Play for Wales issue 26

Issue 26

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

Autumn 2008

Play in time and space www.playwales.org.uk

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Play for Wales Issue 26 Autumn 2008 EDITORIAL

Contents Editorial News

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Keeping Secrets – in defence of children’s privacy

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In defence of the fence

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Against the fence

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Play in hospitals

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Ty Hafan celebrates Playday

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Playday 2008

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Rhodri Morgan on Playday

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Hooray! Playwork: Principles into Practice (P3) Level 2 is now an accredited qualification...

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Assessment is the word this summer – there’s a lot of it going on!

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Take the Credit

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Foundations of Playwork – a book review

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Olympic Reward

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Skills that work for Wales: A skills and employment strategy 13 Playworkers Forum

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Events

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Farewell to Ben

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Date set for IPA Conference 2011

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Lady Allen of Hurtwood Memorial Trust 2009 Awards

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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 Telephone: 029 2048 6050 E-mail: info@playwales.org.uk Registered Charity No. 1068926 ISSN: 1755 9243 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.

This publication is printed on paper produced from sustainable forests.

Designed and printed by Carrick Tel: 01443 843 520 E-mail: sales@carrickdesignprint.co.uk

Editorial he summer might be a time for rest, relaxation and reflection for some, but not for the play sector – as always play providers have been hard at work making sure children and young people of Wales have great places to play. While children have been on summer holiday, agencies and organisations have been working to make sure that time, space and freedom for all children to play becomes a matter of entitlement set down in law.

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Over the summer we have planned responses to two crucial consultations regarding play and play opportunities: the Welsh Assembly Government’s Taking Action on Child Poverty consultation and the Welsh Assembly Government and BIG Lottery Fund Dormant Accounts Consultation.

The latter consultation on how money should be spent is another opportunity to influence the spending of part of the estimated £10-12 million available in Wales. Naturally we think it should be spent on providing or sustaining quality play opportunities. We urge readers to respond to this consultation making the case for play – we have good evidence that the number and strength of responses from the play sector can make a real difference to how money is allocated.

We welcome the launch at the national Eisteddfod of a new report from the Children’s Commissioner’s Office – A happy talent: disabled children and young people’s access to play in Wales 2007 – a review of local authority strategies and how they provide for play opportunities for disabled children. The weather may not have been the best for playing outdoors but inside the tent during the discussion and debate, the commitment from a number of politicians to bring about change and to question gaps in services was clear and heart-warming.

As noted in the findings of A happy talent, many local authority strategies are still in draft form. We recognise that many are working hard to complete

their strategies and we hope that this review and the potential of a statutory duty being placed on local authorities will help provide drive and direction.

Also in order to make the most of the second round of BIG Lottery Child’s Play programme funding, play projects wishing to apply will need to demonstrate how their work complements play strategies locally.

Those of us who work on this magazine were extremely pleased when earlier this year Play for Wales was mentioned in the House of Lords by Lord “Battling” Barry Jones of Flintshire … it’s so good to know that it is read and found useful, if only by one happy recipient! We hope you will find time to complete the reader evaluation enclosed (or on our website at www.playwales.org.uk) – if only to prove to us that there is more than one reader out there ... but seriously we do have feedback to suggest that Play for Wales is widely read and we want to make sure it is as good as possible.

And finally, ‘No Ball Games’ signs in Newport have been replaced with ‘Play More Here’ signs – congratulations to all those who made this happen.

Wouldn’t it be fantastic to see the same signs in communities all over Wales?

Mike Greenaway Director, Play Wales

IPA Conference 2011 he International Play Association 2011 conference will be held in Cardiff City Hall from Monday 4 July to Friday 8 July 2011 – so pencil it in your diaries please everybody!

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For more details see page 14

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 26 Autumn 2008 NEWS

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Quality in Play A Quality Assurance Scheme is being developed for childcare and play providers in Wales. This long awaited scheme will enable play providers in out of school childcare and open access playschemes to demonstrate the quality of their provision, and raise the standards, so children and young people in Wales have the best possible experiences from attending.

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lybiau Plant Cymru Kids’ Clubs has been awarded the tender from the Welsh Assembly Government to write a quality assurance programme for out of school childcare clubs and open access play provision. The scheme will be tailored to the needs of children and young people in Wales and developed in line with the Play Policy for Wales (2002).

The bilingual scheme will be developed in consultation with children, parents, play and childcare providers, local and central government, Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales (CSSIW) and other key stakeholders. This will ensure that

Playday at the Eisteddfod As part of national Playday celebrations on 6 August we showed our short film Pushing Eddie in the Nettles with Connor at the national Eisteddfod in Cardiff. his was followed by a chaired discussion on children’s access to challenge and adventure in their play.

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The discussion was chaired by Marc Phillips, Director of BBC Children in Need, who was joined on the panel by Louisa Addiscott, a playwork trainer and assessor, and Gareth Jones, from the Children’s Commissioner’s Office. Helen Mary Jones AM also attended and participated in the lively discussion.

it addresses the areas that are vital to recognising the significance and value of play in children’s lives. Wales Quality Centre, Play Wales and Creating Media (a design and media consultant) will all contribute their views in developing the scheme.

