Section 1
Planning for play
Planning is simply the process of adopting a scheme or course of action to achieve our aims and objectives. It involves thinking ahead, anticipating needs and actions, and establishing priorities. Effective planning is dependent on having a clear purpose and a sense of what we want to achieve. When planning, we should always be mindful that we are planning for children’s play – and that play belongs to the children. We plan for children to freely express their play behaviour, not to fulfil our own desire for order and to be in control.
might include, building a new play space, advocacy and marketing.
A good starting point for any playwork project is to think about what it is we are aiming to do. What is the purpose of the provision we are developing? What do we want the outcomes to be? How will we best achieve those outcomes? And how will we know if we are achieving them?
Different types of planning Different circumstances require different approaches to planning and planning can occur over different timescales depending on its purpose. Below are some common types of planning that senior playworkers may find useful: •
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Tactical planning is usually medium or short term and is concerned with how things are done and ensuring that the aims of our strategic plans are met. Examples of tactical planning might include getting the local councillor to be supportive of our cause or re-engaging children with the playwork provision who had become disengaged.
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Contingency planning is identifying and preparing for what could go wrong, for example, having some different opportunities planned if the weather is terrible.
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Recurrent planning refers to regular routine events such as staff meetings, rotas or gathering materials.
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Day-to-day planning involves the immediate preparation of resources for play.
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Project planning refers to a specific project with fixed timescales such as preparing for a special event.
One type of planning we would want to avoid is known as crisis management. This is not really planning in the traditional sense as it involves repeatedly dealing with threats after they have happened. It constantly reacts to situations rather than plans ahead for them.
Long term or strategic planning is concerned with our vision and what we ultimately want to achieve. Examples of long-term planning
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