Big Lottery Fund gives £1.2m to help excluded play

The Big Lottery Fund yesterday announced £1.2m of funding for seven schemes to help excluded and disabled children play.

The awards are part of the lottery’s playful ideas programme which has provided £6m since 2006 to help give children access to play schemes.

• Haven House Project in Sheffield won £250,000 to help children affected by domestic violence adjust to life in a women’s refuge.
• KIDS in Dudley, West Midlands, gained almost £250,000 to provide out-of-school play opportunities for disabled and non-disabled children.
• Community Integration Partnership Limited in the West Midlands gained just over £170,000 to help bring children of different cultures together in play.
• Nottingham-based St Ann’s Play Rangers received over £140,000 for a project to bring together children, parents and grandparents to play old and new games.
• Children’s Playlink in Gloucestershire received £127,000 to remove barriers to play for disabled children aged five to 16.
• Doncaster Community Arts won over £25,000 to help excluded children participate in arts projects.

Sanjay Dighe, chair of the Big Lottery Fund’s England committee, said: “These awards have a particular emphasis on children who are excluded from play, whether that be for social or physical reasons.”