Membership Spotlight highlights the work of our member organisations and outlines how other individuals and organisations can support them. Together is shining a light on Play Scotland to spread awareness about International Day of Play on Thursday 11 June 2026. Play Scotland have been a member of Together for over ten years.

Tell us about the work of your organisation in Scotland.

Play Scotland is the leading national organisation for championing children and young people’s right to play.  We advocate for this at a national level promoting inclusive, accessible, and safe opportunities for play. We combine policy and research, with practical support to embed play in childcare settings, schools, community organisations, and homes.

Our head office is in Edinburgh, but our wonderful team of dedicated play champions span Scotland-wide to deliver our work through the Outdoor Play and Learning program and the Play Pedagogy Award.  The Play Pedagogy Award has been developed in line with national guidance and the Curriculum for Excellence, and reflects the priorities set out in Scotland’s Play Vision Statement and action plan. It’s an accredited program that supports schools to embed play pedagogy in a structured and supportive way.  Outdoor Play and Learning Award (OPAL) supports schools with information, insight, resources, and expertise to radically transform school playtimes. It aims to embed play into schools’ policies and practices, to support a larger cultural shift in engaging children in quality outdoor play experiences.

We actively engage our membership and followers to create play opportunities through campaigns like International Day of Play and Playday. We also work closely with national and local government to support the creation and evaluation of play spaces through the Play Park Survey and our updated Getting it Right for Play to support Play Sufficiency Assessments.

Play Scotland plays a key role in influencing policy, working closely with the Scottish Government to develop and deliver Scotland’s Play Vision Statement and Action Plan and advancing the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. We regularly create and share high quality research and resources, such as the recent Scottish School Ground Surveys and host regular trainings and events.

What projects are you currently working on?

We’re gearing up to celebrate the International Day of Play on 11 June. It’s the third annual day since its inception in 2024 and is about highlighting the power of play, and the impact that it has on children and young people’s health and wellbeing. We are delighted to have over 200 schools registered to take part as of April, a key event that has a lasting impact on not only promoting the importance of play but actively working to implement it.

We’re also developing our strategic plan, which we’re excited to launch on October 28^th. Since the incorporation of UNCRC into Scot’s law, children have a legal right to play in Scotland. Our strategy will lay the groundwork to turn this right into a reality, bridging the gap between legislation, experience and practice. Our work, as always will centre the voice of the child and advocate and campaign for every child’s right to play.

How do you support children and families to learn about their rights, and how can they make their views heard to influence your work?

We actively engage with children and their families to shape and develop our projects and resources:

• We regularly develop low and no cost play ideas to support every child’s right to play at home.
• We worked closely with children and families, specifically disabled children to develop our Getting it Right for Play guidance, a play space assessment toolkit that supports local authorities to evaluate and improve their play spaces.
• Through our engagement and participation work, we support children and young people to have a voice in high level policy. We worked to include their voice in the Scottish Government’s Play Vision Statement and Action Plan, and we were delighted to further engage with children and young people to create the Children’s Version of the plan.
• Our Play Pedagogy Award and Outdoor Play and Learning Award take a child right’s led approach and actively support schools to engage children in decision making.

Does your organisation influence policy development on issues affecting children and young people? If so, please share an example.

Absolutely – Play Scotland plays a key role in influencing and shaping policy development.

Play Scotland chaired the external working group to develop the Play Vision Statement and Action Plan; a Scottish Government publication designed to reflect the vision of play for Scotland for the next five years and the steps the Scottish Government will take within that time to achieve their vision and aim. It aims to deliver collaborative actions that will support nurturing and encouraging play opportunities for all children in Scotland.

Play Scotland also played a key role in securing the inclusion of the Play Sufficiency Duty within the Planning (Scotland) Act 2019 and contributed to the development of the supporting regulations and guidance. This means local authorities have a legal duty to evaluate their play spaces and to include children and young people in conversations about their play spaces.

Play Scotland also:

• Advised the Scottish Government on the principles for the £60 million Playground Renewal Programme
• Chaired the UK Inclusive Play Statement
• Hosted an international seminar promoting benefit–risk approaches to playgrounds and everyday play.

How can other organisations or individuals get involved or support your work?

The best way to engage with our work is to sign up to become a member! Membership is free and includes access to our monthly newsletter, where we share updates on current projects, training opportunities and news, and how you can get involved. It’s a great opportunity to connect with others working in play across Scotland and beyond.

If you work in a role that includes communications or marketing, you can join our communications mailing list, where we share useful information on getting involved and supporting our campaigns, projects, and events. If you would like to be a part of this, please email Mollienijam@playscotland.org

What do you enjoy most about being a member of Together?

Play Scotland has been a member of Together for over ten years. We supported Together’s campaign for the UNCRC (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024, and continue to support their Rights on Track campaign. We contributed to Together’s State of Children’s Right’s Report earlier this year, providing a case study with insights into the development of the Play Vision Statement and Action Plan.

Together’s membership provides us with invaluable, thorough, evidence-led research reports and information, a fantastic source of inspiration in the advocacy of including children‘s rights nationally. Their policy briefings and practice insights are an excellent example of how to bridge the gap between UNCRC theory and the practical delivery of children’s right’s across Scotland.

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Become a Together member!

• Find out more information about signing up as a Together member here and join the community.

Consultancy and Training!

• Together provides training and consultancy to organisations looking to strengthen how they support children’s human rights. 

State of Children’s Rights Report!

• This year’s State of Children’s Rights Report is dedicated to exploring case studies of organisations across Scotland taking forward aspects of a children’s human rights approach in their work, in the hope of sharing learning and ideas.

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