Extracts from the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child

StateS partieS shall assure to the child

who is capable of forming his or her own

viewS the right to expreSS those viewS

freely in all matterS affecting the chil

d,

the viewS of the child being given due

weight in accordance with the age and

maturity of the child.

Article 31

Article 23

Article 12

StateS PartieS recogniSe that a mentallyor phySically diSabled child Should enjoy afull and decent life, in conditionS whichensure dignity, promote Self-reliance

and facilitate the child’S activeparticipation in the community.

1. Every child has the right to reSt and

leiSure, to engage in play and

recreational activitieS appropriate

to the age of the child and to

participate freely in cultural life an

d

the artS.

2. Member governmentS Shall reSpect and

promote the right of the child to

participate fully in cultural and artiS

tic

life and Shall encourage the proviSion

of appropriate and equal opportunitieS

for cultural, artistic, recreational and

leisure activity.

The entire Convention can be found on the Department ofHealth’s website -www.doh.gov.uk/unchild.htm

W O R K I N G F O R T H E C H I L D ’ S R I G H T TO P L AY

the Executive muSt commit to play and adopt a play policy Statementunderpinned by a national Strategy for providing for children’S play needS

mainstream funding and a wide range

of resourceS Should be available to

Support the policy and Strategy

children must be more involved in

deciSion making and their voiceS must

be Shown to have an impact

outdoor play both SuperviSed andunSupervised Should be brought into policy activity aS a coreinterdepartmental theme in the ExecutiveProgramme for Government

there Should be a Northern Ireland

Children’S Day to celebrate

children’S achievementS

play policy

resources

outdoors

celebrate

as a matter of priority reSourceS must be made available

to Support Inclusive Play

traffic calming measureS and HomeZoneS

are eSSential to allow children

to reclaim the StreetS and enable

children’S world’S to grow again

Article 23

voices

My first year in PlayBoard has exceeded all my expectations. I always aspired to work in the voluntarysector and admired the energy, enthusiasm and commitment that motivated everyone involved. Thechallenges for PlayBoard this year have been enormous and we have grown from strength to strengthsimply because of the overwhelming support of our members, partner and sponsor organisations. So ahuge ‘thank you’ to all concerned.

Our major achievements this year include ‘Pathways to Excellence’, PlayBoard’s new quality assurancescheme; the launch of ‘Out 2 Play’, our very own play project promoting physical and outdoor play for 7-12 year olds; the launch of the Out of School Hours Learning through Play project; and our partnershiptraining project, promoting inclusive play for children with disabilities, ‘Play for All’.

PlayBoard’s role as an Intermediary Funding Body for Measure 1.5: Positive Action for Women, waslaunched in January as we made our first call for Sustaining the PlayCare Initiative. We have workedclosely with the Special European Union Programmes Body, our sponsor department the Department ofEmployment and Learning, and the four Childcare Partnerships to deliver the funding to the PlayCare sector,and we thank them all for their support. Nevertheless a lot of work remains to ensure the sustainability ofcurrent provision and to establish provision in rural and many Protestant communities, which at present areunder-represented in terms of provision.

The biggest accolade of all goes to the PlayCare clubs who battled their way through huge applicationforms on-line, and our biggest regret is that we couldn’t make funding available to all of you who made theeffort to apply. A second call will be made early next year for the limited amount of funds remaining.

As seems to be the case throughout the voluntary sector we have been unable to secure funding for manygreat staff members who have moved on to a wide range of exciting projects. We wish them success andhope to keep them in our network.

We welcome our new staff members who have joined us this year to deliver our innovative projects. I knowthey will be very happy at PlayBoard, as indeed I am.

We have a lot of work to do this year, lobbying to have play included again in the Programme forGovernment, and to have the Executive adopt a play policy statement as the National Assembly for Waleshas done and fund play through mainstream budgets. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of theChild, ratified by the UK Government in December 1991, recognises the importance of play for the child. Toensure the full implementation of Article 31 of the Convention, the Executive should make a play policystatement that contributes to creating an environment that encourages and nurtures children’s play, andunderpin a national strategy for providing for children’s play needs.

Finally, a word of thanks to the Board of Directors for their support, guidance and good humour and inparticular we are indebted to Billy Boyd, Chairman of the Board of Directors for his dedication anddetermination to ensure the success of PlayBoard.

Marguerite Hunter BlairChief Executive

“play is older and more origional than civilization” Johan Huizinga, Homo Ludeus

it’s time to play

1

Chief Executive’S Report

PlayBoard’s training section has delivered on two major pieces of work during the year which specificallytarget quality play provision and social inclusion in play.

