessmentsheet.
ForexampleitmightnotbepossibleforSandcastleplayareatoachieve100%forplayvaluebecauseitistoosmallforextensiveplantingormovement.
However,theremaybeotherpossibilitiesthatallowfortheplayvaluetobeincreased.
Localauthoritieswillneedtodecideon,andmakeknown,theirownbenchmarkofwhatconstitutes'good'qualityineachaspectoftheassessment.
Onepossibleapproachistotaketherangeofscoresforeachaspectforallthelocalauthorityplayareasandcalculatethemedian17;thiscanthenusedasaninitialbenchmarkwithsitesabovethemedianscoring'good'.
Ifaplayareawithamedianscoreisnotfelttoberepresentativeofagoodsite,asitewithahigherscorecanbeselectedasthe'benchmark'site.
17Themedianofapopulationisthepointthatdividesthedistributionofscoresinhalf.
Numerically,halfofthescoresinapopulationwillhavevaluesthatareequaltoorlargerthanthemedianandhalfwillhavevaluesthatareequaltoorsmallerthanthemedian.
Toworkoutthemedian:a)Putthenumbersinorder:366679111113b)Thenumberinthemiddleofthelististhemedian7isinthemiddle.
Sothemedianvalueis7.
Iftherearetwomiddlevalues,themedianishalfwaybetweenthem.
Forexample,ifthesetofnumberswere:3666789111113Therearetwomiddlevalues,7and8.
Themedianishalfwaybetween7and8.
Themedianis7.
5.
ExamplescoresummariesDiscrepanciesbetweenassessorsshouldbediscussedandadjustedasappropriate.
Wherethereiscontinueddisagreementacommentaryshouldbeadded,alternativescoresnotedandifagreementcannotbereachedanaveragescorecalculated.
TypeA:DoorstepplayablespacesCurrentscoreTargetscoretobeachievedFlipFlopPlayareaLocationMax=35Min=7%PlayValueMax=40Min=8%CareandmaintMax=25Min=5%Location%Playvalue%CandM%Scorer1236623582184Scorer2144017421872Scorer3216017441976Scorer4195318461872Scorer5175020502184Average544878CurrentscoreTargetscoretobeachievedSandcastlePlayareaLocationMax=35Min=7%PlayvalueMax=40Min=8%CareandmaintMax=25Min=5%Location%Playvalue%CandM%Scorer1257312302184Scorer2257015382080Scorer3236616401976Average703680TypeB:LocalplayablespaceorfacilityCurrentscoreTargetscoretobeachievedTurnAroundPlayAreaLocationMax=35Min=7%PlayvalueMax=50Min=10%Careandmaint:Max=35Min=7%Location%Playvalue%CandM%Scorer1236628562262Scorer2277622442057Scorer3236619382160Scorer4226324481542Scorer5257021422262Average684657CurrentscoreTargetscoretobeachievedPrimalPlayAreaLocationMax=35Min=7%PlayvalueMax=50Min=10%Careandmaint:Max=35Min=7%Location%Playvalue%CandM%Scorer11953.
30602160Scorer2267629582365Scorer3216023462262Scorer492622441234Scorer5216025502262Average555257TypeC:NeighbourhoodplayablespaceorfacilityCurrentscoreTargetscoretobeachievedTreetopsPlayAreaLocationMax=35Min=7%PlayValueMax=50Min=10%Care&Maint:Max=35Min=7%Location%PlayValue%C&M%Scorer1267318361542Scorer2329041821645Scorer3298325501851Scorer4298332641748Scorer5247019381542Average805446CurrentscoreTargetscoretobeachievedPottersParkPlayAreaLocationMax=35Min=7%PlayValueMax=50Min=10%Care&Maint:Max=35Min=7%Location%PlayValue%C&M%Scorer1267335703086Scorer2195323462057Scorer3236736722880Scorer4257030602983Scorer5226335703086Average656478Toolsforevaluatinglocalplayprovision:AguidetoPlayEnglandlocalplayindicators474.