During the Autumn, stakeholders will be invited to participate in focus groups. Work on developing the scheme is due to be completed by February 2009.

For more information please contact Jane Burdett on 029 2074 1000 or janeb@clybiauplantcymru.org

Dormant accounts The BIG Lottery Fund and the Welsh Assembly Government have launched a consultation on the expenditure related to dormant accounts funding in Wales. There is an estimated £10–£12 million funding available for Wales – which BIG will be distributing on behalf of the Welsh Assembly Government. his consultation is your opportunity to influence how and where it should be spent.

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The consultation document outlines the broad priorities identified by the Welsh Assembly Government for the fund, (mainly young people and climate change).

We have evidence that responding to consultations can influence decision-making at government level. We are calling on all those with an interest in children’s play to respond to this consultation, making the case for funding play provision in Wales. The consultation is open to anyone to respond and if many of us contribute it represents a real and significant opportunity for us to increase funding.

Closing date for responses: 14 November 2008.

For further information and to respond to the consultation visit: www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/wales

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Play for Wales Issue 26 Autumn 2008 NEWS

New play guidance The Welsh Assembly Government is currently revising Technical Advice Note 16 (TAN 16), that provides technical guidance supplementing Planning Policy Wales (2002).

AN 16 advises on the role of the planning system in making provision for sport and recreational facilities, and open informal spaces, as well as protecting existing facilities and open spaces to meet the diversity of recreational needs in urban and rural areas of Wales.

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The revised TAN will be launched by Jane Davidson, Minister for Environment, Sustainability and Housing, this month.

Fields in Trust’s (FIT) newly published Planning and Design for Outdoor Sport and Play replaces and updates the Six Acre Standard.

Planning and Design for Outdoor Sport and Play continues to uphold the original FIT recommendation that six acres of recreational space is required for every thousand people – a benchmark which has become the accepted industry-wide standard since its inception in the 1930s. It also provides a detailed framework of the issues relating to quantity, quality and accessibility of outdoor facilities for sport and play and

Play for a Change Research The Play for a Change report illustrates the substantial and wide-ranging evidence of the importance of play in the lives of children. lay for a Change is a review of perspectives on play, policy and practice carried out for Play England

by Stuart Lester and Wendy Russell of the University of Gloucestershire. The review complements and updates the review undertaken for the Children’s Play Council in 2001.

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A six page briefing can be downloaded from the resources section of the Play England website – www.playengland.org.uk.

The full report and a sixty page ‘summary’ will be published by the end of September 2008.

the importance of local assessments and standards.

For more information visit: www.npfa.co.uk Play England commissioned the Free Play Network to produce Design for Play: A guide to creating successful play spaces.

The Guide will help those involved in commissioning and designing places for play put play value at the heart of provision.

The Guide shows how to design good play spaces, that can be affordably maintained, and that give children and young people the freedom to play creatively, yet still experience risk, challenge and excitement. The Guide sets out a new approach, tackles some current myths, and aims to challenge providers to think more laterally and creatively about children and young people in the public domain.

The guide is available free of charge. Please order and download from the Play England website: www.playengland.org.uk

Guide to managing risk in play provision Consultants Bernard Spiegal, David Ball and Tim Gill are producing a practical implementation guide to risk management in play space provision. The Guide to Managing Risk in Play Provision has been agreed with the Play Safety Forum (this group brings together UK organisations interested in play safety, including Play Wales) and will be published in the next few months. he guide will encourage an approach to play provision that does not automatically seek the ‘safe’ route but enables play providers to develop and manage challenging and stimulating play provision. Therefore children will be able to experience risk and danger within an informed professional framework that does not conflict with providers’ legal and ethical duty of care.

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This resource will be a ‘how-to’ guide to risk management in play space provision and will include a discussion of the philosophical implications of attempting to challenge risk-averse provision.

The guide will complement the Play Safety Forum’s position statement for all those involved in play provision – Managing Risk in Play Provision which can be downloaded at www.playengland.org.uk

Play for Wales Issue 26 Autumn 2008 NEWS

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Children’s Commissioner’s report At the National Eisteddfod in Cardiff the Children’s Commissioner’s Office launched a new report on disabled children, young people and play. The report: A happy talent: disabled children and young people’s access to play in Wales 2007 is a review of local authority play strategies.

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he report is based on twenty local authorities play strategies, many of which were still in draft form. The findings of the report include: ‘Some strategies make statements that all future play provision should be planned to include the needs of disabled children from the outset, with no reference to plans for improving existing provision. It would appear that making play inclusive of all children is an afterthought rather than being integral to all policy and strategy development… Some of the strategies identify disability as a barrier to accessing play; but, unfortunately, they do not set out clearly how this barrier will be overcome.’

