The toolkit

This toolkit has been produced to support people and agencies working in crisis situations so that they are better able to understand and support children’s everyday play. It defines situations of crisis as humanitarian, natural and man-made disasters.

The toolkit aims to support everyday, community-based play opportunities for children in crisis situations. It hopes to bring about change at two levels:

•the practical application of children’s right to play for children in situations of crisis • raised awareness of the right to play at a strategic level.

It is designed to: • provide clear and concise information to individuals and organisations working with children and families in situations of crisis • provide practical, step-by-step tools and templates for undertaking work linked to the provision of time, space, permission and materials for play • be easy to print and photocopy so that it can be used to support activities in the field and for training and development.

The toolkit is underpinned by the recognition that children’s play rights have a strong relationship with the UNCRC as a whole, supporting the realisation of all other rights.

The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (2013, para. 8) has said that article 31 serves to enrich the lives of children and is fundamental to:

•the quality of childhood • to children’s entitlement to optimum development • to the promotion of resilience • to the realisation of other rights.