5CheckingandstoringthedataThelocalprojectmanager,oradelegatedperson,needstocheckthatthedatabeingusedfortheperformanceindicatorsarecorrectandthattheresultslooksensible.
Checkingtheaccuracyofthedatainvolvesensuringthatthequalityassessmentshavebeenconducted,asfaraspossible,tothesamestandards.
Forqualityassessments,itisnecessarytocheckalltheassessmentsforconsistencyintheapplicationofthescoring-seeappendix3aand3b.
Tofacilitateaggregationandcomparisonofthedata,itisrequiredthatalldataisstoredelectronically.
Checkingthattheresultslooksensiblerequiresaknowledgeoftheservicebeingmonitoredandthereforeprobablyneedstobeconductedbyarelativelyseniormanager.
Itcomprisesexaminationoftheoutcomesandifanylooksuspiciouslyhighorlow,tocheckthatthedataentryandanalysishavebeenconductedproperly.
Atthisstageitisnotpossibletospecifyparametersforwhatis'toohigh'or'toolow'foreachindicator,whichiswhythisisamatterofjudgementbyamanagerwhoisfamiliarwiththeservice.
4.
6DataanalysisandreportingThemaximumscoresforthedifferentattributesaredifferent–locationcansecureamaximumrawscore(inTypeC)of35,butplayvaluecanachieve40andcare/maintenanceatotalof35.
Ofthethreeattributes,locationisrecognisedasbeingthemostimportantanditthereforenecessaryforadditionalweighttobegiventothissetofscores.
Thescoreismeaninglesswithoutsomeunderstandingofthemaximumthatcanbeachieved,soscoreswereexpressedasapercentageratherthananumber.
Thepercentageisthesitescoreasapercentageofthemaximumpossiblescoreforthatsite.
Itisalsopossibletocalculateanoverallscoreforyourauthoritybytakingthetotalscoresforallsitesinyoursample,expressedasapercentageofthemaximumpossiblescoresforthosesites.
4.
7InterpretingthedataTheaimoftheassessmentistoensurethatchildrenandyoungpeoplehaveaccesstoavarietyofplayopportunitiesandexperiencesnearwheretheyliveandcaneasilytravelto.
Noteveryplayablespacecanprovidealltypeofplayexperienceandsointerpretationofthequalityassessmentcantakeintoaccountotherplayablespacesinthevicinity.
Forexample,ifadoorsteporlocalspaceonlyofferafewplayexperiencestheremaybeanotherspacenearby,andaccessibletothesamechildrenandyoungpeoplethatoffersothers–meetingthelocalneedforasuitablerangeofplayopportunities.
Toolsforevaluatinglocalplayprovision:AguidetoPlayEnglandlocalplayindicators48Section5:Children'ssatisfactionwithpayablespace:Indicator4Indicator4SatisfactionMethodofgenerationDescriptionThepercentageofallchildrenandyoungpeople(fromallsocialandethnicgroups,includingthosewhoaredisabled),whothinkthattherangeandqualityofplayfacilitiesandspacestheyareabletoaccessintheirlocalneighbourhoodisgood/verygood.
Questionnairesurveyofchildrenandyoungpeople5.
1QuestionnairesurveyofchildrenandyoungpeopleThemainpurposeofthechildrenandyoungpeople'ssurveyistoobtaindataforindicator4:Satisfaction.
Thechildrenandyoungpeople'sPlacesWhereYouPlayQuestionnaireistheresultofapartnershipwithBristolCityCouncil'sYouthandPlayServices.
Itisachild-friendlypaper-basedsurvey,whichhasbeendesignedwiththeactiveinvolvementofchildrenandyoungpeopleagedbetween5and17years.
Thedesignofthequestionnaireandthewordingofthequestionshavebeenextensivelyandsuccessfullypilotedwithchildrenacrossthecity.
Childrenagedbetween7and18years,attendingbothprimaryandsecondaryschools,caneasilyparticipateinthesurvey(5-and6-year-oldswillneedmoresupport).
Theyareaskedtocompletetheshortpaperquestionnaire.
