Play for Wales issue 22

Issue 22

Play news & briefing from the national organisation for play Autumn 2007

Play for Wales

Playing in the StreetsPlaying in the Streets

www.playwales.org.uk

Editorial We are delighted that the

newly returned WelshAssembly Government Minister forChildren, Education Life LongLearning and Skills, Jane Hutt AM,chose to use Playday to announcethe commitment of funding for aNational Centre for PlayworkEducation and Training to behosted by Play Wales. We wouldlike to welcome her back and tocongratulate her on a title thatputs children first.

This year’s Playday campaignfocused attention on the lack ofopportunity our children have to playin the streets and range within theirown neighbourhood. Readers mayhave listened to BBC Radio Walesinterviews or read the early Augustissue of the Western Mail whose frontpage called for action so thatchildren can play safely outside theirhomes.

It is easy to look back with rose tintednostalgia and to disparage today’schildren for spending too much timeindoors, inactive, in front of a screen.Yet the percieved barriers to theirplaying out seem to grow higher andhigher, the marketing of electronicgames is more and more seductiveand the temptation for us adults to usethem and the TV as a childminder is anall too convenient alternative toaddressing the real problem, that as aresult of the predominance of fast carson the roads our children do not feelsafe. Over the past 50 years thephysical environment has changedimmeasurably and as a result of themassive increase in numbers and thespeed of cars it is far less play friendly.

This Playday campaign is not just a oneday play event, but also about workingtowards a sustained environmentalchange. In a response to a JosephRowntree Foundation survey into whatpeople see as social evils I identifiedthe way we have allowed ourenchantment with the car to dominateplanning and development to thedetriment of children as the worst. Theway we (and I include myself) as roadtransport owners and drivers are givena disproportionate benefit in theplanning of the transport system andthe design of communities. In myopinion this is the single most influentialfeature of modern society that has hada profoundly negative impact uponthe opportunity for children to play out.Evidence shows that the only feature ofchildren’s lives that causes them to beless safe than in previous generations isas a result of increased traffic andtraffic speed. Furthermore the valueplaced by us as owners upon our carsand their paintwork ensures we live inan environment where even whenstationary cars are afforded morevalue than children.

As car owners and drivers we all have aresponsibility to change our drivinghabits in areas where children mightplay. This problem will not go away andwe are part of it. We need to examineour own car use and dependency onmotor transport. We can ask ourselveswhat changes can we make in ourlives so that children can play out moresafely. As a Chinese proverb says,

“The journey of a thousand miles startswith a single step.”

Mike GreenawayDirector

Contents pageEditorial 2

National centre for Playwork in Wales 3

Unclaimed Assets 3

Cheaper Insurance 3

New Minister for Children 3

Bridging the Policy Gap 3

Play Inclusive Update 4

Safe Routes in communities Schemes 4

New Manual for Streets 4

New Treasure in Carmarthen 4

OBE for an APC 5

Disabled Children Matter 5

Cardiff Blues back play out safely 5

Where would we be without scuffed knees? 6

Home Zones 7

Playday 8

Going out to play 10

Tips for supporting children toplay out confidently 11

Dan Rees-Jones’s Diary 12

Community take the reigns 13

New Centre for Playwork Education and Training in Wales 14

Welsh Playwork Training 15

Play Learn and Grow 15

Events and Funding 16

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: [email protected]: 1755 9235

Registered Charity No. 1068926

The views expressed in this newsletter arenot necessarily those of Play Wales. We reserve the right to edit for publication.We do not endorse any of the products orevents advertised in or with this publication.This publication is printed on paperproduced from sustainable forests.

Designed and printed by Carrick Business Services Ltd. Tel: 01443 843 520 E-mail: [email protected]

Play for Wales Issue 22 AUTUMN 2007EDITORIAL

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

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

Visit www.playwales.org.uk

for up to date news and information

National Centre for PlayworkEducation and Training in Wales

For more on the National Training Centre go to page 14.

The Welsh Assembly Government is funding Play Wales to undertake thedevelopment of a National Centre for Playwork Education and Training in Wales.Over the next three years the Centre will support the playwork sector to deliverquality services to children.

Money in dormant bank and buildingsociety accounts is to be distributedto good causes through the BIG Lottery Fund.

In May 2007 the Economic Secretary to theTreasury, Ed Balls, and the Minister for the Third

Sector, Ed Miliband, jointly launched a secondconsultation document on the development of a UKunclaimed assets scheme.

Play Wales’ draft response recommended that “these‘unclaimed asset’ funds offer a unique opportunity ofnew money for the development and support of playprovision for children in their own communities. Thiswould support contextual changes as described inthe Play Policy Implementation Plan and strategicfocus and capacity building funded by the BIGLottery Child’s Play Programme”.

Play for Wales Issue 22 AUTUMN 2007NEWS

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Unclaimed Assets

New Minister for Children Bridging the Policy GapPlay Wales was thrilledto welcome Jane Huttas the new Minister forChildren, Education,Lifelong Learning andSkills.

This isn't the first time Jane Hutt has beenresponsible for children's play on a nationallevel. In 2002 she oversaw the adoption of ournational play policy.

