Advice

Challenging and safe space to play starts with a good advice.

Is it possible to know everything of playing? The NUSO thinks it is. With over 75 years of experience in advising, supporting and creating and managing places to play, we know how to get children and young people to move. In addition, we know how to move adults and policymakers, when you want to improve the liveability of the district or area where the play facilities are. Why does the NUSO devotes itself to this? Because the importance of “playing outside” has become bigger in the years that the NUSO exists.  Because people from different generations and cultures get to know each other on the playground. Because playing outside is good for the physical and mental health of children and young people. And because of all those other reasons why young people and adults like using facilities to play outside a lot.

NUSO stimulates playing and moving outdoors with these activities:

  • Advice about play space and liveability in the local communities.
  • Building knowledge and making sure there are publications.
  • Advocacy for more and better play facilities by for example lobbying with political parties and social organizations.
  • Supporting volunteers in playground work and children holiday work.

If your activities or responsibilities are along these lines then the NUSO will be able to support you with independent and good quality advice.

NUSO advice route for local councils.

In the area of playground policies and the liveability of their districts the NUSO, over the years, gave advice to a lot of cities. The NUSO offers the following advice routes as concrete services:

  • Developing a view on play for all children within the community.
  • Perform play value evaluations of existing situations in a city, district or neighbourhood.
  • Judgement and development by using the NUSO-standard (3%-standard) the recommended guideline by the Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and Environment.
  • Organizing and guiding children and young people participation routes according to the NUSO children participation methodology.
  • Starting and guiding neighbourhood participation and processes in accordance with city council participation procedures.
  • Knowledge of laws and rules: Safety regulations for play equipment and safety regulations for a save working environment. The NUSO has a website: www.allesoverspelen.nl in cooperation with ‘Consument and veiligheid’.
  • To attract grants and subsidy, developing sponsor plans and including (local) businesses.
  • Designing formal and informal play facilities.
  • Developing forms of management and guiding resident participation.

NUSO advice route for social organizations.

For social organizations, the NUSO can play a role with their expertise in the area of (play) workers training and the safety of the playground itself. Our advices and support focuses on the following:

  • Stimulating expertise of play workers in the area of volunteer policies and pedagogical policies.
  • Stimulating expertise of volunteers within the playground work.
  • Technical aspects of play facilities, such as security and design.
  • Realizing cooperation with playgrounds.

NUSO advice route for the benefit of liveability in districts and neighbourhoods.

  • Content and process guidance for schools, district and neighbourhood organizations and playgrounds. The target is to improve liveability; the playground is a central meeting point within the neighbourhood.

NUSO advice route for housing corporations, schools and other organizations.
Housing corporations often end up at the NUSO for the promotion of liveability in districts and neighbourhoods. The NUSO also advices schools when developing their outdoor spaces.

NUSO advice route on playgrounds.

  • Developing a vision on playgrounds within the limitations of playground policies.
  • Guidance of content and processes of social and physical renovation / renewing playgrounds (Deltaplan playgrounds)
  • Planning and designing playgrounds on the basis of play value, neighbourhood function, integrated play, safety and inhabitant participation.
  • Supporting volunteers, for example, through giving courses on how to handle difficult behaviour on the playground (unsupportive play).

 

Recent NUSO projects.

The NUSO advised the following cities in the Netherlands as well as others, concerning their playground policies and project concerning liveability in the neighbourhood, young people and inhabitant participation. Eindhoven, Hoorn, Vlissingen, Roosendaal, Best, Weststellingwerf, Oestgeest, Leiden, Eschede, Amsterdam Welzijn Binnenstad, Amsterdam stadsdeel Zuidoost, Utrecht, Geldermalsen, Sint-Oedenrode, Leudal.