In this article Andrew Holden gives a detailed description of research undertaken in an ethnically-segregated town in the north of England. He was looking at the extent to which children’s play at different ages and in different contexts reinforces or overcomes the segregation of different ethnic groups. The notion of ‘play’ as a potential for overcoming segregation is an interesting one. There is a very clear description of the methodology used in the research, and students should take note of this as an example of the use of a variety of methods, both quantitative and qualitative, in a single piece of research. This material could be used in various contexts — for example, ‘Stratification and differentiation’, ‘Education’ and ‘Culture and identity’.
In the summer of 2008, Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council received a sum of £2.5m to improve play facilities for children between the ages of 8 and 13 years. The council’s plan was to provide 18 new sites in the borough with a view to fostering a sense of well-being and healthy growth among children of present and future generations — issues that lie at the heart of the Every Child Matters agenda introduced by the Labour government in September 2003 (Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council 2006; Department for Children, Schools and Families, updated 2009).
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