By prioritising play, a large range of the
National Indicators that local areas are working towards can be
addressed.
Children’s play cuts across different agendas. It has been
estimated that play can contribute to around 43 of the national
indicators used by government to measure local authority
performance. These include:
- NI 1–6 (Stronger Communities) – Community cohesion, civic
participation and satisfaction with the local area
- NI 17, 22, 23 (Safer Communities) – Dealing with concerns about
anti-social behaviour, parents’ responsibility for their children
and perceptions that people treat one another with respect and
dignity
- NI 48 (Safer Communities) – Children killed or seriously
injured in road traffic accidents
- NI 50, 54, 55, 56, 57 and 58 (Children & Young People – Be
Healthy) – Children’s physical, emotional and behavioural
health
- NI 116 (Proportion of children in poverty) – Good play
provision is at the heart of the safe, cohesive and prosperous
communities where children can thrive and develop.
Local authorities have to select around 35 national indicators
that they will prioritise and address through the Local Area
Agreement.
The National Indicator set now includes NI 199 that measures
children’s satisfaction with local parks and play areas, through
the TellUs Survey.
Play England has developed a set of local play indicators to
measure the success of local play provision. The local play
indicators complement, but do not, replace NI 199.
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