Author: alipwood

Serving our community in lockdown

Ali Wood, a trustee of Meriden Adventure Playground in the West Midlands, describes how the lockdown has affected the service, and how the playground has become part of the wider community response.

Meriden Adventure Playground is currently closed, as are other adventure playgrounds. We have furloughed most of our staff and been talking with funders about how their funding could still be used at the end of all this. The couple of staff members who are still working have been hard at it, updating policies and procedures, doing site maintenance and admin and updating the website. They are also staying in touch with children, young people and families via Facebook, Instagram or phone, with useful information, regular play challenges, and activity ideas.

We have managed to acquire some emergency funding and so have joined forces with the local food bank; making up play packs to give away at the same time as giving out food deliveries to those families with either no or very little income, who have fallen through the cracks (and there are many around here). We are also able to give out free condoms to those who request them. Our play packs are not ‘activity’ packs as such (although they include paints, chalks, glue, card, and paper, etc. and ideas for activities and games) and they include a letter to parents on supporting play from the child’s perspective, and using loose parts naturally available at home or included in the packs.

Struggling families

We have been negotiating with the Council (which owns our land) to see if we can open the playground a few days a week so that families referred to us via schools or Children’s Services as really struggling,  (no outdoor space themselves, cramped home conditions, children with specific needs, etc.) can come in, one family at a time, for a prearranged hour.

Senior members of the Council have seriously thought about the idea of us opening for one family at a time, but have decided that, currently, it would be giving out the wrong messages to the public – especially as we are situated within an actual park and so are very visible to everyone visiting the park; police have already been needing to monitor those using the park, as social distancing is often not being practised.

However, we have agreed that as restrictions ease, we want to be at the forefront of the response, and help to pick up the pieces. To that end, we will be talking again with senior officers in two weeks’ time to see if this response can change. In the meantime, we have been allowing two or three parent volunteers at a time to do on-site maintenance work (whilst insisting on distancing!), as it gives them respite from all being in the house together – and makes them more able to cope when they return home.

Ali Wood

photo: Meriden Adventure Playground

Welsh playwork training delivered in England

A collaboration between Play Wales and the Playwork Foundation, has seen the ADDaPT course now been delivered for the first time to a group of playwork trainers in England.

The Welsh ‘Award in Delivering Dynamic Play Training’ (ADDaPT), forms part of Play Wales’ quality assurance for playwork qualifications, and only those trainers who can demonstrate occupational competence in playwork are allowed to take it, in order to ensure that all Welsh playwork qualifications are delivered by the right people.

To date, the Welsh qualifications in playwork have only been available in Wales itself, but following collaboration between Play Wales and the Playwork Foundation, the ADDaPT course has now been delivered for the first time to a group of playwork trainers in England and at the time of writing, most of them have now passed this and are awaiting certification.

Good news

The good news is this means that – again for the first time – it will be possible for Welsh playwork qualifications to be delivered in England. To begin with, that will probably mean delivering their L2APP ( Level 2 Award in Playwork Practice), a great five-day course with some assessment of each learner, that is a worthy introduction to play and playwork and is ideal for example, for people wanting to work on holiday playschemes who have never done any playwork training so far.

As the only other playwork qualification available in England is an actual apprenticeship, which of course is only applicable to new playworkers employed all year round, being able to also have this option of a short introductory qualification is a real added opportunity. Hopefully the new ADDaPT certified trainers will now be looking for ways to deliver this L2APP as cheaply as possible and enabling a new raft of playworkers to emerge!  As we hear of these opportunities we will let you know.

Ali Wood

Annual General Meeting 29 May 2020

The Playwork Foundation will hold its Annual General Meeting, via Zoom, on Friday 29th May 2020 at 10 am. Playwork Foundation members are most welcome to attend, to catch up on all we have been doing, and help form our plans going forward.

If you are a member and would like to attend, please email the Playwork Foundation Secretary, Ali Wood, who will send you the Zoom log-in details nearer the time. 

You can join the Playwork Foundation here

A G E N D A

Friday 29 May 2020
10.00 am

Welcomes and introductions

Annual Report

Financial Report

Welsh playwork trainer qualification now available in England

A collaboration of the Playwork Foundation and Play Wales has resulted in the Award in Delivering Dynamic Playwork Training (ADDaPT) being made available in England. Ali Wood reports.

Are you a playwork trainer or have offered playwork training?  In England, the only playwork qualifications currently available are in the form of apprenticeships, and take-up is small; especially as there is no legal requirement for qualified playwork staff (unlike the rest of the UK). A few training providers are still managing to offer short playwork training courses locally, but gone are the days when playwork training and qualifications were widely available and free.

