Bring Free Play to Your School

Free to Play: Daily After-school Program for Grade 3 to 6 Students

The Free to Play program is our flagship program; it provides daily after-school programming in 24 schools across Edmonton for Grades 3-6 students. Each school has 25 available spots, and registration is done in collaboration with school staff to help support kids with the highest needs and the least access.

Operating Monday through Friday from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. (1:00 to 6:00 p.m. on early-dismissal Thursdays), the program is built to support the whole child, physically, emotionally, and socially, through active play, caring mentorship, and life skill development. Research shows that without consistent quality programming/mentorship during these “critical hours” after school, vulnerable kids and youth are more likely to fall susceptible to social isolation, physical inactivity, and poorer mental/emotional health outcomes.

Free to Play is intentionally designed to be inclusive, trauma-informed, and culturally responsive, creating a consistent, safe space for students to play, belong, and grow. Kids participating in the program receive at least 60 minutes of daily physical activity, daily snacks, daily social-emotional learning lessons, weekly nutritional literacy lessons, and the opportunity to participate in a variety of special events.

What a “Regular” Free to Play Day Looks Like

“Regular” days are Mon/Tues/Wed/Friday, where the program is delivered directly in schools, allowing students to transition seamlessly from their classrooms into Free to Play. As soon as the bell rings, kids are greeted by two trained staff - a Head Coach and an Assistant Coach – who not only guide the day’s activities but also build meaningful, year-round relationships with participants.

Each day begins with a healthy snack and is followed by a mix of FUN sport-based physical activity that includes non-competitive games in sports such as soccer, basketball, football, and ball hockey. Woven into each physical activity is a social-emotional learning activity that addresses topics such as managing emotions, making friends, resolving conflict, and coping with anxiety—essential life skills for thriving both in and out of the classroom. These activities are built to safely challenge participants while ensuring every child can participate, no matter their abilities.

Thursday Free to Play “Game Days”

Thursdays are a highlight of the program. With early school dismissal, Free to Play offers an extended experience from 1:00 to 6:00 p.m.

As soon as the bell rings, students meet their coaches and hop on a bus that take them to a larger recreation facility/school gym, to participate in a weekly festival. Kids receive a food literacy class covering a topic from our “Food to Play” curriculum, as well as a take-home food hamper filled with ingredients to make the newly learned recipe for themselves or their siblings.

Afterwards, kids participate in a fun tournament, where they meet and play with kids from other schools in the program. Here, they can practice their social-emotional skills and sport skills from the week! The sport for the tournaments rotates weekly between ball hockey, basketball, soccer, and flag football. Thursdays provide kids with new and positive opportunities to learn more about foods, to become familiar with game play, and to build social connections within their communities. At the end of every festival, we celebrate one student from each school as a “Leader of the Week” for their efforts and good work.

Trained, Certified and Experienced Staff

Each Free to Play site is led by two dedicated staff: a Head Coach and an Assistant Coach. These leaders serve as consistent mentors throughout the school year - spending over 400 hours with students - they are a trusted bridge between the school, the students, and their families. Our staff are recruited from the same communities the program serves, helping students see themselves reflected in leadership.

In addition to their lived experience, each staff member receives comprehensive training in areas such as:

• High Five® Healthy Child Development

• Non-Violent Crisis Intervention

• Respect In Sport

• Welcoming All Abilities

• Keeping Girls in Sport

• Indigenous Culture Awareness training, and others.

Free to Play staff are also trained, every week, on our research-backed curriculum, “Sport to Life”. In addition, all leaders have backgrounds in sport, recreation, childcare, childhood development, and/or social work.