Play for Wales issue 21

Issue 21

Play for Wales Play news & briefing from the national organisation for play

Summer 2007

All Children Issue

www.playwales.org.uk

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Play for Wales Issue 21 SUMMER 2007 EDITORIAL

Editorial Contents

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Editorial

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Award

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Website News Service

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New Trustees

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Playday

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Afraid to Go Out and Play

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Inclusive Play and Disability Big Lottery

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Play, Pies and Pomegranates

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Children Commissioners Team

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Children in Wales Challenge the Government

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Extra Funding for Play for Disabled Children

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All Children Josie’s Story Buddy Programme

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A Traveller Child’s Story from Belfast 8 The Torfaen Travellers Project

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Play in the Mosque

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Finding the Way to a Sunburst

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Dan Rees-Jones’s Diary

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Playwork: Principles into Practice

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Events

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Funding

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New Publication

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International Play Association

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Play For Wales is published by Play Wales four times a year.

Contact the Editor at: Play Wales, Baltic House, Mount Stuart Square, Cardiff CF10 5FH

“Enabling all children to play, and to play together, is about a benefit to the whole community.”i he recent Children’s Society report highlighting children’s lack of opportunity to play out and make friends made national news. Sadly it wasn’t news for those of us who are all too aware of the encroaching curtailment of children’s and young people’s freedoms and who have campaigned on this issue for many years. It was a timely reminder that we cannot rest and that our work is of huge value to children and to society.

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In this “All Children” issue of Play for Wales we celebrate the diversity of the children of Wales and examine how we can provide quality play opportunities for all of them. The Children’s Society report shows that disability is not just a question of living with an impairment; we can disable any child by providing an unsupportive environment and a negative attitude that prevents them from playing either on their own or with others. We are happy to showcase in this issue play projects in Wales that mean that children who may not ordinarily have the chance to access play provision are being included and having their play needs met as a matter of entitlement. When we say ‘all children’ we mean all children.

We have a new government for Wales and a new Minister with responsibility for children’s play – Carwyn Jones A.M. While decision makers settle into their new roles, we are keen that the political momentum to deliver the Assembly Play Policy Implementation Plan is maintained. The Children’s Society

report tells us that children’s lack of opportunity to play is still an issue of grave concern to children themselves, to professional people working with and for children and to the general public.

Although our efforts to support the provision of more high quality play opportunities have been significant and of benefit, not all the 700,000 children and young people who live in Walesiii have the freedom to play out in their community or to access quality play provision as they need. ‘Play in Wales,’ the Play Policy Implementation Plan, was launched eighteen months ago with high hopes. The Assembly has set itself a timetable to hit the strategy targets but there has been some slippage and we encourage the Assembly to make a renewed commitment to deliver.

We look forward to supporting the new Minister to achieve the high aspirations set by the two previous administrations and Play Wales will continue to undertake the role of “critical friend” to the Assembly Government, advocating for children’s play.

Mike Greenaway Director

Useful Websites http://www.npfa.co.uk/content/prot ect/index.html http://www.cabe.org.uk/default.asp x?contentitemid=41 http://www.playlink.org.uk

Telephone: 029 2048 6050 E-mail: info@playwales.org.uk

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Alison John and Rob Wheway (2004) Can Play, Will Play: disabled children and access to outdoor playgrounds. London: National Playing Fields Association

Registered Charity No. 1068926

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Good Childhood Enquiry www.childrenssociety.org.uk

The views expressed in this newsletter are not necessarily those of Play Wales.

We reserve the right to edit for publication.

We do not endorse any of the products or events advertised in or with this publication.

iii Rhian Croke and Anne Crowley (2006) Righting the Wrongs: The reality of children’s

Designed and printed by Carrick Business Services Ltd. Tel: 029 2074 1150 E-mail: sales@carrickdesignprint.co.uk

rights in Wales. Cardiff, Save the Children,

A heartfelt thank you to everyone who contributed to this magazine – we couldn’t do it without you.

This issue of Play for Wales, as well as previous issues, is available to download from our website news section at www.playwales.org.uk

Play for Wales Issue 21 SUMMER 2007 NEWS

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Award ardiffs’ Children Play Services have recently won a ‘Change and Innovation Award’ for their work providing flatpack wooden play equipment. They are currently assisting the children at Kitchener School build a t-shape climbing wall, nets, platform and monkey bars.

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For more information call Andrew Burrow on 07976 056112

Website News Service The bilingual news service on our website is a useful source of information to all those interested in play in Wales.

The news is updated as it comes in to our Information Team, and features links to relevant sources of further information.

We also give notice of consultations, funding opportunities, events and jobs. Our website is fast becoming a ‘must visit’ resource for play providers in Wales. www.playwales.org.uk

New Trustees We are delighted to welcome Mary Davies, Inclusive Play Co-ordinator for Cardiff Children’s Play Services, as an elected trustee on Play Wales Board nominated by Play Wales members. alcolm King, Manager of The Venture adventure playground in Wrexham, who has served as an appointed trustee for many years, is now also an elected trustee.

