Playworks Nottingham

PlayWorks (registered as Nottingham Play Forum Limited) is a Play and environmental charity based in Nottingham whose objective is to promote play activities to improve social, emotional and physical well being. We deliver free play opportunities for children and young people in areas of high deprivation, and offer inclusive activities to a wide range of children and families, including those with additional support needs, young people at risk of offending, children with disabilities and children of refugee and migrant backgrounds. In addition to play provision, we run the ScrapStore. This is a resource centre that provides reclaimed and recycled materials for use in children’s play to local families and projects working with children and young people, fueling creative, therapeutic and fun play, whilst also providing the community with an invaluable supply of low cost materials. Materials are all donated by local businesses, much of which would otherwise end up in landfill. Our service has directly supported over 12,000 individual children, young people and their families over the past 12 months. We have approx. 600 members which consist of playgroups, families and children’s groups, voluntary organisations, prisons, residential care settings and after school clubs. We also deliver practical sessions on streets, parks and green spaces to promote physical well being and community cohesion. These sessions are positive diversionary activities for children and young people and promote physical and active play, increase reliance, as well as increase social and emotional development.