1: Visit a museum There are lots of museums in Bristol. In the centre you have the Mshed and Bristol Museum both run touring exhibitions as well as their main collections. This... ...

2: Build a dam  Do you know of a shallow stony stream? If so get the wellies on (do a risk assessment) and get building. Experiment with stones and sticks to see... ...

3:Walk 2 miles There are a lot of green spaces in Bristol so get out and walk. The council have maps for walking routes in parks all over the city, take a... ...

4: Create a secret code There are lots of ways to do this: writing words backwards; substituting numbers for letters, pig latin, symbols. See who can crack the code – they could... ...

5: Jump in puddles Is there any greater joy than jumping in a really big puddle creating a huge splash? Make sure people are kitted up in wet weather gear (or have... ...

6: Fly a kite If you fancy building a kite to fly, look at the BAND Pinterest board – kites. There are paper bag, classic diamond shape and more unusual shaped kites... ...

 7: Climb a tree Find a good woodland with a range of climbable trees – you will need different trees for different sized children. The tree that suits the child is the... ...

 8: Paint a rock Children decorate rocks with paints, Sharpie pens or nail varnish, and then leave them lying around, partially hidden in places where other children will easily find them. It’s... ...

9: Make a grass trumpet Amaze your friends with this lost art. Find a long fat blade of grass and hold it between your thumbs at the bottom and top. Make sure... ...

10: Bake a cake There are so many cakes out there. Help us celebrate by cooking big cakes or cupcakes; chocolate cake to courgette cake; Decorated cake to plain delicious cake. What’s... ...

11: Make a bug house Insects are really important for the environment and some of their natural habitats are threatened. So we can help them by building a bug house. Find a... ...

12: Play Pooh Sticks After reading a few Winnie- the-Pooh stories , have fun playing this iconic game. Best played with 2 or more people. Find a fast flowing river with a... ...

13: Build a den Everyone loves den building and we love going up to Leigh Woods to find some sticks to build with. Use branches, twigs, leaves and even mud to make... ...

 14: Climb a Hill Yes, Bristol is full of hills so you can take your pick. The feeling of achievement when you get to the top and can see for miles is... ...

 15: Make a daisy chain Wait till the daisies are nice & big and pick enough to make whatever size chain you need. Start with one daisy and using your thumb nail... ...

16: Make a den inside  There is no limit to what materials can be used for an indoor den. The classics are: the blanket/sheet/old curtains den; the cardboard dens; the piles of... ...

17: Grow Some Cress  Fill a container (a small pot or tray) with potting soil. Or you can use a few moist paper towels on a tray. Scatter the garden cress seeds... ...

18: Make a picture in a stream  Find an area with very shallow water (such as the Trym as it flows down through the gorge at Blaise Castle. Find lots of pebbles... ...

19: Make a trail with sticks Find a wood and split your group into two. The first group goes out and lays a trail using sticks to make arrows on the ground... ...

20: Hunt for bugs Get out the magnifying glasses and get really close to the ground or trees and bushes and see what you can find. You could collect some bugs (gently)... ...

21: Find a Gromit Gromit Unleashed 2 is coming, from Monday 2nd July until Sunday 2nd September 2018, over 60 decorated sculptures will descend on Bristol raising money for Bristol Children’s Hospital... ...

 22: Build a S(B)andcastle From a simple bucket castle to an elaborate sand sculpture you can make what you want. For best results use fine damp sand and keep wetting it and... ...

24: Have water balloon fight Have your balloons ready for a nice warm day. You can buy small water balloons or you can use ordinary party balloons (party balloons are more likely... ...

23: Make a Robot Make a robot. This could be anything from the classic cardboard box and silver paper to junk bots made out of old electronic items for the more technologically... ...

Have a water fight 24. Have a balloon water fight. Have your balloons ready for a nice warm day. You can buy small water balloons or you can use ordinary party balloons... ...

25: Paint with ice Paint with ice. Put different colour paint in an ice cube trays and add water & mix. Start freezing, half way through put a lolly stick in each... ...