(Appendix3)Thesurveyseekstoobtaintheviewsofchildrenandyoungpeopleontherangeandqualityoffacilitiesthattheyareabletoaccessintheirlocalneighbourhood.
5.
2Childrenandyoungpeoplequestionnaire:distributionanddatacollectionThechildrenthemselvesshouldcompletethissurvey.
Atpresent,thequestionnairecanbeonlycompletedonpaper,althoughyoumaywanttocreateanelectronicversionforyourownuse.
Thequestionnairecanbeusedinavarietyofsettings.
Itcanbedistributedinschoolsforcompletioninschooltimeoritcanbedistributedinothersupervisedplaysessionssuchasatadventureplaygrounds,afterschoolclubs,leisurecentresoryouthclubsorinnonsupervisedlocationssuchasequippedplaygrounds.
Thequestionnairehasbeendesignedtobeselfexplanatoryandwehavefoundthatmostchildrenandyoungpeopledonothaveanydifficultyinunderstandingthenatureofthequestionsandwhattheyarebeingaskedtodo.
However,wewouldrecommendthatanadultispresentwhoisabletoToolsforevaluatinglocalplayprovision:AguidetoPlayEnglandlocalplayindicators49providehelpandsupporttochildrenwhoencounterdifficultiesincompletingtheforminadditiontodistributingandcollectingcompletedquestionnaires.
Wehavefoundthatthequestionnaireworksbestaspartofasmallgroupactivitywithadultsupervision.
Itisimportantthattheadultunderstandsabouttheaimsoftheconsultationandhowtheinformationwillbeused.
Groupsofapproximately10to15childrentendtoproducethebestresults.
Wefoundthatchildrenweremoreeagertosharetheirthoughtsandfeelingsabouttheirplayareasafterplayingashortgameorexercise.
OneexercisethatwasusedinBristolwastoaskchildrentodrawamaponalargesheetofflipchartpaperofthespacesintheirneighbourhoodwheretheygotoplay.
Anothersuccessfulexercisewastoprovidechildrenwithdisposablecamerasandaskthemtotakepicturesofwhatisgoodandbadaboutthespacesandplacesinwhichtheyplay.
Thiscanbepresentedasa'magiccarpet'slideshow,whichstartswithyoungerchildrensittingonamagiccarpetatthestartoftheirjourney.
Theslideshowismadeupofpicturestakenbythechildrenofspaceswheretheyplayorhangoutintheirownlocalityandcanthenbeextendedbypresentinghighqualityspacesfromotherlocations.
Thisisamoreintensiveexercise,whichrequiresagreaterinputofresources,butitdoesstimulatedebateamongstchildrenabouttheplaceswheretheyplay.
Thequestionnairecanbeusedwithchildrenfromyoungeragegroupsbuttheywillrequireasignificantlygreaterlevelofsupport.
Most,butnotall,childrenaged5and6yearsstruggledtounderstandthequestionsfully.
Itisimportanttoensurethattheviewsofdisabledchildrenarecapturedaspartofthesurvey.
Wefoundthattryingtocompletethequestionnaireinaschoolsettingwasdifficultforchildreninthisgroupandwouldrecommendthatthequestionnairebecompletedinasettingwheretherearenotimepressures.
Thismayrequireextratimebeingallocatedtotheprocessandmayincludeaskingparentstocompletewiththemorontheirbehalf.
Pleaserememberthatchildrenandyoungpeopleneedtoknowwhatwillhappentothisinformation,whowillseeitandwhattheresultsarelikelytobe.
Ifyoudecidetocarryoutthesurveyinschool,pleaseensurethatsomeoneispresentwhentheformsarebeingcompleted.
Thiswillhelptoensurethatthedistributionandcollectionofcompletedformsisdoneproperlyandminimisestheadministrativeburdenontheschool.
5.
2.
1The'PlacesWhereYouPlayQuestionnaire'(seeAppendix3)ThefullcolourquestionnairecanbedownloadedfromthePlayEnglandwebsite.
