Our Vision
Making Denbighshire a Play Friendly Community
Denbighshire County Council understands the importance of the role in which Play contributes to the well-being of children and young people and is fundamental and an integral part of healthy development – not only for individual children, but also for the society they live in. We believe that all children and young people should have access to and take part in play opportunities as recognised by:
- The Welsh Assembly Government’s National Play Policy (2002) “Play encompasses children’s behaviour which is freely chosen, personally directed and intrinsically motivated”. That is, it is what children do when they follow their own ideas for the own reasons. [1]
- Core Aim 4 of the Welsh Assembly Government’s Seven Core Aims for Children and Young People, which states that: “All children and young people have access to play, leisure, sporting and cultural activities.”[2]
[1] Welsh Assembly Government National Play Policy (2002);
[2] The Welsh Assembly Government, Children and Young People: Rights to Action, January 2004; http://wales.gov.uk/docs/caecd/publications/090415rightstoactionen.pdf
3. Article 31 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and further defined within General Comment 17, which states that: “Parties recognise the right of the child to rest and leisure, to engage in play and recreational activities appropriate to the age of the child and to participate freely in cultural life and the arts.”[3]
Denbighshire County Council recognises that the impact of modern society on children’s lives has significantly restricted their opportunity to play freely and has resulted in a poverty of play opportunities in the general environment.
[3] International Play Association website; http://ipaworld.org/childs-right-to-play/article-31/summary-gc17/