At the launch there was a panel discussion which included Helen Mary Jones AM, who chairs the Children and Young People’s Committee, who said: ‘The Children’s and Young People’s Committee are committed to ensuring that play opportunities improve for all children and young people. We know there are examples of good practice in some parts of Wales, but we are keen to ensure that the gaps between national policy and what happens at grass roots level are addressed. I am keen to make sure that local partnerships become more accountable for how they plan and develop play services for all children.’

The report, and a child friendly version of the report, can be downloaded from the Children’s Commissioner’s website: www.childcomwales.org.uk

Integrated Children’s Centres evaluation research T

services for children and their families. BIG has provided funding for capital projects in all existing ICCs.

As part of the strategy to ensure access to quality childcare for working parents or for parents wishing to undertake education or training, all local authorities in Wales are required to develop at least one ICC to offer

This research will extend over eighteen months, and evaluate the extent to which the Centres’ aims are being achieved, the nature of their activities and their impact, whether and to what extent ICCs are promoting multiagency working, and the effectiveness of management structures at strategic and operational levels.

he National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) has been commissioned by the BIG Lottery Fund (BIG) to evaluate the work of Integrated Children’s Centres (ICCs) in Wales.

Review of Childminding and Daycare Regulations hildminding and daycare for children aged under eight are regulated in Wales under the Children Act 1989. Registration and inspection of these settings is carried out by the Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales (CSSIW). In carrying out these functions, CSSIW must have regard to National Minimum Standards (NMS). There are six sets of such standards, relating respectively to childminding, full daycare, crèches, sessional care, out of school childcare, and open access play.

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As the framework for regulation has been broadly unchanged since April 2002, the Welsh Assembly Government is in the process of letting a contract to carry out a review of the

legislation surrounding the regulation of childminding and daycare regulation in Wales, including National Minimum Standards (NMS).

The intention is to facilitate discussion amongst relevant parties, as to the continued effectiveness of the existing legislation. The successful contractor will prepare a paper outlining the results and proposals on possible changes to the regulatory framework and National Minimum Standards, arising from the stakeholder consultation. This paper could include recommendations, ranging from initial intentions for the use of an Assembly Measure to alter primary legislation, to detailed and more rapid changes including amendment to existing regulations and NMS.

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Play for Wales Issue 26 Autumn 2008 KEEPING SECRETS – IN DEFENCE OF CHILDREN’S PRIVACY

Keeping secrets – in defence of children’s privacy A

bright green path runs the length of a playground’s back wall, draped all over with lowhanging ivy. Dense as the jungle, the path veers around a tree, under another arch, and then bursts out suddenly into a broad clearing. Tall trees stand on three sides and the ground underfoot is stamped down to bare dirt. Bits of cloth swing from the branches above, moving slightly in the damp autumn breeze. In the clearing is a table that was dragged from the main building, with two chairs tucked conversationally alongside. One is turned over, as if a small party was abruptly disbanded.

I returned to this spot at the adventure playground regularly after my first sighting, making careful charts of changes there at the close of every day. I was cataloging evidence of a culture enacted out of sight of adults and out of their control.

Private places offer so much that we consider essential to play, and to childhood. In a world of strident marketing tactics, high pressure academic regimes, endless testing both scholastic and social, as well as ‘helicopter parenting’ and CCTV, genuine privacy is under threat – and more necessary than ever. A place to be voluntarily alone allows the individual child to learn and practice techniques of solitude and independence, to explore the potential of solitude for relaxation, contemplation, refuge and experimentation.

Carl Jung spoke of the private place as a ‘fortress’ for the emerging individual, as a testing ground for techniques of selfhood. More recently the notion of privacy and secrecy has been argued as ‘closely related to the achievement of self-identity and self-esteem’ (R. Bechtel et al, The Handbook of Environmental Psychology, 2002) and associated with ‘independence, personal power and positive autonomy’ (Manen, Max van and Levering, Bas. Childhood’s Secrets: Intimacy, Privacy and the Self Reconsidered, New York Teachers College Press, 1996). Time spent with the self in a place of shelter and safety is central to the individual’s creation of boundaries, and the concurrent sense of one’s own value that is necessary to maintain them with others.

A study of dens or camps made on the fringes of play space demonstrates how the best hiding places are opportunistic,

offering play value in the seeking out and creation of places of privacy. In sneaking to places ‘beneath and behind’ fixed equipment of their worlds, children are practicing skills of subterfuge and secret-keeping as they find, inherit and create new worlds. Children’s private places of community offer the opportunity to build and enact culture, to share information and participate in secret-sharing, illicit consumption, experimentation with language and social strategies. This is the development of a world within playspaces, but also apart from it. Offering children the chance to learn and negotiate all this for themselves, privacy is also one of the most difficult play needs to provide, and to advocate.

The playground itself is a physical and social framing of space, and forms the context for the play within it. Dens and forts are usually tucked away in sub-locations bounded and screened off by trees, hedges and fixed play equipment. Ideally they offer both refuge and vantage point, being able to see without being seen. Loose parts such as furniture and fabric are often included.

