Could the adventure playground hold the solution to the construction skills shortage?

Walking into SWAPA, there is traditional playground equipment including swings and slides, but also an unfussy-ness in the complex and its many kits of loose parts (tyres, wood, toys, art supplies) that invite children to make the place their own. It has a sandpit, but it is a sandbox. SWAPA has recently added a recording studio and a skateboard ramp to serve local teenagers better. It looks a lot rougher than the polished playgrounds at the heart of many regeneration projects, but it’s a garden for independence, invention and creativity in design and construction.

This is a different place than home, school or the park: “We allow for emotion,” says Kapoor. Explaining how children use play to process their challenges, she describes a kid who came to the playground feeling frustrated and wanting to smash things up. They gave the child a hammer. “They left feeling so much better. Our entry and exit surveys ask the children about their mood. There is a huge shift towards feeling calmer and happier.”    

What about safety? The playground is insured, staff are trained and SWAPA’s senior playworker is a Health and Safety Inspector.  “She is on it, which is very reassuring for us as trustees and parents and carers. We always have an eye on that.”  

There are few places where kids can go independently for free where they are supervised, and fewer still that offer the freedom to embark on child-led – read: noisy and messy – activities

The biggest challenge is funding. It’s been a year of highs and lows for SWAPA. They’re riding high, having won Arts Council funding and scooped the award for Adventure Playground of the Year from charity London Play. But this week, Kapoor is fundraising to replace a full suite of Dewalt power tools that were stolen from the site, on top of raising money for a zip-line and their massive capital project to replace their fence – an £100,000 project.

“Adventure playgrounds rely on donations and we couldn’t exist without them,” says Kapoor. To raise funds, they host corporate away-days and parties. Materials and offcuts are donated from local builders and developers – the playground prefers sustainable materials that are easier and safer for children to work with, such as untreated pallets and wood. But more and deeper partnerships are welcome. 

SWAPA is hoping to forge partnerships with organisations in the built environment. To find out more, email trustees@swapa.org.uk

“Councils are stretched and are feeling it,” says Kapoor. Hackney does give some funding to SWAPA, but she is hoping to forge partnerships with organisations in the built environment. “It feels like this comes down to long-term partnerships with champions within organisations who see the value in it. A £15,000 donation would build an entire zip-line structure.” 

Kapoor invites organisations interested in their work to reach out. “The reality of the situation is that in [other] countries adventure playgrounds are seen as community hubs and get invested in. I think there just needs to be an understanding about the role that adventure playgrounds can play in the social mix.”

“Long-term thinking is what’s needed. If you invest in children and young people, everything starts to make sense. You’re not having to react to problems that start to occur down the line.”

With the construction industry struggling to address its skill shortage, while developers build playgrounds to engage communities and attract families, a revival in interest, pride and investment in the adventure playground is overdue. It ticks so many boxes, from STEM to construction skills training. And Kapoor points out that SWAPA has been running for 47 years – it’s not a risky investment, but a tried, tested and proven one, with the potential to train and inspire future placemakers.

“It’s a no-brainer for me,” says Kapoor. “There’s a reason these have been going for so long. Our adventure playground is beloved in our community.”

To support the appeal for stolen tools, the zipline fundraiser or to donate towards the fence project, visit SWAPA. To find out more about partnerships, email trustees@swapa.org.uk

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