PathwayS to Excellence – changing children’SworldS through quality play

PlayBoard’s quality assurance scheme, ‘Pathways to Excellence’, was developed in the past year and is aprocess for improving the quality of children’s play experiences in a range of play settings, to ensure thehighest quality of play experiences for children.

Pathways to Excellence builds on PlayBoard’s previous quality assurance scheme and a huge ‘thank you’ isextended to everyone who was part of the review process.

The quality assurance scheme has been devised so that play services will be assessed across 11 distinctpathway areas, with two distinct levels of quality in place. The quality pathways are:

• The Children (NI) Order 1995 and associated regulations and guidance• Policies and procedures• Effective management committees• Working with parents• Promoting a child-centred service• Promoting positive play opportunities• A warm and caring environment• Premises & facilities• Holiday schemes• Managing the finances• Staff and volunteers

The Pathways to Excellence scheme will provide enormous benefits to a wide range of stakeholders and playproviders. Most importantly, children and parents will benefit from play services that have been assessedand recognised as providing a quality provision. It is hoped that the pack will help raise the profile andprofessionalism of playwork and will emphasise the important contribution of playworkers in providingquality play services. Pathways to Excellence will assist in the creation and maintenance of quality playservices that ensure the holistic, healthy development of children and take account of their varied, complexand multi-faceted play needs. The pack will help change children’s worlds through play.

3

TRAINING SECTION

At the end of my first year as Chairman of the Board of Directors, I look back on a year which has seen theorganisation face, and deal with, some setbacks, but yet move forward to develop and expand its role as anadvocate for children’s play.

The challenges of being able to secure core funding and encouraging Government and its constituentDepartments, to accept their role in the proper finding of children’s play are still with us. Our ChiefExecutive, Marguerite, has endeavoured to keep these issues to the fore while also directing her energies toensuring the proper and equitable distribution of monies from Peace II. She and her staff deserve to havetheir efforts recognised and this I do on behalf of the Board of Directors and all those who use and dependon their support and expertise.

With our role as an IFB now in progress, we hope, in the coming year, to increase pressure on those whomwe feel have a responsibility to ensure that play is at the top of everyone’s agenda. To do this, we will lobbygovernment departments who, in their Programme for Government, have initially accepted play as part ofthe Programme but have allocated no resources towards play, or considered a policy statement on play. Partof this lobby will also seek to have PlayBoard’s role of working for the child’s right to play, recognised andproperly funded to allow the development of this role, a development which will contribute to society at alllevels – community, parents but more especially, children. Investing in children is investing in the health,welbeing and creative development of the whole community.

I express my thanks to Marguerite and all the staff, who over the past year have done so much forPlayBoard and its members.

Billy BoydChairman

2

ChairperSon’S Report

hello mum

training

Over the past 12 months, the Training Team has achieved the following:

• assisted 149 playwork candidates, with 58 successfully completing their NVQ award across both Level 2 and Level 3

• further developed cross-border links by participation in the Working Party for School-Age Childcarebased in Dublin

• provided training to afterschool clubs in Dublin, Bundoran and Bray

• continued to establish working partnerships with key agencies across the 0-14 services sector

• completed modular programme for child protection training in conjunction with Southern Health & Social Services Board

Training Matters

The training section at PlayBoard can tailor and deliver sessions or courses to meet your individual needsand requirements, as we work together to enhance the quality of children’s lives through play.

PlayBoard currently offer training on all aspects of children’s play including:-• Introduction to Playwork (11 sessions)• NVQ Level 2 Playwork (35 sessions)• NVQ Level 3 Playwork (52 sessions)

As well as the following short courses:-• What is Play? • The Role of the Playworker• Programme Planning • Games• Equal Opportunities • Promoting Positive Relationships• Arts & Crafts • Basic Administration • Child Protection • Quality Assurance – Pathways to Excellence • Top Play

5

Training Team

The Play for All training course was devised in partnership by PlayBoard, Barnardos, BIFHE and Belfast CityCouncil, and aims to:

• enable playworkers to develop skills, knowledge and confidence to include children with disabilities inplay services

• accredit playworkers’ knowledge, skills and experience in including children with disabilities in playprovision

• facilitate the development of a group of trainers with disabilities.

The project, which is being facilitated by Barnardos, is unique in that each partner organisation will deliverspecific pieces of the training programme. Training will initially be provided in the Belfast City Council andDown District Council areas.

