Play for Wales issue 24

Issue 24

Play news & briefing from the national organisation for play Spring 2008

Play for Wales

Play and participationPlay and participation

www.playwales.org.uk

Editorial In our last issue we announced theallocation of BIG Lottery Child’s Playprogramme round one funding fornine regional play infrastructurebuilding projects around Wales*.

As a result new play associations are beingformed and some existing ones are beingstrengthened, or are extending their remitto cover neighbouring local authorityareas. This is a huge achievement forWales, where up until now the infrastructurefor play provision development has beeninconsistent – where some areas had thebenefit of strong and active localassociations and others struggled. Someof the changes made possible by the newfunding may take time to bed in but it isworth keeping an eye out fordevelopments in your region so that youcan get involved now, or when theappropriate time comes.

One of the really heartening aspects of thenew infrastructure projects is that they areall built on voluntary/local authority sectorpartnership, so that we in Wales candevelop existing relationships and forgenew ones in a joined up approach thatmakes the most effective use of creativity,energy and material and humanresources. This can only benefit childrenand the children’s play sector in Wales. Wehope that another key benefit will be aconcerted approach across the nation toachieving the ambitions of the WelshAssembly Government Play Policy.

The deadline for round two of the Child’sPlay programme is March 2009 – only ayear away. This summer is the time to findout how existing play projects, or ideas toset up new play projects, might benefitfrom round two funding, and to get anidea how these projects might fit into thebigger picture regionally (please see theChild’s Play item in our news section formore information). This is a time whenlocal authority and voluntary sectorpartners will be reviewing existing provision,identifying gaps, and working out whatmight be needed in the future to supportthe aims of the Play Policy or local playstrategies. Whilst we would all agree thatnot enough is spent on children’s play, thefirst thing to do when new moneybecomes available (before we create awish list) is to look at whether what we

already spend meets strategic aims andprovides value for money. If this principle isfollowed, combining new money with a re-alignment of existing spending could havea significant impact on play provision andenhance the work made possible by BIGLottery Child’s Play funding.

We anticipate that the infrastructureprojects will be well placed to respond tothe children’s participation agenda that weare highlighting in this issue. The latestFunky Dragon (Wales’ children’s parliament)report highlights just how important play isto children – as one of the contributors tothis magazine says, children themselvesare the only people who can truly knowwhat it is like to be a child in our times. It isvital that children participate in decisionmaking about their play provision – in asustainable way, where their opinions andtheir efforts are valued and taken on boardday to day, month to month, year to year.

On another celebratory note, we weredelighted to come home from an intenseweek at the International Play Associationconference in Hong Kong with the news ofour success in bidding to hold the 50thanniversary international conference inWales in 2011. Ten years ago this wouldnot have been possible and was beyondour wildest dreams, so it is a measure ofhow far the Welsh (and UK) play sector hascome in the last decade that we areconfident that we are all strong enough toorganise a big international gathering andthat there will be plenty to show todelegates who come from abroad. Thesupport for our bid and the offers of helpwe have received from within Wales andaround the UK have been overwhelmingand positive. Thank you to everyone. Weall have something to aim towards and tolook forward to - the really hard work startshere, and we will keep you posted ondevelopments!

Mike GreenawayDirector, Play Wales

* Play Wales’ Development Teamsupported the successful applicantswith their bids, but Play Wales was notinvolved in any way in makingrecommendations to BIG, orscrutinising/assessing the bids, ordeciding on the allocation of funds.

Contents page

Editorial 2

Conference Coup for Wales 3

Standards for Play Opportunities inWales 3

New council to restore spirit ofadventure 3

Possible Futures for Playwork 4

Getting it Right Legally – for free 4

Playwords – free 4

Play Wales membership renewal 4

Database 4

Seasonal Schemes and CSSIW 5

Proposed Vulnerable Children (LCO) Committee Report 5

Child’s Play – Round Two 5

Play and Participation 6

National Standards for Children and Young People’s Participation 8

WAG 8

Why do people’s ages go up not down? 9

Participation and Playwork 10

Participation – Play in Schools 12

An Interview with the new Children’s Commissioner 13

Play: the most neglected right 13

Playwork Wales 14

P3 Training – the impact 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] Charity No. 1068926

ISSN: 1755 9243

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 24 SPRING 2008EDITORIAL

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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, isavailable to download from our website news section at www.playwales.org.uk

Here at Play Wales we thought long and hard andthen decided that if we made a bid and won, it

would provide an opportunity to showcase all the hardwork on play provision, research and policy-making thatis going on in Wales and around the UK, as well asproviding a morale boost and a goal to aim for. Wegathered the support of colleague organisations anduniversities and we went to the IPA conference in HongKong early this year to work hard to bring this prestigiousconference home to Wales.

After a tense and intense five days, we won! MikeGreenaway, Play Wales Director said: ‘We have beenoverwhelmed by the enthusiastic support we have hadfrom colleagues in the UK and abroad. This event will be asuperb opportunity to make international contacts, and tolearn from the research and practice of other countries.’

So, as this magazine goes to press we are starting to plot atimeline and to look at managing this huge project over

the next three years. We already have a bank of ideasand enthusiasm, but we will be looking for others to join inand make this the most memorable conference the IPAhas ever held – something of which Wales can be trulyproud. Two thousand and eleven is not so far away andbefore we know it we’ll be looking for people to helppromote the event by saying ‘I’ll be there.’

It is important to us that this conference includes peoplewho might ordinarily be unable to access such an event.We are urging organisations and individuals in the UK toraise funds to sponsor delegates who might struggle tofinance airfares and accommodation, and some playassociations and groups in Wales and England havealready made a commitment to this. If you feel thatover the next three years you can raise money to helpsupport a delegate please get in touch.

To get involved or to find out more, please contact GillEvans on 029 2048 6050 or email [email protected]

Last year there was a call for bids to host the 2011 International Play Association (IPA) worldconference on its 50th anniversary.

Play for Wales Issue 24 SPRING 2008NEWS

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Conference Coup for Wales – I’ll Be There

In our last issue we reported on theWelsh Assembly Government’s decisionto contract a consultancy firm, YorkConsulting, to develop standards andguidance for Local Authorities on how toprovide play opportunities in Wales.

The Welsh Assembly Government has convened anadvisory group to bring together a range of expertise to“work with York Consulting in developing this work”. Theadvisory group meets as we go to press, and we willkeep our readers informed of developments.

www.playwales.org.uk it’s the place to be if you’re interested in play in Wales

news – events – information - jobs

Standards for PlayOpportunities in Wales

The Risk and Regulation Advisory Council (RRAC) is anew advisory group charged by the Prime Minister

with working with Ministers and senior civil servants todevelop a better understanding of public risk, andhow best to respond to it, through a series ofworkshops which consider both good and poorpractice, and working with external stakeholders tohelp foster a more considered approach to public riskand policy making.

Rick Haythornthwaite, the head of the council, says: ‘Ifyou ask someone, “Do you want the world to be saferplace?” of course they will say yes - but there is always atrade-off. Self-reliance and a sense of adventure areimportant national characteristics that could be lost.’

www.berr.gov.uk/about/economics-statistics/rrac/index.html

New council to restorespirit of adventure

Getting it RightLegally – for free We have a limited amount of Getting itRight Legally: Legal Status andStructure for Play and ChildcareOrganisations to distribute for free.

This guide has beenproduced byClybiau Plant CymruKids Clubs, PlayworkPartnerships and theUniversity ofGloucester as partof the work of theCWLWM (ChildcareWales Learning andWorking Mutually)partnership.

The pack isparticularly useful tovoluntaryorganisationsbecause it provides‘legal guidance tohelp navigate

successfully through the potential minefield of setting upa community childcare or play facility’.

If you would like a free copy please contact Kate on029 2048 6050 or email [email protected]

Common Threads have announced that Playwordsmagazine will be available free to everyone. Toreceive a free downloadable copy please register ontheir website www.commonthreads.org.uk. Thesubscription fee for the paper copy has also beenwaived, meaning that all you pay is the postage andpacking charge (£12 per year).

DatabasePlay for Wales is available free to allthose living or working in Wales whohave an interest in children andyoung people’s play. If you live and work outside of Wales and you wouldlike to receive Play for Wales as an electronicdownload we can add you to our email list. If youlive or work in Wales and would prefer to receive Playfor Wales as an electronic download please tell us.

Telephone Kate on 029 2048 6050 or drop us aline at [email protected]

Join us – it’s not too late to become amember of Play Wales for 2008. Benfits include: reduced conference and seminar fees;free Criminal Records Bureau checks for staff working inregulated provision; e-bulletins with consultation, fundingand events news, and reduced rates for publications.

Rates:Individual: £10Organisations - one full-time member of staff or less: £25International: £25Organisations - more than one full-time member of staff: £50Commercial/private: £75Local Authority: £100

For more information and to join visit:www.playwales.org.uk or contact Helen on 029 2048 6050 or email [email protected]

Play Walesmembership renewal

Possible Futuresfor Playwork

Playwords – free


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Possible Futures for Playwork is apartnership project designed to providea platform for creative discussion anddebate for playworkers.

Play England is sponsoring and managing this projectin collaboration with SkillsActive, the Joint National

Committee for Training in Playwork (JNCTP), Play Wales,Play Board Northern Ireland and Play Scotland.

The Possible Futures for Playwork Project includes papers,discussion and will culminate in a large event in June 2008.

For more information please contact the projectcoordinator, Perry Else: [email protected]


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Proposed Vulnerable Chidren LegislativeCompetence Order (LCO) Committee Report A Legislative Competence Order (LCO) describesan area in which the National Assembly for Walesis competent to make legislation – theimplication being that it will be able to turn thisinto law for Wales in future. This LCO relates toSocial Welfare - Vulnerable Children and ChildPoverty.

Play Wales strongly advocated the inclusion of the word‘play’ within the interpretation of ‘well-being’, which

currently relates to ‘education, training and recreation’ –and our call was heard and acted upon.

It may seem strange to celebrate the inclusion of oneword in potential legislation, but play is so oftenoverlooked as being a vital part of children’s lives thatto find it included in the LCO meant we jumped upand down hooping with joy in our office.

For more information regarding the LCO please visithttp://www.assemblywales.org/bus-home/bus-committees/bus-committees-third-assem/bus-committees-third-vc-home.htm

Child’s Play - Round TwoThe deadline for round two of the Child’sPlay programme is March 2009 – only ayear away. Over this summer is the time to find out how existingplay projects, or ideas to set up a new play project,might benefit from round two funding, and to look athow this might fit into the bigger picture.

To find out more about round two of the Child’s Playprogramme please go to BIG Lottery website atwww.biglotteryfund.org.uk

To find out how local play projects canbenefit from the recent infrastructureinvestment or to express an interest in round two funding please contact our Development Team [email protected]

Play Wales is contracted to BIG to support applicants tomake appropriate applications that meet the criteria forthe Child’s Play programme, we are not involved inmaking recommendations to BIG, orscrutinising/assessing the bids, or deciding on theallocation of funds.

As part of the Childminding and Day Care (Wales)Regulations, registered providers need to complete

an annual review of the quality of care they provide.

Following the review, providers must make a report of it andto support registered providers to meet this regulation theCare and Social Services Inspectorate for Wales (CSSIW)are creating a form for completion. It will be part of pre-inspection forms but CSSIW may also request this report

form in a non-inspection year. CSSIW will be informing allproviders about these changes during March 2008.

We have been advised that all those play providers runningsummer play schemes that require registration, need tocontact their regional office of CSSIW by 30 May 2008.

For more information please go tohttp://new.wales.gov.uk/cssiwsubsite/cssiw/?lang=en

The article states: "The family backed down, and all the Network has to donow is to keep all the documentation of the injury until the boy is 18, incase he decides to claim on his own behalf as an adult."

This should be "until the boy is 21". Due to a statute of limitation a personcan make a personal injury claim up to three years from the date of their18th birthday.

The frequency of inspections for all daycare provision (except full daycare) will now beevery two years, effective from 1 April 2008. Decisions as to which schemes andprojects will be inspected during 2008 will be made by CSSIW at a regional level.

Seasonal Schemes and CSSIW

CorrectionPlay for Wales newsletter, issue 23 (Winter 2007)

Correction to 'B*lls to Blame and Claim Culture'

article - page nine

Play for Wales Issue 24 SPRING 2008PLAY WALES’ TAKE ON PARTICIPATION

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The children of Wales have a right to take part in decision making processes that affectthem. They also have a huge interest in playing – in having time to play and qualityplaces and freedom to play in their own way. We know this because play comes high upon children’s list in one way or another every time we ask them what is important to them.The latest Funky Dragon report* from 2,500 children aged between seven and ten is aclear example of this – the whole document calls for us to take their play needs seriously.

So play is children’s priority – their agenda. Whenwe support their right to play, we support their

agenda; we collaborate with them and this impliesthat we work alongside them – we offer ideas, wesupport their ideas, we have a common goal.

The Welsh national Play Policy and the Playwork Principlesdefine play as freely chosen and personally directed bythose who are playing – quality playworkers intervene inchildren’s play with sensitivity using continuous risk/benefitevaluation to make sure that they adulterate as little aspossible. If those of us who have an interest in children’s

play are to take a participative approach we need tobe aware of how we might adulterate play (andchildren’s participation in decisions related to one of theaspects of their lives that is most important to them)through our attitude and belief system, the decisions wemake, and the actions we take.

The UK Government ratified the United NationsConvention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) soonafter it was adopted by the UN in 1989 – it is part of arange of Government commitments to human rights.Since then the National Assembly of Wales has based its

Play and Participation

Play for Wales Issue 24 SPRING 2008PARTICIPATION

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work with and for children on the rights stated in theUNCRC. Article 31 of the Convention, stating children’sright to play, is a well-known mantra to many of us whoprovide or campaign for children’s right to play, Article12, which relates to children’s right to participate indecision making, may be less familiar.

Article 12

1. States Parties shall assure to the child whois capable of forming his or her own views theright to express those views freely in allmatters affecting the child, the views of thechild being given due weight in accordancewith the age and maturity of the child.

Given that play is so important to all children, we needto be careful that any participation they have indecision making is meaningful and does notunnecessarily curtail their time and freedom to play.

We can do this by:

• making sure we take a considered approach – thatwe are asking the right questions and that childrencan make informed choices, for instance, we cannotmake a choice between a trip to the seaside and aday in a forest if we have no idea what eitherexperience offers, we can’t choose how to equip anew playground if our only experience is swings andslides. This is particularly important for some groupsof children: they can be left out of decision makingprocesses because traditionally others may havemade decisions for them – they may not haveexperience of making choices; because it may takemore time and effort to find out their opinions; orbecause they have a narrow range of experiences

• sensitively observing how they behave, where andhow they choose to play, how they use theenvironment where they are playing, listening andusing our knowledge of play theory and ourexperience to reflect on what they might want orneed to enhance their play – because they haveshown us what they want – they didn’t need to gothrough the effort of filling in a form, or sticking a reddot on a chart, or even coming to tell us, and theirplay isn’t interrupted at all

• respecting children’s judgment. When childrenparticipate in decision making processes, we makesure that we respect their contribution, act upon itand feedback to them. The decisions that childrenare involved in need not be ‘easy’ or ‘trivial’ – theycan do more than choosing the flavour of squash onoffer - there are some play settings in Wales where

children are meaningfully involved in selectingplayworkers for employment. If we show children thattheir contribution is valued they are far more likely towant to contribute to their own community now andto be part of democratic processes in the future

• sticking to our principles - the Playwork Principles saythat the role of the playworker is to support allchildren in the creation of a space in which they canplay. This statement implies participation – it is aboutall children being supported to plan, negotiate andresource their play and to make decisions forthemselves about their play environment

NB We would expand this to cover any form ofprovision for children’s play – it doesn’t simply applyto playworkers. If children are meaningfully involvedin, for instance, the siting and equipping of a localplay area we are likely to see better usage rates andmore care taken of the equipment

• supporting children to feel comfortable andconfident in being honest; being aware that manychildren like to please adults – they might makedecisions based on what they think we want them tosay. This means having a relaxed and “equal”relationship – simply because we are older thanchildren does not mean we are more important thanthey are, and none of us who are adults can trulyunderstand what it is like to be a child in today’sworld better than children themselves

• using participation as a foundation of our work – trueparticipation is an ongoing process, it is sustainedrather than a “one off”, it needs to be part of thewhole ethos of the service we provide

There are children and young people’s participationstandards for Wales and a set of eight Blast Off guidesto good practice that can be downloaded atwww.participationworkerswales.org.uk

The Children’s Play Information Service (CPIS) has abriefing sheet, Consulting Children About Play.Download at www.ncb.org.uk or contact CPIS [email protected] or telephone 020 7843 6303.

A Beginners Guide to Participation is to be publishedsoon. Go to www.commonthreads.org.uk for moreinformation.

Find out more about children’s rights from theChildren’s Rights Information Network at www.crin.org

*Why do People’s Ages Go Up … launched November2007 - see later in this section.


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National Standards for Childrenand Young People’s Participation The Children and Young People’s ParticipationConsortium and the Participation Unit (basedat Save the Children) work to increase theparticipation of children and young people(0-25 years) in decision-making in Wales. Anna Skeels (the Participation Unit Manager)tells us more:

Together we have developed National Standards forChildren and Young People’s Participation which have

been endorsed both by the Welsh Assembly Governmentand by Funky Dragon (the Children and Young People’sNational Assembly for Wales).

The National Standards are standards which childrenand young people can expect to be met when theyare asked to participate.

There are seven Standards: Information; It’s Your Choice; NoDiscrimination; Respect; You Get Something Out Of It;Feedback; Improving How We Work. The aim of theStandards is to make sure that children and young peoplehave a positive and meaningful experience of participation.

Our ultimate aim is to work towards the implementationof the National Children and Young People’sParticipation Standards across Wales. The first step is toraise awareness of the Standards and to encourageorganisations to use them for self-assessment by using apack that we have developed. The Participation Unit hasused the self-assessment pack itself and has beeninspected against these Standards by a team of youngpeople who have been trained to be young inspectors.

The next step which we are currently working on is to runa two-year pilot, funded by the ‘Making the ConnectionsFund’ to explore how a national system for measuringagainst the National Standards would work.

We are looking for organisations and projects acrossWales to work in partnership with us to develop this work.We are very keen to pilot the work with groups ofyounger children and to draw out the methodologies,materials and processes that would be suitable forintroducing the National Standards to under 10s.

Participation Unit: 029 2039 6838

E-mail: [email protected]

Website: www.participationworkerswales.org.uk/participation

Participation and the Welsh Assembly Government The aim of the Participation Project within theWelsh Assembly Government (WAG) is tomainstream children and young people’sparticipation into all relevant areas of workacross six ‘themed’ areas within the WAGincluding recruitment, producing documents,and consultation. We also provide advice andsupport to all WAG departments.

The participation team work with officials in differentpolicy areas who act as a Divisional Link Officer

(DLO) for children and young people’s participation,so that children and young people can be involved inpolicy development and consultation processes fromthe beginning.

The European funded (ESF) project called ‘Your Voice YourChoice’ has also been in existence since 2005 and aims toinvolve more young people aged 11-25 in decision makingon services that directly affect them.

Local Participation Strategy (LPS) Guidance has beendeveloped in collaboration with national and local partnerorganisations and with children and young people, in directresponse to concerns expressed by young people from FunkyDragon. It is a key piece of the infrastructure jigsaw designedto support and drive forward children and young people’sparticipation in Wales. The guidance aims to ensure that allchildren and young people aged 0-25 have opportunities tocontribute to and have their voices heard in decision makingon issues which impact on their lives at local level. Theguidance was issued in August 2007. Most importantly, the LPSGuidance expects local Children and Young People’sPartnerships to establish sustainable mechanisms to supportchildren and young people’s participation across all partnerorganisations locally.

Pupil Participation - School Councils - primary pupils acrossWales are having a say and taking part in decision-makingabout things that affect them in school. Many school councilshelp to make playtimes better for pupils by improving thefacilities on the playgrounds. Some examples of pupils’achievements can be found on the School Councils Waleswebsite: www.schoolcouncilswales.org.uk


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Why do people’s agesgo up not down?

During 2007 over 2,500 children between seven andten years old were asked for their opinions on

education, health, participation and information. Thequestion we wanted to answer was “to what extent arechildren aged seven to ten in Wales able to access theirrights (as defined by the United Nations Convention onthe Rights of the Child – UNCRC)”.

Children brought up the importance of play throughoutthe research; so much so that they related each theme tohow much it helped or hindered their play. For example,some children said they felt intimidated in their local areaby anti social behavior, others said they were sometimesunable to play in their local park because it proved unsafedue to hazards such as broken glass or litter.

“I have a park but it’s full of druggies and wouldlike it to be cleared up and used properly.”

“More things to do like! More parks, more funcentres. And trampolening (sic) for people thathave not got any trampolines”.

“I would like to change the park and put in aroundabout, big swings, better apparatus, morebins and a see saw.”

Ultimately what the children wanted was somewheregood to play. It was clear that for some children this isnot a reality.

The report also highlights the importance of consultingwith children. It became obvious that children under 11are capable of understanding their place in, andcontribution to, society. They also appreciate what theirrights are and how to make realistic decisions on whatcan be done to improve their lives. Given theopportunity children are capable of giving their opinionsand only they know what it’s like being a child in today’ssociety.

Why is the report called Why do ages go up not down?In information workshops children were asked to comeup with questions they would like answers to. We weren’table to come up with an answer to this one, but wethought the question was so good that we had to use itsomewhere!

Andrea Burch, South Wales Children’s Project Worker (contact 01792 450000)

To download the full report please visit:http://www.funkydragon.org/en/fe/page.asp?n1=1036

In May 2008 young people from Funky Dragon (The Children andYoung People’s Assembly for Wales)will present their report entitled Whydo people’s ages go up not down?to the United Nations Committee onthe Rights of the Child.


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Martin: It’s clear you’re very passionateabout playwork as a profession, can youtell us a bit more about that and why?

Roger: Absolutely. I have had the privilegeof travelling around the world to meetpeople who work on children’s rights. Thefirst booklet I wrote for UNICEF on children’sparticipation required that I visit somecountries to broaden my understanding ofchildren’s participation. I went to thenations that were the most exciting at thetime of the early 90s when the UnitedNations Convention on the Rights of theChild (UNCRC) came out – Brazil and thePhilippines. These two countries were justcoming out of dictatorships and makingdemocracies, both of them haveincorporated the Convention in theirconstitutions - which has had a radicalimpact on children.

So, in those countries I learnt from listeningto street workers who are the people whowork with street children, prostitute girlsand kids who are lost from their families inone way or another. They worked with thepoor in highly empowering ways, deeplydemocratic, and those street workers thenwent to the Philippines to share theirknowledge with other street workers.

Meanwhile, I had already visited theadventure playgrounds in London in the70s and 80s because of the work I wasdoing on children’s play and environmentdesign, and I met playworkers andrealised these guys are just the same asstreet workers: playworkers workhorizontally [collaboratively] with children(rather than from a position of power). Idon’t know of other professions that dothat. Social work, and youth work aregenerally supposed to do that but theyoften have this double problem of being

the ones that are adjudicating children;they have a power relationship to theGovernment.

Playworkers and street workers empowerchildren in ways that I find fascinating, so Ibecame a passionate advocate forplaywork in the USA. These last two years Ihave made major breakthroughs ininfluencing people in New York City, sonow we see playwork developing in NewYork and I walk around feeling verychuffed about that.

Martin: You have talked aboutplayworkers working horizontally withchildren and young people. Can youtell us a bit more about where you feelthe role of the playworker sits withinconsultation and participation?

Roger: Sure, I think without knowing it,playworkers have always been children’srights workers, they have been children’srights advocates. Somehow in the genesisof the profession they incorporated themajor principles of children’s rights - whichare those articles of the UNCRC on givingchildren the right to have a voice. Qualityplayworkers have always done that. So, in

a way playwork is the last profession thatneeds to be educated regarding the styleof engagement with children.

I wouldn’t want to push playworkers in thedirection of consultation becauseconsultation is a very weak form ofparticipation, but it is the way most of theUK has responded to the participationarticles of the UNCRC. Consultation is lowdown on what I call the ladder ofparticipation and that’s because ideallywe need to have sustained engagementwith children. They also need to know thatwe have listened to them and they wantto hear back from us, and often thisdoesn’t happen with consultation.

The way that I have seen playworkerswork with children is continuouslyparticipatory. I would like to see theprofession continue to do that. Thatdoesn’t mean that I think it can’t benefitalso from being self critical and movingeven further forward, and I do have onesuggestion on that, if you have the time tohear it.

Martin: Absolutely.

Roger: One potential area fordevelopment in playwork, is enablingchildren and young people to engagebetter with one another. Not directingthat engagement, but rather, being agood role model in the way they interact.

I feel a need for new kinds of socialstructures for children. I feel that there area lot of things that have changed, notonly has children’s free time changedand kids go to more programmedactivities, but if you remember kids usedto belong to a lot of membershiporganisations – the Cubs, the Scouts, theBoys Brigade. All over the industrialised

Participation aRoger Hart is one of the world’s most respected writers and researchers into children’sparticipation – you may have heard of Hart’s Ladder of Participation. He is British, butlives and works in New York where he is the Director of the Children’s EnvironmentsResearch Group. Our North Wales Development Officer, Martin King-Sheard, spoke tohim at the Play Rangers conference in Torquay last November.


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world membership in them hasdeteriorated enormously since theSecond World War. I wouldn’t want tobring them back, but I would like to seesomething replace them that is ademocratic version of what they were.When I was in the Scouts in Britain we usedto go off – when I was 12 or 13 we wouldcycle about 10 miles every weekend toset up camp, with no Scout Master, andwe were running our own programme - itwas probably illegal. The thing is, that kindof opportunity should exist for childrentoday. They need capacity and licence toself organise.

Too much of what I am hearing about inplaywork depends on the presence of theplayworker all the time – we have to gobeyond that, that’s not good enough. Wehave to get to the point where kidsbecome really sophisticated at runningtheir own groups. That may soundambitious, it’s not. The only reason wedon’t do it in the United Kingdom andmost of the industrialised world is becausewe are frightened of children. We daren’tlet them do it.

You know, I just met kids this morning at thisconference, they were a play rangergroup and they were showing us how toplay. I said to them, “Do you do this withother kids?” and they said, “Yeah, we showthe little kids.” But, when the play rangerleaves, they don’t meet again. They don’tmeet until the next week when the playranger comes again, that’s sad. We coulddo much better than that. Not only couldthese kids show other kids what to dowhen the play rangers are not there, theycould even be offered the idea ofdemocratic structures that would enablethem to, for example, have a key to ashed - to have storage facilities. Theremight be some adults thatthey could turn to when theyhave problems, but thoseadults would be parents, orlocal volunteers. It wouldbe a much moresustainable model.

I would like to see playworkers find waysto develop ideas about self-organisationwith children. We have got to get awayfrom this dependency on adults. Whenyou think about it people from mygeneration didn’t have any adults; all ofour activities were child led. We didn’tneed somebody to tell us how toorganise a soccer game. We didn’t needsomeone to show us how to build a den,or to make a fire come to that. We didall of these things ourselves. And how didwe do it? Well, we were mixed ages forone thing, learning from the competentmembers of our group. We have got toget back to that. We won’t completelybecause there is too much fear forchildren’s safety. But I don’t see why wecan’t do it in a semi organised way –where we have given children the ideasof self-organisation and being moredemocratic, but they don’t have to waitfor us to come every time.

So, that’s a vision that I would hope towork on with people some day. If Icame back to live in this country Iwould work directly withplayworkers on that ... if Icould find some towork with me.

Find out more about Roger Hart andhis work at:www.gc.cuny.edu/index.htm

Find out about Hart’s Ladder ofParticipation at:www.shetland.gov.uk/consultation/guidelines/TheLadderofParticipation.htm

or refer to Roger A. Hart, 1992,Children's Participation: From Tokenismto Citizenship, UNICEF publication

and Playwork


12

Catherine Davies, a Play DevelopmentWorker in Blaenau Gwent describes herexperiences of producing a Play inSchools pamphlet that fed into a LocalAuthority Play Strategy.

On national Playday 2007 Blaenau Gwent launchedtheir long awaited Play Strategy.

It was important that children and young people hadbeen consulted on all aspects of the Strategy from thebeginning; so their views and opinions would inform thefinished product. One section of the Strategy is called Playin Schools; it highlights the importance of providing anddeveloping rich play environments that best meet the playneeds of the children and young people of BlaenauGwent within their school environments, both for in schooland out-of-school purposes.

It was decided that Blaenau Gwent’s Children’s GrandCouncil, which is made up of two elected pupils fromeach primary school in the Borough, would be best suitedto help us with Play in Schools. A series of meetings wereheld for information sharing and consultation, whichallowed the children to engage in some fun games andalso get soaking wet, whilst allowing us an insight to theirthoughts on the play facilities that are currently available attheir schools, and what they would like to see available infuture. At the end of our first meeting we asked thechildren to go back to their schools and conduct their ownresearch on the matter; equipped with cameras, pens,and notebooks they began consulting with their peers.

We were delighted with the high quality of their research; ittold us what they would like to see and how we couldachieve these goals. Their recommendations included:

• Play training for dinnertime supervisors – so that they canunderstand that “most of the time we are just playingand its okay that we have accidents sometimes”

• Giving children the choice of playing inside or outsideduring playtimes, and splitting the yard into sections soeveryone can use the yard (not just those playingsports)

• Re-designing playgrounds so all schools have bothgrass and concrete (children from schools who hadaccess to grass were horrified to hear some schoolchildren did not even have the luxury of grass!)

The information was collated with the help of schoolcouncil members at Georgetown Primary School. Whenthe children were happy that we had interpreted theinformation in the manner that it was intended, theirrecommendations were included in the Strategy and weremade into a glossy pamphlet to support its launch. It isearly days yet, and we can’t report on the implementationof the Strategy but after all the children’s hard work it will begreat to tell them how they have contributed to improvingplay opportunities in schools across the Borough.

The Play Team would like to say a big thank you to allthe children of the Children’s Grand Council and toevery child who participated. For more information onthe Blaenau Gwent Play Strategy or play opportunitieswithin Blaenau Gwent please contact the Play Teamon 01495 355584.

Participation - Play in Schools

Play for Wales Issue 24 SPRING 2008PLAY AND CHILDREN’S RIGHTS

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A. What is your favouriteplay memory?I have so many but what Ienjoyed most was thefreedom to go to the localpark with my friends where wewould build dens in the woods,play football and rugby withjumpers for goal posts, ride ourbikes through imaginarycourses we had set up, andjust hang around discussingthings. There used to be a parkkeeper in the park who had alittle hut where he used tokeep an eye on things. He wasa kind man who probably keptan eye out for us but he wasnever intrusive – although weall used to enjoy it when hemade us cups of tea on hisstove when it started to rain!

B. Children and youngpeople's play is oftenoverlooked when itcomes to children'srights, yet it's one of themost important things tochildren themselves.How do you propose tofurther children's playrights?

I agree and I think it is a realshame that people tend tooverlook the importance of playin children’s lives. When I lookback at my own childhood andthink about how my own childrenbenefited from play – the skillsthey developed, the confidencethey have in social settings andthe fun they have had – I feel areal responsibility to use my newrole as the Children’sCommissioner for Wales topromote the value of play.

As Children’s Commissioner forWales I have a duty to promotethe rights and welfare ofchildren and that includesspeaking up for children andyoung people. To do that well Ineed to make sure that I meetas many children as I can and

listen to them as they tell meabout their experiences, theirhopes, their aspirations and theirconcerns. I fully expect thatchildren will give me strongmessages about theimportance of play in their lives.What interests me is how wecan all work to improvechildren’s lives – how we canmake a difference for childrenin practical ways that they cansee, feel and experience. Wemust value more what childrenand young people tell us. I shallgive a priority to listening andmeeting with children and willuse that foundation to informhow I will work with those peoplewho can make a difference inlocal communities.

www.childcom.org.uk

The International Play Association:Promoting the Child’s Right to Play (IPA)

has embarked on an ambitious plan to raiseArticle 31 from its position as ‘the mostneglected right’ in the United NationsConvention on the Rights of the Child(UNCRC). Theresa Casey, IPA President,reports:

The IPA Council* adopted a strategic plan duringour World Conference in Hong Kong this year. Ourfirst goal is to improve our visibility as a credibleand authoritative world voice on children’s play; wewill build on IPA’s historical connections and currentnetworks to establish formal collaborative links withother international organisations and UN agencies.

