Bath Area Play Project

Who we are

We have an excellent staff team who together with Trustees are totally committed to providing a range of inclusive and child-centred services and working with those most in need. Play is the right of every child and is essential to children’s development yet, today, children are becoming risk averse and unhealthy due to lack of freedom based mainly around parental anxiety and fears.

Established in 1979 by volunteers, we have grown into an organisation with excellent relationships with Commissioners, a good understanding of Government policy that relates to children yet is grounded and services develop based on what children and young people tell us matters to them. Since our beginning we have focused our work in areas of the city now described as disadvantaged and in super output areas from the IMD.  These haven’t changed in 30+ years mainly due to generational dysfunction. Bath is perceived as an affluent area, however there are parts of the city, predominantly with high social housing populations, that do not have the community capacity to do things themselves and so become reliant on intervention.

Trustees and Staff worked hard on developing a Business Plan, Implementation Plan and have developed strategic objectives where progress is reviewed every 2 months. This ensures that we remain focussed on priorities as well as outcome measurement tools to show how outcomes are being met by services. Working with families in areas of social inequality remain a priority.

We hold the ISO9000 Quality Management Award and we follow all systems for dealing with complaints and compliance with legislative requirements, training and development of staff and volunteers and Charity Law.

BAPP provide a range of services which are directly accessed by children and young people themselves as well as support for schools and individuals working with children and young people. BAPP’s services are funded wither through contracts with the Local Authority, Grants from Trusts or through fees paid by parents or beneficiaries. Direct services have included open-access community based Family Play sessions in summer holidays in local parks and green spaces. Holiday playschemes specifically for disabled children aged 5 - 11 years and a term time only Saturday Club, both proividing valuable respite for parents/carers. An Ofsted registered Nursery & Pre-school for children from 6 months with play at the centre of their learning. Youth provision for SEND young people aged 12-19 years in the summer and other school holidays, a Saturday Club for those up to 21 years and a youth club for disabled teenagers all supporting development of Life Skills and appropriate social interactions.

We also support families struggling with relationships and behaviours with their children, providing tailored individual support, often in the family home or alongside school, building on strengths and enabling change and improved outcomes. Our Play team provide individual and small group support for around 40 children each term, enabling them to develop confidence, understand more about their emotions and building connections with peers using a nurturing approach.

We are a small friendly team who are creative, flexible and supportive. We have fun but work hard and look forward to welcoming the successful candidate to the team!

Our culture and values

BAPP is a registered charity and local voluntary organisation. We promote and facilitate opportunities for children and young people to play and participate in positive activities. We promote the importance of self-directed play for children's development and the rights of children.

Every Child has the Right to Play and we recognise the powerful impact and value that play has for children experiencing adverse experiences, using  a therapeutic, trauma informed playful approach to supporting children to develop resilience. We recognise the importance of self-directed play for children’s development and facilitate a range of play based opportunities, often outdoors that support and enrich children’s wellbeing. As a child-centred organisation with a strong inclusive ethos, our staff advocate for, listen and respond to children’s voices embedding these principles using the power of play as a catalyst for positive change.

Equality, diversity and inclusion policy

Our core ethos is one of inclusion, using a person -centred approach. Much of our work is supporting children with disabilities and additional needs, neurodiversity and autism, building on their strengths together and enabling them to develop confidence through trying new activities and giving things a go. We are opposed to all forms of discrimination, and all staff and volunteers working with us are expected to work in conjunction with our anti-discriminatory practice statement, challenging all forms of discrimination at the time it occurs and reporting in line with our policies.

We are a Disability Confident employer with parity of pay as required by the Equality Act 2010, Our policies support staff to ensure they are equitable in their work with children and families and ensure we can promote fairness and social responsibility through all our work strands, as well as our workplace. Our equalities policies contribute to our organisational success by valuing and respecting the strengths of our diverse and inclusive workforce.