‘Is Anyone Listening’? (a report prepared for Barnardos NI in May 2002 by QUB Childcare Research)highlighted that physical education and playing were the activities where most disabled children were likelyto face exclusion. We hope that Play for All will address some of the underlying reasons for this and willmake a difference. The Play for All partnership hopes to offer training throughout Northern Ireland and toall District Council areas in the future.

Training facilitieS and equipment hire

Calendar of training events A ‘Calendar of Training Events’ is planned for the coming year, which will highlight the proposed courses foryour area. Booking information and further details will be available from January 2003. Additionalinformation on all courses is available from PlayBoard’s website and Head Office in Belfast.

PlayBoard Training RoomsPlayBoard would like to enable other organisations to benefit from the excellent training facilities we have onsite, therefore we are offering the training rooms for hire at the following rates:

Training SuiteMembers: £20 per session/Non-Members: £25 per session (max. 60 participants- Morning, afternoon or evening sessions available)

Board Room £5.00 per hour (max. 15 participants)

Bookings can be made by contacting PlayBoard:

Tel: 028 9080 3380 Fax: 028 9080 3381

4

Play for All – IncluSive Play for PlayworkerS iS

an accredited Open College Network courSe

back to School

Cairde Gaelscoil an Lonnain, Belfast .....................................................................................£ 37,000Camowen Partnership, Omagh.............................................................................................£ 47,869Carryduff Pre-School Playgroup............................................................................................£ 36,122Club United, Derry...............................................................................................................£ 39,625Little Villagers, Armagh ........................................................................................................£ 8,610Oakleaf RCN, Magherafelt...................................................................................................£ 85,609Oakwood Integrated P.S., Lisburn .........................................................................................£ 33,800Roden Street Community, Belfast ...........................................................................................£ 76,500Strangford and District Playgroup .........................................................................................£ 20,081Suffolk Community Services, Belfast ......................................................................................£ 13,828Early Years Company, Belfast................................................................................................£ 38,466An Droichead Ltd., Belfast ....................................................................................................£ 19,200Ashton Community Trust, Belfast............................................................................................£ 57,200Atticall Childcare Ltd ............................................................................................................£ 28,800Belleek Crossborder Childcare Co.........................................................................................£ 12,723Cleenish Cross Community ...................................................................................................£ 42,667Douglas Bridge Cross Community .........................................................................................£ 35,460Down & Lisburn Trust ...........................................................................................................£ 95,550Family Caring Centre, Antrim ...............................................................................................£ 54,000Fivemiletown Community Development ..................................................................................£ 57,600Jack Horner & Mother Goose, Ballycastle ..............................................................................£ 32,375Kids Stop, Dungannon .........................................................................................................£ 23,531Kidzone, Newry ..................................................................................................................£ 23,234Little Villagers, Armagh ........................................................................................................£ 7,200Mossley Afterschool Playcare................................................................................................£ 18,928NIPPA, The Early Years Organisation ....................................................................................£ 138,157Northern Ireland Childminding Association ...........................................................................£ 90,000Playzone, Belfast..................................................................................................................£ 57,600Rainbow Community Playgroup, Derry..................................................................................£ 83,234Southern Health & Social Services.........................................................................................£ 50,400Traad & Ballyronan Afterschool Club ....................................................................................£ 16,500Zions Den Ltd., Lurgan .........................................................................................................£ 16,473An Tearmann, Dungannon ...................................................................................................£ 38,400Ardoyne Afterschool Club, Belfast .........................................................................................£ 76,644Ballykeel Partnership, Ballymena...........................................................................................£ 28,800Barnmeen Community Assoc., Newry ...................................................................................£ 23,781Benburb Community Playgroup.............................................................................................£ 21,952Bumbles Playgroup, Belfast ...................................................................................................£ 21,952Clonard Monastery Youth Centre, Belfast ...............................................................................£ 68,184Crumlin Afterschool Club......................................................................................................£ 14,400Fun Time Afterschool Club, Newry........................................................................................£ 55,630Galbally Youth & Community Assoc ......................................................................................£ 18,755Gasyard Development Trust, Derry........................................................................................£ 63,529Holy Trinity PTA, Cookstown .................................................................................................£ 39,900Kidsunited, Armagh .............................................................................................................£ 25,700

7

Out of School Hours Childcare Awards,

October 2001 – June 2002

Since the last annual review there have been considerable changes to this team, not least a change of name.With the renewal of contracts in April 2002 came a wider remit that included extended responsibility, thusthe change from Out of School Hours Childcare Development to Childcare Partnership Development. Thischange also reflects the working relationship with each of the four Childcare Partnerships and the realisationthat the posts are not linked to one specific funding stream, but are there to support the priorities of eachChildcare Partnership.