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There is still a vacancy for a trustee to be elected by members. If you are a member and you are interested in being nominated for this position please contact us.

Playday – Wednesday 1 August Play England is funded to lead the Playday campaign in consultation with the other UK national play organisations. It is conducting research to support the campaign.

As well as UK-wide opinion polls some more in-depth studies are being conducted, including a consultation with Mount Stuart Primary School in Cardiff. he theme for this year’s Playday is Our streets too! The campaign highlights the need for change, so that children, young people and their families can feel confident about playing in streets near their homes all year round.

The Playday website has been re-launched with lots more information, advice and fun stuff too!

Anyone can organise a Playday event or take part in celebrations. Your Playday doesn’t have to be a huge public occasion, you may prefer to organise a small residents-only street party or celebrate with a group of friends and family.

If you are unable to organise an event visit the Playday website www.playday.org.uk to find out how Playday is being celebrated near you.

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Download advice sheets on organising an event at (produced in English and in Welsh) from the Play Wales website Events page or go to http://www.playday.org.uk/playday_events.aspx

Amy Little, Campaigns Officer, Play England

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Play for Wales Issue 21 SUMMER 2007 NEWS

Afraid to Go Out and Play In a recent survey by Mencap eighty percent of the children and young people with learning disabilities who were questioned said that they were scared to leave their home for fear of being bullied.

Inclusive Play and Disability briefing Play Wales’ briefing sheet Inclusive Play and Disability was published earlier this year. t examines barriers that prevent disabled children from exercising their right to play and how we can overcome them, as well as briefing on the national legal and policy context.

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Download the briefing sheet from the Play section of our website www.playwales.org.uk or send us a large stamped addressed envelope for an A4 size paper copy.

n their experience they were bullied if they went to their local park, school or out of school club.

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A spokesperson for Mencap said “This means that children with a learning disability are missing out on opportunities to learn and make friends, socialise and play.”

Find out more about the Mencap Don’t Stick It campaign at www.dontstickit.org.uk

BIG Lottery The £20 million Healthy Families Initiative is split into two, with £13 million allocated to the Child’s Play Programme and the remaining £7 million to the Way of Life Programme.

Play Wales are contracted to provide BIG with support to deliver the Child’s Play Programme, and Hall Aitken has been awarded the contract to carry out work with the Way of Life Programme. Way of Life is a strategic programme that will test out new ways of promoting healthy eating and activity among children through projects that involve the whole family. This programme is now open to applications.

For more information visit www.biglotteryfund.org.uk

Play, Pies and Pomegranates Food, we all love it, not least of all children (they’re delicious with tomato sauce) but there are so many conflicting agendas and so much differing advice that it can sometimes be difficult know what to do for the best. e felt it was time to give playworkers and play providers support by providing information and guidance from the play and playwork point of view.

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Play Wales has commissioned Brian Cheeseman, retired Senior Lecturer at Leeds Metropolitan University, in collaboration with the nutritionist Avril Aslett-Bentley, to write a briefing paper for playworkers, playwork managers, play development officers, funders, and decision makers to explain our role as play providers and playworkers vis a vis food and eating. There is a strong possibility it will ’custard pie’ some myths and challenge some perceptions and it will definitely help us to make the case for play.

We are expecting the first draft in mid June and it will be available to download from our website or in printed form from either of our offices this summer.

Play for Wales Issue 21 SUMMER 2007 NEWS

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Latest news from the Children’s Commissioner’s team The work of the Children’s Commissioner for Wales’ team continues following Peter Clarke’s death. Among the latest developments are the launch of a new freephone number and a project on play for disabled children and young people. ach year over five hundred children and young people are helped by the Children’s Commissioner’s Advice and Support service. By introducing the freephone and free text services especially for them – as well as a direct email address advice@childcomwales.org.uk – it is hoped that more children and young people will contact the team directly.

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As well as providing information and advice about getting the services they are entitled to, the Commissioner’s team has also empowered and supported young people concerned about a range of different issues, including planning decisions and free play opportunities in their local communities. The freephone service is open weekdays during office hours and is available in English and Welsh (arrangements can also be made for access in other languages).

The new number was launched on 23 May and as part of the promotional work a DVD has been produced. This will be accompanied by a facilitator’s pack which will be sent to all secondary schools in Wales and also made available to other young people’s groups and projects in the autumn. One of the scenarios in the DVD is about restrictions on play.

Each year children and young people have a say in influencing the team’s workplan and two ‘Commissioner’s projects’ have been identified. This year children and young people wanted the Commissioner’s team to look at ways of ‘making learning better’. Under the play and leisure heading children and young people wanted to improve access and opportunities for disabled children and young people to play.

This option got 30% of the vote and there’ll be more details about this in the next Play for Wales.

To find out more about the work of the Children’s Commissioner for Wales visit www.childcomwales.org.uk The Children’s Commissioner for Wales’ freephone number for children and young people is

0808 801 1000 To contact the service by free text use 80800 and start your message with COM.

