A ‘play hub’ being piloted in Invercargill’s Salford community aims to bring the community closer and encourage families to spend more time playing. 

The aim of the play hub is to create great play opportunities across the school community and  surrounding neighbourhoods, developing a greater sense of social connectedness in the process. 

Salford School is one of several schools involved in the pilot. 

The concept is designed by the community, with support from Sport Southland’s Healthy Families Invercargill and Made to Move teams, and Sport New Zealand’s play team. 

The design process used insights and community feedback to highlight that families and children were no longer playing as much, or in the same way, as previous generations. 

“Playler the Playful Trailer”, the focal part of the play hub, was launched at Salford School this month in front of about 250 people, including a large group of very happy children. 

The benefits of play for the purpose of child development, social and intergenerational connectedness, and overall wellbeing, are well documented. 

Supporting opportunities that encourage great play to happen, strengthens those outcomes. 

Salford School, working with Sport Southland’s Made to Move team, identified the importance of strengthening a sense of community through play.  

Sport Southland’s Healthy Families Invercargill manager Jared Cappie said the goal of the trailer was to help create a “play hub” at the school, which would encourage families to play together. 

The trailer contains a wide range of play equipment and loose parts, all of which is designed to encourage intergenerational play, as well as spark imagination. 

“It’s about creating time, place, and permission for schools and their communities to play...It’s one of the strategies in the toolbox to improve play opportunities for children, connect communities, and re-establish the value of play among communities.” 

Sport Southland Made to Move school facilitator Carla Werder said play had so many benefits for people of all ages, and Playler would make it easier for communities to provide opportunities for play in safe and connected environments. 

The design and name of the play trailer was also a community collaboration – three students (two from Salford School and one from Te Wharekura O Arowhenua) designed the artwork that features on the trailer, while Murihiku Marae were consulted on wording.  The name was suggested by a student from Ascot Community School. 

Salford School principal Sarah Gibbs said she was thrilled the school had been included for the pilot and it was important to connect the school and community. 

“I have the true belief that the school is the heart of the community and that lots of things should be happening in the school that involves not just the school whānau but the wider community as well. That way our children are safe, our children have lots of people who are role models and positive people that they can work with or enjoy time with, and it just means that the school is a much happier, friendlier, more welcoming place to be.” 

The play trailer was a way to make those connections, and encourage families to play, especially adults, who traditionally weren’t very good at that, she said. 

“The whole idea of the Playler came about as a way to get people together and having fun.” 

Article added: Thursday 26 November 2020