CheaperInsuranceWe were very pleased to receive this letter fromPlay Right, the play association for Swansea andNeath/Port Talbot:

Dear Editor

As an independent local play organisation we have, likemany others, found the cost of insuring our adventureplayground to be very expensive. But we want to alertPlay for Wales readers to our recent good fortune: byshopping around, we managed to cut our premium foradventure playground insurance by seventy five percent! Our new insurers charge us a quarter of what theprevious ones did.

We are happy to pass on the details to other playproviders who can ring us on 01792 794884 or [email protected]

Helen Elton, Director, Play Right

The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister in co-operation with the City and County of Swansea, is

undertaking a peer review of The Children’s PlayStrategy for Swansea.

Individuals from government organisations, communitygroups and those whose lives have been impacted bythe Strategy were invited to a two day event in mid-September. The purpose was to evaluate the successof the policy, and to decide whether lessons can betransferred to other policies targeting social exclusionand poverty in the UK.

For further information please contact Karen Grunhuton 01792 637404 or [email protected]


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New Manual forStreets in Englandand WalesThe Department for Transport, and the Department for

Communities and Local Government (DCLG) withsupport from the Commission for Architecture and theBuilt Environment (CABE) have developed a newpublication ‘Manual for Streets’; A guide to the “design,construction, adoption and maintenance of new streetswhose aim is to deliver streets, that help strengthencommunities, are pleasant and attractive, are costeffective to construct and maintain and are safe” (TheManual for Streets: Evidence and Research – TRL 2007).

To download a copy of the reportwww.dft.gov.uk/pgr/sustainable/manforstreets/

Some of you may remember P.inc as a project of TheYard adventure playground in Edinburgh. Play Scotlandwill develop P.inc as part of a training and supportprogramme.

The latest P.inc resource is also available from PlayScotland. ‘People play together more’ was launched byKathleen Marshall, Scotland’s Commissioner for Childrenand Young People in March. It contains lots of practicaladvice on facilitating the play of children of all abilities,including:

• cheap and interesting play resources

• ways of setting up for play indoors and outdoors

• tailoring opportunities to meet individual needs

• techniques to support children to play together

• tools for consulting children

More information is available online, along with the PDFto download of a P.inc research report, which exploresthe links between friendship, inclusion and play -www.playscotland.org (under ‘what we do’ then ‘training’).Or contact Susan McIntyre, the Development Coordinatorat Play Scotland on 0131 440 9070 [email protected]

The innovative project Play Inclusive,or P.inc for short, moved to PlayScotland in May this year.

Play Inclusive update Publication on supporting play

Safe Routes incommunitiesSchemes

New Treasure inCarmarthen

The Welsh Assembly Government areinviting Local Authorities to bid forfunding for New Safe Routes inCommunities Schemes.

This has developed out of the Safe Routes to Schoolsinitiative and the main focus of this new programme will

continue to be on schools, because in most cases they arelocated at the heart of communities.

It will also encourage the development of safe walking andcycling routes which provide links within communities to otherkey facilities, such as leisure centres and parks.

The deadline for bids is 26th October 2007. For furtherinformation please contact the Transport Planning Unit of theWelsh Assembly Government.

Contact details for road safety officers in each local authoritycan be found at:

www.roadsafetywales.co.uk/contacts/

Drawn together by a deepconcern for the environment,

a passion for creativity and play,and a belief that waste could beturned to good use, a handful ofpeople living in and aroundDrefach Felindre, Carmarthenshire have kept a dreamalive since 1993 and turned it into reality.

Trysordy Treasure House is a new scrapstore opening on thefirst day of the Autumn half term (Saturday 27 October) andcreative recycling courses started in mid-September.

Based on the outskirts of Carmarthen the scrapstore hasbeen set up to serve communities in Carmarthenshire,Pembrokeshire and Ceredigion. Trysordy Treasure Houseoffers low cost, clean, safe waste materials donated byindustrial manufacturers together with equipment for hire,training and meeting rooms for hire and advice,information and training. It is a not for profit, membershiporganisation, open to any individual, family or group.

Find out more at www.trysordy.org.uk or telephone01267 231980


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Disabled Children MatterWales CampaignDisabled Children Matter is a newCampaign set up in Wales to mirror theEvery Disabled Child MattersCampaign in England. It is being runby a steering group of fourorganisations – Children in Wales,Contact a Family Wales, LearningDisability Wales and MENCAP Cymru.

The Disabled Children Matter Wales Campaign will push fordisabled children and their families to have access to:

• The right information at the right time

• A real choice of quality education

• The health services they need to live an ordinary life

• Full access to play and leisure activities

• A say in planning the services they receive

• Full access to community facilities

• Enough money to live on

You can sign up to the campaign at www.dcmw.org.uk

Cardiff Bluesback campaignfor children toplay out safely

You can imagine Jo Jones’ dismay at having to get ‘upclose’ to members of the Cardiff Blues Rugby team at a

recent photo shoot to promote Vale of Glamorgan’s “OurStreets Too” campaign, but she battled on (as all goodplay development officers should).