One of the biggest challenges in the past year has been the management of the initial application stages forthe capital fund, Building Quality Childcare. This New Opportunities Fund initiative has a £6 million budgetfor Northern Ireland, and will assist in developing both the quality and quantity of childcare places andeligible projects including new builds, refurbishment, renovation, quality improvements and mobile services.Each Childcare Partnership devised a portfolio which recommended the projects in their area meeting thepriorities for the programme. Development staff worked closely with Partnership Co-ordinators and supportstaff to ensure those areas most in need of funding were identified, and with the Strategic Funding Panels tomake recommendations. The process has only just begun for those groups included in the portfolios and2003 will see the start of the capital work.

The team has continued to assist groups to accessfunding from NOF’s Out of School HoursChildcare Initiative. With over £2 millionawarded in the last financial year to more than50 projects, there has been a tremendous effortto support the start-up process. Work withcommunity groups through the applicationprocess, recruitment of staff, registration withSocial Services and management of grants andprojects has been ongoing, as has network andtraining events. The fund is due to close inFebruary 2003 and there are a number of groupswho are now ready to apply for this funding andcreate quality, affordable and accessiblechildcare places in their communities.

Once again, the team is indebted to theCoordinators, Chairs and support staff fromeach of the four Childcare Partnerships and tothe Belfast office of the New Opportunities Fund.With their assistance the team is on track to meet thetargets set out in Children First, Northern Ireland’sChildcare Strategy.

6

Childcare PartnerShip Development Team

As an Intermediary Funding Body, PlayBoard’s PlayCare Team assisted in administering the first round of a £3 million package from the Special EU Programme for Peace & Reconciliation to PlayClubs offering out-of-school play provision for children. Under Peace I, PlayBoard funded around 100 clubs, benefiting 2000children, employing over 250 playworkers and supporting almost 200 NVQs in Playwork. IFB status underPeace II allows PlayBoard to continue promoting this work by supporting existing PlayClubs and helpingestablish new provision.

PlayBoard held a formal launch at its headquarters office in Belfast of Measure 1.5: Positive Action forWomen on Monday 14th January. John McKinney of the Special EU Programmes Body and GeorgeO’Doherty from the Department of Employment & Learning were the guests of honour along withrepresentatives from groups who had submitted expression of interest forms. The following details theorganisations who were successful in receiving grants under the first round of funding.

A further call to this Measure will be announced in early 2003

9

The PlayCare Initiative

The Finance & Monitoring Team carry out invaluable work in PlayBoard assisting and supporting bothproject teams internally and projects externally who receive funding associated with PlayBoard.

The team also provides assistance with funding applications and administers PlayBoard’s income includingthe many grants, awards and tenders that PlayBoard is successful in bidding for and negotiating.

The team has continued to finalise grants under Peace I and are currently progressing the final claims andrelease of final payments on behalf of the Department of Employment & Learning for GAP funding.

As an Intermediary Funding Body for Peace II, Measure 1.5, Positive Action for Women, Sustaining thePlayCare Initiative, there has been extensive work in administering Peace II with the Special European UnionProgrammes Body.

Peace II awards were made by the Area Childcare Partnerships in April 2002. The Monitoring Team held10 training workshops during the month of May in various locations throughout Northern Ireland. The aimof the workshops was to train the successful projects in the financial requirements of the European StructuralFunds and to meet the Monitoring Team. Feedback on the workshops has been very positive.

Monitoring for Peace II has now commenced and each project has been allocated a Monitoring Officer.

There will be a second call for Measure 1.5, Sustaining the PlayCare Initiative, early next year. The amountof money PlayBoard is able to approve has been reduced substantially because of the revision of the GlobalGrant by the Special EU Programmes Body. As a result of this each Partnership area will be asked toidentify priority areas to target in the call.

A huge ‘thank you’ goes out to everyone who has assisted PlayBoard in administering this Measure,including the Childcare Partnerships and their Strategic Funding Panels, fellow IFBs, the SEUPB and oursponsor Department, DEL.

A special acknowlegement is also due to Stephen Rainey from DEL.