26: Play Hide & Seek  Play hide and seek. It’s the best game as you all know. Play it inside, outside and on trips. It’s important to establish a boundary to play... ...

27: Write a song Write a song. There is bound to be musical talent in your club whether it is singers, musicians or lyric writers. You could start off by writing alternative... ...

28: Make a bird feeder Make a bird feeder. Encourage wildlife by making bird feeders. From a simple plastic bottle with a wooden spoons stuck through filled with seed, or make  fat... ...

29: Obstacle Course Obstacle course. This can be anything from sports equipment arranged to the contents of your loose parts box/shed. You can make it or you could let the children create... ...

30: Bubble Painting Bubble painting. Assemble some containers, a range of yoghurt pots, bowls, mugs and even trays. Put some paint, water and washing up liquid into each of them. Using straws... ...

31: Make junk drums Make junk drums. You can make drums out of almost anything! All you need is a hollow container (a cylinder shape is often good) and something to make... ...

32: Go on a treasure hunt Go on a treasure hunt. This could be big or small. You could do it in your outside area and hide treasure to be found, either... ...

33: Create a dance routine Create a dance routine. Lots of children love to dance, copying the latest dance moves and making up a few of their own. Challenge the dancers to... ...

34: Build a Windmill Build a windmill. Using thick paper or flexible card cut a square shape 20cm by 20cm is a good size, but you can have any size you want.... ...

35: Tie Dye a t-shirt Tie dye a t-shirt. Get ready for the summer sun with a designer one-off t-shirt. For best results do this over a number of days with at... ...

36: Go Pond Dipping Go pond dipping. Just as much fun on a cold day as on a warm one. Get out the wellies, buckets, nets, pots/trays and magnifying glasses and find... ...

37: Put on a puppet show Put on a puppet show. Where to start with a puppet show? Is it making the puppets? Is it writing the story and songs? Is it... ...

38: Have fun with slime Have fun with slime. Make the classic gloop recipe from cornflour, water and food colouring. Solid one minute and liquid the next children love to experiment with... ...

39: Build the biggest rolled up paper tower Build the biggest rolled up paper tower. A team challenge. Using only paper and masking tape challenge them to build the tallest paper tower... ...

40: Make a giant 40 and take a picture Make a giant 40 and take a picture. Help us celebrate by making a giant 40. What way will you do it? Big... ...

Back in the Day – BAND @ 40! As part of our year long 40th birthday celebrations, we invited Bristol City Councillor Ruth Pickersgill to take us on a trip down  memory... ...

Evelyn (Young in the 60’s, out and about in the 70’s) L iving in the country there was a lot of outdoor messing about in good weather, getting stuck in the mud... ...

Ellie (Young in the 80’s) I lived in a small cluster of houses in a little village in the New Forest and the thing I remember the most is a distinct lack... ...

Michelle (Young in the mid 70’s/early 80’s) We lived in cul de sac and lived in a terraced house. We used to play outside in the street a lot we had a... ...

Fenella (Young in the late 60’s/mid 70’s ) We lived in cul de sac in a large detached house with a three quarter of an acre garden which included a stream and... ...

Julie B (Freedom to roam in the 60’s) We lived above a newsagent sweet shop which was my parents’ shop. I remember nicking the sweets and weighing out the snuff, and reading... ...

Sarah (Young in the 70’s/80’s) I had an amazing library – things were very meticulously organised and everyone who came to the house would have to borrow a book! I still have... ...

Julie (Freedom to roam in the 60’s) We lived in a street of semi detached houses in a deprived part of South Bristol. We used to play outside in the fields a... ...

Jenny (Young in the 70’s, freedom to roam in the 80’s) I grew up in a suburb of North Bristol, living in a terrace of 3 houses in the middle of the... ...

Play throughout the ages 1900’s: In a stark contrast to today, in the early 1900’s children were expected to entertain themselves. There was no money for expensive toys, and the adults were... ...

Annie-Young in the 60’s We lived on Lodge Causeway in Fishponds which wasn’t a busy road then like it is now. Our house was a terraced one with an outside toilet. I have... ...