The campaign was run in conjunction with the Vale Council’sarts development, highways and road safety teams tohighlight the need for drivers to slow down, particularly overthe school holidays as more children play out and about.

Blues Forward Mark Lewis said “We are keen to lead byexample – its important to drive responsibly and take thenecessary care with safety at the forefront. Our Rugby teamacknowledges that local streets may be busier than usualwith children playing over the holidays”.

The campaign was launched during the run-up to Playdaywhich was marked in the Vale with a special event in CentralPark in Barry.

Jo Jones said “Children should benefit from being able to playin streets near their homes all year round – whether this involvesbikes, roller skates, designated areas for ball games,hopscotch, skipping or just experiencing a different world awayfrom the television. Whatever their choice, play should aid theirpersonal development, be great fun and ultimately, safe.”

Figures released recently in an ICM survey commissioned byPlay England for Playday 2007 showed that both childrenand adults considered traffic to be the main factor that stopschildren and young people playing or spending time in thestreets or areas near their home.

Vale Council Member for Leisure and Tourism, Councillor GwynJohn said: “Playing in the streets helps children to get more freshair, freedom, exercise and safety knowledge by learning aboutthe world around them and how to become active youngmembers of the community. The biggest barrier to childrenplaying in their local streets is traffic, but by working together toraise awareness we can all help to improve safety locally.”

Malcolm King who is an elected trusteeon Play Wales’ Board has beenawarded an OBE for his services tochildren and young people.

Malcolm, the manager of The Venture AdventurePlayground in Wrexham said:

"Although I have mixed feelings about the honourssystem, I was very pleased to be awarded the OBE. Iwas pretty chuffed for myself but it is also recognition ofall the other people who have been involved over theyears. The Venture is a unique place and I like to feel Ihave had a helping hand in lots of different things inCaia Park."

OBE for an APC(Adventure Playground Champion)

Where would we bewithout scuffed knees?Alex Allen, Sustrans’ DIY Streets Senior Project Officer reports on a new initiative

Play for Wales Issue 22 AUTUMN 2007PLAYING OUT

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We learn a lot as children – we figureout how the world around us actuallyworks and then we play in it.

Play is how young people develop; they learn how to dothings the right way, or the wrong way, and how to

overcome their fears.

Scuffing our knees is how we learnt through play when we wereyoung but unfortunately many parents do not feel comfortableletting their children play outside these days. So what positive stepsare being made in Wales to encourage more play outdoors?What is being done to ensure young people stay active, breathefresh air and have fun outside?

Sustrans, the leading sustainable transport charity, believe that playis vital to children’s happiness and that the environment we live incan really make a difference to parents’ safety concerns and tochildren’s enjoyment of their neighbourhoods. Sustrans’ mostrecent project is aiming to encourage more outside play byhelping residents in ten UK streets re-design their own roadsaffordably in order to make them safer and more attractiveplaces to live. One of the ten streets will be in North Grangetown inCardiff (supported by Cardiff Council) with a second street in SouthWales also being considered.

So what is DIY Streets all about? DIY Streets are essentially people-friendly streets, aiming to put pedestrians and cyclists on an equalfooting with car drivers – innovative design will encourage cars totravel at no more than walking pace.

It will pilot a fresh approach to street redevelopment, with theemphasis on streets as social spaces. Particular inspirationcomes from the original Dutch design of home zones, whichtackled problems associated with traffic, but these provedexpensive in UK pilots.

By working closely with local authorities and applying acommunity-led design approach, we will help residents todevelop low-cost solutions to the traffic issues in their streets,using simple methods and materials. The project is partfunded through a grant from the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation,with local funding expected to come from councils, housingassociations and regeneration bodies.

Being led by residents is integral to the success of the projectbecause in addition to putting in traffic calming measures andmaking the streets greener with planting, they also seek toencourage people to interact with one another. Whether this takesthe form of throwing a street party, providing outdoor seating forsocialising or simply lowering traffic speeds and levels to allowchildren to once again play in the street, the entire design processis geared towards making the street a valued social space.

Because accurately gauging the residents’ aspirations for their streeton a personal level is extremely important, in-depth evaluation willtake place before and after the project to find out exactly whichdesign best suits the residents. DIY Streets will also use Commision forArchitecture and the Built Environment new Spaceshaper evaluationtool which brings together practitioners and users in a facilitatedworkshop to discuss how a public space works.

Although making the streets safe and suitable for children’s play isa central aim of DIY Streets, bringing back street play is not assimple as solely providing an environment for play; there is also theneed to address the way people currently perceive their streets.Research shows the majority of parents regard streets as unsafe forchildren both from traffic and ‘stranger danger’ and thereforekeep children indoors.

DIY Streets hopes to address these issues by working in partnershipwith residents to change the way they see their street from car-dominated to people-centred and play-friendly. Blurringboundaries, increasing roadside activity or adding an element ofuncertainty are all methods which have proven successful and willbe trialled in DIY Streets.