How do we create a system of place that provides for, even encourages its own creative subversion? Our observation of hidden areas, the ‘cleaning up’ loose parts from the site at the end of the day; these have direct implications for children’s rights to privacy on site.

Adult fears relating to sex and violence say more about our own anxieties than children’s behaviours. This is for us to come to terms with, because without opportunities to learn and practice techniques of being alone and being alone with others, how are children to become adept social agents? How are they to learn and maintain the boundaries of their growing selves? How to trust, how to be trustworthy, how to be brave in untested company, how to make and keep friends – this is all learned between children when we are not around. The most frightening situations will generally happen when adults are not watching, so how much better it is to provide ‘spots’ of privacy, opportunistic openings for experimentation with privacy, within a structure of sympathetic and responsible adults. This, and our long-standing commitment to children’s rights and needs, is why adults in play are ideally located to advocate also for children’s rights to privacy.

This article was written by Morgan Leichter-Saxby, a US playworker, researcher and consultant working in the UK. She works with a variety of groups to promote free and inclusive play.

Play for Wales Issue 26 Autumn 2008 FENCES AND BUNTING

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In defence of the fence Penny Wilson describes and emphasises the importance of boundaries to preserve children’s play opportunities in an urban area. herever you go in the borough where I work, you see the legacy left by the blitz. In Shadwell every building is grey and blocky. Every space available for play has a sign: ‘No Ball Games’. The homes are not designed with children in mind. Children are surrounded by lines of division which make moving around the borough as difficult as flick-flacking your way through a mesh of laser burglar alarms. Every space excludes children and what is important to them – playing.

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The only spaces where play is permitted are nasty little primary-coloured play areas with tangles of metal inside. In most cases, two rows of railings separate the age groups – older children in one area, younger children in another. To me, this is a way for play equipment manufacturers to sell more equipment – and a way to make sure we are keeping tight control on the children. They are clearly not safe to play together or as part of the community!

So I walk along Cable Street. It feels like walking along a gulley with slabs of rockface on either side, and the constant nagging of the No Ball Games signs. They niggle away at the subconscious culture of the growing and grown community: ‘Playing is wrong – disapprove of play,’ “dis” play whenever you come across it, ‘Play is not cool or acceptable.’

Then I see it. Another fence, another sign of a land grab, but here there are giant cut-outs of giant children drawn and painted by themselves. There are welcome signs that really mean it – they say, ‘You may play here!’ Written large for all to see – these signs celebrate children, rather than oppress or exclude them. And inside this wonderful fence, what treasures for children are hidden in the larger than life sized walk-in button box ...? ... a splash of colour, a riot of noise. The skeleton of a weird funfair or circus, decorated with old road signs and traffic cones, daubed with clumsy paint in tender, witty, quirky touches. This play space signifies a zest for life – not an inane primary coloured ‘Kodak moment’.

‘Roll up children welcome to Glamis Adventure Playground, the environment that compensates for Shadwell!’

take a real risk and dress up in a shimmering ball gown and a red fright wig, make small worlds from tiny toys ... perhaps trying to create a world they understand and desire. The teenage boys drag the crash-mats to a stage and flump down on them – giggling and telling soft stories. The girls enjoy their scarves fluttering behind them as they fly, really fly, through the sky, weightless, on the swing.

Could this happen if the fence was not here to mark out the space? If the fence did not echo the message of the zaney towers – the minarets that call the children to play, shouting out the message that children are welcomed here and their playing is the most important work to be done? Would this space have been used for yet another new housing development? Probably – every other tiny scrap of land is bristling with construction.

New building developments are required by law to accommodate play space for children. Yet we know that the notion of playable space has been so abused by designers and architects that the spaces by wheelie bins and between parked cars are designated children’s space. Talk about spaces of exclusion!

In Shadwell children live in high-rise blocks but are unable to get any feeling of height; they will never have climbed a tree. Here they can scramble up the structures and test their nerves on the ‘raiders of the lost arc’ (sic) bridge as they look down on the roofs of the houses around them. They can feel their own deaths in the pits of their stomachs as they tremble on the edge of anticipation, swinging, knotted seat in hand, before they plummet to earth … almost.

At Glamis Adventure playground the fence holds the environment. It is like a womb, a space for creation, a space that is different from any other. One of the Glamis children (8) said ‘out there on the streets I have to be so cool and hard.

But in here I can just relax and be myself and play.’

They can make fires in the tip. They eat the grapes they grow and have a plot of land to garden if they want. They can

The full version of this article can be downloaded from our website.

I support this fence as bunting, as celebration – as a triumph of sanity over commerce.

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Play for Wales Issue 26 Autumn 2008 FENCES AND BUNTING

Against the fence Nine year old Maria recounts the negative impact fencing play areas has on play opportunities. y family and me live in Wales and we went to London for the weekend in May. When my dad and two brothers went to watch our friend play football, my sister Caitlin and me asked to go to the park. Regent’s Park was nearby. I thought it was big and posh and royal with lots of pretty flowers.