Is it time to let children play outdoors once more? Back in 2008 the decline in children’s play was laid bare when Government ministers admitted that one in four eight- to 10-year-olds... ...

What we remember – memories of play Compiled by Ellie @ BAND We all know that there are many, many articles about how children nowadays spend too much time indoors or on... ...

Wessex Water Community Fund The Wessex Water Community Fund supports charitable and community activities which aim to improve the lives of local people, especially those who are in the most need of... ...

Postcode Local Trust reopens The Postcode Local Trust has reopened and is looking to fund organisations in the West of England prioritising those that celebrate art, green spaces, and mental health. Please... ...

Paypal Giving Fund PayPal Giving Fund is an independently registered UK charity (No. 1110538) that uses PayPal technology and financial support to raise new funds for good causes without charging donors or... ...

Holiday Grants for Disadvantaged and Disabled Children The Holiday Grants programme provides grants for recreational trips for groups of children aged 13 and under in the UK who are disabled or disadvantaged.... ...

THE HILDEN CHARITABLE FUND SUMMER PLAY SCHEME GRANTS Grants of between £500 and £1,500 are available to UK voluntary and community groups to help run summer play schemes for disadvantaged children. o... ...

Warburtons Community Grants Warburtons Community Grants provides small grants up to £400 to support charitable organisations towards broader activities which improve Health, Place or Skills for families in their community.   Financial... ...

The Douglas Arter Foundation Grants between £500 and £2,500 available to projects within the UK that benefit people of all ages with physical and mental disabilities. The next application deadline is Saturday... ...

Fundraising News: The Screwfix Foundation Small grants of up to £5,000 are available to charities and not-for-profit organisations with projects related to repairing, maintaining, improving or building homes and community buildings. The... ...

Fundraising News: The Aviva Community Fund The Aviva Community Fund has been running for over four years and they have helped thousands of small charities and good causes build stronger communities all... ...

THE LINNEAN SOCIETY UK NATURE ENGAGEMENT GRANTS Grants up to £1,000 for UK community organisations and schools to increase young people’s involvement in and understanding of nature. Application deadline: Sunday 1 November 2020... ...

Fundraising News: Covid Grants, Quartet & Voscur Quartet, Coronavirus Recovery and Stabilisation: This grant programme aims to support local charitable organisations whose work have been significantly affected by the coronavirus outbreak and... ...

Fundraising News: Monmouthshire Building Society Charitable Foundation Monmouthshire Building Society Charitable Foundation was founded in 2000 to support local organisations and charities in South Wales and the South West of England. The... ...

Fundraising News: Voice and Influence Partnership’s Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) Community Fund Small grants are available from the Voice and Influence Partnership’s Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) Community Fund, to be... ...

SUEZ Communities Trust SUEZ Communities Trust provides funding awards of up to £50,000 to not-for-profit organisations in England and Scotland. Projects must be eligible under the rules of the Landfill Communities Fund... ...

The Comic Relief Community Fund The Comic Relief Community Fund (England) is offering grants to grassroots community organisations with an income of less than £250,000. Children Survive & Thrive: projects that support... ...

Grow Wild 14-25 year olds can apply for £500 and support from Grow Wild. Run your own creative project anywhere in the UK or at our London exhibition. It’s all about celebrating... ...

Fundraising News: Groundwork Groundwork manages a number of grant schemes to help you to change places and lives. Community Business Bright Ideas – up to £20,000 available to local business ideas One... ...

Carriers for Causes Groundwork is working with One Stop stores to administer the Carriers for Causes grants initiative, to fund good causes within two miles of a One Stop shop. Grants of... ...

Fundraiser: Free Inclusive Workshops for disabled children. BAND are seeking funding to the amount of £2,125 to pay for 5 free children’s inclusive aerial workshops to take place during the school holidays.... ...

Cash4Clubs- Small Grants to Local Sports Clubs Cash 4 Clubs is a sports funding scheme giving clubs the chance to apply for grants to improve facilities, purchase new equipment, gain coaching qualifications,... ...