Children in Wales challenge the Government Children in Wales, the national umbrella body for children’s organisations, has recently published ‘A Wales Fit for Children and Young People 2007’ which sets out recommendations for key Government actions including implementing the Welsh Assembly Government Play Strategy.

Extra Funding for Play for Disabled Children Following the announcement of additional £1million awarded in the Cymorth fund for 2007-2008 for play facilities for disabled children, the Welsh Assembly Government wrote to each Children and Young People’s Partnership in February to request their proposals on how they wished to deploy the additional funds. These additional funds will be distributed as a supplement to Cymorth.

hildren in Wales says “the document challenges politicians to address the overarching issues that our members believe require attention, in order to improve the lives of children and young people living in Wales.”

he proposals are currently being assessed by the Welsh Assembly Government and an announcement will be made shortly.

The document can be downloaded at: www.childreninwales.org.uk/policy/news/7260.html

All partnerships have responded positively regarding the funding and the proposals show a varied and imaginative use of the funds.

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Play for Wales Issue 21 SUMMER 2007 INCLUSION

All Children Every child has the right to play; it is vital to every one of us as we grow up. If we didn’t already know this from our own personal experience, it is enshrined in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and upheld by the Welsh Assembly Government Play Policy.

s play providers and playworkers we have a duty to provide rich and inclusive play experiences for all children.

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When we think about inclusive play we often think first of children who have impairments - who are disabled by the design of the environment they live in and the attitudes of some of the people around them. Yet inclusive play means providing for every child who may be excluded because of their faith, impairments, culture, social background, language, behaviour or need. Here we celebrate the diversity of Wales’ children.

Josie’s Story In her previous post our Development Officer, Sarah Southern, was responsible for developing staffed play provision in Blaenau Gwent. Here she tells the story of Josie. Names have been changed: ast September Heart of the Valleys Integrated Children's Centre began to run after-school open access play sessions.

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In the first couple of weeks we met the family of Josie aged nine - her Mum had been attending a parenting course at the Centre and she brought along her two girls. The younger one, Sue, attended the local mainstream primary school and the elder, Josie, attended the nearest "special" school.

Although her Mum had come along to register Sue, we explained that we

were happy for Josie to attend. She didn't take up the offer at first, although shortly after leaving she returned with Josie, who had made a fuss because she wanted to stay and play with her sister and her friends.

After reassuring her Mum that we were able to "cope" with Josie, she left both her daughters at the play session. Josie and her sister quickly became regular attenders.

Initially, Sue was very protective of Josie and spent a lot of time looking after her. As we became familiar with the sisters we were better able to support their play - and that meant

that Sue was able to play with her friends and the other children without the responsibility of looking after Josie.

Josie needed support from the playworkers to facilitate communication with her non-disabled peers. After a few weeks (and a halfterm holiday) her Mum told us what a "life-line" the play sessions were to the family, providing the girls with a safe place to play out with their local friends, and providing some respite after school and in the holidays.

We had no specialist inclusion playworkers on site. Six months later Josie is still attending.

Play for Wales Issue 21 SUMMER 2007 INCLUSION

Buddy Scheme “We have learnt over the past three years that to provide a truly inclusive service requires effort, enthusiasm, understanding, patience and stamina.” anet Roberts told us about an Inclusive Play initiative in Flintshire in a previous issue of Play for Wales. Here she reports on lessons learnt from a Play Development Officer’s perspective:

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We have found that to effect change our service has needed to adapt. In summary we needed to: • Organise face to face meetings with families to talk ‘openly’ and honestly

This will be the third year that our ‘Buddy Scheme’ operates across the county – that is, the Flintshire Buddy Scheme funded by CYMORTH in partnership with the local authority and local town and community councils, which has provided evidence of ‘good practice’ with regard to effective partnership working and true community cohesion and social inclusion.

• Be prepared to listen to criticism from families and children – based on previous negative experiences! We had to be prepared to ‘take it on the chin’ and ‘move on’

In the early days of CYMORTH funding, the issue of a lack of play opportunities for children with disabilities was raised at a ‘fledgling’ Flintshire Play Forum meeting. In response the Play Unit and playworkers established a relationship with children, families and other professionals and it became essential to build up confidence and understanding in the service that we could provide. After much discussion between partners an out of hours play club was formed. This club has proven to be an invaluable springboard for the provision of play services for disabled children.

• Be prepared to go out of our own ‘comfort zone.’ (We didn’t appreciate that we even had one in play – but apparently we do!) In my own experience we had to overcome the fear of getting it wrong for the child and not meeting the expectations of other professionals

The success of this initial pilot scheme meant the Play Unit were able to plan the Buddy Scheme to be delivered as part of the county-wide Summer Playscheme programme in partnership with local town and community councils.

We deployed playworkers from our existing Play Team to act as Buddies for a small group of disabled children. The success of this pilot project led to the employment in summer 2006 of ten Playscheme Buddies working with twenty three children who attended playschemes in their own locality during the summer.

• Reject the medical model and encourage parent power.