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We liked it there. We explored the bushes and flowers, played leap frog, grabbed blossom and chased the pigeons. Then we found an exciting play area. It looked good because it had sand and bark and loads and Ioads of big play areas.

The only problem was the gate was locked. My mum managed to convince us that maybe there was some work going on, and it was such a big park, maybe we could find another play area.

Caitlin and me played leap frog towards London Zoo. We did find another, even better park, but again it was locked. Mum looked at the opening hours. It was meant to close at 7.30pm, but it was still only 6.30pm. There was no sign of work or repairs in this one either.

I was disappointed, but surprised that I felt like I wanted to climb the fence to go and play. I started climbing and stopped and turned around to ask, ‘Mum you will back me up if I get caught, won’t you?’

‘Yeah, go ahead if you want,’ Mum said, looking around (I think to make sure no one was watching us).

I don’t think she was worried because the sign said it should be open. Maybe the caretaker or whoever was looking after it was on a break. But Caitlin didn’t want to join me because she thought she would get caught.

After a quick run around, a swing and a few slides, I started to feel a bit worried because some people were riding past on their bikes looking at me like they were going to tell someone – so I climbed back out.

We left the park to start to walk back to the hostel.

‘Is Play Wales gonna sort this?,’ I asked Mum. ‘This is England,’ Mum answered.

‘Well I hope your gonna tell Play England!’ my sister said.

Mum said maybe we would write a letter. In the end it was pretty cool because I got to have the whole park to myself and I felt a bit like the queen’s daughter in her garden.

I’m not sure why there is a fence there. It’s like they are trying to stop something. It’s not like anything is going to happen –because it was in the middle of the park way away from the road. I don’t know why there is an opening time on the play area anyway. It’s not like a café or restaurant. The play area should close when the whole park closes. They shouldn’t even have a play area there if they are going to lock it.

Fences and playgrounds in Japan Our friend, Chris Snell, visited Japan earlier this year, he tells us about playground boundaries in Japan. he first thing that strikes you entering a Japanese adventure playground is the lack of a big fence. Most playgrounds are open to the public and many have public paths crossing them. This immediately gives them a feeling of being within the community and not, as is often the case in the UK, a children’s enclave apart from it.

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Coupled with the welcoming attitude of the playworkers to adults visiting the site, the playgrounds have many more parents and other adults on the site than most UK playgrounds. In contrast to a suspicious ‘stranger danger’ attitude to adults, the Japanese play movement places importance on engaging adults as a way of embedding children and play into the community. Indeed playworkers see working with adults as a major part of their role and devote as much time to enabling other adults to facilitate play as they do to working directly with children.

Play for Wales Issue 26 Autumn 2008 FREEDOM, TIME AND SPACE TO PLAY

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Play in hospitals Sue Simpson, a Hospital Play Specialist at University Hospital Wales, explains how play opportunities are facilitated in hospitals.

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lay in hospital is as important to children as play is anywhere else.

The Hospital Play Specialist (HPS) aims to provide as many play opportunities as possible bearing in mind the constraints imposed by hospitalisation. Most hospitals have playrooms on each ward, many of which are accessible to the children throughout the day and evening, children who are mobile can then go to the playroom and choose what they want to play with.

As HPS’ we realise that play can take place anywhere and medical issues and equipment should not be a reason not to play. The HPS has to be adaptable in providing play in hospital especially in restricted settings, for example the x-ray department, traction beds and intensive care units. It is important for us to look past the medical condition and equipment and see the child – often a very scared and frightened child – and use play to alleviate the stress caused for the child, family and staff by a hospital admission.

When a child is restricted to their bed for medical reasons, their bed space then becomes their play space. The HPS must then take play opportunities to the child. The bed might be

transformed into a tent, spaceship, painting space, in fact anything that will encourage the child to play and if only for a short time feel themselves removed from a clinical environment.

Play in hospital can have many interruptions thus restricting the child’s time to play – physio time, ward rounds medication times, and procedures. The HPS will endeavour to encourage play whilst incorporating these times. If a patient needs to go to a different part of the hospital for tests and so forth, the HPS will try to make sure the child can take something with them to play with, in case there is a delay. Toys, books and small equipment can be taken to theatre and many children play whilst waiting to have an anaesthetic.

Time to play can give child patients a sense of freedom, and access to free play time is vitally important as patients have very little control over what happens to them in hospital. The HPS encourages children and other members of staff to play whenever the opportunity arises.

Despite the restrictions imposed on time, space and freedom in a hospital environment, the role of the HPS is to ensure that play continues during an admission and its value is recognised as a therapeutic tool.

Play can reduce the fear and anxiety felt when a child is admitted to hospital, but perhaps the most important thing is that play in hospital can be fun.

