The grants were awarded as part of the 'playful ideas' programme, which supports innovative projects taking a creative approach to play.
Children in Bradford are to benefit from a 228,934 grant awarded to the Bradford Community Environment Project for its Wild Adventurous Safe Play Spaces (WASPS) initiative. The three-year project will involve a team of play workers visiting parks, green spaces and woodlands to hand down skills such as den building and making rope swings.
Carlton Smith, director of the project, said, 'We were delighted to hear we had been awarded the grant. We will be using local green spaces to get children out of their virtual play worlds and back to engaging with the real world again. Our project aims to give them an appreciation and respect for the natural environment.'
Another initiative to benefit was the Creative Play Project, run by Valley House in Coventry, which was awarded 244,770. The project will offer early years creative play provision as well as catering for older children, using natural or recycled materials.
Baljit Gill, children's services manager of Valley House, said, 'We're really excited to be given the grant, and pleased to be working with children and families of all ages. We ran a pilot creativity project last year and wanted to continue it, as it was very successful. This grant will allow us to move on to the next phase of what we have already been practising.'
Commenting on the awards, Sanjay Dighe, chair of the Big Lottery Fund's England Committee, said, 'The projects will bring fresh approaches to the way children play and benefit children from all walks of life.'