The impacts of temporary accommodation on child play as a mechanism of development for under 5s

The UK’s long-running housing crisis has recently accelerated into a new and damaging phase, compounded by rising costs of living. Social safety nets are straining to match the growing need for affordable, decent accommodation. Within England, there are now 120,000 homeless children living in temporary housing and the consequences of crisis risk hampering their development. This research will take an interdisciplinary approach to exploring the challenges that families living in temporary accommodation face, particularly in regards to ensuring time, resources and space for their children to play, placing leisure as a pillar for healthy social and psychological development. Using innovative methodologies, the research will consider how to best translate these community insights into policy action. This research will build on existing evidence from the UK’s Champions Project, which began looking at the impact of Covid-19 lockdowns on under-5s in temporary housing.