Annual Review
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03 Chief Executive’s Report 04 Chairperson’s Report 05 Treasurer’s Report 06 Positive PlayGrounds 07 Out of School Hours Learning 08 School Age Childcare Team 08 Pathways to Excellence 08 Finance Team 09 Training Department 09 Skills Active 10 Fit for Play 10 PlayQuest 11 Reclaiming Playspace 12 Playday 14 Who talked to us 14 Extended Schools Team 16 Staff List, Contacts, Sponsors & Funders
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Play is central to children’s lives and an essential ingredient of a happy childhood. Play is children’s culture. It gives me great pleasure to report on the work of PlayBoard over the past year. Once again we have had an extremely busy and highly satisfying year. Finally, after many years of pioneering work to establish the importance of play and play work, 2005 brought the exciting news that the Government were committed to the development of a Play Policy for Northern Ireland. We were thrilled to be invited by the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister to work on this exciting initiative in partnership with NIPPA, the Early Years Agency. The process of policy development overseen by the Office of the Children’s Commissioner (NICCY) and the IDG has been highly informative and enjoyable, and undoubtedly enhanced by the range of partners involved. We eagerly await the imminent launch of Northern Ireland’s inaugural Play Policy. Notwithstanding the significant work associated with the development of the play policy, the Agency continued to lobby and advocate for the play sector and play professionals. We are therefore very excited to be able to expand our work through
investment by the Sports Council for NI in ‘Fit for Play’. Additionally the Big Lottery Award Partner Scheme, announced in June, enables us to advance children’s participation through play. The programme titled the ‘Big Deal’ was officially launched in September. Working in partnership with YouthNet, the Education and Library boards and the Northern Ireland Youth Forum, PlayBoard will deliver ‘Play Quest’, the 0-10 strategic programme.
for children and young people. On a more positive note, a number of significant advances have been made in terms of the review of public administration, the policy shift from Health to Education, and a number of strategy and policy announcements e.g. Fit Futures, Shared Future. We seek to work closely with all stakeholders to advance outcomes for children, families and communities.
In March, the Secretary of State, Peter Hain’s announcement of a priority funding package for Children and Young People was welcome. It was opportune given the disappointing outcome of the PEACE II Extension for children’s services, especially the PlayCare Initiative.
This is a brief synopsis of the agency’s achievements. I would encourage you to explore fully the scope of the agency’s work in this report.
We also welcomed the recently announced 10 year strategy for children and young people – “Our Pledge”. It establishes a favourable outcome focus and policy context for positive change to children’s lives. All associated with the children’s sector have witnessed considerable change and development over the past year. We were all extremely saddened to learn of the untimely death of Nigel Williams, the NI Commissioner
In conclusion, my role at the helm of this dynamic agency over the past year has been extremely rewarding, challenging and, at all times, exciting. I have been inspired and humbled by the intrinsic commitment and optimistic culture of both PlayBoard’s staff team and Board of Directors. I look forward with optimism to another play-full year with all.
Jacqueline O’Loughlin Chief Executive
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Every child has the right to rest and leisure, to engage in play and recreational activities appropriate to the age of the child and to participate freely in cultural life and the arts. That member governments shall respect and promote the right of the child to participate fully in cultural and artistic life and shall encourage the provision of appropriate and equal opportunities for cultural, artistic, recreational and leisure activity. Article 31 of the UN Convention 4
Welcome to our Annual Review, I hope you enjoy looking through it and learning more about what PlayBoard has been up to in the past year. Working for the child’s right to play is PlayBoard’s ‘goal’ and, while this right is enshrined in Article 31 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, the need for children’s play to be promoted, and indeed defended, at a local and national level is becoming increasingly important. Our front cover shows how play has been squeezed out of children’s lives and how they have less space to play in traditional ways outdoors. Obesity in children is on the increase, recently there has been concern about increased reports of depression in younger children and more and more young people are finding it difficult to cope with the pressure of school work and daily life. For many of these children the opportunity to play could provide a simple solution. Play helps children’s fitness and provides a release from pressure and a way of working out the issues they may face. We have been pleased this year to be involved in a number of new projects and initiatives that help us in our goal and this has meant new staff and new challenges. The one thing that quickly binds the team of people in PlayBoard together is their realisation of the importance of play. PlayBoard works to promote play at all levels of society and in the past year has developed and built on a number of key partnerships.
