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A Place to Play!
Theatre Hullabaloo have officially unveiled a new programme bringing £790,000 of creative play opportunities to 30,000 families in the South Tees, at a special event in their latest family arts facility in Skelton, attended by local and regional dignitaries.
Place to Play is a new creative programme bringing Creative Play opportunities to 10,000s children and their grownups in Middlesbrough and Redcar & Cleveland. Supported by National Lottery funding through Arts Council England’s Place Partnership programme, investment from Tees Valley Combined Authority and a grant from Borderlands Creative People and Places (CPP), the Place to Play initiative brings £790,000 of life-changing creative activity to families in South Tees over three years.
In light of Nicholas Serota’s comments that ‘[w]e need to ensure that all children, everywhere, have access to the inspiration and joy that culture and creativity bring’ (The Guardian), Theatre Hullabaloo are delighted to launch this impactful initiative which brings free creative and imaginative opportunities to families across the South Tees, along with socially prescribed Play programmes and free school holiday activities.
Bringing together a partnership involving Middlesbrough Borough Council, Redcar and Cleveland Council, Public Health South Tees, Teesside University, and Tees, Esk and Wear Valley NHS Foundation Trust, Place to Play works with Family Hubs in communities experiencing high levels of deprivation and health inequality. Currently in Park End Middlesbrough and Skelton, Redcar and Cleveland, the programme will connect with at least six communities until Spring 2027.
The project responds to rising rates of post-natal depression and family poverty, and the recent claim by the First 1001 Days Movement that toddler development across the UK is in decline, creating a “ticking time bomb” for British society. Research by York St John University and the British Academy has evidenced that Theatre Hullabaloo’s Creative Play programmes improve family wellbeing, accelerate childhood development, and strengthen community connections.
The project was piloted in spring 2024 with Dreamland and Fairytale Forest, commissioned by Borderlands CPP and funded by Arts Council England. These facilities, the first in the UK to be located in Family Hubs, have been a huge hit. Over 100 children and grownups a week have improved wellbeing and shared joyful smiles at the installations so far. Now, thanks to the success of the pilot, Place to Play will expand dramatically to bring these benefits to 10,000s families in other communities in Middlesbrough and Redcar and Cleveland over the next three years.
Place to Play will also stimulate the local economy, providing 6000 days of paid employment for local people and creatives artists, and give 50 people the chance to gain qualifications as Creative Play specialists. The project hopes to support health, local authority, and voluntary sector engagement with families, forging partnerships that sustain improved family outcomes over the long term.
The unveiling of the project took place this week at Skelton Family Hub, where local councilors, representatives of Tees Valley Combined Authority, Arts Council England and Public Health South Tees, joined local community champions to celebrate the award of funds to the project.
Theatre Hullabaloo’s Chief Executive, Ben Dickenson, said: “Theatre Hullabaloo is incredibly proud to be leading the Place to Play project in South Tees. Play is the brain’s favourite way to learn, creative experiences can inspire positive change – together these things can transform the outcomes of children and grownups, making healthier, happier, stronger families. We can’t wait to see the positive changes this work will bring in communities that need it the most…or joy and wonder that will happen every time people engage with fantastic installations and brilliant creative activities.”
Jane Tarr, Director North, Arts Council England said, “The Place Partnership Fund is designed to help places make a step-change in the cultural and creative lives of the community and I’m delighted that Theatre Hullabaloo, in one of our Priority Places, has been awarded funding to work with local partners and families across South Tees to deliver the Place to Play project. We know how important creativity is to children’s development and wellbeing, so it’s great that this activity that will enable children and their families to access these fantastic creative experiences, wherever they live across the region and whatever their background.”
Charlie Kemp, Head of Creative Place, TVCA said “The Combined Authority is really proud to be investing in the Place to Play programme. For local families, having the opportunity to come to a space that is as inspiring as the Creative Play installations, that feels welcoming, and as well supported as this initiative, could genuinely be transformational in terms of the confidence that parents have in playing with their children, and in understanding the value of creativity at a really early stage in a child’s development. One of the things we’re really excited about is the upskilling of local practitioners and the job creation that’s part of this programme, because that embeds a level of support, knowledge and expertise across our local communities that will continue to have benefits for local families for years to come.”
Shahda Khan, Director, Borderlands said, “The reason Borderlands exists is to support families across Middlesbrough and Redcar & Cleveland who don’t get involved in arts, culture and creativity. These Creative Play installations are such a welcoming space in the Place to Play programmes, it is the perfect way to start, to make sure that our families, our communities, know that creativity is accessible, it’s fun and it’s for everybody.”
Nicola Hall, Early Help Service Manager, Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council said “For families, this programme means they have a beautiful place to come and play, including families who wouldn’t necessarily have thought to come into the Hubs, so we’ve also been able to reach more families and tell them about other services in the Family Hubs. Having a qualified practitioner from Hullabaloo who has that creative eye, to share with parents how to get the best out of the space, and how to play with their children a bit more creatively, has been fantastic. We’ve had lots of families through the door who have all thought it’s been an amazing space. The play on prescription is the next phase of the project in our partnership with Theatre Hullabaloo and we’re excited about getting that message out to GPS and other staff who work with families, so they can come and get some support on how to build that relationship and actually learn to play more effectively with their children in a really safe space.’
Helen Dudiak, Associate Dean for Enterprise and Knowledge Exchange, School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Law, Teesside University said “We’ll be working with Theatre Hullabaloo to co-produce a training course for staff that really meets the needs of the programme. As individuals, this will allow them to have a theoretical understanding of what they’re doing and how that will improve their practice. We’re hoping to use really creative ways, and embrace the nature of the programme itself, within that training. We’ll be looking for individuals who maybe haven’t gone through formal learning to also be able to engage. We’re really keen to explore how we can take learning from this particular programme and embed it within courses at the university such as our early years, primary and secondary courses, so they can also include elements of creative play. That way, the legacy for the community is not just about the training for the individuals on this project, but all the graduates coming out of our school in future years as well.”
Cllr Bill Suthers, Cabinet Member for Children, Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council, said: “This is a fantastic new asset for our children and families and I’m delighted to see this project come to fruition. We all know how important play and creativity is for the development of children and this is going to help many, many children for a long time to come. I’d like to thank and congratulate everyone involved.”