8

Finance & Monitoring Team

Eastern Board

174 Trust Belfast £ 42,213.00

Tullymore Afterschools, Upper Andersonstown Community Forum Belfast £ 45,190.00

123 House Belfast £ 45,899.00

Beechmount Community Project Belfast £ 22,989.08

The Scout Hall, Downpatrick Scout Unit Downpatrick £ 39,497.00

Windsor Women’s Centre Belfast £ 27,751.00

Short Strand Community Forum Belfast £ 39,497.00

Muppets, Poleglass Residents Association Belfast £ 39,497.00

Northern Ireland Child Minding Association Newtownards £107,041.00

Crossgar Community Centre Killyleagh £ 39,497.00

Whiterock Crèche Association Belfast £ 39,497.00

An Droichead Ltd Belfast £ 39,497.00

Corpus Christi Services Belfast £ 53,386.00

Small Frys, Newcastle YMCA Newcastle £ 14,671.25

Careers ‘n’ Kids Belfast £ 11,737.00

Corner House Cross Community Centre Belfast £ 3,999.81

Cairde Bunscoil Phonbal Feirste Belfast £ 40,515.41

Ashton Community Trust Belfast £ 20,697.00

Vine Centre Belfast £ 11,737.00

Bright Sparks Afterschools at St George’s Belfast £ 39,497.00

Ardmonagh Family & Community Group Belfast £ 8,802.75

Kids Club, Oasis Caring in Action Belfast £ 39,497.00

Out 2 Play is a play project launched by PlayBoardthis year, and is funded through the CommunityFoundation for NI under the DHSSPS Investing forHealthier Communities Grant. PlayBoard isconcerned at the restrictions placed on children’sability to access quality physical play opportunities.

Physical play has a direct impact on fitness, co-ordination, strengthening bones, aiding emotional health,increasing the capacity of the cardiovascular system and developing motor skills. Research into children’smental health has also shown a link between restrictions on children’s access to challenging unsupervisedplay and rising levels of stress and mental health problems.

The outdoor environment is becoming more and more hostile for children. Heavy traffic levels and increasedurbanisation mean that, in many cases, the outdoor environment is no longer safe for the adults andchildren who live there. In addition, publicity surrounding the recent disappearance and abduction ofchildren has served to fuel parent’s concerns about the whereabouts of their children outside the home.

Combined, these factors lead to children spending more and more time indoors, in restricted spaces, in front oftelevisions and computers. This inactivity is one of the contributing factors to childhood obesity and heart disease.

Out 2 Play is PlayBoard’s response to the need to safeguard, encourage and initiate physical playopportunities, specifically for the 7 – 12 year old age group.

Over the next two years, 200 playworkers across Northern Ireland will be able to access a free, nine weektraining programme which promotes peer education through the use of an ideas and training pack and aresource bag full of materials to use with children. The training will address issues and skills such as:

• co-operative games• traditional games from around the world• play in the forest and on the beach• parachute games• circus play• planning for physical play• assessing children’s needs• the role of the playworker

The training will empower community play projects to assess the physicalplay needs of their children and enable them to develop a plan to meetthose needs.

Out 2 Play will specifically target playworkers from settings that workwith disadvantaged children, including those from an ethnicminority background and disabled children.

The project is being led by Play Development Officer, EvaKane, who is based at PlayBoard’s head office in Belfast.

11

Out 2 Play

Northern Board

Ballee Community Association Ballymena £ 39,497.00

Ballinascreen After Schools Club Magherafelt £ 50,343.33

Focus on Family Coleraine £ 9,603.00

Gort Kids Afterschools Club Cookstown £ 39,497.00

The K Club, Portrush Community Development Group Portrush £ 28,809.00

Slieve Gallion Rural Development Association Magherafelt £ 26,693.00

Kidz Lodge Magherafelt £ 17,605.50

Loughgiel Community Association Ballymena £ 39,497.00

Skools Out Afterschools Club Killyleagh £ 17,605.50

Summerfield Afterschool Club Ballymena £ 40,555.00

Southern Board

Learning Zone, Dungannon Play Club Dungannon £ 39,497.00

Kids United Portadown £ 23,474.00

Kidz Patch Lurgan £ 26,693.00

Kidszone Afterschool Club Bessbrook £ 39,497.00

Scallywags Club, Gortgonis Afterschools Coalisland £ 39,050.84

Woodland Out of School Club, Acorn Women’s Group Augher £ 45,130.00

Western Board

Rascals Playstation Enniskillen £ 39,497.00

L.C.D.I. Afterschools Club Limavady £ 39,497.00

Kesh Development Association Kesh £ 26,693.00

Camowen Smart Kids Omagh £ 76,725.00

Bright Ideas, Strathfoyle Development Trust Derry £ 26,693.00

Active Allsorts Irvinestown £ 39,497.00

Sugar & Spice Out of School Club Drumquin £ 26,693.00

The PlayCare Initiative

We wish all the clubs every success. PlayBoard will be employing Sustainable Development Officers tosupport both successful and unsuccessful clubs to devise strategies to ensure that quality provisions existsbeyond the current, limited, funding streams.

