Bath Area Play Project

Who we are

Our vision is that every child has the right to play and our role is to support and facilitate a range of play opportunities and activities for children of all ages and abilities.

BAPP recognises and promotes the importance of self-directed play in relation to child development and the rights of children and young people.

BAPP is committed to facilitating user-led inclusive, specialist play opportunities and activities for children and young people in their own communities.

BAPP supports this through provision of or access to ongoing training and professional development for all staff and volunteers.

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 Play Ranger sessions after school in local parks and green spaces. Holiday playschemes specifically for disabled children and inclusive playscheme for both disabled and non-disabled children. A Pre-school for children from 9 months with play at the centre of their learning. Youth provision including the fully inclusive SOFA programme in the summer, Life Skills and Teenage Rampage, a youth club for disabled teenagers

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!