Based near Tottenham Court Road, St Giles-in-the-Fields is situated in an economically varied area. The church’s neighbours include major multinational businesses like GSK, but also a number of schools, where children from low-income households receive free school meals.
Over Summer 2025, St Giles is host to two free family play schemes, where local children and their parents can enjoy outdoor play in the churchyard and a free, nutritious lunch.
Make-Do Play
The first of these clubs is facilitated by Community Interest Company, Make-Do Play, and supported by funding from the Dragon Hall Trust and Camden Council.
Make-Do Play is an organisation with accessible fun at its heart. According to co-founder, Kerri, the Make-Do Play model is a reaction against “eye-wateringly expensive workshops and overly prescriptive activities.” Instead, Make-Do Play facilitates free play between children of different ages, using “open-ended arts and crafts, messy play, den making, mud kitchens, woodwork, dressing up clothes, makeshift swings and rope ladders.” While children play, adults have the opportunity to relax and chat together – an antidote to the isolation that parenting can bring.
The Make-Do Play session today is everything I’d love to set up at home, but don’t have the space to set up or the will to tidy up. It is a total “Yes” space of dreams. I can see my child relaxing into a creative state of mind, collaborating with kids of all ages – AND feel myself relaxing because for once I don’t have to say no.
Parent of a Make-Do Play session attendee
St Giles-in-the-Fields hosted a similar play scheme in 2021 as part of a funded HAF (Holiday Activities and Food) programme. As well as providing a valuable community resource, the project enhanced the use of the churchyard, which has historically been a focus for anti-social behaviour. The positive use of the space as a venue for family play completely transformed the environment and allowed the community to take back ownership of this area.
St Giles applied for funding from Camden Council to run a similar scheme this summer. Following their application, the church was asked to partner with the Dragon Hall Trust, who had recently received council funding for youth provision in the ward.
Make-Do Play currently operate a play scheme in term-time, which is managed by Dragon Hall and takes place in the Phoenix Gardens, adjoining the St Giles Churchyard. When the St Giles clergy offered the churchyard as a larger space to provide a wider range of resources for outdoor play, Make-Do Play were able were able to plan a special summer offering of four family activity days – for children participating in Dragon Hall’s HAF-funded Summer holiday scheme, as well as the wider community.
Assemble Play Works
The second holiday club is facilitated by Assemble Play Works and supported by Community Infrastructure Levy funding.
Assemble Play Works’ raison d’etre is to offer “free free play – all over the place!” To date, they have brought creative and imaginative play to multiple indoor and outdoor London venues – including at the Barbican and Young V&A as well as around the Grenfell Tower. Assemble Play Works were responsible for the 2021 scheme in St Giles’ churchyard in partnership with the Royal Academy of Art.
St Giles applied for funding from the CIL (Community Infrastructure Levy) to run a scheme over Summer 2025 and were awarded funds for five family play days. The ward priorities for CIL funding include improvements to open spaces, reducing anti-social behaviour, and activities that involve young people. The outdoor holiday club fit the bill exactly. The funding bid allowed for a budget for food for a limited number of children. The church has arranged food vouchers to allow children to obtain lunch from the food market that runs in the churchyard on Wednesday and Thursday. St Giles-in-the-Fields is providing storage facilities for the play equipment, access to WCs and fresh water, and space for wet weather play if necessary. The church co-ordinated with Camden Council who manage the churchyard to increase the frequency of litter picks before and after the play days.
Reverend Phillip Dawson, Curate at St Giles-in-the-Fields, said:
We are very grateful to our ward councillors, to officers in the Parks Team at Camden Council and to The Dragon Hall Trust for facilitating these popular family play days. Space for play in this part of London is very limited and the rising costs of holiday clubs and activities prohibitive. The opportunity to benefit from the expertise and resources of Make-Do Play and Assemble Play Works has been a lifeline to so many local families. The project has increased footfall and community engagement with the church and churchyard, one of our key mission priorities. I would encourage all churches with a churchyard to make contact with their local councillors, youth centres and HAF funded projects to offer to host similar schemes.
Find out more
- Make-Do Play work in open spaces across London throughout the year – including in the community garden at St Mary’s, Hornsey Rise. If your church would be interested to host play days (as part of a school holiday / HAF scheme or otherwise), you can contact the Make-Do Play team on makedoplaylondon@gmail.com. See more of their work @make_do_play
- Assemble Play Works run Saturday family play sessions from The PlayField at Mudchute Park and Farm on the Isle of Dogs. They also run play events in many locations throughout London. These are always free to attend and child-led, supported by experienced Playworkers. You are welcome to contact Assemble Play Works’ Penny Wilson via Instagram @assembleplayworksstudio
- Covent Garden Dragon Hall Trust is a charitable organisation serving the needs of the community in Camden & Westminster, with a specific focus on children, young people, and older residents. Find them on Instagram @dragonhall_
Photo Credits: (top right) Make-Do Play, (middle left) Evi Gosden, (bottom right) AssemblePlayWorks.