The first DIY Street to get underway is Penn Street in Manchesterand from day one it has proved to be very much centred on play.Four children attended the first resident’s meeting held in July tovoice their views and express their interest. Seeing what the projectcould mean for them was obviously important – they were burstingwith ideas to share on how to establish people as the priority, andnot cars. One idea that received vocal support was turning theirentire street into a football pitch!

Work will begin in the North Grangetown area of Cardiff in the nextfew weeks.

www.sustrans.org.ukwww.cabe.org.uk


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The Transport Act 2000makes provision for LocalAuthorities to designateHome Zones and QuietLanes in their areaLocal Authorities can now implement"use orders" which allow roads to beused for "purposes other than passage"allowing local residents to define howthey want to use their streets. Similarlythe Regulations allow Authorities tointroduce "speed orders" to set anadvisory (lower) speed – 20mph or less.

Commentary on Legal Framework inEngland and Wales

Clause (1) of Section 268 permits localtraffic authorities in England and Wales todesignate any street or streets as a HomeZone, without restriction. A home zonecan be designated through a CouncilResolution (eg via a report to Members orExecutive Officers). Designation should bein place before work starts and beforesigns can be erected. However, this initself does not change the legal use ofthe highway within Home Zones. This isaccomplished via Clause (2), whichenables the Welsh Assembly to bringforward regulations, which authorise localauthorities to make “Use Orders” and“Speed Orders” for designated HomeZones. The Use Order, defined in Clause(3), is the most significant new power as itpermits activities other than the passageof vehicles to take place legally onstreets. The accompanying notes to theAct define these activities as children’splay and other social functions. Clause(4) of Section 268 notes that it is notpermissible for anyone to obstruct thestreet or to deny access to premises, andthe movement and access function ofthe highway must be retained. Thismeans that any use of the street must bereasonable and that there is no priorityindicated between pedestrians orvehicles. The intention of the legislativeframework is to create streets wheredrivers no longer have the right to expectpeople, including children, to relinquish

priority to vehicles. The Institute ofHighway Incorporated Engineers (IHIE)Guidelines propose the adoption of a10mph target design speed withinHome Zones, which is consistent withpractice elsewhere in Europe.

Further readingHome Zone Design Guidelines

The IHIE Guidelines published in June2002 provide practical advice on goodpractice to designers and others involvedin planning, designing or approvingHome Zones in the UK. Please visit

www.homezones.org.uk/public/guidance/index.cfm

Home Zones: Challenging the Futureof our Streets

This document aims to disseminategood practice in Home Zone designand scheme development, drawing onexperience from the Home ZonesChallenge. It complements designguidance already published. Please visit

www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/sustainable/homezones/cfos/

Manual for Streets provides guidance forpractitioners involved in the planning,design, provision and approval of newresidential streets, and modifications toexisting ones. It aims to increase thequality of life through good design whichcreates more people-orientated streets.

www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/sustainable/manforstreets/

Living with risk: promoting betterpublic space design – Commision forArchitecture and the Built Environment

How is this reaction to health and safetyconcerns affecting the quality of ourstreets, parks and squares? Is it creatingan environment in which encouragingdesign innovation and risk-taking isbecoming harder? Living with riskexplores these questions, canvassing theviews of national organisations andexamining 10 recent schemes toimprove public spaces.

www.cabe.org.uk/default.aspx?contentitemid=1932

www.homezones.org.uk

Home Zones Legislation and Policy in Wales


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Around Wales on 1 August a number ofPlayday celebrations provided a funtime for children as well as highlightingthe need for action within communitiesand from decision makers to supportchildren’s need and wish to play out in amore child friendly environment...

CardiffIn partnership with Playbus, Re-create held its fourth PlaydayCelebration at Britannia Park in Cardiff Bay round the corner fromthe Welsh Assembly Senedd building. Over 120 children took partin scrap workshops, cardboard castle building, skipping andskateboarding and the day was a resounding success. There wasalso a visit from Minister for Children, Jane Hutt, AM, whodescribed things she liked doing when she was a child:

“I used to like playing in the streets but of course there were farfewer cars around then. I also loved climbing trees and I haveto say I don’t see many children climbing trees these days. Thebiggest thing I remember is dressing up and making dens bothinside and outside the house and of course lots of mud pies”.

Comments written by the children on the day were:

• “It was great, it was all diffrent miterial I liked it.”

• “Its santasic.”

• “It’s really good thers other kind of miterlas its good toreciete it” ( Re-create is a play resource centre thatcollects materials from business & industry & re-cycles it,all scrap materials on the day were recycled).

Cardiff Play Services also held successful Playday eventsacross Cardiff.

Neath Port Talbot

“Play Works..!” hosted three successful events. In Fairylandover 100 people were involved, - residents and their familiesas well as local councillors. Discussions with the children ofSandfields showed they felt unsafe playing in their own streetsdue to worries about heavy traffic. So, they decided toaddress these concerns in the form of a fun day. The childrenplayed cricket, bowling with plastic bottles, kerbsie and otherstreet games. In Resolven, children and parents highlightedconcerns about the route from the park area to the schoolfield where play sessions are held. So footprints were paintedon the pavement to mark a safe path to the play sessions,and the route was walked on Playday. Local residents andchildren were joined on the walk by the play team, roadsafety team, staff and children from the local IntegratedChildren’s Centre and the Mayor and Mayoress. This wasfollowed by a celebration in the school field with a number ofgames and activities including a waterslide.

Wrexham

To celebrate Playday inWrexham organisationsinvolved in children’s playfrom across the Boroughcame together to reclaimQueen’s Square andRhosddu Road in the towncentre. Playworkers, youthworkers, early year’s staff,children and adults alldescended on the area andtogether helped to createone big open access playenvironment.

Throughout the day childrencould be found playing in the cardboard box fort; shootinghoops on the basketball court; painting banners; banging nailsinto wood; mending and riding bikes; chalking on the pavingslabs; building dens; kicking a football around; bouncing onspace hoppers; playing old style street games and just aboutanything else you can do in the street with little money andlots of imagination!

Highlights of the dayincluded making fires onthe grass in front of theCouncil offices, communitypolice officers playing andthe Lead Member of theCouncil getting messy withthe gloop!

Mike Barclay, the recentlyappointed PlayDevelopment Officer forWrexham said “Thanks toeveryone who supportedand got involved in theevent. It was great to seesuch a wide range of agesall having a good timeplaying in a very publicplace”.

Playday


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Caerphilly

Lisa Williams and Nicky Heggartyof Gwent Association of VoluntaryOrganisations were responsiblefor a hugely successful Playdayevent near the Adventure Playsite in New Tredegar. They werealso visited by Jane Hutt on hertour of Playday events.

Merthyr Tydfil

They celebrated the day in Merthyr Tydfil with four largecommunity events in Trefechan, Gellideg, Penydarren andBedlinog organised by Trefechan and Bedlinog CommunitiesFirst, Gellideg Foundation Group in partnership with MerthyrTydfil Play Forum. They were all a huge success with parentsand residents taking part and playing with their children. SarahWilliams of Merthyr Tydfil Play Forum was delighted with how theday went: “It was a fun day for all and thanks goes out to allinvolved for their hard work and commitment in promoting playand its importance to all children”.


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Play England’s research in both England and Wales forPlayday 2007 highlighted the anxieties felt by adults when

talking about children playing out:

“The three most talked about issues were (perceived risk) ofpaedophiles, youth violence and traffic. These were all seenas being the biggest problems either preventing (younger)children from playing in the streets (and surrounding areas) orpreventing parents from allowing children to play outunsupervised.”

Although all the adult respondents saw play in a positive light theystill felt that there were “numerous barriers” preventing childrenplaying out today. This echoes the findings of the GoodChildhood enquiry published earlier this year.

In a report published for Playday entitled ‘Word on the Street’ onesecondary school aged girl explained how the negativeperception of children and young people on the street impactedon her confidence:

“... on the news ... they never talk about how good peopleare. The majority of us our age are good ... everything thatgets on the news is about teenagers vandalising and doingloads of bad stuff, so we’ve been labeled, like thugs, andwe’re not.”

The perception that children who play out are anti-social and thattheir parents or carers are neglectful has pervaded both themedia and messages from the UK government for a long time.This influences people within our communities and undermines theconfidence of families whose children have a right and a need toplay out.

In ‘Word on the Street’ it was apparent that children and youngpeople’s own fears were also a barrier. “All the groups that wespoke to expressed fears about their safety and this was often inrelation to fear of crime”. Mencap recently published a reportthat showed that eighty percent of the children and youngpeople with learning disabilities who were questioned were scaredto leave their home for fear of being bullied.”

While many initiatives that aim to promote child safety are well-meaning and widely accepted as necessary, it is worth askingthe question, do the safety messages conveyed to childrenmake them and their carers feel more fearful and lesscompetent and confident? Are we wise to be giving childrenthe impression that if they venture out of their front door they areunsafe and that all strangers are untrustworthy, when in reality therisk of harm is extremely low? We might be better to assumethat children should play away from their home environmentunsupervised and equip them with the skills and judgment theyrequire to avoid harm.

Many children are seduced into spending much of their free timein front of a screen, and many of us succumb to the temptationof using TV and game screens as “electronic babysitters”; whilechildren are sitting in front of a screen inside their home they areperceived to be safe and we know where they are (a recentreport from the National Consumer Council, “Watching, wantingand wellbeing” explores the consequences). A recent productannouncement from Fisher Price advertised an exercise bike,SMART CYCLE, for 3 – 7 year olds that can be plugged into the TVso that children can be exercised while playing educationalgames (price £99.99 – TV not included).

There was a noticeable dearth of children and young peopleplaying out in public spaces during the summer break aroundCardiff and the reasons for this may not just be the fears outlinedabove or the lure of electronic games. For many working parentsand carers who have the resources to pay for it, childcare is theonly option when school is out, and many children takeadvantage of holiday play schemes and free swimming duringschool holidays. Yet, when our Information Team visited the TrosGynnal stand at the National Eisteddfod this summer we noticedan exhibition of drawings that children had made to highlight therights that were important to them. Of twelve or so pictures, thevast majority related to the right to play out.

If children and young people are not apparent playing out in theirneighbourhood it is for a whole range of reasons and there is nosimple solution. We cannot criticise parents and carers, orchildren, for this predicament, we all have a responsibility. TheWelsh Assembly Government and other organisatons arepromoting playing out as an entitlement and as positive and life-enhancing for children themselves and for the communities inwhich they live. We cannot turn the clock back to the 50’s and60’s when the streets were empty and we could play cricketagainst a lamp post all evening, but we can question themessages we are given, we can work to shape our communitiesand stand up for going out to play whenever the opportunityarises.

Further information:Playday research at www.playday.org.uk Good Childhood Enquiry findings at www.childrenssociety.org.ukMencap ‘Don't Stick It’ campaign at www.dontstickit.org.ukNational Comsumer Council www.ncc.org.uk

For further reading on the effects of play deprivation go to theplay pages at www.playwales.org.uk

Going out to PlayThere have been tragic events involving

children in the news of late and these

stories do little to encourage parents and

carers to allow their children the freedom

to go out and play unsupervised.


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Tips for supporting childrento play out confidently

We all have a responsibility to support andprepare our children to play out confidently intheir community:

1. Prepare children to be road safeWe can prepare children for walking and cycling independently bytelling them and showing them from an early age how they can keepthemselves safe on and around roads.

2. Familiarise children with their neighbourhoodsWe can walk and cycle in the local area and help children to identify saferroutes to play spaces and other places they need to accessindependently in their community.

3. Work with childrenOnce they are competent enough to travel around and play out withoutus, we can make agreements with children on where and how long theygo out and play. It helps both us and them if they can tell the time, knowtheir neighbourhood and know their address and phone number.

4. Keep our worries in perspectiveWe can try and be realistic about our fears for children’s safety. Thebenefits of playing out far outweigh the risks.

5. Take a community approachWe can get to know local people – neighbours and other families – andagree to keep an eye out for children. The more children who play out,the safer our children will be.

6. Change our environmentWe can join others locally to campaign for changes to ourneighbourhood that might make our environment one where childrencan play out confidently.

7. Look to our driving habitsAs drivers we can cut our speed and drive as we would like others to drivein residential streets where children play.

Most of us remember the joy andfreedom of playing out as children. The benefits to us were enormous:• we met and had adventures with friends

• we knew our own neighbourhood inside and out and travelled around it freely

• we got to know the characteristics of local people – who to avoid and who to trust – and they got to know and trust us (or not!)

• we were physically active

• we were self-reliant, resourceful and independent.


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In the last issue of Play for Wales Dan Rees-Jones shared some of thehighlights of his tour of play ranger/open access projects in Wales. Theresults will help inform the ‘Playing on the Range’ training course syllabus(part of a suite of courses aimed at practitioners working with children inparks and outdoor public spaces) and a guide to best practice. Here isa more detailed account of just two of the projects he visited:

Dan Rees-Jones’s Diary

GAVO Caerphilly Adventure Play Site

DescriptionGAVO Caerphilly Adventure Play Site is a designatedstaffed play site within a community space in New Tredegar,Caerphilly. Funded through the Welsh Assembly GovernmentCymorth grant.

Four staff work after school hours and within holiday periodsthroughout the community using an open space in NewTredegar. Although the space is currently run-down andunderused when staff are not present, the aim is to ensurethat adventure play is respected and appreciatedthroughout the community so that it can becomesustainable and valued provision.

HighlightsMany children, young people and parents have attendedand engaged in the projects. Sessions regularly attractbetween 20 and 30 children all year round. Ages haveranged from 4 to 20 years of age and many have attendedeven when weather has been extreme. The surroundingcommunity has been really positive and supportive, evenwhen their children come home wet, muddy or bruised!

Strengths• Qualifications, training and experience of the staff team

and their enthusiasm, which has been maintained throughall the dark, wet and cold evenings.

• Relationships between the staff and the children and young people who attend, are having a profound effect on their trust, respect and behaviour.

• The locality and ‘open access’ nature of the project has meant it has been very successful in bringing together children from a wide range of ages, backgrounds and schools to form new and lasting friendships and developed confidence.

Challenges• Weather is a challenge as the site is exposed to the elements

with little or no shelter, as the provision is very new.

• Operating in a public space has presented difficulties – other ‘users’ may leave behind hazardous litter such as glass and dog faeces.

Drop in and Play ProjectWrexhamDescription

Drop in and Play is an open access play service for childrenand young people in Brynteg, Wrexham.

The project came about after a local community consultationhighlighted the lack of activities for children and young people inthe area. After a successful pilot three years ago, Drop in andPlay now has core funding from a Welsh Assembly GovernmentCymorth grant.

Drop in and Play now runs throughout the year and is managedby Brynteg Playschemes, a local voluntary group that hasprovided a holiday playscheme for the past twenty years andcontinues to consult on needs and generate capacity buildingusing local networks and relationships within the community.

‘A free play space for children and youngpeople to play, engage and experiencewithin their own community.’


