A Community Space To Play, Grow And Learn In Gwenfro Valley Adventure Playground

The Wrexham Youth and Play Partnership recently made a successful application for funding to The Neumark Foundation to open the adventure playground with resources and staffing for one day a week from April 2025. As a result of this funding, the centre will be able to offer children and young people a fully staffed and resourced safe space to play and learn.

Rebecca Neumark, from The Neumark Foundation said “We were so impressed by the facilities and sense of community at Gwenfro when we visited. It is clear what an impact the playground has on the families and children that are able to use it. It really does operate at the heart of its community, providing play opportunities, a sense of togetherness and well-being. We are pleased to be able to work with the team to provide this opportunity and we look forward to developing this partnership to improve well-being and enable the community to fully benefit from all that Gwenfro can offer”

“We were so impressed by the facilities and sense of community at Gwenfro when we visited. It is clear what an impact the playground has on the families and children that are able to use it. It really does operate at the heart of its community, providing play opportunities, a sense of togetherness and well-being. We are pleased to be able to work with the team to provide this opportunity and we look forward to developing this partnership to improve well-being and enable the community to fully benefit from all that Gwenfro can offer.”
Rebecca Neumark – CEO at The Neumark Foundation

Wrexham Youth & Play Partnership (WYPP) aims to bring people together to increase possibilities for children’s play and youth provision. They do this by empowering local people to advocate for playful spaces and projects in their local area.

As part of this work, they manage Gwenfro Valley Adventure Playground in partnership with a dedicated Parent Steering Group. Gwenfro Valley is a self-built outdoor, staffed play space that offers rich play opportunities and is highly valued by local children and their families who have a huge sense of ownership over it. It is a space for freedom, exploration and connection that’s currently open every day after school and on Sundays. It is firmly rooted within the community promoting happy, healthy childhoods for community members.

Research shows that being able to play is fundamental to the health and wellbeing of all children and ultimately the wider community. Play itself “builds resilience and… mitigates the impact of poverty, crisis and mental ill health” (Play Wales 2019) by developing support networks and self-efficacy. Play also supports children “to restore their sense of identity, helps them make meaning of what has happened to them and enables them to experience fun and enjoyment” (United Nations)

Theresa Burling from WYPP, tells us about what Gwenfro means.

“Post pandemic issues, financial crisis pressures and reduced access to services already under pressure has highlighted parent concerns regarding the need for our support as ‘trusted folk’ for children and their families.

‘Lockdown’ babies are now under 5years old, and parents tell us they find the play environment really supportive of their holistic development, which has been restricted during their first vital years. Children aged 9 who came to play at Gwenfro Valley prior to the pandemic are now aged 13 years. They emerged from prolonged isolation – straight into transition to secondary school. Some attend part time, others speak about it “going too fast – so I don’t understand”. Some are anxious and others continue to miss school because they find it a challenging environment.

We will always have children’s play and a healthy happy childhood at the core of our adventure playground, however, we cannot ignore our significance as a community resource which has a vital role in mitigating the lasting effects of the pandemic and sustained financial hardship on a community already adversely impacted by difficulty.

Our child focussed; family friendly, non-judgmental environment is a place for community support. We keep a small larder of food and sanitary essentials, a stock of winter coats and some school uniform items. We have a peer support parent/volunteer group who share help and advice for a range of practical and health related issues as well as raising money towards resources and special events at the playground. We are partners in the local Holiday Hunger programme and distribute healthy food throughout the school holidays.

We provide free, open access play opportunities, promoting social interaction, confidence, speech, language and physical development for our youngest children, whilst engaging with parents and carers. Our staffed, playful environment also supports older children, teenagers and young adults to navigate experiences they find worrying or challenging. We are a place for exploring challenge, developing risk management skills and self-awareness. A place where children grow real time social networks, to feel connected to their community, to acquire new social, physical and practical skills and to be more confident in their capacity to achieve. We are so grateful to The Neumark Foundation for their support, it will have a real impact and enable us to provide a safe, community space to play, grow and learn in”.