YESTERDAY WE STOOD TOGETHER — BECAUSE GREENWICH’S CHILDREN ARE LOSING MORE THAN PLAYCENTRE

Yesterday, campaigners, councillors, parents, residents, supporters and Adventure Play Centre staff gathered outside Woolwich Town Hall before the Royal Borough of Greenwich Full Council meeting.

Our message was simple:

These centres are not luxuries. For many children and families, they are a FREE LIFELINE.

At a time when school budgets are under enormous pressure and many schools have had to reduce extracurricular and after-school opportunities, families need accessible community provision more than ever.

For families of children with SEND, the situation can be even harder. Specialist schools may have limited after-school activities, while many mainstream clubs and activities are simply not suitable or accessible for every disabled or autistic child.

So where are these children supposed to go?

🏠 Stay at home and become increasingly isolated?

📱 Spend even more time on phones and screens?

💷 Ask already struggling families to pay for private activities?

Or should we be protecting FREE, inclusive, staffed community spaces where children can get out of the house, play, meet other children, make friends, build confidence and develop a genuine sense of belonging?

That is why Greenwich’s staffed Adventure Play Centres matter.

They are not simply buildings with swings, slides and climbing equipment.

Their real value is the combination of play space and skilled, trusted playworkers who know the children, manage risk, provide safeguarding, encourage participation and build relationships with young people and their families.

For some disabled and autistic children, centres such as Glyndon Adventure Play Centre have offered something incredibly difficult to replace: a place where they can simply go, be included, play safely and make friends.

When we talk nationally about a youth mental-health crisis, loneliness and social isolation, we cannot ignore the importance of places that bring children together face-to-face.

And when communities are concerned about antisocial behaviour and youth crime, surely part of prevention must be giving young people more positive, safe and supervised places to spend their free time — not fewer.

Yet Greenwich Council’s “Transforming Youth Play” programme fundamentally changes the future of its Adventure Play Centres.

The Council describes this as transformation and investment.

But investment in buildings and equipment is not automatically investment in children.

An unstaffed playground cannot replace a trusted playworker.

A building cannot provide safeguarding.

New equipment cannot notice when a young person is struggling.

And an alternative service cannot simply be described as a replacement unless it provides the accessibility, relationships, specialist skills and open-access opportunities that children are losing.

This is particularly why we continue to raise concerns about Glyndon and the need for genuinely comparable provision for the children and families who rely on it.

Yesterday’s protest was also about democracy and listening to residents.

People have signed petitions, responded to consultations, protested outside the Council, presented petitions inside the Council Chamber, submitted public questions and spoken repeatedly about these services.

So families have every right to ask:

What more do residents have to do to be heard?

If consultation is meaningful, communities should be able to see clearly how their concerns have influenced decisions.

🙏 Thank you to every parent, campaigner, councillor, member of staff, resident and supporter who stood with us yesterday, and to London Play and others who continue to advocate for high-quality staffed adventure play.

This campaign isn’t simply about saving five centres.

❤️ It is about giving children somewhere to belong.

🌳 Somewhere to get out of the house and play.
🤝 Somewhere to make friends and overcome isolation.
🧩 Somewhere disabled and autistic children can feel included.
👨‍👩‍👧 Somewhere families can access support without worrying about whether they can afford it.
🛡️ Somewhere young people can spend their free time positively, surrounded by trusted adults.

When opportunities elsewhere are shrinking, we should be protecting these lifelines — not taking them away.

#SaveGreenwichAdventurePlayCentres #SaveGlyndon #AdventurePlay #Greenwich #Woolwich #SEND #AutismInclusion #YouthMentalHealth #YouthServices #InclusivePlay #Playworkers #CommunitySafety #EndChildIsolation #ChildrenAndYoungPeople #CommunityVoice