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EPISODE · Dec 17, 2025 · 42 MIN

Legitimising Play as the Outcome

from Play Attention · host A Podcast From Timberplay

Leeds is quietly doing something radical: treating play as an essential outcome in its own right.In this episode of Play Attention, host Beth Cooper is joined by Emma Bearman, Founder of Playful Anywhere, and Jenny Rutherford, Play Strategy Officer at Leeds City Council, to explore how Leeds is blazing a trail for play sufficiency, and what other towns and cities can learn from it.Together, they discuss how play sufficiency moved from an idea to action, why play isn’t just a tool to deliver other outcomes but something worth valuing in and of itself, and why making space for play is everyone’s business.What you’ll hear about:How Leeds got play sufficiency off the ground, and what made it possibleWhy legitimising play as the outcome (not the means) is such a powerful shiftHow play helps cities tackle complex challenges and imagine better futuresThe value of water play in urban environmentsWhat it really means to embed play across policy, practice and place, beyond the playgroundFind out more:Playful AnywhereChild Friendly LeedsLucicologyPlay Attention is a podcast from Timberplay - exploring the thinkers, designers and changemakers shaping the future of play.Hosted by Beth Cooper, Independent Play Consultant.Theme music by Dave Mullen Jnr Connect with Timberplay:InstagramLinkedIn Timberplay 

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Dec 17, 2025

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Leeds is quietly doing something radical: treating play as an essential outcome in its own right. In this episode of Play Attention, host Beth Cooper is joined by Emma Bearman, Founder of Playful Anywhere, and Jenny Rutherford, Play Strategy Officer at Leeds City Council, to explore how Leeds is blazing a trail for play sufficiency, and what other towns and cities can learn from it. Together, they discuss how play sufficiency moved from an idea to action, why play isn’t just a tool to deliver...

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Legitimising Play as the Outcome

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