It was ‘a game of two halves’, as they say in football! The first week of the Easter holidays was wild and windy, and the Play Rangers used the high winds to make lots of kites and wind tunnels. Windy days generate high energy levels in children and lots of active play. We love active play. Play Ranger Team Leader Ben loves it so much he covered 9.9 miles in 6 hours of community play!

Week two brought lovely spring sunshine, and the vibe at play became more relaxed with whole families bringing picnics and rugs into the parks to spend all day with us. Sunny weather is the cue for giant bubbles and water slides and that game that gets you very wet – drip, drip dunk!

No two days are ever the same for our roving Rangers, and lots goes on behind the centre stage of community play for all. We support a lot of vulnerable children, including those living in poverty, disabled children, young carers, and fostered children as well as those going through moments of family crisis. One family had their beloved pet put to sleep, and the Rangers were on hand to help. This Easter we supported siblings taken into foster care a few days previously. Working intensively with the police and social care, we ensured that the children were able to enjoy some therapeutic playwork through a period of great trauma for everyone.

We understand the importance of play in rurally isolated villages as well as play in disadvantaged urban communities. Our Rangers visited such far-flung places as Ruspidge in the Forest of Dean, Bussage in Stroud district and Bourton on the Water in the Cotswolds.

Team PG delivered 23.5 play days over the Easter holidays, recording 1,119 play visits in 15 urban and rural communities. You can see our Easter highlights in tweets on https://storify.com/Play_Glos/easter-holidays