Regional Play Project

Children and Young People’s Play Regional Development Co-ordinator

In October 2006, the BIG Lottery announced a grant scheme of up to £13 million pounds to develop children and young people’s play opportunities throughout Wales.

The funding, within the Child’s Play programme is one part of the Lottery’s Healthy Families Initiative. Supported by Play Wales, the National Organisation for children’s play in Wales, organisations from the voluntary and statutory sectors were invited to make a bid to the scheme that would develop and support both local and regional infrastructure for children and young people’s play.

The development for play infrastructure was required to be cross county and in May 2007 a joint Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire funding application was submitted developed by a task and finish group consisting of representatives from Pembrokeshire County Council, Pembrokeshire Association for Voluntary Services (PAVS), Carmarthenshire County Council, Carmarthenshire Association for Voluntary Services (CAVS), Children and Youth Association (CYCA) based in Llanelli, Pantyffynnon Communities First Area Carmarthenshire and Play Wales.

In December 2007, BIG Lottery awarded the Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire play partnership project £250,000 to develop both local and regional play infrastructure.

The funding is to employ a Children and Young People’s Regional Development Co-ordinator with three objectives:

  • To create a regional play association across Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire that will support and develop the strategic co-ordination of children and young people’s play.
  • Local support networks, supported regionally by the play association, are developed in order to improve and increase support for play providers across all sectors in Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire.
  • To conduct a regional and local needs analysis, to identify gaps in provision and to identify appropriate strategic play projects that will benefit children and young people in Pembrokehsire and Carmarthenshire.

On the 12th May 2008, Pete King was appointed by CAVS as the Children and Young People’s Regional Development Co-ordinator. Pete’s previous employment was with Pembrokeshire County Council with the responsibility of both the strategic and operational lead for children’s play. Pete is currently researching the provision for play in Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire with the goal of compiling a local needs analysis. The information gathered will play a significant role in the second, and last, round of funding within the Child’s Play Programme. Funding between £250,000 and £1 million is available for play projects for children and young people.

It is an exciting time for play in Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire, as it is across the whole of Wales, and working in partnership locally, regionally and nationally it is planned to not only raise the profile of the importance of play but to increase the quality of play experiences for all.

At the end of November 2008, Pete King moved on to take up a studying post at Swansea University, and his post was filled by Tim Moss.