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Continued from previous page

HighlightsA team of four staff, some drawn from the local community,deliver three sessions a week all year, offering children theopportunity to play in an ‘open access’ yet safe environment.The regularity and consistency of the provision is one of the key factors in the project’s success. The project attracts up to50 children and young people to each session depending onthe season.

The site offers a small playground with some fixed playequipment, a skate park, a large public playing field and aM.U.G.A (multi use games area) as well as some indoor space, a changing room which is used in wet weather and for storingplay equipment.

Strengths• Providing a consistent and reliable service all year to the

local community.

• A strong working team of enthusiastic and dedicated playworkers with some staff drawn from the local community.

• A willingness to provide materials and equipment that maynot be safe in other settings but which offer challenging play opportunities.

• Regular observations and evaluations and ‘on the job’ training.

Challenges• Offering challenging play

opportunities where children can have fun and hang out whilst ensuring asafe environment for them todo that.

• Convincing individuals, community members and externalorganisations of the short and long term value that the project gives to the community.

• Keeping up with administration, paperwork and fundingapplications!

Dan Says: Having the opportunity to visit the projects hasbeen invaluable in helping to inform and develop ideas andcontent for the training course syllabus as well as a learningsupport guide that will accompany the course. Thanks againto everyone who shared their experiences and made my visitssuch a pleasure. The Playing on the Range course is currentlyin development but shaping up well. It is hoped that a pilotwill run later this year with the course rolling out in 2008.

Community take the reigns

Together, they operated a 14-week pilotproject with their collective aim ofsupporting community Play Rangersfrom April this year. The response to thescheme was phenomenal and at theend of July the community decided totake over the metaphorical ‘reigns’ andto continue running the projectthemselves.

A special celebration party marked theofficial handover and plenty of families

came out to enjoy the fun of the earlyevening. Activities included the longawaited appearance of the Water Slide.

Jo Jones, Play Development Officer, toldus, “Play Rangers has been designed foryoung people aged 5-14 years toaccess quality play opportunities in theircommunities.My sincere thanks go to everyoneinvolved to make this such a rewardingexperience in Stratford Green.”

The Residents Committee of Stratford Green and the Play Development team at theVale of Glamorgan Council have worked hard to put ‘play’ at the top of theiragendas in the community.

Play for Wales Issue 22 AUTUMN 2007WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

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Over the next three years the Centre will support theplaywork sector to deliver quality services to children.

This is a first among the devolved nations and representsthe result of years of lobbying from the play sector in Wales.

Here is an excerpt from a transcript of an audio interview withthe Minister on Playday:

“It’s really great to be back as Minister and within a few daysbeing able to announce this fantastic new Centre which raisesthe status of playwork - a Cinderella profession.

“I started off as a playworker and I’ve always felt that playworkhasn’t had the right kind of backing - money, resources andstatus. Status is important in terms of good quality training,making sure that the Government sees (playwork) as just asimportant as all the other professions that we esteem.

“So this is really a good day for playwork. Our teams acrossWales will have much greater opportunity for accreditation,recognition and to take forward this incredibly important workwith children and young people.”

Play Wales is working in partnership with SkillsActive, the Sector SkillsCouncil for Active Leisure and Learning in response to the SectorSkills Agreement and Quality Training, Quality Play, 2006-2011, theUK Strategy for Playwork Education, Training and Qualifications.

Rationale

The reason why this Centre is so important to us in Wales is thatopportunities for children to play unsupervised are increasinglyrestricted by the loss of suitable places to play, the impact oftraffic, and anxieties about their safety. To compensate for thisa range of providers need to work together to ensure highquality play opportunities are available for all children. Therole of the playworker has never been more crucial. There iscurrently a shortfall in the number of qualified and competentplayworkers needed to staff integrated services delivering keyoutcomes that include play.

Play Policy Implementation and the PlayworkProfession

The Training Centre will help to build the infrastructure neededto realise recommendations made in the Welsh AssemblyGovernment’s Play in Wales; the Play Policy ImplementationPlan (2006). Its work will:

• ensure that there are appropriate training opportunities atall levels for playworkers;

• engage with the UK Government on the development ofthe children’s workforce including a qualificationsframework and the development of a common core ofskills and knowledge;

• seek ways of addressing recruitment and staff retentionissues (in conjunction with SkillsActive).

Objectives

The National Centre for Playwork Education and Training willwork across Wales in all local authority areas, with statutory,voluntary and private providers to develop quality, accessibleeducation and training for all those with an interest in theprovision of children’s play services. The National Centre willalso play a key strategic, developmental role in maximisingthe potential of all partners and in encouraging andsupporting innovation and quality.

The objectives of the Centre are to:

• Improve the availability, accessibility and quality ofplaywork education and training in Wales

• Improve the quality of playwork and thus the experiencesof children attending play facilities

• Address knowledge and skills shortages and increase thenumber of qualified playworkers

• Improve the status and recognition of playwork as acareer

• Provide a channel for playworkers in Wales to contribute tonational developments in playwork education and training

• Conduct research to support workforce development

• Develop quality training materials

• Provide careers and training information for prospectiveand existing playworkers

• Address the needs of rural learners through networking,information sharing and coordination

• Support the development of Welsh language playworkeducation and training

• Work in partnership with SkillsActive to deliver keyobjectives in the Sector Skills Agreement

• Work with funders through the Sector Skills Agreement tosupport the funding of playwork qualifications andcontinuous professional development

We are currently recruiting a Centre Manager and hope topublish news of further developments in the next issue of Playfor Wales.

