Sandwell Play Sufficiency Assessment (PSA) Research
The PSA team (left) and one of the focus groups (right)
Local research - with children for children
Objectives
- Play sufficiency research helps develop evidence-based, strategic, and long-term action plans to create better conditions for play.
- Play sufficiency is a process to understand how adult decisions affect or support children’s time, space, and freedom for play.
Why is this research important?
In January 2024 Sandwell MBC began a research project called a Play Sufficiency Assessment (PSA). Play sufficiency is about making sure children have enough time, space and permission to play as part of their daily lives.
Not having enough time to play can be bad for children’s health, including problems with childhood obesity and poor mental health. A PSA uses detailed research that focuses on the views and feedback of children.
This research can help us understand how to create more child-friendly spaces. The information gathered will help guide Sandwell’s child-friendly programme and future projects.
What we did, with who and how
- Sandwell council worked with Ludicology to conduct the PSA. Ludicology provided the theoretical and ethical framework, methodology, and research tools for the project.
- The Sandwell PSA team used a mixed methodology process which included data collection in the form of an online satisfaction survey. This was distributed to all year 5 and year 9 students in Sandwell.
- During the data analysis, information provided by children was highlighted as important. Data from Workshops in schools were compared with the children’s online questionnaire results, as well as other data from adults.
- The themes that emerged provide strategic direction for Sandwell MBC in our ongoing efforts to secure play sufficiency for all children.
How the PSA team did their research
Themes from the research
Skills Development
- Support from Ludicology has helped the team to work with children to collect data, analyse the data, and code the data. This helped to create stories around each of the case study areas.
- This means that more officers at the local authority now have the experience and skills to conduct more of this type of evidence-based research.
Benefits for Sandwell
- Play sufficiency provides a way for Sandwell MBC to achieve its child-friendly goals with a focus on children.
- Supports Sandwell Council’s work towards the Best Start in Life for children and young people, and Strong and Resilient Communities.
- Creating local, good, and trustworthy data with conclusions that stand up to scrutiny.
- Results helped to prioritise protecting and improving conditions for play. They help Sandwell take action to improve responses to children’s right to play and use limited resources in the most effective way possible.
Research Outcomes
Play sufficiency is an ongoing process of research and action currently entering the third and final stage. This will involve studying research findings from children and talking about their impact across multiple council departments. Outcomes will include:
A full play sufficiency assessment report looking at current levels of satisfaction, planning priorities, strengths and weaknesses of council play-related systems, and recommended areas for improvement.
A cross-departmental action plan, making best use of the human and financial resources available.
To learn more please contact: