I find that people fall into one of two camps: Those who know and care about NOS and those who are blissfully (and contently) unaware of them! If you are in the first camp, then we have some exciting news for you (if you’re in the second camp… sorry!).
Play Wales has recently published a second information sheet about the review of the National Occupational Standards (NOS) for playwork which has been taking place over the summer and anticipated to run into 2025:
The update outlines the work that has taken place this summer as well as what is expected to happen next as the review progresses. One of the headlines is the establishment of a Writing Group who will:
ensure the new playwork NOS the requirements set by the UK Standards and Framework Panel, the UK NOS Consortium and the Playwork NOS Scoping Review (2023).
Name
Location
Caroline Kerr
Northern Ireland
Martin King-Sheard
Wales
Dianne Larrington
England
Kay Maxwell
Scotland
Karen Sharp (Chair)
Scotland
Sarah Turton
Wales
Meynell Walter
England
Mike Wragg
England
Membership of the Writing Group
Recruitment to the Playwork NOS Advisory Group is ongoing, with expertise in the areas of higher education, qualifications and awarding bodies, further education delivery, open-access playwork and/or out-of-school childcare being sought. Interested parties are invited to email a CV and covering letter to nosreview@play.wales.
If you’re not able to volunteer for the Advisory Group, you will have the opportunity to feedback on the NOS during a wider public consultation expected to take place in the summer of 2025.
After an (unintentionally) extended period of quiet, the Adventure Playground Network is pleased to announce Friday 8th November, 11am – 1pm, as the next meeting date. To ensure you receive the most up-to-date information, including the link to the meeting, please ensure you sign up.
The Network has also been liaising with the Raising The Nation Play Commission to ensure that adventure playgrounds have an opportunity to contribute to the call for evidence. Please see the open letter to Adventure Playgrounds below:
The aim of the meeting was to amplify the voice of England’s adventure playgrounds in the Centre for Young Lives’ and Raising the Nation Play Commission’s ‘ENQUIRY INTO WHY PLAY IS SO CRITICAL TO CHILDREN’S WELLBEING AND HOW A NATIONAL PLAY STRATEGY CAN BE ESTABLISHED.’
The aim of the meeting was threefold:
Ensure that the crucial role of adventure playgrounds is not overlooked in the course of the Enquiry
Maximise the time available for contributions from adventure playgrounds to be made to the Enquiry
Offer the assistance of the adventure playground sector’s collective wealth of knowledge and experience to the development of a national play strategy for England.
The Centre for Young Lives has received evidence from all sectors including Health, Sport, Education, Early Years etc. Some adventure playgrounds have already submitted evidence, but the closing date is October 31st.
HOWEVER, the Adventure Playground Network has negotiated a rolling deadline, which means that the Centre will continue to welcome contributions from adventure playgrounds – via the Network – on an ongoing basis.
If you have any evidence of the wonderful work that you do, which you’d like to inform the enquiry, please consider sending it to Mike at m.wragg@leedsbeckett.ac.uk and we will ensure that your adventure playground is represented in this national enquiry into why play is so critical to children’s wellbeing and how a national play strategy can be established.
Evidence may consist of anything at all from data concerning numbers and backgrounds of beneficiaries, through to case-studies, presentations, testimonies, reflective diaries and films or video.
The Centre for Young Lives is also keen to visit adventure playgrounds across the country, so if you would be willing to show someone round your site, please let us know and we’ll pass on your details.
With tornadoes in England, floods across the island, and a yellow weather warning for the weekend, it’s definitely autumn. And, for those of us working outside, as we embrace the rain and the colder temperatures, we’re also reminded of another annual consideration: the increased risk of slips and falls on wet wooden surfaces!
Inevitably, this sparks a round of discussions and ideas that present both positives and negatives.
Do some of these mitigations actually create more risks? And, what impact do they have on the lifespan of the wood itself?
That latter question may be of little significance at your setting. Replacing the decking of a summer house might only cost a hundred pounds or so. However, when you expand that to the scale of wooden walkways on an adventure playground, you’re suddenly considering thousands rather than hundreds.
The AAA Zone
When I received an email on this very topic earlier this week from Paula Blake, Operations Manager at The AAA Zone, I thought it would be a good idea to share some of my response more publicly. That’s not to say I have the answer, but more so that I know there will be people out there in the same situation who very well might have the answer! It is also likely that one solution
So here are my Top 5 considerations:
1. Jetwash – this will remove surface algae (the thing that makes it most slippery), however, as well as the potential costs to hire a jetwasher if you don’t have one, jetwashing will consume both time and water. Volunteers might help reduce the time costs, but if you’ve just come off the end of a summer filled with water fights, the water bill might not handle another hit.
2. Score the wooden surface – if you’ve got someone with a chainsaw or other apt contraption, you could try criss-cross scoring the wood surface. Like the patterns on trainers, this can reduce the slipperiness, but it almost certainly reduces to the lifespan of the wood by inviting water to pool and enabling freeze-thaw expansion in the winter. There is also a marginal increase in the risk of grazes from falls onto the surface.
Important additional advice from Simon Rix (Trustee of The Playwork Foundation):
“Do not advise people to score decks with a chainsaw please. Apart from the difficulty of getting a positive result against the damage caused by such a brutal tool, using the tip of the blade is where you get kickbacks, the most common cause of chainsaw injuries.
Instead, use the cutting depth adjustment on your circular saw to set a depth of 5mm or so and run that across in your desired pattern. Much safer.
Also, remember that scoring in the direction of travel will not be effective, score across the direction of travel“
3. Anti-slip strips, coatings or chicken wire – the strips and chicken wire are probably the most effect in terms of reducing the slipperiness of a surface, but the increased damage to the skin when falling onto them, in my opinion, matches the risks posed by slipping in the first place, so they cancel each other out.
4. Sprays – anti-fungal and biocidal sprays, often marketed as general outdoor patio cleaners, can kill off the algae that tends to cause most of the problem. However, depending on the brand and your supplier, these can be costly and may also have a negative impact on the environment, so make sure you check the labels and instructions.
5. Sand or grit – The best middle ground I have found, is to sprinkle sand on the walkways as often as possible. It can itself present a slip hazard, but a lesser one than the untreated wet surface. The sand itself absorbs some of the moisture, whilst the friction underfoot also works to remove the algae slowly – this less aggressive approach also lessens the impact on the longevity of the wood. That being said, I’ve used this on sites where there has been an abundance of sand, so there was no additional cost.
During Playwork in Progress last week, regular Suzanne Axelsson shared a common and easy Swedish hack to keeping your wooden surfaces algae-free: soap! She was even kind enough to share these two articles on the topic after the session which give a comprehensive understanding of why you should use soap (and not “power” cleaners):
Both articles are in Swedish, but browsers (such as Chrome) should offer to automatically translate.
What are your handy hints or tips for this issue? Are there any other seasonal headaches that we can help solve? Please get in touch and let us know. If you would like to send your suggestions to Paula directly, you can email paula@theaaazone.com.
Siôn is the current Chair of The Playwork Foundation. His views are his own and not necessarily those of The Playwork Foundation. Any advice give is personal and should not be taken or relied upon as professional guidance.
Whenever I heard the term “think-tank”, I can’t help but think of the episode of Star Trek: Voyager (yes, I’m a bit of a Trekkie 🖖🏽) where Jason Alexander (of Seinfeld fame) plays the leader of a group of intelligent aliens which Capt. Janeway dubs “The Think Tank”. In true sci-fi drama style, this seemingly altruistic group turn out to be a nefarious force that are playing two parties against each other to get what they want.
Why am I telling you this?
Some time ago, a new piece of work emerged called the ‘Raising the Nation Play Commission‘ presenting itself as “An enquiry into why play is so critical to children’s wellbeing and how a national play strategy can be established”.
The commission is being led by Paul Lindley OBE, who describes himself on his website as a “passionate believer that we can create a society richer in opportunity, ideas and compassion” citing his entrepreneurship, books and campaigning as contributions to achieve this goal.
Paul is leading this piece of work in partnership with the Centre for Young lives – “independent think tank and delivery unit dedicated exclusively to improving the lives of children, young people, and families in the UK”. The Centre in turn is hosted by Oasis – (not the boy band) who describe themselves as a “movement” whose work extends across the UK and “spans from youth work to housing, and education to reforming youth justice”.
All sounds good, right?
If I was an investigative journalist, this would be the point where I drop the big expose on how these organisations are gathering for unscrupulous purposes. But, I’m not. I’m a playworker.
So what’s the big deal?
Well, hopefully there isn’t one. I see no cause for concern in the roll call of Commissioners. But there is an opportunity. The Play Commission is currently calling for evidence on six key areas:
Learning through play
Places to play
The right to play
Time to play
Digital play
Parents and play
So, what’s that got to do with us?
Taking a look at the “Commissioners” there are a few familiar names: Anne Longfield CBE (former Children’s Commissioner for England), Eugene Minogue (CEO, Play England), Professor Helen Dodd, & Ingrid Skeels (Playing Out) to name a few. All great advocates for children’s rights, including the right to play.
This is welcome news, and I trust their contributions and guidance to the commission will ensure that playwork is not overlooked. But we should not place all our assumptions on their shoulders.
Screenshot of just some of the Commissioners on the Play Commission website
As playworkers, the hint is in the name of our profession as to why this commission is of great interest and importance to us and the children and communities we serve. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of the recognition of playworkers as the only profession whose primary agenda is to extend and facilitate children’s play by those who have an interest in play from other perspectives (e.g. health, education etc). Therefore, it is up to us to make sure that playwork as an approach, and playworkers as experts on the coalface of working with children at play, are adequately featured in the commissions findings.
The deadline for submissions is 30th September, so get your skates on! Submissions should be in a word document format and should set out evidence and recommendations. You can then email this to info@centreforyounglives.org.uk with the subject title “Call for Evidence – Play Commission submission”.
If you would like support to contribute to the commission, or you have a great idea or example of how you’ve contributed to the commission, please let us know so that we can help or share!
The second national conference since the COVID pandemic, this year’s conference will celebrate the launch of Play Wales’ most recent publication: Playing and being well.
Described as “a groundbreaking and exciting publication”, the literary review explores play sufficiency and the real-life impacts on the wellbeing of children.
Did you know Wales was the first country to legislate to support children’s play? Find out more here.
In addition to hearing from the authors themselves and having the opportunity to debate its findings, the conference will also provide attendees with the chance to contribute to case study workshops relating to the study’s themes, the Ministerial Review for Play and play sufficiency.
Well that jumped out us, didn’t it? All of a sudden, there it is: the announcement of the International Day of Play by the UN. June 11th, all over the world and every year. Remarkable. I am quite blown away by the enormity of this.
In my mind there is a sort of global TV or video scanning and we can watch as every nation pays tribute to our shared heritage of play. The language that unites us.
Of course, the irony is that children are being killed and oppressed and the ‘Right to Play‘ is not regarded as the glorious, life affirming wonder that we understand it to be. But we must never allow it to be thought of as a luxury. It’s as essential as “oxygen, nutrition and love”; it’s a basic human right and a biological imperative, and we need to advocate for it as such.
This day has snuck up on us. We were not expecting it at all. We have not fundraised or set aside budgets, or energy, or time to celebrate it as it deserves.
Adele Cleaver – playworker and author of Children Don’t Dissolve in the Rain – recently shared that she had requested that her child’s school plays, all afternoon, on that day. How simple and clever is that? The Head Teacher has agreed to it. Hurrah!
We can look at pavement play days, or take some loose parts to that boring fixed play equipment in the park so the children can zazz it up a bit and make it their own.
Perhaps we could just linger playfully in a place we normally wouldn’t linger with children, a shopping centre or a park by school.
At our play settings – where everyday is a play day – perhaps we just remember. Savour the moment. Film it. Document it. Photograph it, build a time capsule of it to add to each year.
Whatever you do to mark this day, the Playwork Foundation would love to hear about it and see your pictures, hear your stories.
It’s a chance to celebrate each other celebrating children playing, all over the world.
It gives me goosebumps. It really does.
This article was written by Penny Wilson of AssemblePlay and a Trustee of The Playwork Foundation. These views are her own personal views and not necessarily those of AssemblePlay and/or The Playwork Foundation.
Anti-Vietnam War propaganda poster. USA, 1966. Lorraine Schneider for Another Mother for Peace, Inc.
From Penny Wilson
Inspired by the playwork team of Assemble Play, I have been asking how we as playworkers can speak out against the hideous conflicts ripping through our world at this time.
Even if we had a real-world location, I would not use it to post banners and slogans about specific wars. An adventure playground, for example, should be a neutral safe place where children can spend time away from the pressures that war brings even when it is happening many miles away.
However, a lack of an open gesture, a specific social media post or a banner, does not mean that we as Playworkers do not feel outrage and revulsion against war.
Playwork Principle 4: “For playworkers, the play process takes precedence and playworkers act as advocates for play when engaging with adult led agendas”.
As an individual Playworker, I feel the need to make some sort of stand on behalf of children killed and injured by adult agendas of war.
This does not apply to one theatre of war only.
I cannot say how I think each conflict should be resolved.
It does however imply that I should care enough to try to understand the situations where children are being killed and see what useful actions I can take to ameliorate each of them. This may be a financial contribution to a trusted organisation, and sharing trusted charities and sources of information when I find them. It may mean going on protests or signing petitions or running events…
Because I am a Playworker I would not want to tell people what to do or how to do it, but I would like to make the connection between my responsibilities to children which my work is founded upon and a larger statement, say ‘Playworkers for Peace’?