GRANTNAV GrantNav is a free-to-use platform that brings together open, comparable grants data published using the 360Giving Standard. GrantNav makes it easy for people to search, explore and download the detail of... ...

Airbus community awards The Airbus Community Awards, in association with the Bristol Post and Airbus, will be presenting 10 prizes to recognise the un-sung heroes of our community, all nominated and voted... ...

Woodland trust – free trees for schools and communities Woodland trust – free trees for schools and communities The Woodland Trust wants to make sure that everybody in the UK has the... ...

Made by Sport Made By Sport is a four year campaign championing the power of sport to change lives and raising vital funds for organisations that are using sport to transform the... ...

Moto in the Community   The Trustees encourage applications within the following remit: • You are a charity or community school within 15 miles radius of a Moto site • You have... ...

Community Asset Fund – Sport England Sports clubs, local authorities, schools and community organisations can apply for grants of between £1,000 and £150,000 to enhance local sports and recreational facilities. The funding,... ...

Community Asset Fund Sports clubs, local authorities, schools and community organisations can apply for grants of between £1,000 and £150,000 to enhance local sports and recreational facilities. The funding which is being... ...

The Avon and Somerset Police Community Trust The Avon and Somerset Police Community Trust was formed in 1999 to help local communities in Avon and Somerset become safer, better places to live.... ...

The Hilden Charitable Fund The Fund has allocated a small budget to help community groups run summer play schemes for disadvantaged communities.  Some priority will be given to projects which show they... ...

Seeds for schools Young Children and Primary School 3 – 8 year olds An offer from Growseed.co.uk: “We provide simple large seeds. This collection includes: Broad Beans, Peas, Pumpkin & Squash and... ...

The Lush Charity Pot Applications may be made at any time Grants up to £10,000 for small volunteer-led grassroots organisations and campaign groups, working in environment, animal protection and human rights in... ...

Youth Sector Support Fund Bristol City Council has set up the Youth Sector Support Fund to support Bristol-based organisations working with local children and young people. The fund will support projects and... ...

Tampon Tax Community Fund – Quartet Community Foundation The Tampon Tax Fund allocates funds generated from the VAT on sanitary products to projects that improve the lives of disadvantaged women and girls.... ...

The Big Lottery Partnerships The Big Lottery Partnerships funding make grants over £10,000 for organisations who share responsibility and influence with others, who have a shared set of goals and values, and... ...

Bristol Water   Bristol Water are giving away £500 every month to a community or charity to complete a local project. http://www.bristolwater.co.uk/wp/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Together-for-good-video.mp4   Let them know about your project on their FaceBook... ...

Stoke Park Group Friend’s Fund – Quartet The programme particularly welcomes applications for activities that help to integrate individuals with learning disabilities into the community, preventing them from becoming socially isolated; or... ...

FUNDRAISING BLOG: Big Thank you to Little Lives BAND would like to say a big thank you to Little Lives for kindly funding one of the BAND Makaton training courses. Little Lives are... ...

Fundraising Blog: Somerset Crimebeat Trust This grant programme is open for applications all year. Opening Date: Applications can be made at any time, but are awarded quarterly by the panel. Maximum grant... ...

Ford Britain Ford Britain Trust is committed to supporting local UK communities. Applications that are based near to a Ford plant or office location in the UK are awarded a higher weight... ...

Fundraising News: The Garfield Weston Foundation The Garfield Weston Foundation are excited to announce that on the 5th January 2018 they will be launching a new one-off grants scheme to celebrate the... ...

FUNDRAISING BLOG: UnLtd, Sport relief & Spirit of 2012 UnLtd, in partnership with Sports Relief and the Spirit of 2012, has announced that young people who want to start, grow or build... ...

Blue Spark Foundation B lueSpark Foundation is a registered charity which supports the education and development of children and young people by providing grants for educational, cultural, sporting and other projects. They will fund schools.... ...

1) Music for All Many projects and initiatives take place throughout the UK that all aim to bring music to their community. Most would benefit from a “helping hand” to fulfil their... ...

