• Founder of Ella’s Kitchen, the UK’s biggest baby food brand, Paul Lindley announces launch of Play Commission in a bid to give children back their childhoods, tackle childhood obesity, the epidemic of poor children’s mental health and boost alternatives to screen-time 
• Review will propose reforms for the next government to break down barriers preventing kids playing, including developing a new national plan for play
• Commission to explore right for families to sue developers who build housing without adequate spaces for children’s play and produce major set of policy recommendations on children’s play
• Law firm Hogan Lovells commits to pro bono support, including helping the Commission identify opportunities to provide protections for play. The Commission will call on parents to come forward with their experiences of barriers to play
• In an era of fewer playing fields and playgrounds, and many ‘No Ball Games’ signs, the inquiry will work with parents to develop new ideas that can provide safe places for children to play  
• Former Children’s Commissioner for England Anne Longfield CBE to advise the Commission, alongside Commissioners and young advisers

Paul Lindley OBE, founder of organic baby food brand Ella’s Kitchen, along with the Centre for Young Lives, today announces the launch of the Raising the Nation Play Commission, a landmark inquiry into children’s play. Throughout its 12-month programme, the Commission will seek testimony from leading experts in children’s play and wellbeing, as well as from parents, children and young people across the country, to produce a report making recommendations for post-election government policy.

The Commission is being advised by leading law firm Hogan Lovells, which has announced its intention to work with the Commission to help it identify whether an effective and enforceable right to play exists in law in England & Wales, and help the Commission identify opportunities to provide protections for play. It is calling on parents and children to come forward with their own experiences of restricted access to play in their communities, which could form the basis for such a case. On Tuesday, the Commission will issue an online call for evidence.

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) was ratified by the UK in 1991 but has never been directly incorporated into domestic law. Working with Hogan Lovells, the Play Commission will seek to establish the extent to which current law upholds the UNCRC, and where it fails to do so.

Launching the Commission today, Paul demands politicians put children at the heart of their election promises and announces it will explore obstacles to play such as ‘No Ball Games’ signs in residential areas and reduced breaktimes in the school day. The Commission will also consider whether families should have the right to sue housing developers and local authorities which construct housing without including adequate play facilities. Paul also argues that social media “risks hijacking our children’s imaginations”, and that with the UK on track for a children’s obesity and mental health crisis, it’s high time to think seriously about how to promote outdoor play.

The Commission will investigate the policies and attitudes which lie behind increasing barriers to both the space and time available for children to play. For instance, almost 800 playgrounds have been closed over the last 10 years. Meanwhile secondary school pupils have lost over an hour per week of school break time between 1995 and 2019.

The impact of social media on children’s play will also be examined. While children play together online, the Commission will consider whether time spent on social media is coming at the expense of free or unstructured play, and explore how it can be used to enhance positive “real life” play experiences. 

The Commission will be chaired by Paul with former Children’s Commissioner Anne Longfield CBE, who leads the Centre for Young Lives, advising. Additionally, fifteen commissioners with a wealth of experience in relevant disciplines have already been appointed to guide the Commission’s work, with more appointments to be made. Youth advisers have also been appointed to ensure lived experiences and young perspectives form an integral part of the Commission’s final report. 

Paul launches this work following the publication last year of his book on childhood and children’s policy – Raising the Nation.

Commenting on the launch of the Commission, Paul Lindley said: “Play is vital for our children’s development, education and mental health. The best investment we can make for the UK’s future is in our children’s wellbeing, and in this election campaign it’s time our politicians put them first. ‍

‍“Everyone I spoke to when writing Raising the Nation was clear that we need to do more for children. Play is at the centre of happy childhoods. The decisions adults make can have a huge impact on how easy or difficult it is to play, where and when it’s possible, and even put up new barriers to play. With the help of our commissioners, legal experts, and young advisers, we will spell out what is stopping children playing today and make policy proposals for the future.”

‍Anne Longfield said: “Paul is an established expert on children’s wellbeing and we are delighted that the Play Commission will be one of the first major projects of the Centre for Young Lives. We look forward to working with Paul, experts, parents, and children on developing an ambitious and creative play strategy for the next Government to implement.” 

‍‍ENDS‍

‍Contact: 
Jo Green, Centre for Young Lives 
‍Email: [email protected] 

‍Notes to editors:

‍The Raising the Nation Play Commission will be chaired by Paul Lindley OBE and advised by Anne Longfield CBE. In addition, 15 highly experienced Commissioners have been appointed, who will guide the Commission’s work, with more to come. The list of Commissioners is below:

• Anne Marie Canning, CEO, The Brilliant Club 
• Dr Amanda Gummer, CEO, FUNdamentally Children, Chair, API 
• Eugene Minogue, CEO, Play England 
• Ingrid Skeels, Co-Founder, Playing Out 
• Jo Rhodes, Founder, Challenge59 and The Co:Lab Collective
• Prof. Mark Mon Williams, Chair in Cognitive Psychology, University of Leeds, and Professor of Psychology at the Bradford Institute of Health Research 
• Martin Morales, CEO, Institute of Imagination 
• Naomi Lott, John Fell Research Fellow, Bonavero Institute of Human Rights, University of Oxford 
• Paul Ramchandani, Professor at PEDAL, University of Cambridge 
• Julika Niehaus, Mental Health Lead, Urban Health 
• Rob Hughes, Clinical Research Fellow, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine 
• Sue Macmillan, CEO, Mumsnet 
• Tim Gill, urban planner, author, independent consultant 
• Tom Bridges, Arup 
• Zelda Yanovich CEO, co-founder Fam Studio (ex-Director of Strategy at LEGO Foundation).