10

The PlayCare Initiative money

happy dayS

13

Playday 2002

“It should be noted that children at play are not playing about; their games should beseen as their most serious minded activity” Montaigne (1533-1592)

PlayBoard have long advocated that children learn through play. Given the right environment, children candevelop confidence, self-esteem, social skills and increased motivation to learn. PlayClubs and their workerscan create this environment, and to further this work, PlayBoard was successful in obtaining funding fromthe New Opportunities Fund for Out of School Hours Learning.

This exciting new initiative will involve six of our member groups and their named primary or secondaryschool working alongside PlayBoard to promote ‘learning’. The aim of the project is to encourage childrento learn through the medium of play in a fun and challenging environment. Both playworkers and teacherswill be involved in drawing up the programmes, which will allow children to develop skills and self-confidence and therefore achieve better learning.

Shankill Women’s Centre, Manor Street After School Club, Glen Parent & Youth, Focus on Family, GortgonisCommunity House and Strathroy are the six member groups who have been doing a lot of groundwork toget their projects up and running before the end of the year. The groups all have their own ideas of whatthey want to do as part of the project, including first aid courses for children, information technology, funreading clubs and mentoring groups.

The groups are supported by Angela Stallard, the Play Development Officer, who is responsible for co-ordinating this three year project. Angela has been with PlayBoard since 1996, formerly employed as PlayCare Development Officer in the Eastern Board .

PlayBoard as an agency is committed to promoting children’s play. Play is the means by which childrenlearn, and learning is not just about what is taught in classrooms. The Out of School Hours Learning Project will clearly demonstrate this, and lots of children will have lots of fun!

“Play is early lifehood education at it’s best”Playgrounds on Demand - 2nd Edition 1991

12

Out of School HourS Learning –launched thiS year!

Schools out

On Wednesday 7th August, children from 17 of PlayBoard’s member groups came together in Newcastle,county Down to celebrate National Playday, an event celebrated each year throughout the UK. The themefor this year’s event was ’Take a Chance on Play’, and was chosen to enable children to explore risk andchallenge.

On the day, around 500 children gave the ‘thumbs up’ to adventurous and stimulating play opportunities atGreenhill YMCA in Newcastle, county Down. The event to mark Playday in Northern Ireland was organisedin partnership by PlayBoard, Greenhill YMCA and NIPPA, the Early Years Organisation. In a society wherechildren have increasingly fewer opportunities to access outdoor play, the Playday event allowed children toaccess a wide range of fun, challenging, stimulating and age-appropriate play activities, including:

• archery • low-level ropes course• bouncy castle • orienteering• environmental activities • parachute games• initiative games • scavenger hunts• it’s a knock-out • treasure hunts• water slide • group competitions

The event was a huge success, both in terms of the children’s obvious enjoyment but also in raisingawareness of the need to offer children challenging play opportunities that provide an element of risk.PlayBoard will continue to urge parents and providers to balance the need to keep children safe with theneed to let them learn by taking risks.

Other events to mark National Playday included a Playday in Ballycastle funded by the Northern Childcare Partnership and an event hosted, organised and funded by Belfast City Council, Community andLeisure Services

Next year, PlayBoard hopes to promote Playday events in each county in Northern Ireland. This year’ssuccessful events continue to prove that PLAY IS FUN for ALL.

Wahey playdayS

PlayBoard has had another busy year, with policy developments in particular at the top of the agenda.

As in previous years, the prospect of a Children’s Commissioner for Northern Ireland has been something ofa double-edged sword – great for our children and young people, and a fantastic result after years of workbut still capable of generating huge amounts of work. Nonetheless, we are proud to be have been involvedin a process that will culminate in the appointment of a Commissioner (in the new year) who will provide agenuine voice for children and someone who will increase the profile of children’s rights within society andthe political structures. The coming year looks to be just as busy, with informal and formal consultationexercises due to take place around the development of the Northern Ireland Children’s Strategy, a documentthat will help improve the standing of children in our society in general.

