Cardiff's commitment to children's play has been evaluated as part of the Play Sufficiency Assessment 2025-28, a Welsh Government requirement which asks Local Authorities to assess and enhance play opportunities in their areas, every three years.

Through a thorough consultation process supported by Play Wales, a wide range of internal and external partners gave their views on children's play provision across the city and through school workshops, more than 700 children and young people had their say via The Big Play Survey, compared to 400 in the 2022-2025 period.

A number of areas of good practice were identified as part of the assessment including;

• A wide and varied play offer is available for babies, children and young people including recreational activities in local communities, and within temporary accommodation for those that are homeless.Play sessions and resource packs are delivered by Flying Start, Cardiff Youth Services and Children's Play.Cardiff Children's Play Service supported further play opportunities through a project funded by Play Wales, which saw 140 families given play packs with play resources in, with low-cost ideas about how to play within smaller spaces.

• Playworks Grants, facilitated by Cardiff Council, supports play opportunities operating in areas of deprivation inclusive of a holiday initiative with access to healthy snacks in school holidays. Over a 3-year period, Playworks has funded a total of 1,124 sessions over a total of 36 weeks of school holidays.

• Cardiff Children's Play support resident-led Play Streets, which Play Wales reports improves the health and wellbeing of children and families, reduces social isolation for older residents, enables community activity and develops more joined up and cohesive neighbourhoods. This type of social interaction, intergenerational play and community cohesion are protective factors in keeping children safe from harm. Over a three-year period, 18 streets have participated in this project. 

• "Places where children play" highlighted that Cardiff benefits from the involvement of an external annual and installation inspector who possesses extensive knowledge about play value. Places where children play in Cardiff include Playgrounds, Multi Use Games Area (MUGA), skateparks, BMX tracks and water play areas. These areas amount to 528 green and open spaces that can be used for play.

• Cardiff's UNICEF Child Friendly City status promotes collaboration and engagement between various Council directorates and many professionals in providing services for babies, children and young people. Stakeholders from both internal and external groups are working towards creating an accessible, safe, and enjoyable city for children to grow up in and explore.

• Cardiff Council and its partners have advocated for a separate Play Policy in the Local Development Plan to further embed opportunities for children and the Right to Play in a wide variety of locations and environments. Accessing a variety of opportunities for play and being able to be independently mobile within their neighbourhood, is important for children and young people's wellbeing and development and a standard based on Fields in Trust Benchmarks has been adopted, which is referenced by Planning Policy Wales.

Areas for future development have been identified anda number of actions and priorities have been suggested to achieve sufficiency, maintain strengths and address shortcomings. They include:

• Raising the profile of play training to secure service delivery
• Support for children with Additional Needs and/or disabilities to access meaningful play opportunities
• Obtaining further information on available play opportunities for families so that they can easily understand what is accessible within their vicinity including identifying safe routes for accessing these provisions and open spaces.
• Undertake work to develop an improved social media presence, to raise awareness of the Play services available.
• Improve transition between services that work with children and young people at different ages/stages of life e/g. Children's Play and Youth Services.
• Undertake further research to comprehend the availability of staffed play provision within and across the sector.
• Establish a working group for children's play with the support of the Cardiff Child Friendly City team, inviting key stakeholders to contribute to, and develop a vision and action plan for play in Cardiff, embracing the shared responsibility for ensuring the actions set out in the Action Plan are met.

Cabinet Member for Tackling Poverty, Equality and Supporting Young People, Cllr Peter Bradbury said: "This cross-Cabinet report looks at play sufficiency across all areas of the Council and demonstrates a joined-up delivery plan. Collaboration and communication among partners, ensures that every child has ample opportunities for play and by fostering strong partnerships and a cohesive Council approach, Cardiff is committed to creating an environment where children can thrive and enjoy their childhood to the fullest, making Cardiff a truly great place to grow up."

Cabinet Member for Children Services, Cllr Ash Lister said: "Cardiff's Play Sufficiency Assessment aims to enhance and protect the time, space, and permission children have to play in all aspects of their lives and acknowledges the role that all professionals can have in fulfilling this duty.

"Our commitment as a Child Friendly City recognises the significance of play and play opportunities to the development of children and young people and the benefits this has on their health and wellbeing."

Cabinet Member for Culture, Parks and Events, Cllr Jennifer Burke, added: "We want children and young people to feel safe while playing. Through the Big Play Survey, we've gained insight into what matters most to them and identified barriers that limit access to outdoor spaces and parks. This assessment will guide us in shaping the future of play across the city so that it is more accessible and more children can enjoy the wealth of benefits associated with play."

Cardiff Council's Cabinet will be recommended to approve publication of the draft 2025 - 2028 Play Sufficiency Assessment when they meet onThursday 20^thMarch.A webcast of that meeting will be available to watch on the dayAgenda for Cabinet on Thursday, 20th March, 2025, 2.00 pm : Cardiff Council

If agreed the assessment will be published on the Council website for the 28-day statutory consultation period before the report is submitted to Welsh Government.

Prior to the Cabinet meeting, the report with be scrutinised by the Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee when it meets on Tuesday 11^thMarch. A recording of that meeting will be available to view here.Agenda for Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee on Tuesday, 11th March, 2025, 4.30 pm : Cardiff Council