How is the Welsh Government promoting the importance of local green spaces for children, and embedding this into education policy and school funding arrangements as a result of the findings from the University of Manchester's report, The right to play: making play a policy and practice priority?
I very much recognise the importance of the use of local green spaces in schools in Wales and this is increasingly recognised as a vital component of outdoor learning. The Curriculum for Wales framework, which is being implemented across all primary and secondary schools, emphasizes the importance of outdoor learning and the integration of green spaces into the educational curriculum. This approach aims to support the development of a continuum of learning, with outdoor learning playing a significant role in enhancing the health and wellbeing of children and young people.
The Sustainable Communities for Learning programme ensure every new build and refurbishment project, delivers modern learning environments that integrate outdoor learning, play areas and biodiversity features, and, where appropriate, sports pitches and MUGAs - promoting wellbeing and biodiversity. The Programme encourages local authorities and colleges to make their investments act as community hubs with accessible outdoor areas for all in the local community.
Through Hwb, practitioners have access to dedicated resources to support their professional learning. This includes a module that aims to support understanding of outdoor learning – from the role of the outdoors within Curriculum for Wales to the quality of outdoor provision. It also includes practical information and steps to improve practice.
In 2025, we updated the 'Wales - a Play Friendly Country' statutory guidance. This guidance requires local authorities to recognise that all open spaces are potentially important areas where children can play and we are investing £5m in 2025-26 to support children’s play opportunities in improving the quality of play spaces and playgrounds.
This financial year, £2m in funding has been provided to local authorities to support provision of enrichment activities in and around the school day. This includes enhancing the opportunity for play.
Decisions on the level of funding available to schools and to other services are made by each authority as part of their overall budget and council tax setting. This is in line with the Welsh Government’s policy that local authorities are best placed to judge local needs and circumstances and to fund schools accordingly.
We will continue to make the most of our resources as a country and in education we continue to encourage practitioners to embed the use of green spaces into their curricula.