Hi there! 

My final week in England was eventful - spent time with Eugene from Play England and Fiona from Play London. Both organisations doing amazing things on tiny budgets, and both part time CEO’s like me at Play Australia!  So, I felt in good company!!

Interestingly both organisations many years ago were very well funded by Government and had that funding stripped from them under a previous government as part of austerity measures. It is timely reminder that as an organisation we must develop a stream of self-sufficiency, for us that is membership. All of the peaks I have referenced to date across Canada and UK, offer free membership due to government funding, but as a result, without funding this makes them exceptionally vulnerable as people are not in a mindset to pay to support the cause like we are in Australia. 

It was great this week to attend English Parliament and meet with Tom Hayes MP who is leading the advocacy for play in Parliament. The real point of my research this week is the campaign for play in England, and its development. Much talk and learning about strategy for advocacy, and so this is not the type of content for publication, but will certainly assist Play Australia in how we position play campaigns in the future.  Play England was guided by a manifesto https://www.playengland.org.uk/manifesto calling on action from Government. But before we all scream that is what we want to, I am not sure from my research that “play sufficiency” alone is the answer, in fact we need to be more careful about how we approach our thinking around play, so we do not lose what we already have and maintain an Australian context. In many ways I am concluding my research with a firm belief Australia is doing well and we have all the components, when the time comes, for a successful national play strategy to be implemented. This is something I am really looking forward to the discussion on!  I should also add, New Zealand continues to inspire me and whilst not visited in this trip, my previous work with Sport NZ, and some follow up I am undertaking with them later this year, means they will also be included in my final research report.

By the time you read this I will be on a plane heading to Sydney, Australia, and yes, excited to be heading home to my loved ones and familiar bed!!  My report is the next big item on my agenda, and I hope to have that submitted to the Churchill foundation and then released in February 2026. Play Australia will be hosting round tables in the first quarter of the year where we get to discuss and hopefully start work on shaping that national vision together.

I look forward to being in touch soon!! ...And thank you for joining me as I wandered with Winston, I hope you have enjoyed the journey.

Yours playfully ..

Robyn xxx