Eliminate the barriers for all children, for instance if there were no toilets available then there were no toilets for any children locally, we simply had to work around it and not see it as an obstacle to success

Buddies are employed as part of a larger play team on site at summer playschemes and provide one to one support (where necessary) for disabled children. An important aspect of the role is the maintenance of contact between parents/carers and the Play Unit. Buddies meet with individual families before the scheme commences and continue to work with them throughout the duration of the playscheme.

For Summer 2007, fifty five children have registered with the Buddy Scheme and twenty Playscheme Buddies have been recruited.

Evaluation of the schemes has provided us with much evidence of both the need and success of each scheme and highlights a small but significant impact.

We wouldn't have been able to achieve this without the help of: Children and young people; parents and carers; Flintshire CYPP; Flintshire CIDS (Children Integrated Disability Service); Ysgol y Bryn, Shotton; Flintshire Local Towns and Community Councils.

• Be ready to accept that the service needed to change • Be honest, up-front, flexible in approach and realistic • Be prepared to go ‘two steps forward and three steps back’

• Keep the message simple! – all children have a right to play locally • Adopt a partnership approach and be prepared to have impassioned debates. We were talking about changing attitudes, about ‘east meeting west’, so we went slowly and worked with people and other professionals at their pace

• As parents or carers we are all on the same ‘continuum of paranoia’ with regard to our children and our reluctance to allow them their freedom and right to play. It was important for us to take an empathetic approach, to recognise that as parents we all have fears, but to gently and firmly push for quality play opportunities • All children have the right but not necessarily the freedom to play. How we enable the play process, especially for those children with the most profound and multiple disabilities, is down to the attitude, resourcefulness and creativity of the adults around them • Remain strong in delivering the message! We can be flexible in how we deliver play, but the message remains the same • Either we believe in the rights of the child or we don’t – it's as simple as that. We can’t ‘water the message down’ to include some and not others, the only difference for some disabled children is the level of support they may need.

There is no place, in my opinion for ‘criteria’ for children’s play, just a need for support, resourcefulness and full and committed partnership working ‘Together we can make a difference’ has never been truer!

Janet Roberts Flintshire Play Development Officer, 01352 702456

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Play for Wales Issue 21 SUMMER 2007 INCLUSION

An International Perspective

A traveller child’s story

from Belfast “No matter what a Traveller do, they won’t be accepted” love being a Traveller. I get to play outside all day long, except for when I have to go to school. The mountain is better than a playground. We have a lot of freedom, me and me mates.

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I’ve been to a lot different schools, all over Ireland, but the one I’m in now in Belfast isn’t bad. There was the one school in Dublin, where my older sister went, with a shower cubicle right in the classroom! Well, it was really a portacabin in the middle of the big school where all the other children from the area went. All the Traveller children went together to the portacabin, except for my cousin, who they said was very bright; she got moved into the big building. But it wasn’t much fun for her because she was told not to mix with us because we’d be a bad influence.

We were the cleanest children in the district, our Ma’s would have scrubbed us till our faces shined ... and then we’d get washed by the teachers. You knew you were different when you got your dinner on different plates than the other kids; we got plastic, you know the kind you throw in the bin after you’ve eaten.

We don’t move around as much these days, there’s very few sites to park the trailer in. The settled people want us to live in houses, but I heard other Travellers who live in houses, say they are not accepted. On the way to school this morning a group of wee girls, my age, shouted in our car window, “Dirty, dirty Travellers.” Me Ma says, “No matter what a Traveller do, they won’t be accepted” and I believe her.

FACTS • Irish Travellers are indigenous people whose roots can be traced back for 100’s of years.

• The life expectancy of Travellers is about 20 years less than for settled people.

• Infant mortality is three times higher than the average population.

• 92% of Travellers have no GCSE’s and there are high levels of illiteracy. There are less opportunities for achieving educational standards and space to study at home is minimal, if at all.

The Torfaen Travellers’ Project Providing play opportunities for all children and young people within their community environment. s professionals within the field of play, we believe that every child and young person has the right to experience safe and stimulating play opportunities within their own community environment.

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With this in mind, over the past year Torfaen Play Service has built up positive links with the traveller’s site at Shepherds Hill, Pontypool. Initially, we started out by providing and supporting two playworkers to work for hourly sessions during the half term holidays to give the children and young people a taste of what we do. By introducing the play sessions on a slow but steady basis it allowed us to build up trust with the community and put across that we were there purely to provide play opportunities and that there were no other hidden agenda.

The positive response has led to weekly outreach opportunities at the site.

Additionally, the playworkers have encouraged two of the site members to become volunteers and help out with the running of the play sessions. This has led to the formation of a summer playscheme at Pontymoile hall which is nearby to the traveller’s site. We are offering training opportunities to give site members over the age of sixteen the opportunity to run their own play provision supported by our play service.

Daily numbers of children and young people involved in the play opportunities have grown to twenty-five attendees on some days. The site has natural surroundings which allows for a wide range of rich and varied play experiences giving the children and young people the

opportunity to embrace the natural environment via the medium of play.