The Playwork Foundation has, therefore, for some time been liaising with Play Wales and with Agored Cymru – a Welsh awarding organisation who now offers various playwork qualifications that have been designed by Play Wales and are delivered across Wales, to see if the Welsh playwork qualifications can be made available in England.  In order to ensure that only occupationally competent trainers deliver playwork qualifications that are inspiring and participative, Play Wales has also developed a short qualification for playwork trainers – the Award in Delivering Dynamic Playwork Training (ADDaPT) – which they have to undertake if they wish to deliver any playwork qualifications.

As a result of our deliberations, we are really pleased to announce it is now going to be possible for Welsh playwork qualifications to be delivered in England!  An ADDapT course has therefore been arranged for English playwork trainers in order that they may be able to offer and deliver any or all of the other playwork qualifications available in Wales.  To be accepted onto the ADDaPT course, trainers must already hold a teaching qualification suitable for working in Further Education and be able to show they are occupationally competent in playwork.  The ADaPT course is three days in length and provides learners with an opportunity to explore interactive and playful techniques to use when delivering playwork training and qualifications.  Participants must also complete an assessment workbook so that they can become an accepted Agored playwork trainer.

This is a great opportunity for English playwork trainers who could then offer short level 2 playwork qualifications that have not been possible in England until now.  The first ADDaPT course has been arranged to take place at Gloucester University on Saturdays 2nd November, 11th November, and 7th December.  The course includes content on:

  • Understanding the importance of meeting a range of learning needs and preferences
  • Understanding a range of playful and participative methods for teaching playwork
  • Designing a programme of learning for playwork
  • Reflecting on own practice

We can also tell you that the ADDaPT itself is an exceptional training course that really inspires and excites playwork trainers and is a professional development opportunity in itself.

Is this for you? There will be a cost of approximately £250 per participant (this could be a little more or a bit less depending on numbers attending) which covers the costs of the ADDaPT trainer, the resources and internal quality assurance.

Ali Wood

Ali Wood is a playwork trainer, researcher, and author. She is a trustee of the Playwork Foundation.

If you are interested in the ADDaPT training, please contact Ali Wood on aliwood@blueyonder.co.uk as soon as possible for further information and/or to reserve a place!

Playwork apprenticeship group hopes for third time lucky in trailblazer bid

The government panel did not think there were sufficient differences between playwork and early years education.
Ali Wood reports on the current situation of potential government funding for playwork training in England*

The playwork apprenticeship group in England has been advised that its second expression of interest to qualify for the government’s Trailblazer Apprenticeship programme, the key to funding from the Apprenticeship Levy has been declined. The group is preparing a third bid.

Since my previous overview, in February 2017, the government has been pressing ahead with its trailblazer apprenticeships and introduced more funding through the Apprenticeship Levy (available in England only).

In the current climate, this scheme represents the best hope for central funding and recognition for playwork training in England and a group of playwork employers drawn from across England, mostly from adventure playgrounds and after-school clubs, have been working hard to compile an expression of interest bid for a trailblazer playwork apprenticeship. 

Whilst this sounds relatively quick and simple, it has not been – the first application was knocked back as the panel (which does not comprise anyone from a playwork background) did not think there were sufficient differences between playwork and early years education or even between playwork and youth work. 

The group has liaised with both of these sectors in compiling a new bid that does set out the differences in approach but using language that will make sense to the reviewing panel.  This has taken an extraordinary amount of voluntary time (well done Playwork Trailblazer group!) and culminated in the bid finally being resubmitted in February this year for a level 2 playwork apprenticeship.  The group has also worked on putting together learning outcomes and assessment strategies at both levels 2 and 3 as the plan is to submit a bid for level 3 once the level 2 has been accepted.

This is a different kind of apprenticeship to that which has gone before and the group has worked hard to address those issues and failings highlighted above and to ensure content is up to date and relevant to practice.  If it is accepted, it would come on stream either later this year or early next year when previous qualifications are likely to be expiring.

We will bring you news as soon as we have it. Watch this space!

Wales and Northern Ireland

*Wales and Northern Ireland are of course still regulated and therefore playworkers in each of these nations are still required to have playwork qualifications. Wales has developed a number of excellent qualifications, currently available only in Wales, although Play Wales has been pushing for these to be made available elsewhere.  Northern Ireland still offers playwork at levels 2, 3 and 5 via City and Guilds who have just agreed to re-extend registration on the current playwork diplomas beyond September 2019, although a potential expiry date is still to be agreed.  CACHE is currently saying that they will review in September 2019 whether they will continue to offer playwork qualifications in England and Wales, as current take-up may not warrant a successful business case to continue.

Ali Wood

Photo: Meriden Adventure Playground