Eleven focus groups were conducted with 77 participants from 4 schools, with the sample being 64% female. There were 15 participants from the low SES school, 24 from the low/middle SES school, 15 from the middle/high SES school and 23 from the high SES school.
Children's perceptions of 'play'
Participants were asked the question, "When you hear the word 'play', what do you think of?" with the follow-up probe, "what does 'play' mean to you?" Participants' responses to how they perceive 'play' were divided into two major themes: 1) Perceptions of active play; 2) Perceptions of non-active play.
Perceptions of active play
Many participants, both male and female, described 'play' in terms of some form of physical activity. Generally these activities were unstructured and based on a sense of 'letting off steam.'
"Like running round" (Male, high SES)
"Burning energy so we're not that like, mad in class" (Female, low/middle SES)
"Everyone running around and having fun" (Female, middle/high SES)
"Just have a kick around with a football" (Male, low SES)
Additionally, activities were often described as taking place outdoors and in a social context:
"When you say play I think of playing tag, outside" (Female, low SES)
"Racing my friends on the field" (Male, middle/high SES)
"Going outside with my friends" (Male, high SES)
"I think of play like um, playing outside with your friends and, doing new stuff, every day" (Female, low/middle SES)
Finally, many participants equated active play with a sense of freedom from rules or structure.
"Play just means doing what you want and running around" (Male, low SES)
"Running, jumping, just mucking about really" (Female, low/middle SES)
"Um, sort of messing around like, yeah" (Male, low/middle SES)
"Free" (Female, middle/high SES)
Perceptions of non-active play
Some participants, both male and female, perceived play in terms of sedentary activities, many of which involved the use of computers or games consoles:
"Computer games" (Female, high SES)
"My sort of play's playing chess with other people online on my mum's laptop" (Male, low SES)
"Some like um computer games are active play because the adult doesn't organise it" (Male, high SES)
"You can play indoors like on video games" (Female, low SES)
Additionally, a few participants mentioned other forms of non-active play in their perceptions:
"Um, playing music" (Male, high SES)
"Board games" (Female, middle/high SES)
"Role playing and stuff" (Male, low/middle SES)
"Um going round with my friends like chatting and things" (Female, middle/high SES)
Contexts of 'active play'
After the researcher had provided participants with a definition of active play, participants were asked to describe the contexts in which they engaged in active play, over the previous week. The reported contexts were divided into three themes according to: 1) What children do in their active play 2) Where they play and 3) Who they play with. These themes are discussed below.
What children do in their active play
Participants were asked, "Over the past week, what did you do in your active play?" The activities children reported doing in their active play varied by gender. For the majority of boys, active play involved having a 'kick about' or riding bikes with friends:
"Um I knock for my neighbours and we play football over the fields" (Male, high SES)
"Playing football over the parks" (Male, low/middle SES)
"I rode on my bike with my friends" (Male, high SES)
"Um like going around the streets on our bikes and stuff" (Male, low/middle SES)
However, girls were less likely to describe a specific activity when discussing active play.
"Um I go outside, run around" (Female, low/middle SES)
"...we live in a flat and there's like a little field of grass and we go down there and play" (Female, low SES)
"I play with my dogs outside" (Female, high SES)
"I play games with my brother" (Female, middle/high SES)
Where children engage in active play
Participants were then asked, "Over the past week, where did you play?" Female participants generally engaged in active play close to their homes, often in their own gardens:
"I... go out in the garden ...that's basically all" (Female, middle/high SES)
"I went...in my front garden" (Female, high SES)
"I would normally go out in my back garden" (Female, low SES)
"Um in my garden and on the pavement outside my house" (Female, low/middle SES)
In contrast, male participants appeared to have more independent mobility, and tended to play in neighbourhood green spaces or the streets:
"I went to [name of park] just down my road, the new one which just opened" (Male, low/middle SES)
"I play on the community centre field" (Male, high SES)
"Streets" (Male, middle/high SES)
"Um me and my friends play where...literally anywhere, we pretty much ended up...so we went all round the streets everywhere really" (Male, low SES)
Who children engage in active play with
Finally, participants were asked the question "Over the past week, who did you play with?" with the follow-up probe, "School friends, neighbourhood friends, other friends, or family?" Many boys reported engaging in active play with their neighbourhood friends:
"Well my best friend lives opposite me...and my other two friends don't live far so I just play with them" (Male, high SES)
"My next door neighbours and a friend who lives two doors down from me" (Male, high SES)
"Just people around the streets" (Male, low SES)
"Well it's my friend who lives just down the road" (Male, middle/high SES)
However, girls were more likely to report engaging in active play with family members:
"In school I've got some cousins so I normally play with them outside of school and some, family" (Female, low SES)
"I play with my brother" (Female, low SES)
"I play with my cousin, my grandparents and my um family at home" (Female, high SES)
"Um, I normally play um with my brother, my dog" (Female, low/middle SES)