We have been able to promote play from the Government/strategic level by developing a Play Policy for Northern Ireland in partnership with NICCY and NIPPA; we have entered into partnerships at school level with the ‘Positive Playgrounds’ project; and at community level with our ‘Reclaiming Play Space project’. We have also supported Playworkers in encouraging children’s health and well being through the ‘Fit for Play’ Award and many clubs have achieved our ‘Pathways to Playcare’ Quality Assurance mark. Our new ‘Big Deal’ initiative in partnership with Youthnet and the Youth Forum will allow us to work more closely in partnership with those that matter, the children themselves. Harmon Killebrew (a U.S. baseball player) tells this story of how his father used to play with him and his brother in their backyard. His mother would come out and tell them off for tearing up the grass, but his father would always reply, 'We’re not raising grass, we're raising boys.’ There are many games we have won but the trophy won’t be ours until the children’s voices are listened to and their need for play to be taken seriously.
Barbara McIlwrath Chairperson
PlayBoard have had a very successful year in 2006. We have attracted major funding from a variety of sources and for a wide range of exciting play projects – some old, some new. Major new projects in 2006 have been funded by Big Lottery, Department of Health and Social Services, Esmée Fairbairn and Sports Council for Northern Ireland. Attracting such funding is a testament to PlayBoard’s expertise, which is clearly evident in the dedication and enthusiasm of the PlayBoard staff team. I would like to thank each individual who makes PlayBoard the success that is it. Whilst we have been successful in attracting funding for a variety of projects, the Board of Directors seeks to move the Agency to a more secure core funded position. It is a time of great change in Northern Ireland. Like all voluntary agencies, we follow with interest the developments of the Review of Public Administration and local assembly. We will continue to work with our partners and government to ensure that support and funding is made available for play in Northern Ireland. Given the significant role of play for the 0 – 10 age range within the youth sector, we are confident that PlayBoard will continue to play a major role in the Youth Strategy for Northern Ireland. We are optimistic that the current review will bode well for the agency. I would also like to thank Grant Thornton, our auditors, for their hard work and support for the organisation, in particular David Hall, Andrew Ervine and Trevor Blayney. I would also like to say a big thank you to our funders, sponsors and partners. PlayBoard is indebted to you all.
David Raymond Treasurer 5
Positive PlayGrounds Over the past year schools across the province have been bracing themselves for the delivery of Positive PlayGrounds. In January this year the project, which is funded by the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, was launched. The first ten schools to participate in this pilot are now engaging in the exciting programme which aims to improve the play opportunities for children within the school playground. Research this year has indicated that opportunities for playing outside are now limited to around the home for many children. School playgrounds therefore are increasingly the only spaces where children have the opportunity to make friends,
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develop physically and have a good old run-about! The interest and demand for Positive PlayGrounds has been fantastic and PlayBoard are exploring partnerships with other agencies in delivering further training for the school playground environment. This year pilot training was facilitated in four schools on behalf of the Eastern Physical Activity Co-ordination Group. This training highlighted the importance of positive physical activity in the school playground and was very successful. It gave the schools involved ‘food for thought’ and provided remedies for improving their outdoor environment.
Out of School Hours Learning Initiative The Out of School Hours Learning (OOSHL) initiative has come to a close after 3 very successful years. The initiative was funded by the New Opportunities Fund through the Big Lottery. This funding enabled 7 school age childcare projects and their associated primary schools from across Northern Ireland the opportunity to participate in activities which encouraged learning through experiential play. Over 2500 children aged 4 – 11 years benefited from being involved in the initiative. Feedback from participants has been very positive. Children engaged in a range of fun
activities such as drama, guitar lessons, computer clubs, cookery lessons, art clubs, and sporting activities. Feedback identified a number of benefits for the children including increased self confidence and self esteem, a greater awareness of inclusion, and a more positive attitude to learning. High levels of attendance demonstrated the children’s enjoyment of the programme. A detailed evaluation of the OOSHL initiative has been completed and includes a visual DVD which highlights the work undertaken during the last three years. This is available to interested parties upon request.