Find out more in the Play Places sections at www.playwales.org.uk

Ty^ Hafan celebrates Playday y^ Hafan, the children’s hospice in South Wales, has always provided play and leisure opportunities so the children who stay there can experience fun and enjoyment. To celebrate Playday they held a week of special activities, which involved the children, siblings and the care staff.

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The hospice, which provides respite and palliative, terminal care for children with life-limiting diseases and their families, celebrated this year’s Playday theme of risky play by providing the children with the opportunity to handle reptiles, learn circus skills and stage their own mini Olympics. They also had the chance to chisel wood with a local scout group, and a multisensory room was set up with fibre optics, bubble tubes and lots of different textured objects and food for the children to play with. The snow machine was a firm favourite with the children (like Samuel, pictured) as it gave them an opportunity to experience some of the sensations that we take for granted. ^Hafan is one of the first children’s hospices in the UK Ty to establish its own toy and leisure library. It was opened a year ago and includes specialist equipment to stimulate and encourage children to express themselves through play.

For more information please contact Helen Gillingham, the Outreach Play Practitioner on 029 2053 2200 or hgillingham@tyhafan.org

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Play for Wales Issue 26 Autumn 2008 FREEDOM, TIME AND SPACE TO PLAY

Playday 2008 layday took place on Wednesday 6 August this year. Thousands of children and young people across Wales took part in the celebrations and went out and played at locally organised events.

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This year’s Playday theme was centred on risky play and how children need and want challenge, excitement and uncertainty in play. Some playschemes incorporated this into their activities, in Tredegar Park for example; children were climbing trees, playing in the sand, planting seeds and using tools to saw wood. At a majority of events, children were also given the opportunity to play with water, and to do scrap and junk modelling, digging in the mud, den building and doing some sensory activities too.

Overall the day was a great success, with many tired, but happy children by four o clock in the afternoon. Festivities continued into the evening at the Oval Basin in Cardiff Bay where children were provided with climbing frames, skateboard ramps, drumming, percussion and costume workshops and wall graffiti by Cardiff Council Children’s Play services.

Research released for Playday 2008 which shows children are facing serious restrictions to their opportunities for adventurous play can be accessed at www.playday.org.uk/playday_campaigns/2008 _give_us_a_go/2008_research.aspx

Rhodri Morgan on Playday On Playday, thirteen year old Joe interviewed First Minister Rhodri Morgan in Llanishen Park, Cardiff. oe: This year’s Playday theme is ‘don’t wrap us in bubble wrap’. What do you think of the theme?

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Rhodri: I think it’s a fair point. There’s a tremendous difference now in how careful parents are about kids, there’s no chance of just disappearing out of the house in the morning, after breakfast, and coming back in the evening, as we used to do when we were children.

Joe: Did you know more children my age were treated for repetitive strain injury than broken arms in the past year?

Rhodri: That’s weird isn’t it. There’s play equipment around now that would have been inconceivable when I was your age, about fifty five to sixty years ago. Personal computers, joysticks, playstations and all that was just unimaginable to us. So, obviously we used to be out and about exploring and climbing trees and yes, occassionally having accidents.

On the other hand, we learnt a lot more about how to appreciate risk. Because we were out so much adventurous play was not something you had to organise, it would just be automatic.

Joe: When I was in primary school the teachers and dinner ladies didn’t let us do lots of stuff at playtime.

They always said it was too dangerous and ‘health and safety’ said we couldn’t do it. What can the government do to change this and make play more enjoyable and fun?

Rhodri: Even in my day I can remember there used to be a game we played in the playground which was then banned on the grounds because it was too dangerous, and I’m talking before the 1950s. That’s a long time ago. This is a game called ‘strong horses, weak donkeys’ in which the kids used to line up in a group with the younger kids at the front and us all running along in a line then we used to leap with the smaller kids at the front to see if you could collapse the whole thing. That was risky so that was banned.

Above: Rhodri and Joe under the umbrella

Even in those days there was a health and safety issue about play and some games got banned because they were dangerous for kids’ backs. But in general people didn’t worry so much about health and safety and as a result you learnt to appreciate risk in your own way and therefore it was you the child making the decision not the adults making the decisions for you.

Play for Wales Issue 26 Autumn 2008 WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

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HOORAY! Playwork: Principles into Practice (P3) Level 2 is now an accredited qualification This means that by October over 400 learners in Wales will have completed the course and become qualified Level 2 playworkers. he training is available in Welsh or English. If you want to know more about P3 training please visit the training section of our website or contact Mel Welch on 029 2048 6050 or mel@playwales.org.uk

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Assessment is the word this summer – there’s a lot of it going on!

Learners who completed Playwork: Principles into Practice (P3) last year are being assessed. Learners completing P3 this year are being assessed. nd there’s a team of would-be P3 assessors also being assessed whilst assessing P3 learners. So someone near you is probably undergoing assessment!

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Now P3 has become a qualification, those wishing to gain it have to not just participate in the course, but also complete

a number of reflective accounts, answer questions and be observed by one of our growing assessor team. It’s not too hard or too scary, but it does have to be done properly – we have verifiers checking this is the case.

