Use of school grounds out of hours / Play out of hours

Children and young people need and are entitled to quality places and time for play as part of their everyday life within their own community. This includes play out of hours in school grounds.

Existing school facilities, in most cases, offer significant opportunities to satisfy not only the learning needs of all learners, but many of the social and recreational needs for the community. School buildings, their contents and grounds, often represent the largest single asset of communities. It is important that schools are realistic about what they can and cannot provide in terms of developing and extending opportunities for playing out of teaching hours.

Schools across the country have managed to do so, and the Play Out of Hours toolkit is designed to help us learn from their experience.