On Tuesday 19th May at Adventures in Sharrow, we hosted The inaugural Sheffield Play Conference 2026, where we invited volunteers, students, professionals, decision‑makers and community members to come together in a vibrant celebration of all things play!

Designed as a cross‑sector gathering, the conference shone a spotlight on play for all children, across the whole of childhood, recognising its role in shaping healthy, creative and resilient communities. Rooted in Sheffield’s growing movement for child‑friendly spaces, the event built on the momentum of local organisations who are working collaboratively to protect and extend meaningful play opportunities across the city.

The conference emerged from Sheffield Play Partnership’s work to reverse the decline in community play provision, strengthen local capacity, and expand access to high‑quality Playwork training. Our work includes mapping citywide provision, identifying gaps, developing new community‑led play projects, and championing collaborative models that connect voluntary groups, families and local authorities. Find out more about the projects we are working on.

There’s wonderful work going on across Sheffield and beyond to reinvigorate play in our communities. The inaugural conference is the first step in an ambition to gather the region’s play community in one place to energise this shared mission—supporting a future in which every child has the time, space and permission to play.

We hope that the conference will become an annual fixture and go on to become truly regional in its reach—one that grows year by year in influence, collaboration and shared vision for play. Stay tuned!