Apart from the fact that it is a qualification requirement, assessment is really necessary for playwork. We take assessment very seriously because we need to know that P3 training works. We want to see qualified playworkers who can prove they have grasped the basics of the Playwork Principles, so that ultimately we can ensure that those working with children out of school will uphold children’s right to play in the ways they want and need.

Take the credit 2 December 2008 – Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff ake the Credit: the first national playwork skills conference in Wales is a conference organised by Playwork Wales working in partnership with SkillsActive.

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The Deputy Minister for Skills John Griffiths will be officially launching Playwork Wales – the National Centre for Playwork Education and Training. The findings of the Where are you? Ble wyt ti? playwork research survey will be

presented and there will be a variety of workshops to choose from.

This exciting conference is for playwork development officers, executive officers, training providers, further education and higher education staff, playwork and childcare employers, careers information services, playwork managers and workforce development officers.

For further information or to book your place please visit the events section of our website or contact Kate on 029 2048 6050 or mail@playwales.org.uk

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Play for Wales Issue 26 Autumn 2008 WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

Foundations of Playwork – a book review Playworkers today work across very varied environments and must navigate a complicated path that involves balancing theory with practice and personal reflection with public advocacy.

Other notable contributors include Perry Else, Wendy Russell, Stuart Lester, Tim Gill, Mick Conway, Annie Davy, Adrian Voce and Fraser Brown.

Fraser Brown is Reader in Playwork at Leeds Metropolitan University and is perhaps best known as an author including his recent publication The Venture: A case study of an adventure playground published by Play Wales, and for his work with abandoned children in Romania. Chris Taylor is a lecturer, trainer and consultant and significantly for this book, the author of the learning outcomes for the Foundation Degree.

There are too many excellent chapters to name individually but for this reader some of the most thought provoking included Brown’s own critique of the Playwork Principles; Penny Wilson on inclusion; Maureen Palmer on health and safety; Mike Wragg on guerilla playwork; and Adrian Voce on promoting effective play strategies. Although tantalisingly short, each, like a good film trailer, is guaranteed to make you sit up, pay attention and start thinking.

As its title suggests Foundations of Playwork is framed by the curriculum of the Playwork Sector Endorsed Foundation Degree. Its 56 short chapters from 49 different contributors are loosely organised to cover everything from the child at play and the playwork approach to the wider context including legislation, management and research.

Given the nature of such a wide-ranging book it is inevitable that several times you are left wanting more – chapters rarely exceed four pages so a particularly useful addition is the annotated bibliography of selected playwork texts by Anna Kassman-McKerrell. This is certain to be invaluable for anyone looking to broaden and further his or her studies.

Individual chapters use a range of methods including case studies, reflections and critiques and consider playwork in environments from parks to prisons. One refreshing aspect of Foundations of Playwork is that it considers playwork in all four home nations as well as offering insights into playwork in Romania and the US.

It is to the editors’ credit that Foundations of Playwork succeeds in appealing to a wide audience thanks to its accessible style and sheer variety of contributions. This variety is well suited to playwork where, as the authors note, a holistic view of the child is important.

he sheer variety and scope of what playworkers do has seldom been adequately represented in one place but this new publication Foundations of Playwork edited by Brown and Taylor aims to help change all that.

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The contributors, like the materials, represent a diverse range of interests and positions and include many of the leading theorists, practitioners, trainers, advocates and policy makers in the field.

The highlight of the book is surely the central chapter by Brian Sutton Smith, arguably the world’s leading play theorist.

Drawing together various threads, including his seminal work The Ambiguity of Play, it offers an exciting glimpse into the future of playwork theory.

Although generally neutral in tone many contributors speak with impressive honesty and conviction about their thoughts, feelings and experiences. Chapters are clearly structured and comprehensively referenced.

Foundations of Playwork provides a wide-ranging and up to date overview of the playwork sector that convincingly reflects current playwork practice. It succeeds in bringing together many different strands of play and playwork in one volume and will surely be a significant contribution to the literature for many years to come.

Olympic Reward ollowing the Olympics in Beijing gold medal winning cyclist Nicole Cooke returned home to the Vale of Glamorgan to a fantastic welcome. The local play rangers (along with their self build water slide) were part of the celebrations.

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As seen in the photo Nicole was presented with a special medal made of self hardening clay, pasta and peas. We’re sure she will treasure her latest medal!

Play for Wales Issue 26 Autumn 2008 WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

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Skills that work for Wales: A skills and employment strategy The Deputy Minister for Skills recently unveiled a new strategy which outlines how Wales will increase skill levels in the future.

‘Skills That Work for Wales’ is the proposed new five-year strategy and action plan, which will replace the current Skills and Employment Action Plan. he strategy and action plan include new approaches to funding, a more demand-responsive skills and business support service, integrated skills and employment services delivered through partnership between the Assembly Government and Department of Work and Pensions and the transformation of the learning network.