BAND has been shortlisted for funding through the Co-op Membership funding programme …and we need your vote to attract as many funds as possible. Funding will be used to pay for free... ...

After a break of over a year, the Playworker’s Forum is back. To start with, its going to be on Zoom but after about 16 months of very strange and difficult times,... ...

BAND Webinar: Child Protection & Safeguarding Policy Updates (April 2021) In this presentation BAND’s Development & Support Team review some recent changes & how you should update your Child Protection & Safeguarding... ...

Something new for playworkers: Play and Playwork A series of 1 hour online webinars based on the Playwork Principles. These sessions are for playworkers working with 5 – 14 year olds, with... ...

Play Wales have just published the first of a new series of guides that explore some of the theories that influence the way adults understand children, the role of play and childhood,... ...

Cedar Park Play Scheme: A Corona Chronicle So after 26 years of working and running Cedar Park Playscheme never would I have thought that I would be forced into closing our beautiful... ...

The Neuroscience of Play A two part online course delivered by Ben Kingston-Hughes, Play Trainer of the year Part 1 Step aboard the miniature submarine as we prepare to journey deep into... ...

VE Day 2020 …Bletchley Park and Code Breaking… Bletchley Park is an estate in Bletchley, Buckinghamshire, England. It was the site of the United Kingdom’s main codebreaking team during World War II.... ...

VE Day 2020 …VE Day Hats… Across towns and local communities, the main focus of events on VE Day were usually on children. They celebrated with street parties, parades, fancy dress, and... ...

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Advice & information sources 26/03 Social Distancing for Open Settings https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-implementing-social-distancing-in-education-and-childcare-settings/coronavirus-covid-19-implementing-social-distancing-in-education-and-childcare-settings Flamingo Chicks – Helping Children Understand Coronavirus- https://flamingochicks.org/athome/ MIND – Supporting your Mental Health & Wellbeing https://mind.turtl.co/story/mindwork-march-2020/ Sec of State for... ...

Bristol City Council’s Families in Focus, Social Care and First Response Teams. Dear Friends, please find below details we’ve received about continuing services from Bristol City Council’s Families in Focus, Social Care... ...

COVID-19 Information for settings 23/3 As things stand now (Monday 23rd) we think the current position is/will be when the Coronovirus Emergency Bill is passed early this week: If you are in... ...

COVID-19 Information for settings 23/3 Although the BAND office is closed we are still able to respond to email and voicemail messages, email address are here. We will mail info. on issues... ...

Bristol Council Early Year’s Service Statement: COVID-19, closures & entitlements “We have been contacted by several settings asking about the funding for the Free Early Education Entitlement if you need to close due... ...

Early Years Designated Safeguarding Leads Network Meetings 2020   Dates for the Spring Term Meetings: Wednesday 18th March– 8.00am – 10.00am at Bristol Education Centre, Sheridan Road, Horfield, Bristol BS7 0PU Wednesday... ...

Funding Your Way – Fundraising Advice – 2020 Edition Sufficient funding is the foundation for good quality, sustainable childcare. Making the effort to think consistently and creatively about fundraising opportunities is what... ...

BAND Safeguarding Poster 2020   The poster is colour coded, making it clear and easy to identify the child protection agency. Please  feel free to display this at your setting. To get... ...

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FREE training for Managers and Supervisors: Jan 2020 ⇨For the full leaflet click here: Information leaflet Jan 20 managers ⇨ For the application form click here: Application form WFW Managers training Bristol... ...

Forum Fun! Lots of fun has been had at the last couple of playworkers’ forums. Back in the summer, 14 playworkers eagerly entered into the world of superheroes.  The room was alive... ...

Fundraiser: Free Inclusive Workshops for disabled children. BAND are seeking funding to the amount of £2,125 to pay for 5 free children’s inclusive aerial workshops to take place during the school holidays.... ...

Autumn Training Opportunities Domestic Abuse Awareness -19th September 2019 9.30am – 3.30pm at BAND Come along to develop an understanding of how domestic abuse can affect children’s wellbeing & development. Have the... ...