Another goal is to influence the UN Committee on the Rights ofthe Child. IPA played a significant role in the inclusion of play inthe UNCRC but the evidence to date shows us that Article 31 isneglected, even by this Committee. IPA Council met withProfessor Jakob Egbert Doek (a former Chair of the Committee)who gave us an invaluable insight into the system and advisedus on how we could raise play on the agenda.

At a national level IPA members are urged to beactive in ensuring that Article 31 is addressed inCountry reports to the UN Committee.

The UN Committee’s annual Discussion Days andthe publication by them of General Comments aremajor vehicles for drawing attention to aspects ofchildren’s rights; neither has yet been devoted toArticle 31. Our challenge is to demonstrate whatwe know about the vital nature of play to children –something that is often overlooked when there areapparently weightier issues addressed in theUNCRC.

Since the next IPA World Conference will be held inWales in 2011, you will have the opportunity tochallenge us on how well we have progressed.

Theresa is an author and play consultant based in Scotland.

Play: the most neglected right

*IPA is governed by the IPA Council, which is made up ofnational representatives, correspondents and a Board. To find out more about joining the England Wales, andNorthern Ireland branch of IPA and supporting its workplease visit www.ipa-ewni.org.uk

An interview with the newChildren’s Commissioner

Play for Wales Issue 24 SPRING 2008WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

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My colleagues and I have been meeting withawarding bodies to get the new playwork

training, Playwork: Principles into Practice, or P3, onthe qualifications framework.

We are working on the development of a Welsh PlayworkLearning Hub including publicity, courses, and drawingtogether e-learning opportunities.

We are commissioning workforce development researchto identify the location and status of playworkers inWales, and their training and qualifications, as well astheir training needs. So, if you are a playworker, or anemployer of playworkers, please watch out for this.

We are developing a continuing professionaldevelopment (CPD) strategy and programme forplayworkers and others in the children’s workforce, whichwill be disseminated for consultation in the future. We arecurrently in the process of undertaking an evaluation ofP3 with playworkers around the positive outcomes andareas of work that need to be developed and improved.

If you would like more information about any of theseitems please contact me on 029 2048 6050 or [email protected]

Playwork: Principles into Practice – bad news – good news

The bad news: after completing over 60 courses andtraining around 900 learners the piloting phase for P3 hasnow finished and funding has ended. So for the timebeing we are unable to offer courses for free.

The good news: however, it is far from the end of ourwork to develop new playwork training! We havesubmitted a new bid that, if successful, will allow us tocontinue to pilot and develop the existing P3 level 2courses as well as to develop a range of newqualifications and CPD modules including qualificationsat level 3.

More good news: we are currently finalising the editing,proof reading, and design and print of the Award,Certificate and Diploma training packs at level 2.

Even more good news: P3 is progressing nicely in termsof being accredited with the Scottish QualificationsAuthority as a bona fide qualification.

Training Trainers 7302

There is a need for more qualified playwork trainers todeliver P3 in Wales, so Play Wales has organised a Cityand Guilds course (Level 3 Introduction to DeliveringLearning: 7302) that has attracted playworkers fromWrexham, Swansea and Rhondda Cynon Taff, tomention a few. This is the first time we have trainedplayworkers from scratch to become fully qualifiedtrainers. The course will run again later in the year andthere is already a waiting list. If you are interested inbeing trained as a playwork trainer please contact us.

Assessor Training: L20

If you are already one of our P3 trainers or you are anexperienced playworker this is a suitable course for you.It will mean that you can assess people doing our P3

courses. If you are interested please contact us.

P3 Assessments

Since the start of the P3 project there have been significantdevelopments and changes in the area of training andeducation, not least of which is the development of anew qualifications framework. This has meant expandingthe reach of the assessment criteria for all level 2 coursesand we are actively looking at ways to clear the backlogof learners needing additional assessment.

If you have any questions about any aspect of P3

courses please contact:

Playwork Wales, National Centre for Playwork Educationand Training - telephone 029 2048 6050 or [email protected]

Playwork Wales What have we been up to? Jane Hawkshaw reveals (almost) all ...

Since starting as Manager in November 2007 I have been developing systems toensure that Playwork Wales, the National Centre for Playwork Education andTraining, is built on firm foundations. We have also recruited a bilingual assistant,Aled Morris, to support our work.

Play for Wales Issue 24 SPRING 2008WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

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As part of our evaluation of the Playwork:Principles into Practice (P3) courses weasked managers of playworkers how theyfelt the training had impacted on playworkpractice at their settings:

Jo Jones, Play Development Officer, Vale of GlamorganStaff attending the P3 course came away with a real understandingof the theory behind what we do and were very confident andmotivated. There was a real buzz amongst the play team.

As an employer I was very happy with the training and theoutcome for the team, from comments made and questionsasked by the staff team it was evident the training hadimproved their understanding of their role:

• "I know how important play is now.”• “It’s not just playing, it’s everything.”• “I feel very professional about what I’m doing.”• “This experience has changed my life.”

Will Morecambe, Manager, Rhyl Adventure PlaygroundEveryone I spoke to came away both newly enthused abouttheir work and with plenty of ideas as to how they could improveupon it. As a manager (who participated on the course) I wasable to see for myself how what happened over the three daysimpacted upon the improvement of practice. I can genuinelysay that I learnt a lot about myself and my work practice. Stafftoo learnt a lot about themselves and their practice, and thatthis is now being transferred into their work. I would thoroughlyrecommend the course to all those working in the field of play.

