Background to Pembrokeshire

This 3 year Strategy will cover all children and young people between the ages of 0 – 18 years, with this being extended to young people aged up to 25 years with additional learning needs and will be supported by an Action Plan.

Still awaiting mnost current census data - This will be added in 2023 once received from Welsh Government.

Statutory duty

Following the publication of the guidance to Wales a Play Friendly Country in July 2014, all Local Authorities in Wales are required to produce a Play Sufficiency Assessment every three years. The Assessment aims to identify any gaps in play opportunities and from this to develop an annual Action Plan. One priority action identified was to` Improve the Local Authorities policy and guidance on supervised play activity` with the target being that the` Play Strategy was to be finalised, implemented and monitored by the Play Partnership`.

Please see link for the full Play Sufficiency Assessment 2022

Inclusion

Inclusive play is primarily about all children and young people having equal access to and equal participation in local play and leisure opportunities. It is important to remember that the principles of inclusion apply to children of all abilities, ethnic and social backgrounds and ages as people’s perceptions can often focus on children with disabilities only. We recognise this broad scope of inclusion and provide for those children with additional learning needs, disabilities, learning, physical and developmental delay, social, poverty and economic disadvantage and those that are sometimes discriminated against due to their behaviour or family circumstances. Inclusion is something that we actively support and promote in all our work.

Play and risk

Some play activities involve an element of danger, with hazards and risk present. The Council takes a riskbenefit approach to play, which considers the benefits to children alongside the risks involved. This allows the Council to address the two important objectives of play provision: providing challenge whilst also offering protection from unacceptable harm.

Play in Pembrokeshire

The latest Pembrokeshire Open Space Demand Assessment published in 2010 revealed that a total of 336 open spaces were identified and divided into formal recreation, informal recreation, equipped play areas, amenity open space and education land (education land is not counted within the standards).

Profile

Pembrokeshire is one of twenty-two counties in Wales, consisting of 59 wards. The county covers approximately 1,580 square kilometres (982 square miles). There are Special Protection Areas, Special Areas of Conservation, sites of Special Scientific Interest, Regionally Important Geological Sites and local Sites of Nature Conservation Importance and nature reserves. There is also 629 km of Pembrokeshire Coast National Parks to be explored.