PLAYDAY 2019! http://www.playday.org.uk/ Playday is the national day for play in the UK, traditionally held on the first Wednesday in August. This year Playday will be celebrated on Wednesday 7 August. We... ...

Non-mobile baby injury protocol update The non-mobile baby injury protocol has changed across Bristol, South Gloucestershire and North Somerset. Get your updated copy here: https://bristolsafeguarding.org/media/32252/non-mobile-baby-injury-policy-update-march-2019-bristol-approved.pdf The main change is that when the... ...

Online Consultation: Safeguarding & Community Safety Partnerships Transformation ...

9.30am – 1pm Wednesday’s 24th April, 1st, 8th, 15th, 22nd May & 5th June. Makaton Enhancement training will enable participants to learn stages 5-8 and revise signing skills stages 1-4. More information:... ...

Crafty Behaviour 2019 There was lots of fun, new things to learn and stunning creations on show when 32 Play & Childcare workers attended BAND’s ‘Get Inspired – Crafty Ideas’ training day... ...

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Resilience & Mental Health and MAKATON – Spaces available We’ve got a couple of spaces for some courses starting next week: Children’s Resilience & Mental Health Training & Makaton Foundation Training Children’s... ...

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Esafety News Here to help us in our quest to keep children safe online is the BSCB Esafety Newsletter. It’s hard to keep up to date with advice for children and their... ...

British Nutrition Foundation Healthy Eating Week takes place 11th-15th June and aims to increase knowledge about healthy eating and well-being, physical activity, food provenance and cooking.  A series of free resources and... ...

May 2018 is National Walking Month: why  not plan an event for your setting to take part?  As part of this, Walk to School Week is 21-25th May: why not encourage all... ...

Data Protection & GDPR- where to find advice Childcare settings need to comply with the new General Data Protection Regulations 2018 (GDPR 2018) which, in May 2018, will replace the Data Protection... ...

The Childcare Voucher Scheme, which would have closed to new applicants from 5th April has now been extended to 5th October 2018.  This means that parents/carers who meet the employment criteria and have not yet... ...

Please be aware there is a current outbreak of Scarlet Fever in Bristol.   If you have two or more cases of Scarlet Fever in your setting, you must contact Public Health... ...

Is it time to let children play outdoors once more? Back in 2008 the decline in children’s play was laid bare when Government ministers admitted that one in four eight- to 10-year-olds... ...

BANDNews-Back issues: Movement in Mind From MAY 2017 In recent years, we’ve heard a lot about the importance of playing outside and being able to run around for children’s development. Further neuroscience... ...

BAND has been shortlisted for funding through the Co-op Membership funding programme …and we need your vote to attract as many funds as possible. Funding will be used to pay for free... ...

Safer Internet Day – 7th February saferinternet.org.uk Safer Internet Day 2017 will take place on Tuesday 7th February with the theme ‘Be the change: unite for a better internet’. https://www.saferinternet.org.uk/safer-internet-day/2017 Quick links:... ...

Early Years Designated Safeguarding Leads Network Meetings. These meetings will take place 3 times a year and will be organised on an area basis. Download the flyer here: EY Designated lead meetings... ...

Makaton Enhancement BAND still has spaces on the 6 session Makaton Enhancement course commencing on Wednesday 22nd February, 9.30am – 1pm at the BAND office. The other sessions will run on 8th,... ...

Band Annual  Report 2015-16. It’s been a very busy and productive year at BAND. During the year we’ve had applications for BAND membership from 31 organisations and individuals, including: nurseries, preschools, schools,... ...

Friday, 22 May 2015 BAND visit the Play Bus Sensory Truck As part of our on-going  commitment to inclusion, BAND has run a pilot session with the  PlayBus Sensory Truck to see if  improving... ...

PAWS Fire Workshop 2012, a set on Flickr. ...

Craft Skills 21st September 2012, a set on Flickr. Photos of the Craft Skills course held last week, thanks to all those involved for making it a great day ...