Itcontainsanumberofphotographsandillustrations,whichmakesitmoreattractiveandvisuallystimulatingforchildren.
Childrenareaskedtoanswerfivequestionsaboutplayprovisiontogetherwithsomestandarddemographicmonitoringquestionsattheendofthequestionnaire.
Theyareaskedtoticktheboxesthatreflecttheiropinionaboutthequalityandrangeofplayfacilitiesintheirneighbourhood.
Eachboxhasafainttickintheboxesalreadytoindicatewhatisrequired.
Whenthequestionnairewaspiloted,mostchildrenfoundthatthiswashelpfulbutotherswereconfusedaboutwheretotickbecausetherewasalreadyoneinthebox!
Toolsforevaluatinglocalplayprovision:AguidetoPlayEnglandlocalplayindicators50Theadultfacilitatorshouldbeawareofthisandwillneedtoensurethatallthechildrenunderstandwhattheyarebeingaskedtodo.
Thecoverpageexplainsthepurposeofthequestionnairebyaskingthequestions:Howdoyoufeelabouttheplacestoplay,orhangout,inyourareaArethereenoughAretheyanygoodLetusknow.
.
.
Thesecondpageprovidesthechildrenwithsomephotographsofdifferentplaygroundsandchildreninvolvedindifferentactivities.
Itincludesthestatement:'Thankyouforpickingupthisquestionnaire.
Wehopeyouenjoyfillingitin.
'Thethirdpageaskschildrenthequestion:WhatIliketodo.
.
.
Theresponsestothisquestiondonotprovidedatathatinformsthesatisfactionindicator.
Theaimofthequestionistoencouragechildrentothinkaboutthekindsofactivitiesthattheymostenjoysuchasbeingactive,hangingout,beingonwheels,beingadventurousetc.
Theinformationthatthechildrenprovidecouldbeveryusefultoyouwhenyouarethinkingabouthowtoimproveyour'PlayOffer'.
Theadultfacilitatorshouldadvisethechildrenthattheycantotickasmanyboxesastheylike.
Onthefourthpage,Question2isthefirstquestionthatprovidesdatafortheindicatorisaboutthequalityofspacestoplayorhangoutaskschildrenandyoungpeople:WhatIthinkabouttheplaceswhereIplayandhangout.
.
.
ThechildoryoungpersonisaskedtotickoneboxrangingfromVerygoodtoVerybad.
Nextthereisafollowupquestion:12Toolsforevaluatinglocalplayprovision:AguidetoPlayEnglandlocalplayindicators51WhatwouldmakeitbetterTheadultfacilitatorcouldexplaintothechildrentheneed/usefulnessofthis'whatwouldmakeitbetter'boxforsupplyingideasforfutureplayschemes.
Thefifthpagealsohasaquestionthatprovidesdatafortheindicator.
QuestionFourisabouttherangeofspacestoplayorhangout.
Itaskschildrenandyoungpeople:IsthereenoughchoiceThechildoryoungpersonisaskedtotickoneboxrangingfromYes!
LotstoNo!
None.
Thenthereisafollowupquestion,whichis:WhatchoiceisthereThechildoryoungpersonisaskedtocircleavarietyoficons,whichrepresentdifferenttypesofplay,orhangingoutspacesuchasskateparks,streets,woodsaswellasequippedplaygrounds.
Again,theadultfacilitatorcouldexplaintothechildrenthattheiranswerswillprovideinformationaboutgapsinplayprovisionandcouldbeusedtohelptodevelopstrategiesforimprovementinthefuture.
Thelastpagehasthestandarddemographicmonitoringquestions.
Itwasfoundduringthepilotingexercisethatchildrenrequireadultsupportincompletingthesemonitoringquestions,particularlythepostcodeandethnicitydataquestions.
5.
2.
2TimingThetimingofthesurveyisimportantifyouaregoingtocompareyourresultswiththoseofotherlocalauthoritiesorifyouplantodoyear-on-yearsurveys.