Sue Bradshaw, Leader, Bishopston SummerPlay Scheme, GowerThe children played with all the unrestrained enthusiasm andenergy that we had seen in previous years but there was a senseof greater freedom. Children played more imaginatively, weremore physically active, relaxed, trusting, free, collaborative andhappy. The same applied to the staff team. As an employer theatmosphere was exhilarating; staff took on the philosophyespoused on the training and this resulted in children whocouldn’t wait to start playing and didn’t want to stop playing at theend of the day. Again, this could have been applied to the staff.

The last day dawned, the big question from parents was, ’It’salways been good but this year’s has been even better, whathave you all done to make it so fantastic?’ It was a simpleanswer, P3 training - there were far fewer tensions betweenwhat the children wanted and what we could provide.

Lisa Williams, Play Team Co-ordinator, GwentAssociation of Voluntary Associations(Since the training) the team is more reflective in their practiceand they spend more time observing and evaluating the playsessions and how play opportunities can be extended. This hasimpacted on the children and young people, as the staff arebetter equipped and skilled to extend their play. Some staffwho came from childcare backgrounds have had a completechange of mindset and through the training have reallyembraced the ethos of playwork.

This training has been extremely influential across the county ofCaerphilly with not just playworkers gaining the skills, experienceand knowledge but also aid workers, youth workers, parents andvolunteers all taking their new skills back to their settings andchanging the way they interact with children and young people.I am very keen for this training to continue and extend withinCaerphilly and aid the development of a quality workforce.

Debra Jones, Play Development Worker,Valleys KidsThe P3 training has made a huge difference to the playworkers;they are far more confident speaking to parents and othersabout the importance of play and the play process. Theirpractice has changed dramatically; there is more thoughtabout how, when or if to intervene. They are more reflectiveabout the play sessions, themselves and each other, they aremore open and supportive of trying new things. It has had aknock on affect, with playworkers commenting on the changein children’s behaviour, they believe it is because they are nowrecognising play cues and responding to them.

As an employer you need staff to have a variety of knowledgeranging from, play to the dreaded ‘health and safety’ andeverything in between; P3 has incorporated these and muchmore. P3 is progressive and has separate parts which allowsemployers and learners to choose the right level of learning forthe individual, this helps a natural progression through training.The courses give employers quality staff that are trained onplay, not on how many electrical socket covers are needed!

To find out more about P3 – Playwork: Principles intoPractice courses please contact Mel in our WorkforceDevelopment Team on 029 2048 6050 or [email protected]

P3 Training –the impact

Play for Wales Issue 24 SPRING 2008FUNDING AND EVENTS

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Events and Funding9 April 2008 Playday Organiser SeminarBuilth Wellswww.playwales.org.uk

10/11 April, 7/8 May, 5/6 June 2008 Designs for Play study Tour Stirlingwww.playlink.org/calendar/

14/15 May 2008 The Spirit of Adventure Playwww.playwales.org.uk

20 May 2008 Places to go?Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, Londonwww.playengland.org.uk

23 May 2008 National Play Conference – IrelandTemple Bar, Dublinwww.playoreland.ie

9 - 11 July 2008 Toy and Culture – International ToyResearch Association World CongressNafplion, Greece Call for papers www.toyresearch.org

13 - 17 October 2008 11th International Toy Library ConferenceParis Call for paperswww.alf-ludotheques.org/reseau/congres-en.php

3 - 5 November 2008 Child in the City – 4th European ConferenceRotterdam Call for paperswww.europoint.eu/events/?childinthecity

The LankellyChase Foundation

is inviting applications for small grants to supportsummer playschemes throughout the UK. Playschemesmust benefit children between 5 and 13 years old andshould preferably be local and last 4 - 6 weeks or takethe form of special activities for young people who areparticularly disadvantaged. Closing date forapplications: 2 May 2008. www.lankellychase.org.uk/

Playday OrganiserSeminarPlay Wales will be hosting a free one day PlaydayOrganisers Seminar at the Royal Welsh Showground inBuilth Wells on 9 April 2008.

This year’s Playday theme is risk and play and theseminar will give playday organisers practicalinformation and skills to be able to provide a playdaythat lives up to the theme as well as a chance tonetwork and share experiences.

This is a free event provided by Play Wales – we areproviding the venue, trainers, materials andrefreshments – delegates will need to provide theirown lunch.

Spaces are limited - to book a place contact Kate on 029 2048 6050 or email [email protected]

Spirit 2008If you are a playworker and can onlyafford to attend one conference in 2008 - this is the place to beWe will be hosting our annual Spirit ofAdventure Play conference in Cardiff on 14 and 15 May. We are expecting presentations from a Portugueseteam who have been researching play fighting, BobHughes, Wendy Russell and Stuart Lester. Among thosefacilitating workshops are Ali Wood, Jess Milne, Meynell,Dan Rees Jones and Susannah Walker.For more information and to book your place visitwww.playwales.org.uk or contact Kate on 029 2048 6050 or email [email protected]

New Team MemberWelcome to our new Finance Officer JackyJenkins who started work with us last December.She replaces Lisa who has moved to Australiawith her family. Jacky has worked as achartered accountant and whiile raising hertwo children she worked as a teaching assistantat a primary school and an exam invigilator ata secondary school.

Jacky says: “I am looking forward to my new post whichcombines accounting with the experience I gained workingin schools”.

We hope she enjoys working with us at Play Wales.

New BabyCongratulations to Annette, our wonderful North Wales Officeworker who gave birth to Eryn Mai Williams – a bouncing babygirl – on 22 February 2008. Have a great time with your newlyextended family, and we look forward to having you back onthe team in September.

Documents

Play for Wales issue 24