More than 200 local children took to Lightwoods Park to celebrate Playday 2019.
In partnership with Go Play Sandwell, The Albion Foundation delivered sessions around arts and crafts, building, soft play and sports.
Local parks and community spaces up and down the country were full of young people engaging in play and socialising, learning crucial skills for their childhood development.
Play Day is linked to Sandwell’s Go Play programme, which the Foundation is a partner of, delivering free play sessions in Smethwick three times a week throughout the year.
The day, along with the Go Play sessions, provides children with chances that they may not usually have, and the enjoyment they get from the programme is the most satisfying thing for Sandwell Council’s Play Services Manager, Samantha Harman.
“They really, really love it. They wouldn’t come to these sessions if they didn’t have a good time when they were there,” said Samantha.
“You just have to look at the smiles on their faces to know that this is actually really important for them,” she said.
The event gave the Foundation a chance to interact with new faces, as well as welcome those that they have already worked with, according to the charity’s Go Play Coordinator, Josh Wright.
“We’ve seen children today that we’ve worked with before, as well as some that we haven’t engaged with, so we can spread the word about what us and our partners do,” said Josh.
“The sessions that we run are all child-led, they will choose what they want to do, so the activities that we do are always really varied,” he said.
To find out more about Go Play, please email joshua.wright@albionfoundation.co.uk.