Charnwood Borough Council - Leading in Leicestershire

Activities on the Play Ranger Tour

Here is a list of the activities we are providing. The tour will be changing on a regular basis so keep looking for updated activities.

All our activities are 100% free and almost all of them will be on a first come first served basis.

We hope you like them, we have tried to offer a varied and challenging programme, and a programme that caters for all ages and interests.

If you have any really good ideas let us know and you never know we might be running your group next!

Open Play sessions

These sessions will run in parks and open spaces, on streets (carefully vetted for suitability), community centres, in village halls, and across the borough.

They will run throughout the year and will comprise of a large number of varied play activities and equipment that will challenge children in numerous ways.

The sessions will offer art and creative opportunities in the shape of art walls, badge making, painting, card making and more. Drama based play including a well stocked costume box and ‘mock theatre area’ where children can explore acting and drama. There will also be a large amount of sports equipment that will offer the opportunity for various sporting activity, football, cricket, busy badminton, junior tennis, skipping ropes, balls and Frisbees etc for throwing and catching and making up games of your own.

Every session will have an area specifically for 0-5’s this will be staffed by a Play ranger at all times. This area will incorporate soft play equipment, fitness balls and soft toys such as teddies and bean bags etc.

12+ Open Play sessions

These sessions will predominately be ran during early evening and after school hours, They will be based on an older age range and while incorporating elements of the multi play sessions aimed at 0-12 they will have targeted equipment to offer a specific level of challenge. They will include activities such as table tennis, a nintendo wii and arts.

The sessions will be ran in venues where indoor and outdoor access is available so we will be able to provide a sports area at all venues.

Junior Golf Club

Enjoy glorious summer evenings playing golf and having fun!

This group will offer free golf once a week throughout summer to a small group of children at Shelthorpe golf club, it will be open access, will run weekly and will run on a very non competitive basis, instead focusing on playing golf for enjoyment!

Whether your goal is to learn the game, come and work on your skills, or become the next tiger you'll be able to do it at our junior golf club.

maximum 10 children per session.

Equipment provided (limited left hand equipment)

First come, First served basis.

Natural play walks

Groups will be taken out into rural Charnwood on nature walks and along the way will stop and have the chance to play in natural settings.

the sessions will include sports, den making, natural arts, and many other activities that are born from the imaginations of those children on the natural walks.

These play groups, which will be running throughout summer will be a chance for everyone to enjoy the wonderful surroundings of Charnwood!

Movie Makers in association with Odeon Cinema

The 12 week programme will be ran by two brilliant film makers, those involved will look at the process of making a film, they will then make a film of their own and edit it, even producing the posters for it and best of all at the end of the project their movies will be part of a showcase gala evening at the Odeon Cinema Leicester (this has been confirmed).

This is an exciting and challenging play opportunity for children from 12-16. It uses modern technology in a fun and exhilarating way, and will incorporate physical play, drama based play, social interaction, creativity, and imagination. The clubs will be totally free, open to all children who fit the age, boys and girls, and will be ran in locations right across the borough thus allowing the widest range of children to access it. This is something that could not normally be accessed by many and will allow children the opportunity to experience totally new and rewarding activities, and work with people from an industry renowned for its difficulty to enter.

The 12 week programmes will be based entirely in the local surroundings the children live in and will use local resources as the backdrop for the films made!

All Equipment provided

Booking will be required for this programme- details to follow

Play Days

Throughout the year as part of the ongoing promotion of the Mobile Play Ranger Tour we will run a number of large scale ‘gala type’ play days.

These days will be very similar to the Open multi-play sessions but will be equipped with larger scale play equipment for example bouncy castles or open air shows and entertainers.

These events will be all day events and will vary between one or two venues on any given play day!

Photography Clubs

This 4 week programme will run across the whole of Charnwood. Children will have the opportunity to create their own portfolio of Photographs of their own town/village etc (which we will make available via our web page, or email them directly to you). The photography they will produce will be based on the notion of celebrating what is in their own surroundings.

The children involved will take part in an initial workshop where they will be taken through the equipment, as well as talking to them about how they might approach the photography.

An exciting element of this programme is that the sessions can be done using two approaches, a nature based approach taking pictures in rural areas, and a town based approach which goes into detail on how by looking past the common things in our towns, there are often interesting buildings, shapes, and people, that we often miss.

These programmes will culminate in an exhibition taking place showcasing the work of numerous groups that have taken pictures across the year.

This is similar to the movie making in terms of the positive effect this play opportunity could have, creating a pride in local surroundings, offering a free opportunity to play with some modern technology and reaching a wide range of children many of whom may experience difficulty in accessing the kinds of activities in question. The flexibility of approach is also an important factor as rural and town children will both gain a personalised play experience.

All equipment provided

This session will run in schools during term time and in community settings during summer and christmas.

Mini Movers

Mini Movers is a fantastic session for 0-5's and parents based on physical activity based play.

Specially designed equipment is used to allow early years children to play, investigate, and explore movement in complete safety and all the while improving their motor skills, confidence and of course having lots of fun!