Ifthesurveyisbeingundertakenontheautumntermitshouldstartbeforemid-term,soastoensureitdoesnotencroachondarkeveningsorinclementweather.
Becarefulthatyouallowsufficientpreparationtimetoachievethistiming;don'tunderestimatetheworkinvolved.
5.
2.
3SampleEnsurethatarangeofagegroupsiscoveredandgeographicalvariationsconsideredasonepartofyourdistrictmaybebetterservedthananother.
However,wealsowanttoensurethattheworkloadisproportionateandreasonable.
Whatfollowsisaminimumrequirement,whichyoumayexceedifyouwish.
453Toolsforevaluatinglocalplayprovision:AguidetoPlayEnglandlocalplayindicators52Oneoptionistofocusondistributingthequestionnaireinschools.
Ifthisisyourpreferredmethodofdeliveryyoushouldrecruittheparticipationofsixschoolsfromacrossyourauthorityarea.
Theseshouldincludeatleast:threesecondaryschools(nomorethanoneofwhichisanindependentschool)fromdifferentareasofthedistrictthreeprimaryschools(nomorethanoneofwhichisanindependentschool)fromdifferentareasofthedistrict.
Ateachsecondaryschool,getresponsesfromatleastoneclassineachyeargroupfromYears7to10inclusive.
Ifyoucangetmore,fine!
Ateachprimaryschool,getresponsefromatleastoneclassineachofYears5and6.
Recruitingschoolsforthiskindofworkisnotstraightforwardandyouwillneedtoallowplentyoftimeforthisaspectofthework.
Youmaybeabletogethelpfromyourschoolsliaisonofficer,orfromthecurriculumdevelopmentstaffforcitizenship,orphysicaleducation.
Schoolswillwanttoknowwhytheyshouldco-operate.
Youmaywishtoofferarewardtoschools,andyoumayalsowanttofeedbacktotheschoolsontheirresultssothatthechildrencandiscussthem.
Youwillneedtogivesomethoughtabouthowyoumightpersuadeschoolstoco-operate.
Alternatively,youmaywishtodistributethequestionnaireindifferentsettingssuchasasupervisedplayfacility,forexample,anadventureplaygroundorasummerplayscheme,oryoumaywishtoaskchildreninnon-supervisedplaysettingssuchasanequippedplaygroundtocompletethequestionnaire.
Ifthisisthecaseyouwillneedtomakesurethatyougetagoodmixofrespondentswithaspreadacrossarangeofkeyfactorsaccordingtothedemographicsofyourlocalauthorityarea.
Thesekeyfactorsare:ageofchildlocationofsetting(youneedageographicalspread)timeswhenthefacilityorschemeisusedbychildrenand/oryoungpeople(differentagegroupsmayusethesamesettingatdifferenttimesofday)ethnicitydisability.
Youshouldaimtosecureapproximately300responses;moreifyoursisalargerlocalauthority.
Ofthese300respondents,50percentshouldbeboysand50percentshouldbegirls.
Youshouldaimforasimilarproportionofethnicminoritychildrenasispresentinthelocalpopulation;becauseethnicminoritychildrenareoftenconcentratedinparticularlocalities,thisshouldbeafactorinchoosingthesiteswhereyouconductthesurvey.
Inthesameway,youshouldaimforasimilarproportionofdisabledandnon–disabledchildrenasispresentinthelocalpopulation.
Toolsforevaluatinglocalplayprovision:AguidetoPlayEnglandlocalplayindicators53Thelocationschosenforthesurveyshouldbespreadacrossthewholeofthelocalauthorityareatoavoidanybiasintheresultsandtoensurethatresponsesrelatetoasmanyplaysettingsaspossible.
5.
3CheckingandstoringthedataThelocalprojectmanager,oradelegatedperson,needstocheckthatthedatabeingusedfortheperformanceindicatorsarecorrectandthattheresultslooksensible.
