The latest articles and ideas from Inspiring Scotland and our partners.
intandem, Scotlandâs national mentoring service for children and young people with care experience, has today (Wednesday 31st May) launched a Crowdfunder campaign, aiming to raise ÂŁ10,000 to help children create lifelong memories this summer.  All children deserve the opportunity to have fun and try new things to help set them up for a positive future.
Read MoreBeing physically active is one of the most important things people can do to improve their physical and mental health. It can help prevent a range of non-communicable diseases, those associated with unhealthy behaviour such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes, and improves mental health and cognitive functioning, among other benefits. However, the new Step Up!
Read MoreTo mark this yearâs Scottish Women and Girls Sports week we want to highlight the positive impact of women and girlsâ participation in sports and physical activity through the Active Play Programme. Using a partnership approach it is enabling children, and adults, to participate in, and in turn lead on Active Play across Glasgow and
Read MoreIn April, Inspiring Scotlandâs Perinatal and Infant Mental Health team co-hosted Supporting Women, Reducing Harm, the first-ever national conversation on how services should care for families affected by substance use in the perinatal period. This event was in partnership with Scottish Government, Perinatal Mental Health Network Scotland, NHS Scotland, third sectors partners and women with
Read MoreBlog 2 Read on as we share Blog 2 in our blog series on bringing Outdoor ELC to the Botanics in Edinburgh. This week’s blog contributor is Cath Ashby part of the learning team at the Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh. Hi I am Cath Ashby and I have worked at the Botanics for 23
Read MoreBlog 1 This week sees the start of an exciting collaboration between the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE), Inspiring Scotlandâs Thrive Outdoors team, the University of Edinburgh and two Edinburgh-based Early Learning and Childcare settings; Edzell Nursery and Outdoor Nursery Edinburgh (ONE). Over the next six months the partners will undertake research as groups of
Read MorePregnancy, birth and caring for a new baby can involve some of the most rewarding experiences in life. Yet being a new parent can also be difficult and isolating for mothers and families.
Read MoreTo celebrate Scottish woman and girls in sport week 2020 we decided to interview Anne- Marie, who is involved in the running of the Active Play programme at voluntary organisation FARE Scotland, on the importance of engaging girls in Active play. FARE Scotland (Family Action in Rogerfield and Easterhouse) is a voluntary organisation working within
Read MoreIn this collaborative blog, Rachel Cowper of Thrive Outdoors and Central Scotland Green Network Trust’s Deryck Irving present the case for moving classroom teaching outside post-COVID-19. The response to the current pandemic has meant the introduction of new behaviours to many aspects of our day-to-day lives. The process of easing lockdown will require changed behaviours
Read MoreAs we move out of lockdown, embracing our outside spaces can help society recover and build resilience for the future, writes Thrive Outdoors Programme Manager Rachel Cowper. The online algorithms must be getting to know my reading habits of late, because I have come across many articles over the last few days discussing what the
Read MoreBy Jill Fraser, Community Play Performance Advisor Community is an old and deeply human idea. It is about sharing; people sharing experiences, sharing places and sharing hopes. We gain a sense of community early in our lives. For children, playing is intrinsically linked to a burgeoning sense of belonging to a bigger group of people
Read MoreBy Jill Fraser, Community Play Performance Advisor Inspiring Scotland exists to address poverty and disadvantage. The role of Play Rangers, our community play programme, in this work isnât self-evident. Yet giving children the opportunity to play outside, in their own neighbourhood, can reveal the damaging effects and true extent of child poverty in Scotland and
Read MoreThere is a saying, variously attributed to early environmental campaigners but likely a much older proverb from a wiser time and place, that goes: âWe do not inherit the earth from our parents, we borrow it from our children.â Whatever its origins, the sentiment rings true and by its maxim we have failed our children
Read MoreI firmly believe that the wellbeing of people is paramount. It directs the work we do at Inspiring Scotland, as well as the work I do personally as a member of several community and advisory groups. It directs the work I do as a sports coach for children and young people. Thatâs why I was
Read MoreAt Inspiring Scotland, we firmly believe that the health, happiness and wellbeing of children and young people is paramount. It is a shared responsibility of civil society â people and organisations across the public, private and third sectors â to protect children and young people. To support them to grow up with the means
Read MoreAt Inspiring Scotland, we want all of Scotlandâs children to thrive. We have been working in outdoor play since 2010 and we know that by playing outdoors, children grow, learn and develop, emotionally and physically, in the best possible way. In short, growing playing and learning outdoors is how children thrive. Thatâs why, after eight
Read MoreBy Juliet Robertson, Outdoor learning and play specialist, Creative STAR Learning The image of children splashing in muddy puddles or running, carefree through the woods, giggling in the way only happy children can, might seem like a nostalgic rural idyll to city dwellers in this age of social media and easy-access tech. But it doesnât have
Read MoreWe have lost something by scheduling ‘fun’ as part of our busy lives. Who remembers hopscotch? Climbing into a cardboard box? A stick that to you was a magic wand or a Light Sabre?  Who remembers just running through the woods or over the grass for no real reason at all? I am sure most
Read MoreRachel Cowper from our go2play fund urges us all to let children play outside in The Herald. With a sunny start to April and the longer days ahead, you might begin to see the streets and green spaces of Scotland filled with children and wonder: is it not always so? Sadly, like the rose-tinted memories
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