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Pathways to Excellence PlayBoard are delighted with the progress of ‘Pathways to Excellence’, PlayBoards Quality Assurance Scheme, over the last year. The scheme, which illustrates a commitment to quality within the school age childcare and play sector, can be used as a self assessment quality tool within any play focused setting and two levels of quality can be achieved. Mentoring and ongoing support is available to all those who participate in the scheme. Following a rigorous assessment process, 43 completed portfolios were presented to an external panel in September of this year. All 43 projects were endorsed as Quality Assured and now have their quality kitemark. This brings the number of Quality Assured Projects to a total of 55. Congratulations to all involved. We would like to thank the four childcare partnerships for providing bursaries for projects to avail of the Quality Assurance scheme.
School Age Childcare Team Following an extensive lobbying campaign for sustainability funding, PlayBoard were delighted when the Secretary of State, Sir Peter Hain, announced a priority funding package for children and young people. PlayBoard, on behalf of DHSS&PS Family Policy Unit, are distributing and managing this funding through its School Age Childcare Team. The newly established School Age Childcare Team has a number of key functions in supporting the sector, including: ➺ Acting as an IFB on behalf of DHSS&PS ➺ Carrying out Financial and Monitoring checks
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➺ Supporting the 58 projects receiving funding to achieve conditions and targets through the coordination and delivery of a range of activities and training, including Quality Assurance Award ➺ Providing a support service to funded projects ➺ Establishing a Working Group which will explore the long term future of the sector ➺ Fostering relationships with the Extended Schools Initiative The team looks forward to working in partnership with stakeholders over the next two years.
Board Area
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Eastern Northern Western Southern
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Finance Team Integral to PlayBoard’s operations and service delivery, the Finance Team continue to play a crucial role in supporting internal and external workings for the agency.
£££
This year, Arlene McGeown was appointed Finance & Corporate Services Manager and she was very pleased to welcome Mairead McLaughlin to the team as Finance Assistant in May. The new Finance team have been working tirelessly on implementing new financial systems and procedures which they hope, in turn, will improve financial functions and information provided to the Chief Executive, Board of Directors, Project Managers and indeed, to our members.
Training Department Over the last year PlayBoard has been busy developing and delivering training across the province. Training delivered has included: ➺ Summer Scheme Planning ➺ Play Development Training ➺ Street Games ➺ Addressing Disability ➺ Games Not Names ➺ Child Protection ➺ Financial Monitoring And Management
We are currently developing new resources, some of which will be delivered in the autumn. These include: ➺ Fit for play renewal training (out 2 play II) ➺ Just Play – play training for management committees & parents ➺ Positive Playgrounds ➺ Reclaiming Play Space ➺ Promoting Positive Behaviour ➺ Child Protection - bullying
PlayBoard and
Play in the House of Commons. ‘Quality Training, Quality Play’ is a ten year vision with a five year strategy for the development of playwork education, training and skills across the four Nations.
Ireland’s Implementation Plan which will be used to ensure that the playwork sector is a highly skilled workforce with increased opportunities to participate in appropriate education and training.
PlayBoard is delighted to have been working this year with SkillsActive, the sector skills council for active leisure and learning. SkillsActive works with employers across the Sport and Recreation, Health and Fitness, Playwork, Outdoors and Caravan Industries, to develop the standards that vocational qualifications are based on.
Founded on the child’s right to play, the Strategy aims to improve the quality and range of play experiences and opportunities for children and young people. This will be achieved through the support and development of education, training and qualifications.