Representation on the All Party Children’s Group at Stormont, the Putting Children First campaigningalliance and the Non-Government Organisation (NGO) Forum continues and PlayBoard uses its position onthese groups to ensure children’s play needs are fully considered at the highest level, and particularly in theChildren’s Strategy. Although time consuming, the experience has given PlayBoard the welcome opportunityof working in partnership with a number of other organisations with an interest in children’s issues and thechance to develop relationships with Assembly Members and the staff of the Children & Young People’s Unitat Stormont.

PlayBoard is the regional representative on the Children’s Play Policy Forum hosted by the Department ofCulture, Media & Sports in London and is SPRITO’s representative in Northern Ireland.

PlayBoard is a member of of many likeminded organisations including, The Professional Institute of Leisureand Amenity Management (ILAM), the four Childcare Partnerships, Children’s Play Council, Childcare NI,EGSA, NICVA, Kids Club Network, Kids Active, Healthy Cities, Rural Community Network and works closelywith NIPPA, NICMA, Youthnet and ENSAC (European Network for School Aged Childcare).

Taking Forward Effective Children’S PolicieS

This conference was organised by Public Policy Seminars University of London, and held in the Stormont Hotel. PlayBoard presented a paper on the key role for the Voluntary Sector in any Effective Children’s Policy. Copies of all papers presented are available from PlayBoard.

14

PlayBoard InfluenceS Policy and LobbieS

Government in PartnerShip

The most important activity that city children should be able to develop is play!‘While playing, the street becomes their street, the square their square, the districttheir district, the city their city and their domain. The children do not take overthe city, they just become part of it. If we are concerned about the future ofthe city, we must consider how to involve children in its network, and inits economic and social life. And the best way to involve children isthrough play – children are really experts at playing. The city mustcreate space for them to stimulate their expertise and it can thenalso profit from this expertise.

The challenge of the congress was to explore and learn how tointegrate the playing child into the city. How do we create thespace and the time our children need? How do we plan andmanage the integration of environments for children to play,learn and participate in communities? Making the city child andplay friendly is a challenge for politicians, but also for educators,practitioners working with children, designers of playingequipment, for urban planners, workers involved in play andprevention programmes, and community development. The aim ofthis congress was to explore and develop a new integral approachfor the child at play in the city. It provided an opportunity to share goodpractice, but also to explore key issues affecting the creation of childfriendly cities’.

Key questions addressed:

• What needs to happen in policy and practice to effectively address issues affecting the well being ofchildren in the city?

• What needs to happen to enhance the inclusion and participation of children in the everyday life andaffairs of their communities?

• What are the tensions and conflicts that need to be addressed between children and adults and betweenthe agenda of communities and local officials?

• What are the values and approaches necessary to underpin a spirit of social responsibility andcommitment between children, communities and local authorities?

• What are the dilemmas and possibilities of widening opportunities for children to play a more active andcentral role in developing, implementing and monitoring policy, programme and practice initiatives?

PlayBoard presented a paper on Public Space Facilitating and Constraining Children’sPlay - Children Reclaim the Streets?

Further information and an extensive range of papers from the conference is available from PlayBoard.

15

Child in the City – First European CongreSS &

Trade Show. Bruge, Cultural Capital 2002

childrenS

voiceS

matter

“The greatest thing in the world is to know how to be oneself” Montaque (1533-1592)

PlayBoard’s commitment to the ‘child’s right to play’ is the cornerstone of its existence. This is evidencedthrough the projects it is involved in, in campaigning for children’s rights etc, in training and equippingplayworkers, and in its commitment to quality play provision.

The Northern Ireland Association of Playworkers (NIAP) supports these aims in promoting the importanceand value of play. However, our main objectives are to promote the important role of the playworker inenhancing the opportunities for children to play, and to support, promote and assist those who provide playopportunities for children and young people.

High quality play provision can be difficult to define but the new ‘Pathways to Excellence’ pack PlayBoardhas produced will help promote good practice throughout the profession. Yet we need to realise the packwill only be as good as the playworker using it and good playworkers need support and recognition. NIAPaims to develop Playwork as a nationally recognised profession, to enable the views of playworkers to berepresented and to set and monitor standards for employment.

The bond between PlayBoard and NIAP, and the use of the quality assurance pack, can only serve toincrease awareness of play as being fundamental to children’s overall development, and of the expertise ofthe people who work in this profession.