Popular play opportunities provided on the site include parachute games, water fights and den building. This has allowed and inspired the children and young people to experience a variety of play types and engage with the natural elements.

Andrea Sysum, Torfaen Play Service, 01495 740924

Play for Wales Issue 21 SUMMER 2007 INCLUSION

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Play in the Mosque Carmen Thompson, Ethnic Minority Play Development Worker for the City and County of Swansea tells us about a recent project: hroughout the past year I have been establishing my role as Ethnic Minority Play Development Worker with the Children’s Play Team in Swansea.

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Growing numbers of minority ethnic and asylum seeker families currently live in Swansea, but the number of children from these communities participating in local holiday and after school play provision is low compared with other groups within the population. My aim as a Development Worker has been to try to redress the balance and to encourage more children to benefit from the variety of good quality opportunities for play available in their local area.

One project where local black and ethnic minority children were noticeably absent took place in the ethnically diverse and densely populated area of St Helens. After monitoring attendance figures it was evident that although the project had been successful initially in attracting small numbers of children from the local diverse population, it had failed to sustain the interest of this particular group while their peers continued to attend.

Why had the numbers of these children dwindled?

What could I do to try to make future play clubs more inclusive and appeal to a diverse community?

How could I get the message across to this community that the play opportunities available locally were hugely beneficial for their children’s development, their communities, and for community cohesion in general?

These questions led to the launch of a play and consultation project at Swansea Mosque, where we explored ways to engage with children. I made a brief presentation to the Imam, the community leaders, and local muslim children during their evening prayer gathering. I was able to introduce myself, explain my role and promote the benefits of play for individuals and for the community as a whole.

A five week project was launched where ‘play taster’ sessions were delivered at the Mosque, engaging eighty children. In addition to this we carried out consultation work during the sessions. I worked together with a Communities First Development Worker of muslim background. We were able to gather responses from seventy five children living in a number of Swansea’s diverse neighbourhoods, allowing a picture to build up regarding their attendance at play schemes and clubs.

Only a third of the 75 children questioned stated they attended after school clubs, with 13% saying evening clubs clashed with mosque time, and 11% stating their parents did not allow them to attend.

Only 35% of those questioned attended holiday playschemes, with 28% stating a variety of reasons such as a lack of time, being busy, or that they just couldn’t be bothered.

During the taster sessions children became familiar with my Play Team colleagues and me - building up a sense of trust. For many of the children this was perhaps a rare opportunity to play freely and explore play materials and loose parts in a number of different and creative ways. For others it offered the chance to engage in role play, or more active rough and tumble without parental restrictions. For all children this project allowed a snapshot of what might be on offer at local playschemes that are virtually on their doorsteps. Through first hand experience they were able to develop a greater awareness of the value and enjoyment of playing. Older children who had initially told us they were ‘too old’ to use some of the stuff we had brought found themselves immersed in their play and reluctant for the session to end.

Our visits to the mosque stirred up massive excitement amongst the children, leading Muslim parents to pop their heads round the door of our ‘play space’ to meet us and find out more about our work. The Imam helped us to publicise future play schemes and clubs, both with local muslim children and their parents. Further strategies to build up trust were: attending school assemblies;

promoting the message that playschemes are ‘inclusive’; and making myself and my role known to local parents.

Following the play sessions at the mosque, the subsequent playscheme in the St Helens area was promoted as a ‘Community Scheme’ delivered by a partnership of MEWN (Minority Ethnic Women’s Network), the Swansea Tardis team of playworkers and me.

We made advertisement posters depicting children at play that included a wider selection of minority ethnic clip art images so as to reinforce the inclusive message.

Working in partnership with the MEWN Development Worker and playworkers meant that these team members were well known to the muslim children and families and of a similar cultural background.

The numbers of BME children attending this playscheme were higher than those attending the previous play project, with twenty three Asian or muslim children engaged over two days out of a total of seventy nine attending.

So what does the future hold?

Having recently submitted a funding bid to BIG, I am hopeful that many more children from Swansea’s diverse communities will soon have the opportunity to experience all that our play taster sessions have to offer.

My wish and hope is that they find themselves engaged in our mainstream play provision where they can mix with others and make friendships and associations that last outside and beyond what we provide.

Carmen Thompson 01792 635156

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Play for Wales Issue 21 SUMMER 2007 AN INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE – INCLUSION

Finding the way Penny Wilson, Inclusion Worker at Play Association Tower Hamlets tells us of her experience working with disabled children. She is a member of the Scrutiny Group that supported the process compiling the Playwork Principles. he nine year old boy and the playworker arranged all the soft toy animals around the lip of the dry splashpool. Whatever they were doing they were both engrossed in the task.

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To a non-playworker there would seem to be no reason at all why this child was using an inclusive playground and needing support to do so. However the playworker knew that the boy could not manage to be here without support. They have come to know the ‘culture’ of the boy; they know that he has an all consuming passion for mythologies of every sort and that he can’t read. He can be flamboyant and wildly creative and that he is sometimes suicidally depressed. Some days he can be so angry that he becomes violent and other days he can find the poetry to describe a cloudy sky as a grey rainbow.