The key aims of the strategy are to:
In June this year, (and led by SkillsActive) the first UK Strategy for Playwork Education and Training was launched at the All Party Parliamentary Group on Children’s
Over the last two years, there has been extensive consultation in Northern Ireland on the development of the UK strategy. PlayBoard, SkillsActive’s main partner for play and playwork in Northern Ireland, are now tasked with taking the strategy forward in the form of Northern
➺ Address the increasing demand for quality playwork ➺ Professionalise and up-skill the workforce ➺ Gain recognition of the value of playworkers in the children’s workforce ➺ Increase the supply of skilled playworkers ➺ Support the development of playwork ➺ Promote collaboration across agencies and allied sectors ➺ Attract resources to provide long term support The strategy has five broad objectives with key priorities: 1. Professional Status 2. Education, Training and Qualifications 3. Support for the Sector 4. Cross Sector Working 5. UK Approach
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PlayQuest
Fit for Play Quality Award 2006 The Fit for Play Quality Award is still going strong and is set to continue thanks to a substantial offer of funding from the SportsCouncil NI. Consistent with the Investing for Health Strategy and Fit Futures Policy, PlayBoard believes that by giving children opportunities to enjoy physical and outdoor play, we are supporting the development of children’s physical literacy and are therefore helping prevent rising levels of obesity and health related problems in later life. Fit for Play integrates physical activity and nutrition with the aim of supporting and promoting the development of healthy lifestyles amongst our children. To achieve an award, play projects must complete three training modules – Out 2 Play, Skills4Sport/Top Outdoors and Food 4 Play and provide evidence that they meet a minimum criteria to be deemed Fit for Play. Fit for Play Training and Development Officers continue to be available to assist groups who wish to obtain this award. 10
We were delighted earlier this year when the Big Lottery announced the outcome of their search for an award partner to coordinate and administer their newest fund for children and young people. Youthnet were successful in securing award partner status and will be the Lead partner for the ‘Big Deal’. The ‘Big Deal’ is a new £4 million programme for 0-25 year olds funded through the Big Lottery Fund and was launched on 6th September 2006 in The Black Box, Belfast. PlayBoard will deliver the Play Quest programme which is the 0-10 age specific strategy of the Big Deal. The Northern Ireland Youth Forum and the Education and Library Boards will deliver the 11-16 and 17-25 age specific strategies. Children and young people will be fully supported and involved in the programme’s decision-making and have a real say in how the work is carried out. PlayBoard have a new Play Quest Team, consisting of a project manager and four Playrangers who took up post over the summer. The team will promote participation, fun and creative play opportunities for children across the province. The Big Deal will also run a complementary £1 million small grants programme. The aim is to increase the participation of children and young people and improve their health and well being, increase the achievement and learning, and where possible enhance the wider family and community support for them. Individuals or informal groups of children and young people aged 0 – 25 years can apply for a grant between £500 and £2,500 to support their interests or projects. If you would be interested in taking part in the Play Quest Programme or would like to find out further information about the small grants please contact the Play Quest Team on 028(90)803380 or visit the website www.thebigdealni.com
Reclaiming Playspace ‘Reclaiming Playspace’ was launched in July 05 with the appointment of Louise Tohill Reclaiming Playspace Co-ordinator. The aim of the ‘Reclaiming Playspace’ project is to bring play back to the community and to empower children and young people and the wider community to ‘reclaim’ community spaces for play. The project is based on the concept of mobile play, using a van, staffed by experienced Play Workers. The past year has been an exciting period for the project. We have been working closely with voluntary and community groups to raise awareness of the need for greater play opportunities in local settings. The success of the recent summer project highlighted the need for greater outdoor play. Over the summer, a seven week summer pilot project was run; funded through the Eastern Health and Social Services Physical Activity Coordination group. The project engaged over 200 children and young people, targeting eight different communities. Using a fun Back Pack filled with a host of inexpensive play equipment; traditional street games and fun group activities were used to provide children and young people with quality outdoor play experiences in their own community settings. The summer project was hailed as a huge success. We were delighted recently when funding was secured through the Big Lottery-Active Lifestyle program to ensure continued delivery of the scheme over the next year. Likewise, a vehicle has been donated to the project, which will enable us to be fully mobile to travel throughout the different areas. This donation, from Rent-A-Merc, is gratefully received and will mean so much to the development of the initiative. Through this project it is hoped that children’s outdoor play experiences will be significantly enhanced.
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The first Wednesday every August is designated as National Playday and Oxford Island in Craigavon was once again the location for this year’s PlayBoard PlayDay celebrations.
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Due to the nature of the activities on offer this year, the event was much more participative, enabling the children and young people present to take part in a range of events from face painting, den building and wind sock making through to inclusive games, puppet shows and soccer skills. Although PlayDay is primarily about providing children and young people with a fun filled day, it also serves to highlight the various issues in children and young people’s play. This year’s theme, ‘Play Naturally’, stressed the importance of outdoor play and how play opportunities are essential for children’s health and well-being, including their physical fitness.
The event was the biggest and most successful to date with approximately 1000 children and young people from across Northern Ireland taking part.
