Bognor's play rangers

As Jason Ward explained, the new scheme he is heading up across the district means break times have never been so enjoyable for kids. These innovative sessions enable youngsters to interact with a wide range of

everyday objects which encourage them to think creatively.

Some of the first children in West Sussex to experience the Arun Council-run scheme are lucky pupils from Laburnum Grove School.

"The play ranger schemes have been going for a while in the north but are really not very well-known in the south of England at all," said Jason.

"We'll come along to a school or park with a trailer full of kit known as 'loose parts' which includes boxes, tyres, planks of wood and ropes '“ mainly things that are ordinary objects and some other things like blow-up football goals and we then just let them play.

"The children at Laburnum (aged seven to 11) made some ropes for tug of war and then made a den from some plastic sheeting when it started to rain. At other schools they've made pirate ships from some tarpaulin for sails.

"They all really appreciated it, especially as many of them come from deprived backgrounds and have not had the chance to do things like this before.

"As we are only able to do the activities in set sizes of groups, we had loads of kids all coming up to us asking when it was their turn to play," said 38-year old Jason from Worthing, who said he started out gaining childcare qualifications, before taking a foundation degree at Brighton University.

The play ranger scheme is something he has gained a great deal from and he manages it alongside his other commitments as a retained firefighter for West Sussex fire brigade.

With plenty of eager young minds in his care, his role is anything but dull.

"It all started for me as my wife Karen is a childminder and said it would be nice if I got involved in it, too. So I did a course while we were bringing up our youngster which has meant i've been able to spend more time with my child '“ something most dads are not able to do if they are working," he said.

He added the initiative had been developed as a result of government directives emphasising play.

Recent national headlines have suggested the Department for Schools is considering raising the age of children starting school to six in order for them to develop play and social skills.

Studies in Scandinavia have found children who have had access to strong playgroup activities from a young age were more likely to succeed with their academic curriculum at a later stage.

This all sounds fine in theory, but working out the health and safety rules of youngsters testing their personal limits, including learning how to light campfires and use domestic DIY tools, can be quite a stressful a task.

"We don't do risk assessments for children - we do what's called risk benefit analysis. We want them to work out what risks they can actually take with play. But of course we have to be incredibly vigilant with what they are doing."

Jason explains he is hopeful the twice-monthly scheme can be extended to other schools in the Bognor area as it has proved incredibly popular with the 500 children who have been part of the programme.

It has provided many personal challenges and he says he is glad

to see so many youngsters gain confidence through being given the chance to use their imagination rather than sitting in front of

computer screens.

It seems it is just as much fun for the course leader as for those

taking part, as Jason added: "I said to my wife the other day how lucky I am that I can get up in the morning and I'm going to play today.

"It's a really good job and to see the children's faces light up when they get the chance to play really makes my day."

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