Barbara McIlwrathVice Chair, PlayBoard Chairperson, NIAP

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Northern Ireland ASsociation of PlayworkerS (NIAP)

The focus on policy developments and the administration of Peace II and launch of new projects has meantthat something has had to give and members will notice that they have not received our quarterly newsletter,‘At Play!’, for some time. This is something that we will rectify in the new year and whilst apologising tomembers, we thank you for your continued support.

The PlayBoard reference library has undergone yet another transformation. It is almost complete, and weare now able to provide users with relaxed and comfortable study facilities in our dedicated library, alongwith access to a computer and Grant Tracker. We look forward to welcoming you to the premises.

Website

PlayBoard is proud to reveal our new child (and adult) friendly interactive website. The website address iswww.playboard.org and features a dedicated children’s section and direct email contact for staffmembers. We look forward to receiving your feedback on the website.

The website has been sponsored by the European Union Programme for Peace and Reconciliation and DHSS PS.

Coming Soon… The Children’s Play Forum!

PlayBoard’s ability to consult directly with children, and represent their expressed viewsaccurately is limited, as up until now we have only had direct contact with those who workwith children, and not children themselves. This was most evident during the consultationexercise around the creation of an office of children’s commissioner. PlayBoard isaddressing this by committing itself to developing the Children’s Play Forum. Childrenfrom all over Northern Ireland will be invited to join through our member andaffiliated groups. The Children’s Play Forum will besupported and facilitated by PlayBoard staff,who will educate and inform the children aboutissues impacting on their ability to accessquality play services. The Children’s Play Forumwill allow us to consult better with children inthe future, respond to future consultation exercises(eg. that around the imminent NI Children’s Strategy) and represent their views and opinions bothdirectly and accurately.

Recent research by the Carnegie United Kingdom Trust (www.carnegie-youth.org.uk) ‘Measuringthe Magic’ concludes that young people are being more involved in public decision-making butare having little impact. PlayBoard wants to help change this with the Children’s Play Forum.

“Grown-ups never understand anything for themselves, and it is tiresomefor children to be always and forever explaining things to them”Antoine de Saint-Exupery (1900-44)

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Information Unit

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bye byesee you at www.playboard.org

Notes

PlayBoard Staff Team

Marguerite Hunter Blair ...................Chief ExecutiveJanette McKnight.............................Finance ManagerJoan Blain ......................................Training Team LeaderCaroline Butler................................Administration AssistantBarbara Hawkes .............................Childcare Partnership Development OfficerClaire Houston................................Receptionist/TelephonistEva Kane........................................Out 2 Play Development OfficerKim Leebody...................................Childcare Partnership Development Officer (on secondment to ECP)Sonia McAllister..............................Finance & Administration AssistantSeamus McCann.............................Finance & Monitoring OfficerJoan McGrath.................................Childcare Partnership Development OfficerJoanne Magee................................Childcare Partnership Development OfficerMaura Moore .................................Finance & Monitoring OfficerJennifer Murphy..............................PlayCare Development OfficerRuth Murphy...................................Finance & Monitoring OfficerCiara Murray .................................Personal Assistant to Chief ExecutiveLisa O’Connor ................................Administration AssistantCaroline O’Kane.............................Information & Campaigns OfficerJacqueline O’Loughlin .....................Training Development OfficerAnne Raffferty ................................PlayCare Development OfficerAngela Stallard...............................Play Development Officer (OOSHL)Mairead Watters.............................Administration AssistantDolores Wilson ...............................Childcare Partnership Development Officer

PlayBoard Board of DirectorS

Billy Boyd .......................................ChairmanAmanda Lilley.................................TreasurerBarbara McIlwrath ..........................Vice ChairPaul Murphy, Gerard McGlynn, Peter McCartney, Bill Shaw, Ryan Williams, Mary Begley & Janis McKenna

Contact DetailS

PlayBoard (Head Office) PlayBoard (Irvinestown Office) PlayBoard (Newry Office)59/65 York Street Market Yard Ballybot HouseBelfast Mill Street 28 CornmarketBT15 1AA Irvinestown BT94 4GR Newry BT35 8BG

Tel: 028 9080 3380 Tel/Fax: 028 6862 8825Fax: 028 9080 3381

PlayBoard, 59-65 York Street, Belfast BT15 1AATel: 028 9080 3380 Fax: 028 9080 3381 Email: information@playboard.co.uk

Department of Health, Social Services & Public Safety An Roinn Sláinte, Seirbhísí Sóisialta agus Sábháilteacht Phoiblí