PlayBoard advocates the benefits of play, highlighting the importance and impact of free time activities. The Agency strives to improve the quality of, and promote the benefits of, play experiences as well as highlighting the consequences of play deprivation in local communities. There are now serious concerns about children’s health and fitness and increasing levels of childhood obesity. We know that one of the most effective, and the most natural form, of exercise for children is active play. We were delighted and grateful to have organised this year’s event with the assistance of a number of sponsors including PHAB Inclusion Matters, firmus energy, Vi-Sport and also volunteers/displays from Disability Action, World Wildlife Federation, Kevin McVeigh, The Brownlow Sports Trust, The Millennium Centre, Action Cancer and the Fire Service. The combined effort of all of these brilliant organisations made PlayDay ‘06 a very special day where children, young people and adults joined in celebrating the child’s right to play.
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Extended Schools Team Over the past 20 years, PlayBoard as a regional voluntary agency, has developed age specific skills, knowledge and expertise in addressing the play and childcare needs of primary school aged children. We have helped schools open up services for the community through our PlayCare Initiative. We were delighted in March of this year to hear the Secretary of State announce a £61million Children and Young People’s Package, of which a substantial amount would go towards Extended Schools, shaping a new era for schools in Northern Ireland. To assist with the volume of calls and information requests that PlayBoard were receiving from schools and providers on the new Extended Schools Initiative, PlayBoard’s Extended Schools Team was formed earlier this year. The team can help by providing a ‘one-stop shop’ offering assistance with: Training - Workforce Development, Quality Assurance, Sustainability Planning, Feasibility & Business Plans, Funding Advice and Community Audits. Development - Link to existing infrastructure of Out School Projects, Community Consultation, Children’s Consultations Specific Play Programmes - Positive PlayGrounds, Fit for Play, OOSHL Programme, Developing & Establishing new provision, PlayCare and Information & Library Services Consultancy Services - Play Policy, Networking Opportunities, Recruitment & Training, Strategic Planning and Individual Training Packages
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Play For All
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PlayBoard Staff - September 2006 Jacqueline O’Loughlin – Chief Executive Ciara Murray – PA to Chief Executive/Personnel Lisa O’Connor – Administrator Claire Simpson – Receptionist Arlene McGeown – Finance & Corporate Services Manager Mairead McLaughlin – Finance Assistant Angela Stallard – Positive PlayGrounds Project Manager Shauneen McCusker – Play Development Officer, Positive PlayGrounds Eva Kane – Fit for Play Regional Manager Lorraine Murphy – Training & Development Officer, Fit for Play (Eastern) Caroline Kerr – Training & Development Officer, Fit for Play (Northern) Sharon Donnelly – Training & Development Officer, Fit for Play (Southern) Patricia Conway – Training & Development Officer, Fit for Play (Western) Maura Moore – School Age Childcare Project Manager (SAC) Kyra Pauley – Training & Development Officer, School Age Childcare Frances Walsh – Training & Development Officer, School Age Childcare Margaret Deevy – Training & Development Officer, School Age Childcare A.Vacancy – Training & Development Officer, School Age Childcare A.Vacancy – Administrator, School Age Childcare Roisin McCooey – Play Quest Project Manager Fiona Nelson – Play Ranger, PlayQuest Jeanette Keenan – Play Ranger, PlayQuest Julie Holmes – Play Ranger, PlayQuest A.Vacancy – Play Ranger, PlayQuest Louise Tohill – Reclaiming PlaySpace Project Manager A.Vacancy – Play Ranger, Reclaiming PlaySpace A.Vacancy – Play Ranger, Reclaiming PlaySpace Sponsors Vi-Sport, Skills Active, City and Guilds, Playdale, Rent-A-Merc, Firmus energy, Department for Employment and Learning Funders Youth Council for Northern Ireland, Big Lottery, Sports Council NI, Department for Employment and Learning, Eastern Childcare Partnership, Western Area Childcare Partnership, Southern Childcare Partnership, Northern Childcare Partnership, Special European Union Programme for Peace & Reconciliation, Esmée Fairbairn, Eastern Physical Activity Group, Northern Health & Social Services Board, Southern Health & Social Services Board, Eastern Health & Social Services Board, Western Health & Social Services Board, Community Relations Youth Service Scheme (CRYSS), Department of Health and Social Services and Public Safety, Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister (OFMDFM) 16
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