Play 2 Nurture Project

A play boost for children experiencing emotional and/or economic hardships who live or go to school within a one-mile radius of The Play Sanctuary, Alfred Street, Gloucester GL1 4DF

Play Gloucestershire’s Play2Nurture project is funded for three years from January 2022 to December 2024. The project has been awarded £240,119 from The National Lottery Community Fund.

The overall aim of the project is to use the therapeutic power of play to create the conditions where children facing adversity build resilience and have better chances in life.

The project seeks to develop Play Gloucestershire’s emerging play nurture approach, which builds on 15 years’ experience of running a universal Play Ranger service in disadvantaged local communities and targeted work in school settings. The play nurture approach works with small groups of identified children using the therapeutic power of play to offer respite from and to help children cope with the ups and downs of daily economic and emotional hardships. In this, the Play Rangers work at the intersection of playwork and play therapy.

The project is led by highly experienced playwork practitioners, one of whom is also qualified in play therapy and a second who is about to start a postgraduate course in therapeutic play skills. They work with a team of Play Rangers, young volunteers and a Pets as Therapy qualified dog, Rafa.

The project works across three Gloucester locations:

The Play Sanctuary
(our small, dedicated play space at City Works)

Ayland Garden Open Space
(open access community sessions in a local park)

Oxstalls Campus, University of Gloucestershire
(a beautiful natural space for playing during school holidays)

Each term, we will be able to offer free places for local children to join our kind and experienced Play Rangers for active and creative child-led play in our amazing Play Sanctuary at City Works, Gloucester. They will need to live or attend school within one mile of our Play Sanctuary in GL1 4DF and be experiencing emotional and/or economic hardship.

Sessions for 8+ year olds will run after-school on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings. There will also be a Saturday club for under 8’s. During the school holidays we will be providing play days based in outreach locations.

To find out more information about our play nurture offer, or refer a child you think may benefit, please contact Charlie Marsh who is the Play 2 Nurture project lead:

charlie@playgloucestershire.org.uk
07790 929 069