Sometimes he will make the most splendid junk creations and other days he refuses to eat any food that is not round. Without the dedicated and imaginative application of good enough playworker interventions, this boy could not even tolerate being here in this, the most benign of adventure playgrounds, on a quiet day.

Is this what we think of when we speak of inclusive play?

Probably not. I would guess that the image that springs to mind is that of a child who uses a wheelchair turning up at a site wanting to play with his mates and he can’t get in because no-one got around to widening the doorways.

I recall a young child who played a leading role on the playground where I worked. This was his culture: he was a

strong character and direct in his speech. He was totally blind. He was witty and physically very adept. He had perfect pitch and would improvise incredible music on our elderly piano.

He was third generation out of Jamaica. One day a regular adult visitor to the site instinctively put his hands around the child’s chest and swept him up into the air. The child was furious at this sudden, alarming and unexpected movement and shouted “Oi! I’m blind you know!” A simple truth that hit me when he shouted that phrase was that he was able to tell us how to handle his disability. He might have no idea what it was like to have vision, but he certainly understood what we sighted people needed to be told of his world.

The boy sitting at the edge of the splashpool arranging soft toys would not be able to describe to us what he needed quite so clearly. His needs were many and complex and it would have taken a huge and abstract leap of understanding for him to understand enough of his own complexity to give us any useful information. He could not possibly imagine what it is like to live without his disability so he could not be expected to explain his disability to us.

But he could use words to give us tasters of his world.

I was delighted that the Playwork Principles (2005) did not include the word ‘disability’. They talk instead about ‘all children and young people’ about a ‘professional and ethical framework’ and ‘describe what is unique about play and playwork’. That is enough.

How do we as playworkers discover the internal world of a child who does not talk? In the same way that playworkers discover the internal worlds of all

children at play. We observe, we analyse, we reflect. We use the skills of our craft. It is our job to find an understanding and meet the needs of all children to play.

Play for Wales Issue 21 SUMMER 2007 AN INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE – INCLUSION

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to a Sunburst common wisdom? I have always felt an absolute duffer, humbled at the feet of children with autism as they create their wild and wonderful playing. I would never have learned to rock back and forth beside the trunk of a tree to capture and recapture the joy of seeing a sunburst if I had not seen it done by a child with autism. I could easily have mistaken this for ritualized rocking and dismissed it, but I am a playworker, and we do things differently.

My craft as a playworker requires that I keep up to date with current theory.

For me this means informing myself about differing disabilities. If I want to understand the world perspective of a child with autism, then I can read Dona Williams (Somebody Somewhere, 2004) who can tell me quite clearly about how she perceives the world and how her senses are differently attuned. Through her communications I can understand the intrinsic motivation to see the beauty of the sunburst many times over.

So it is to the playing of the child that we must attend. At one time, when I started in this work, I was told that one of the definitive descriptions of a child with autism was that they did not play.

How on earth did that become

By informing myself about the physical needs of a child who has epilepsy that affects his swallow reflex, I can make sure that when he starts to drown on his food, I know what I need to do to save his life, as happened with Ibrahim. Ibrahim also taught me Islamic respect and care through the loving intervention of his mother. I learned what was comfortable and familiar to him and how to honour his family’s faith. I also learned how to work with a child who is deaf and blind and has little use of his hands and cannot speak and who can bear his weight for only short times with adult support. This child is doubly incontinent and needs the assistance of two playworkers to change a soiled pad.

Does this mean that we are really care workers? not at all. Ibrahim showed us, in these intimate and fun times, that he could arch his back when we needed to slip his clothes or pads under his bum. From this we learned that he understood body contact and that he had power in his back muscles. From his back muscle tone we learned to gauge, as we

supported his walking, when he was interested, or bored or tired. We learned to read his very particular play cues. From then on, his play blossomed because we had found a way to communicate. This child of 10 years, who had never explored his toes as a baby, never seen his mother’s face, began to find his playfulness with us.

Along with many other children we realised how important it was to have a space on the site that was comfortable and quiet and peaceful for him to rest after his playfulness. We saw that other children, once he had found his play, could join him and explore their experiences together with our support. It was a hard job, discovering the play of another person and feeling it physically and emotionally and yet not imposing our own playing upon the child, but we found a way to do it. We learned that a doubly incontinent child who needs help with food and needs to take medication, must have those needs met as a vital part of their environment. If they have had the best play day ever, but are soiled or deprived of their medication, then we lose the trust of the parents who are taking a huge risk to send them to an inclusive setting. Without the children there we cannot play. We must meet their basic needs just as we meet the health and safety requirements of the site.

I will always be evangelical about inclusive play - from the quirkiness of shared playing we learn to understand and enjoy difference.

The boy, nine, and the man move away from the circle of soft toys and on to another play frame. But the toys are taken by other children and travel on new adventures around the site. The game has taken hold and spreads.

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Play for Wales Issue 21 SUMMER 2007 WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

Dan Rees-Jones’s Dairy

‘The Edge of Map Reading’ • The perfect routefinder • The perfect life • What could possibly go wrong?