Checkingtheaccuracyofthedatainvolvesensuringthat:thesamplingfortheschoolsurveysisrandomandrepresentativeofthepopulationsconcerned,i.
e.
everyoneintherelevantpopulations(localauthorityorschools)hasanequalchanceofbeingselectedforthesurvey)theresponsestothesurveyquestionsappearvalid,i.
e.
theyhavebeencompletedhonestlyandseriouslybytherightpersonsTofacilitateaggregationandcomparisonofthedata,itisrequiredthatalldataisstoredelectronically.
Checkingthattheresultslooksensiblerequiresaknowledgeoftheservicebeingmonitoredandthereforeprobablyneedstobeconductedbyarelativelyseniormanager.
Itcomprisesexaminationoftheoutcomesandifanylooksuspiciouslyhighorlow,tocheckthatthedataentryandanalysishavebeenconductedproperly.
Atthisstageitisnotpossibletospecifyparametersforwhatis'toohigh'or'toolow'foreachindicator,whichiswhythisisamatterofjudgementbyamanagerwhoisfamiliarwiththeservice.
5.
4DataanalysisandreportingThesatisfactionindicatorisderivedfromtheschoolsurveyresponses.
Pleasenotethatthiswillonlygeneratedatafortheagerangecoveredbytheschoolsandclassessurveyed.
Theanalysisneedstoidentifythoserespondentswhoscoredtheirsatisfactionineitherofthefirsttwocategories(outoffivepoints)inthescaleofresponsesallowed-'verygood'and'good'-andtheseneedtobecombinedandexpressedasapercentageofthetotalvalidresponses.
Thereareseparatesatisfactionquestionsfortherangeoffacilitiesavailableandtheirquality.
Thesecombinetogivethesatisfactionscoreforeachrespondent,byasimplenumericalaverageofthetwoscores.
Anaverageoftwoorlesscontributestothepercentagerequiredfortheindicator.
Aswiththeparticipationindicator,thesoftwaretodotherequiredanalysiscanbeaspreadsheet,adatabase,orasurveypackagesuchasSNAPorSPSS.
Satisfactionperformanceindicators(PIs)oftenuseconfidencelevels.
Thesamplesizewehaveestablished,whichisexplainedlaterintheguidance,reflectsadesiredconfidenceintervalof+/-3percentat95percentlevelofconfidencewillestablishwhetherornotthisisachievablewithinrealisticeffort.
Thepopulationfiguretouse,toestablishthenumbersofchildren,istheONSmid-yearestimates.
Mid-yearpopulationestimatesareobtainedfromONSatlocalauthoritylevel,seewww.
statistics.
gov.
uk/popest/Toolsforevaluatinglocalplayprovision:AguidetoPlayEnglandlocalplayindicators54AppendicesThefollowingareavailableonlineasseparatefilesfromthePlayEnglandwebsite.
Appendix1:HouseholdquestionnairesurveyAppendix2a:QualityAssessmentTool-GuidelinesanddefinitionsAppendix2b:QualityassessmenttoolscoresheetAppendix3:Children'ssatisfactionquestionnaireToolsforevaluatinglocalplayprovision:AguidetoPlayEnglandlocalplayindicators55YourfeedbackonthisguideToolsforevaluatinglocalplayprovisionPlayEnglandarekeentofindouthoweffectivethisguidehasbeenforlocalauthoritiesusinglocalplayindicators.
Yourfeedbackwillhelpustodevelopfutureeditionsofthisguidance.
DidthisguidegiveyouaclearunderstandingofthelocalindicatorsforplayIfnot,whatdoyouthinkwasmissingDidthisguidegiveyouthesufficientinformationtocollectdatatomeasurelocalplayindicatorsIfnot,howcouldweimprovethisOnascaleof1to5,howhelpfulwasthisguide(Pleasetick)1=poor2=acceptable3=good4=verygood5=excellentPleasecopythispageandfaxyourresponseto:02078436349ThankyouToolsforevaluatinglocalplayprovision:AtechnicalguidetoPlayEnglandlocalplayindicatorsProducedbyAshleyGodfreyAssociatesandINSPIRE.
Thispublicationcanbedownloadedatwww.
playengland.
org.
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