To find out more about this project please contact theWorkforce Development Team at our national office (029 2048 6050).

On Playday (1 August 2007) Jane Hutt,Minister for Children, Education, LifelongLearning and Skills, announced fundingfor Play Wales to undertake thedevelopment of a National Centre forPlaywork Education and Training in Wales.

New Centre for PlayworkEducation andTraining in Wales

Play for Wales Issue 22 AUTUMN 2007WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

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The Minister said:

“There has never been a better time toconsider a career working with children inWales. More than 26,000 people in Walesare already enjoying rewarding careershelping children to play, learn and growand there are more opportunities thanever before to train and gain professionalqualifications. We want families to feelconfident that, whatever the setting, theirchildren are being cared for by skilled,professional staff who are helping to givethem the best possible start to life.”

The campaign is supported by a mediacampaign which includes a series oftelevision advertisements – one of whichwas filmed in a Welsh park on a coldSeptember morning.

More information please visit:www.playlearngrowwales.gov.uk

Welsh PlayworkTrainingWe are pleased to announce that thefirst Welsh language pilot of the PlayWales Playwork: Principles into Practicetraining will be held in the near futureand will involve learners from Bridgendand Rhondda Cynon Taff.

The trainers will be Louise Addiscott, Play Training

Development Officer for Rhondda Cynon Taff Play

Association, and John Thomas, Manager of Interplay

in Swansea. We’re looking forward to hearing how it

goes. If you are interested in P3 training in Welsh

please get in touch with us – [email protected]

Play Learn and Grow On 29 August 2007 at the Rhydyfelin Integrated Children’s Centre in Pontypridd

Jane Hutt launched a campaign to increase recruitment in the childcare,chldren and early years sector and help workers in this field to gain higher skills andqualifcations.

Play for Wales Issue 22 SUMMER 2007FUNDING AND EVENTS

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Events9 October 2007 National Toy and Leisure Libraries ConferenceThe London Resource Centrewww.natll.org.uk

16 – 17 October 2007 PlayEd – Play and Human Development MeetingWolverhamptonTwo days of presentations, seminars, and round tablediscussions, covering current developments in practical andtheoretical playwork.www.wolverhampton.gov.uk/leisure_culture/parks_recreation/playgrounds/play_ed07

18 October 2007Out2Play – SkillsActive Annual PlayworkConferenceLords Cricket GroundSpeakers include Tim Gill; Children’s use of the outdoor space,Michael Follett; New ways of working with children in externalenvironments and Robin Sutcliffe; Raising the risk: who’sresponsibility?www.skiilsactive.com

16 November 2007 Free Range Childhood – the first UK PlayRanger ConferenceRiviera International Conference Centre, Torquay, DevonThis one day event is the first national conference to celebrateand explore the benefits, role and potential of play rangerprojects in supporting children’s free play outdoorswww.playwork.co.uk

8 – 11 January2008Play in a ChangingWorld: 17th IPA WorldConferenceHong Kongwww.ipaworld.org

Funding• BBC Children in NeedGroups working with vulnerable and disadvantaged childrenhave until the end of November to apply for the next round ofgrants from BBC Children in Need.www.bbc.co.uk/pudsey/about_us/grants.shtml.

• The Hilton FoundationFocusing on children and young people, the foundationsupports activities in education and health to relieve sufferingand equip individuals. www.hilton-foundation.org.uk

• The Morgan FoundationThe Morgan Foundation specialises in funding organisationshelping children and their families and will consider any workwhich has a positive effect on their welfare and quality of life,or which expands the opportunities and life choices for youngpeople in the area they cover. www.morganfoundation.co.uk/

• Wooden SpoonApplications are invited for projects which will benefit childrenand young people. Projects must normally be of a capitalnature, with a reasonably long-term prospective lifetime.www.woodenspoon.com/182_100.php

• O2 Community Award ProgrammeO2 have committed £1m towards a nationwide communityimprovement programme. The programme has fourcategories: improving the place communities’ share; helpingbring people together; tackling issues and restoring pride andimproving the natural environments of communities.www.itsyourcommunity.co.uk or phone 0800 90 20 250.

• The Royal Bank of Scotland

Supergrounds is a £6 million community investmentprogramme, funded by RBS group and delivered throughLearning through Landscapes, helping primary schoolsimprove their school grounds.To be in with a chance of winning a Supergrounds Award,schools must be nominated by an RBS group employee.www.rbssupergrounds.com

New Team MemberWelcome to our new Finance AssistantAgii Hennessy who started work with usduring the summer. Agii was born inMongolia and has a ‘nearly’ grown updaughter. We would like to congratulateher on passing her Association ofAccounting Technicians final exams inAugust, and we hope she enjoys workingwith us at Play Wales.

Documents

Play for Wales issue 22