Name:

Daniel Rees-Jones

Weight:

126lbs (not post Christmas)

Job:

Play Ranger, Coordinator & Course Researcher/Editor

History In December I started in my new role with Playwork Partnerships to research and write a level two course aimed at Play Rangers called ‘Playing on the Range’ with the primary intention of supporting and extending the skills and knowledge of the increasing numbers of playworkers working outside in open access environments. Very quickly I realised not everyone was familiar with the term Play Ranger. So firstly let’s dispel the myth surrounding the title.

The definition (so far) is: “Qualified playworkers who work with children and young people in a local park or public open space to facilitate children’s play.”

They are ‘detached workers’ who can bring equipment and encourage children to make more use of parks and open spaces in their communities. They operate on an ‘open access’ principle, which means that children are free to come and go as they please; there is no charge and no registration is required. Children and young people are encouraged to use the sessions in the way that they choose with freely chosen, self directed play being the key to service provision.

Starting Points With pointers from Richard and Ben at Play Wales, I conducted a tour of existing play ranger/open access type projects all over Wales.

Date: 19th February – An exceptionally good start Location: Adventure Play Site in New Tredegar Ability to follow map directions: 10% effective… got completely lost driving there taking a very scenic 24 mile detour!

Contact: Lisa Williams, Play Co-ordinator GAVO Weather: Horizontal rain with gale force winds Play: Despite extreme conditions children were enjoying what appeared to me like ‘Running The Gauntlet’ from the programme Gladiators with soft play pads, mud and rain.

Result; extremely wet and muddy. Great fun

Date: 23rd February – A deceivingly cold day - mistake to forget hat Location: Fixed equipment play area in Merthyr Tydfil Ability to follow map directions: 95% effective, spending only half an hour getting lost and confused in the local Tesco car park Contact: Sarah Williams, Merthyr Tydfil Play Forum Weather: Cloudy with patchy rain coupled with cold biting winds.

Play: Making hammocks and dens which eventually morphed into one giant leviathan with the aid of a parachute and 20 skipping ropes. “Deep play” sliding games followed.

Date: 7th March – An inspiring day Location: Vale of Glamorgan Council, Civic Offices Barry Ability to follow map directions: 90% effective with only slight detour around docks Contact: Joanne Jones, Play Development Officer, Barry Weather: Sunny and beautiful Play: As the play service was seasonal at this point, we met up and just had a good chat about service provision focusing on the importance and impact on respective communities.

All of this taking place in a very unusual and beautiful Town Hall building in Barry.

Date: 12th March – A nice day for a woodland wander Location: Private forest, in a lay-by near Newbridge, 40 paces from the hedge with the abandoned TV. Ability to follow map directions: 100%! Niks intriguing ‘Treasure Trail’ directions were too playful to get wrong!

Contact: Nik Waller, Play Supply Weather: Beautiful sunny day Play: Building dens and fires in a beautiful private forest with some unbelievably cold swimming in the Wye! Highlight, drinking the sap from a silver birch.

Play for Wales Issue 21 SUMMER 2007 WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT Date: 12th March – Map reading diasaster Location: Drop in and Play, Wrexham Ability to follow map directions: 2% effective. I made it to Wrexham but had to picked up. Poor show.

Contact: Diane Prydden, Wrexham Playschemes Weather: Beautiful sunny day but cold Play: Playing football in the Multi Use Games Area for two hours making me realise how fit I really am (no percentage available at the time of writing) and an amusing game involving three boys, a sand ramp with a wheelbarrow, accompanying tools and short bursts of energy.

Findings On Saturday 5 May the National Orienteering Finals were held

13

in Brecon Beacons; unfortunately I couldn't find them and spent the day in Bristol! Though I have made light of it, these visits are very important in developing a realistic, good practice guide.

It's vital to see the projects on the ground, meet the people involved to find out about and understand the practical realities. Thanks to everyone who shared their venues and their experiences and made my visits such a pleasure. Your valuable contributions will help inform the training course syllabus, a best practice publication as well as adding to an increasing bank of information on the various methods and approaches to ' 'Playing on the Range'. The new publication will be available soon.

Dan Rees-Jones can be contacted on: 07967212151

Playwork: Principles into Practice Interview with a Welsh Speaking P3 Trainer Why is Welsh Playwork training provision important?

language of choice) and for many in Wales this means through the medium of Welsh.

Play opportunities should be available to everybody and that means in Welsh and English. As far as I know there isn’t an opportunity for people to undertake a playwork course in Welsh. The only training that is available is Childcare in the Early years. This is a good course which is aimed at children 0 to 5 years old but playwork is aimed at children 5 to 16 years old. If there are not enough opportunities available in Welsh, people will choose to train in child care instead of playwork and there will not be the same play opportunities available to children through the medium of Welsh.

What do you think this means to playwork and playwork provision through the medium of Welsh?

There is an argument that play is the same thing regardless of the nature of the training but there is a massive difference.

