Depending on who you ask, the six weeks of the summer holiday can mean different things to different people. For children, it can be a time of freedom at the end of a long academic year. For parents, it can represent quality time as a family, though quality time in such large amounts can become expensive!
For Go Play staff, it represents a time of year where have the opportunity to celebrate play, to emphasise the importance of our parks and green spaces, but most of all to offer universal free play to the community. We were incredibly blessed by fantastic weather for most of the summer, and as such it meant we were able to deliver a significant chunk of our sessions in the grand green spaces of Sandwell. We also had some great sessions at Tipton Library, which continued the wonderful partnership of Go Play and Sandwell Libraries.
Rather than reeling off my favourite parts of the summer, I’ve asked the team to tell us what they enjoyed most about the summer!
“My highlight was taking a large cardboard cut-out of the number 31 to our sessions for children and young people to decorate, allowing us to have lots of really interesting discussions around Article 31 and a child’s right to play.” – Johnny
“My highlight was our event at Farley Park. Not only was it really well attended, but we also provided the children and young people the chance to engage in play, theatre and magic for no cost. You could really see how thankful the families were for the opportunity.” – Agustina
“My highlight was the National Day of Play event at Sandwell Valley Visitor Centre. I really enjoyed being able to work in collaboration with our delivery partners, and we were so fortunate to have the nicest weather for the day too. There were a lot of happy faces all day which makes the job easier.” – Craig
And yes, the summer was a blast, but the fun doesn’t stop. For fifty weeks of the year you’ll be able to find Go Play sessions happening in your town – so why not come along and have fun?