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Snug goes mobile
18 May 2010
The success of the innovative loose parts play equipment, SNUG is growing rapidly. Already in use within schools, children’s centres, hotels, shopping centres and children’s museums; SNUG is now becoming a favourite with local councils and play development centres, as a mobile play and learning resource.
Three play centres and two councils are already utilising SNUG across their regions; Withernsea & Holderness Play Action,
Luton Play Strategy Team, Fife Childcare and Early Years, Great Yarmouth Borough Council and Chelmsford Borough Council.
These organisations are using the equipment to provide creative play opportunities for local children, giving them the chance to have fun, explore and learn. The kit is available for schools and children’s centres to hire within each region and can even be delivered.
Withernsea & Holderness Play Action operate a mobile play service in and around Holderness. Their equipment is stored in a play van and they lend the equipment to schools and nurseries, but more often than not they run their own play sessions in different towns and villages at - leisure centres, on village greens and in youth clubs. The SNUG kit is used alongside other play equipment, sports activities and face-painting to create fun and interactive play sessions.
This mobile play resource allows Withernsea & Holderness Play Action to provide play sessions to bring communities together, especially in the remote areas where play activities are limited or non-existent. Local families can easily access these locations without travelling long distances.
Andy Steele, Withernsea & Holderness Play Action comments; “The purchase of SNUG has proven to be a fantastic investment, enabling us to provide an exciting, mobile play service, which is unique to the isolated area of Holderness.
“Over 2,000 children and young people have enjoyed our play activities in the first year of us setting up the Portable Play For All project and their feedback has been very positive. In particular, children have commented on how they enjoy the recent addition of the SNUG kit and the way it allows them to control and alter their play environment each time.”
Chelmsford Borough Council plan to use SNUG in a similar way and provide their county with a mobile play scheme to help get children active. Fife Childcare and Early Years ordered their kit to be a part of a toy library where play workers can loan equipment and materials. The Luton Play Strategy Team kit is based at a local school, Stopsley Community Primary School, and is available for loan to other schools in the area and to Play Rangers for use at community events.
Great Yarmouth Council bought its kit to enable them to introduce play opportunities into schools and communities as part of the governments’ recent push for free play provision for children aged 3-11 years. In just a few months SNUG has been lent out to a number of local schools and has been a resounding success. Partly funded by the Big Lottery Fund, the Council was able to purchase a SNUG kit that the whole community could benefit from. SNUG has been taken to urban schools in the region, many of which have a high number of children living in deprived areas with limited access to play facilities.
Developed to transform recreational areas, SNUG encourages children to use their imagination to play and construct creative playscapes, and inspires them to fully explore, discover and learn independently or with their peers.
Robert Whitelock, SNUG Creative Advisor, comments; “We have had a successful loan service to schools and other settings for some time. It allows those who are considering buying SNUG to see it ‘in action’ in their setting. The mobile resource provided by these organisations is a tremendous opportunity to bring play to local people.”
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