For instance there are no aims or outcomes other than supporting children’s need and right to play in playwork understanding that is a skill in itself!

In order to develop playwork as a profession it is imperative that we have access to playwork training delivered in our language of choice (and children’s

By providing playwork through the medium of Welsh, we are making sure that quality play opportunities are available to more children in Wales. In my opinion provision where playworkers have received quality playwork training in their language of choice will ensure that all children choose what they want to play, when and why they want to play for their own reasons. This will ensure that all playschemes, be they English or Welsh speaking, are working towards the same standards the “Playwork Principles”.

Louisa Addiscott is the Play Training Development Officer for Rhondda Cynon Taf Play Association. Her role is to develop and deliver training opportunities that promote play across the county. She is an experienced playworker, playwork trainer and teacher.

Angharad Wyn Jones, our Information Assistant, is testing out our playwork training. s one that doesn’t have any experience of playwork I didn’t know what to expect before starting the Playwork: Principles into Practice training. Without a doubt, it’s a fun,

A

varied and informative course.

As the course is lively everyone takes part in games and has the chance to co-work in small groups with everyone in the group, which means it isn’t boring and monotonous. It

isn’t a course where you sit down all day listening to the trainers lecture. I have thoroughly enjoyed the experience – I look forward to working at a playscheme during the summer holidays.

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Play for Wales Issue 21 SUMMER 2007 FUNDING AND EVENTS

New Publication

Events 5 – 7 September 2007 24th International Council for Children’s Play World Conference Faculty of Education, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic For more information visit www.ped.muni.cz/iccp/

7 – 9 September 2007 The Beauty of Play: Creativity Stone, Staffordshire Booking forms available from www.ludemos.co.uk

16 – 17 October 2007

The Venture: a case study of an adventure playground Do not be misled! This book is not just about adventure playgrounds it is essential reading for anyone who wants to “future proof” play or community provision. It is small yet perfectly formed and packed with wisdom, experience, photographs and stories. It covers issues such as working within a community, funding, politics, employing staff and much more.

PlayEd – Play and Human Development Meeting Wolverhampton For more details see www.playeducation.com

16 November 2007 Free Range Childhood – the first UK Play Ranger Conference Riveria International Conference Centre, Torquay For more information email mtweed@glos.ac.uk or call 01242 714603

Funding • Lloyds TSB Foundation £1000 to £10,000 grants available for organisations working with disadvantaged people.

More details at www.lloydstsbfoundation.org.uk

• Pathways to Participation Fund £200 bursaries available from Participation Cymru to visit another project anywhere in the UK. For more details visit www.communitiesfirst.info or call the helpline on 0800 587 8898

• The Hilden Charitable Fund Up to £1,000 for summer playschemes that benefit children from refugee and ethnic minority families For more details go to www.hildencharitablefund.org.uk

This is neither a complete history of The Venture nor a biography of the people young and old who have contributed to its success. This is an examination of how The Venture has survived in difficult circumstances for over 30 years. It is about the benefits we gain as human beings in being able to shape our environment - as children and young people, members of a community, playworkers, community workers, managers, funders and politicians.

Fraser Brown, Reader in Playwork at Leeds Metropolitan University, talked to two key people in the playground’s life, Malcolm King, The Venture’s Manager, and Ben Tawil, a playworker who was for five years Assistant Manager before he started work with Play Wales. Fraser has drawn from their conversation a perspective on the history of this provision and how it has remained sustainable and insights into the playwork practice that has made The Venture a place where children and young people want to be.

“The Venture is a gem of a project.” The Guardian, 2002 The Venture: a case study of an adventure playground, costs £7.50 plus packing and postage. All profits from the sale of this book go to the charity Aid for Romanian Children.

Please go to the shop at www.playwales.org.uk to buy online or to download an order form, or contact Kate at Play Wales 029 20 486050.

IPA – International Play Association The right to play is a global issue. Around the world children’s play opportunities are threatened through fear, poverty, war and the widening gap between rich and poor. A global issue needs a global response.

What is IPA? The International Play Association is a worldwide, non-governmental organisation founded in 1961, with members in over fifty countries. IPA is an interdisciplinary organisation bringing together people from all professions working with or for children.

What we do We publish an international magazine ‘Playrights’ twice a year; we organise a World Play Conference every three years; there are regional and national conferences; we have

consultative status with UNICEF; we have representatives at the United Nations in New York and Geneva; there is NewsBrief newsletter for IPA England Wales and Northern Ireland (EWNI) members; IPA World’s play resource centre is based in the UK; we support national campaigns for the child’s right to play; and IPA EWNI organises a range of events for members, encouraging an international approach to the child’s right to play.

World Play Conference The 17th International Play Association World Conference will be held in Hong Kong at the

Polytechnic University between 8 – 11 January 2008.

Join IPA EWNI IPA welcomes you, or your organisation, to join its international network and participate in the promotion of children’s play around the world!

Membership is open to any individual, group or organisation that endorses the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

For more information or to join the IPA visit www.ipa-ewni.org.uk or email David Yearley david.yearley@rospaplaysafety.co.uk