Book Sale

Next week (from Monday 27th February) will see the first MKPA book sale. Pop in and have a browse. Fiction and information books. All books just 50p

Epilepsy Awareness and Epipen/Anapen training few places still available.

We still have a few spaces left on our forthcoming Epilepsy and Epipen/Anapen courses.

Epilepsy Awareness, Tuesday 28th February, 6:30 pm to 9:30 pm
£28 per person
Discover how to identify epilepsy and learn some techniques to support a person living with epilepsy.

Epipen & Anapen Training, Thursday 15th March, 6:30 pm – 8:00 pm
£18 per person
Learn how to safely and confidently use both an epipen and an anapen.

Both courses are held at our offices in Kiln Farm. Free hot/cold drinks & biscuits. £2 discount on either course if you are a member of MKPA.

Free play session on the Funion Bargee today

The MKPA’s playboat the Funion Bargee is moored at the end of Orne Gardens in Bolbeck Park this week and there will be a session today between 1:30pm and 3:30pm.

Free half term play session today at Stantonbury

It’s half term week and MKPA will be running free play sessions across MK. Today’s session is in Stantonbury at the park between Lincoln and Cawarden (click here for the map). The session starts at 3:00pm and runs till 5:00pm. There will be craft activities, games and some sports. Children under the age of 8 will require to be accompanied by a parent or carer. So come along and have some fun.

Tommorrow’s session is on the Funion Bargee in Bolbeck Park 1:30pm – 3:30pm

For a  full list of this week’s activities click this link – half term activities Feb 2012

Prince of Wales: pupils need to go play outside to develop character

Schools should provide more team games, outdoor activities and practical workshops to help pupils develop “character”, the Prince of Wales said yesterday.

Click here to read the article in the Daily Telegraph

Free Half Term Play Sessions with MKPA

Next week is half term – yipee!! And MKPA wil be out and about across MK delivering free play sessions. Click this link for your half term timetable of activities – half term activities Feb 2012

 

Visitors to centre:mk raise over £4,000 for MKPA

 

For Christmas 2011, the MKPA were the annual Christmas wishing pool beneficiary, at the centre and during the festive season visitors to the centres ‘An Olde English Christmas’ show donated £4093.79.

MKPA were selected as the centre’s Christmas beneficiary for their fantastic work with Milton Keynes families and within the local communities. For the new year MKPA hope to progress with plans to build a traditional adventure playground for the children of the city to enjoy, with Christmas donations from thecentre:mk wishing pool.

Andy Grout, chief executive of the MKPA, said: “We were thrilled to be chosen as the wishing pool beneficiary at thecentre:mk and are so pleased with the generous donations the people of Milton Keynes made over the festive season. In this time of austerity we believe it demonstrates how valued the MKPA is by the children and families in MK and how much they value the play opportunities we deliver in their communities.”

 

Robert Hall, centre director at thecentre:mk, said: “MKPA are such a great charity servicing the next generation of Milton Keynes to learn, enjoy and interact through play. We were thrilled that our guests donated so generously to the Christmas wishing pool towards the MKPA adventure playground project and we look forwards to working with the charity as we move into 2012.”

Key retailers at thecentre:mk such as John Lewis have also been working with MKPA, by donating unwanted materials and visual display items that can be used to resource MKPA’s play activities and the community groups they support. Going into 2012, thecentre:mk and MKPA will continue their partnership on a number of projects, at the centre and within the local community.

Source (MK Citizen)

Do you receive our monthly e-newsletter, if not sign up today

Every month MKPA send out our e-newsletter which keeps you up to date with developments here at MKPA, but we also feature what’s happening in the play sector locally and nationally. Click here to download this month’s edition – MKPA Enews for January. If you would like to receive a copy please sign up by clicking on this link - Join Our Mailing List!

Recycle and raise funds for MKPA

We are pleased to announce that we are now able to recycle most printer toners & inkjet cartridges as well as old mobile phones and p d a’s. In addition, if you have any cd’s or dvd’s we can also recycle these, even better if they are in their cases as this increases their value to us.

Every item we recycle will earn us a small amount as well.

If you are willing to display a poster in your workplace advertising this then please e-mail admin@mkpa.co.uk and we will get one sent out. Please drop any items into our collection box in the foyer at the Play Association. Unfortunately at the moment we are unable to offer a collection service.

 

 Click this link  to download a poster MKPA_POSTER to put up in your place of work to encourage others to use this service.

MKPA part of the Play England Free Time Consortium launched today

MKPA is pleased to be a member of the Play England Free Time Consortium a group of 17 local and specialist organisations working together to increase children and young people’s opportunities for play and recreation.

 The Consortium is founded on the principal of sharing information about how to make sure more children can play more often. Through promotion and practice, local Play Associations, like MKPA and national specialist organisations aim to make sure that all children in England have the time, space and opportunity to play throughout their daily lives.

The Cabinet Office’s Social Action Fund grant is contributing to the Play England Free Time Consortium to increase social action in support of children’s play. The grant will fund activity to promote outdoor play, provide play resources and set up and expand play projects. 

 ‘Social action’ around play activities will range from street play projects to adventure playgrounds, holiday play schemes and play in parks. It will also help play sector organisations recruit, support and retain volunteers, young volunteers and ‘community changers’ – that is the range of other individuals that help out, support and contribute time and skills that help more children play outside more often.

Play England’s Love Outdoor Play campaign is calling on everyone to Love Outdoor Play in whatever way they can. This could be as simple as taking five minutes to map their local play space on the online map, signing up to regularly give money, time or skills to a local play project, or finding out about local – or national – volunteering opportunities to help more children play outside more often.