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Within the Strategy, key announcements include the creation of the Wales Employment and Skills Board to provide robust,

credible advice to Welsh Ministers on all issues related to skills, employment and business support.

The Welsh Assembly Government states that the long term skills challenge will only be met if young people are offered better opportunities than previous generations to ensure that children get a good start in life. As a result, the Assembly Government will ensure the best possible start for young people through the introduction of the Foundation Phase. They will also revise the school curriculum and the skills framework for 3-19 year olds; offer a range of applied learning routes for 14-19 year olds within the Welsh Baccalaureate; create options that match the learning styles and interests of students and ensure that students make informed choices around vocational learning.

In an attempt to address the skills and productivity agenda across Wales the Assembly Government will expand the workforce development programme and discretionary funding, especially for leadership and management development, and will introduce a new Sector Priorities Fund to ensure that funding for skills meets the needs of key sectors.

Richard Tobutt, SkillsActive Programme Manager for Wales

Playworkers Forum Scott Rowley, Play Development Officer in Flintshire, shares his experiences of the Playworkers Forum in mid-Wales. ith the development of our first adventure playground in Flintshire, the playworker ‘get together’ seemed the perfect opportunity to gain further knowledge. The location set the tone for the next couple of days – middle of nowhere, back to basics with the luxury of toilet and shower facilities (which was more than what we originally anticipated!)

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The first workshop that I attended was Assessing Quality, which looked at our own childhood experience in play environments, then compared it with what we currently offer to children in the same area. Not only did this make me question certain elements that could be lacking in our current provision, but also look at ways in which we could enhance it in order to afford the most varied play experience possible.

After a good lunch, I attended the Playing with the Elements workshop, which gave delegates the opportunity to get stuck in and to gain new skills. By the end of this session, rafts were made and raced down the river, an ‘A frame’ and zip wire were built and a fire started.

The laid back nature of this residential gave delegates the opportunity to exchange ideas and experiences and was

enhanced by the ‘hands on’ approach to the workshops.

Bands, barbeque and a bonfire – need anymore be said!

On the second day I chose the Structure Building workshop, which gave delegates a free rein to plan and build a structure. As my post is heavily office based, this gave me excellent hands-on experience and especially with our adventure playground being in it’s early stages, it gave me an insight into the different types of tools and approaches that can be used.

This forum is a must for anyone involved in adventure play.

Through the practical emphasis of the event, it enables you to critically assess your current play provision, gain new skills that you wouldn’t normally, as well as sharing good practice with other playworkers across Wales.

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Play for Wales Issue 26 Autumn 2008 EVENTS AND FUNDING

Events 23 October 2008 Quality Assurance Scheme for Out of School childcare and Open Access Play in Wales: All Wales Focus Group The Metropole Hotel, Llandrindod Wells www.clybiauplantcymru.org

Standards and Guidance on Actions within the Play Policy Implementation Plan 7 October, Llandrindod Wells 8 October, Abergele 14 October, Cardiff 15 October, Carmarthen Play2@yorkconsulting.co.uk

2 December 2008 Take the Credit – Playwork Wales and SkillsActive Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff www.playwales.org.uk

Date set for IPA Conference 2011 E

arlier this year we announced that we will be hosting the 2011 International Play Association (IPA) world conference on it’s 50th anniversary. After spending weeks looking for the perfect venue that can accommodate such a large-scale event we have finally chosen Cardiff City Hall and we will have exclusive use of the building for the whole week.

The conference will be held Monday 4 – Friday 8 July 2011.

At the moment we are still in the early stages of planning, but we already have a bank of ideas that will hopefully make this one of the most memorable conferences that the IPA has ever held.

If you are interested in the conference please contact Gill Evans on 029 2048 6050 or info@playwales.org.uk. *For those who are avid social networkers, we have recently set up a group on facebook with regular news updates and informal discussions about the conference.

If you would like to join, please visit www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=25996491058.

Farewell to Ben B

en Tawil, one of our North Wales Play Development Officers, has moved on. Fortunately he hasn’t strayed too far as he has taken the post of Programme Leader on the Play and Playwork degree ^ at Glyndw r University.

Does my bum look big in this?

For the past two and a half years Ben has been instrumental in several projects for Play Wales including the Adventure Playground Forum – only Ben could muster up enough charm to get level-headed people to ‘crash’ in a field in the freezing cold (and enjoy it AND go back for more!). He has provided invaluable support to playwork in North Wales and has been a vital contributor to Play Wales’ Playwork: Principles into Practice (P3) training. The list goes on!

It goes without saying that we’ll all miss him enormously and wish him all the best in his new job.

Lady Allen of Hurtwood Memorial Trust 2009 Awards pplications are invited for the 2009 Lady Allen Awards made to candidates working with children, to travel and broaden their professional experience and apply it to their work. The grants given annually are normally up to £1000.

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Closing date for applications: 15 January 2009 For further information, forms and guidelines please visit www.ladyallentrust.org, or write to Caroline Richards, 89, Thurleigh Road, London SW12 8TY.