Play Wales/Chwarae Cymru

Play Wales is a charity that provides advice and guidance for all in Wales who have a responsibility for any environment where children and young people play. Play Wales upholds children's right to play and believes that freely chosen play is critical to human development. Play Wales works strategically to ensure that children have access to quality play provison in their communities.

In the charity's own words, from the register.

In Wales

• Throughout Wales

Area of benefit in its governing document: Wales

The places the charity told the Commission it works in.

In the year ending 31 March 2025, it had income of £606,983 and spent £650,115.

Figures as the charity reported them to the Charity Commission. Staff and volunteer numbers are only asked of charities with income over £10,000. A year with no row was not reported.

Separate measures from the charity's own returns and accounts, each with its year. Read them together: no single measure says how well a charity is run.

Income over time

Down 48%, from £1,157,524 in the year to 31 March 2021 to £606,983 in the year to 31 March 2025.

Spending against income

It spent 107% of its income in the year to 31 March 2025. It spent more than its income in 3 of the 5 years shown.

Largest funder

Welsh Government gave £501,000 in the year to 31 March 2025, 83% of that year's income.Read by AI from the charity's accounts.

From the annual returns the charity filed with the Charity Commission. The largest funder comes from its accounts, read by AI.

Government grants in the year ending 31 March 2025: £510,500 from 2 grants. Government contracts: Not reported.

From the charity's annual return to the Charity Commission, which asks every charity with income over £10,000 how much came from government grants and contracts. It does not say which part of government. These totals are separate from the named funders read from its accounts and the grants published on 360Giving, and are not added to them.

In its accounts for the year ending 31 March 2025, the charity named 4 funders who gave £542,000 between them. £534,500 of that came from public bodies.

These figures were read from the accounts the charity filed with the Charity Commission by Claude, an AI model, in OpenEconomy's accounts reader. AI can misread a table, so check the accounts on the register before relying on a figure.

Only funding the accounts name with an amount is included. Most charities also have income from donations, fees and trading that is not listed by funder, so this is part of its income.

Funders that publish to 360Giving list 4 grants to this charity since 2006, worth at least £1,036,590.

Only funders that publish their grants to 360Giving are included, and many do not. These are amounts funders awarded, which can differ from what the charity received in a given year, so they are shown apart from the accounts figures above.

Public bodies' published spending shows 33 payments to this charity worth £3,965,156 between 1 February 2021 and 29 April 2026.

Councils and Welsh Government publish what they pay suppliers and grant holders above a threshold, usually £500 for councils and £25,000 for Welsh Government, so smaller payments are missing. A payment is shown only when OpenEconomy matched it to this charity with certainty. These figures come from the payer's records. They are a separate measure from the charity's own accounts, 360Giving grants and its annual return, and are never added to them.

9 trustees run the charity.

• Ben TawilAppointed 29 August 2025
• Dr ELSPETH ClarkAppointed 22 March 2017
• Dr Jacky Helen TyrieAppointed 16 February 2022
• Dr Matluba KhanAppointed 16 April 2022
• Dr Rhian ChamberlainAppointed 29 January 2026
• Dr Rhian Mari BarranceAppointed 15 July 2019
• Hana HersiAppointed 17 May 2023
• Keith TowlerAppointed 26 March 2015
• Professor Ronan LyonsAppointed 24 January 2012

Trustees are responsible in law for the charity. Names are as they appear on the public register.

Of the last 5 annual returns that were due, 5 arrived by the deadline.

Charities with income over £10,000 send an annual return within 10 months of their year end, and those over £25,000 also send their accounts. Smaller charities only update their income and spending on the register. The dates are when the Commission received each document.

Charity number

1068926

Status

Registered

Registered with the Commission

28 March 1998

Governing document

CIO - FOUNDATION CONVERSIONDATED 30 JAN 2020 as amended on 25 Mar 2025

Website

www.play.walesAs the charity gave it on the register.

Council area of its contact address

Cardiff

• Register details, income, spending, trustees and filing dates: Charity Commission for England and Wales, register of charities. Loaded by OpenEconomy on 2 November 2026.
• Funding from accounts: the charity's filed accounts, read by OpenEconomy's AI accounts reader on 1 November 2026.
• Grants awarded: 360Giving open grants data, from funders that publish there. Loaded by OpenEconomy on 2 November 2026.
• Payments from public bodies: each body's own published spending data, matched to the charity by OpenEconomy. 5 public bodies' data is included so far.

• This charity on the Charity Commission register
• Its accounts and annual returns on the register
• 360Giving open grants data
• This charity on OpenEconomy

• OpenCouncil: Cardiff Council's meetings and decisions
• OpenEconomy: Cardiff's economy in figures
• OpenSenedd: the Members of the Senedd for Caerdydd Ffynnon Taf
• OpenSenedd: the Members of the Senedd for Caerdydd Penarth