Since Play Gloucestershire was launched in 2007, an astonishing 100,000 visits to play sessions around Gloucestershire have been clocked up by almost 11,000 children and young people.

“This is a very special milestone for Play Gloucestershire” said Pip Levett, Director of Play. “It’s incredible to think that since I established the charity in 2007, thousands of children and young people have taken part in play sessions across 84 urban and rural Gloucestershire communities.

“Our wonderful team of professional Play Rangers and Young Volunteers support local children and families, in particular those who are disadvantaged, through the transformative power of play. We believe that outdoor play is an essential part of a happy and healthy childhood. Not only are our play sessions good for physical wellbeing, but also, importantly, it helps with mental wellbeing. Our activities help young people to meet and make friends and create a healthy outdoor play habit that they can sustain for life.”

During February half term, we had lots of media interest in our big milestone, with BBC Radio Gloucestershire reporting live from our Podsmead play day. Local newspapers also covered the event, and we would like to thank all the young people that helped promote Play Gloucestershire and advocate for play throughout the week.