I can march beneath that banner.
I can hold that banner high.
At first the idea seems rather weak.
I cannot believe that Netanyahu is sitting there, waiting for a declaration from the Playworkers of the world for him to stop pursuing his current course of action. However, if it helps us as a sector feel that we can share our various thoughts and research and ideas and actions, then it has an intrinsic value, even if we are not sure what that may be.
We above all people are happy not to try to control things tightly. We know the strength of seeing what emerges.
I remember standing in a deserted street during the Iraq war with a group of playworkers. We had all been attending training together and without much conversation, went outside at midday to mark 5 minutes of silent protest. Ian held a banner above his head with the name of the adventure playground we were studying in high above his head.
No one saw us.
But we did it, because we could.
The children and families subject to that war, could not do what we had done.
Perhaps that in itself counts for something. It drew us together, it was unforgettable.
This article was written by Penny Wilson of AssemblePlay and a Trustee of The Playwork Foundation. These views are her own personal views and not necessarily those of AssemblePlay and/or The Playwork Foundation
As a playworker, has anyone ever asked you if you get paid for what you do? Have people assumed that you are a volunteer? Have they watched you doing all the things that being a playworker entails (often in some of the most dynamic and volatile circumstances) and still been shocked when they realise it’s your job? Why is that?
Is it because we (as a society) don’t value childhood? I mean, we value people-in-waiting. Citizens-in-the-making. Economy-drivers of the future. But, do we really value what it is to be a child? Why it’s important to be a child?
And/or is it because we don’t value play? It’s considered frivolous. A luxury. But, “play is not a nice to have, [or] a maybe tomorrow” (as Matthew Rhys Evans says in Play Wales’s This is why play is so important film), it’s a necessity.
Of course, we – as playworkers – know that. The problem is that the rest of the world does not. Even some (emphasis on *some*) of our closest comrades – like early years workers, youth workers etc – don’t quite understand the distinct role playworkers play in keeping interfering adults away from the intimate realms where children’s minds commune with the physical world through play.
It’s our constant battle: To communicate the tricksy duality of play as simplistically complicated, yet simultaneously perplexingly plain.
From my own experience, youth workers don’t seem to have the same difficulty in communicating or demonstrating what they do, nor for the value of their role to be recognised by authorities and the community. Perhaps theirs is a little more obvious: they’re dealing with troublesome teenagers smashing bottles and smoking weed on the skate park – “That’s hard work, that – chwarae teg”. Whereas playworkers… “well, you lot just build sandcastles and roast marshmallows, right?” – right… 🙄
The benefits, impacts, and outcomes of enabling children’s play is one of speculation. There is no guarantee of return on investment. And, any dividends will be paid long-after the playworker has left the lives of the once-children/now-adults, which – in a capitalist system at least – makes it a hard sell for society to value in-the-now.
But is that the difference? Much of what youth workers do is playwork (to some extent), and vice-versa. As has been demonstrated at many workshops at the National Playwork conference in England, there is often very little that divides what we do either as playworkers or youth workers (or both) when working with young people.
But, there is a distinction. Just as there is a distinction between the “physical activity” that we see when children are involved in self-directed locomotor play, and the “movement” that might be described by sport practitioners. They are different. And, that’s ok. But sport and youth work have something we don’t… and it’s something that is being mooted as a potential way for playwork to finally receive the recognition it deserves.
That something is professional registration. What does that mean? And why is it of potential use?
Generally, a professional register is a list of maintained by a recognised professional body that includes the names of individuals who have met certain criteria. These criteria will typically be clarification that a practitioner has:
training, education, or experience of a particular level and/or standard (that is recognised by the government of the nation in which they work);
completed other mandatory training (e.g. safeguarding and Prevent Duty);
(if relevant) a valid enhanced criminal records check to enable them to work with children and/or vulnerable adults (e.g. DBS check in England and Wales, Enhanced Disclosure in Scotland, or AccessNI Check in Northern Ireland);
committed to adhere to a Code of Conduct;
committed to Continuous Professional Development (CPD).
The purpose? Very briefly, it is generally thought that professional registration brings greater professional recognition, elevated professional standards, and better employment terms and conditions.
Across Great Britain, there has been lively debate on the matter since last year, but the conversation is reaching a particular crescendo in Wales as the Welsh Government consultation on the Professional registration of the childcare and playwork workforce draws closer to its deadline of 7th March 2024 (a week today!).
The consultation was announced on 30th November 2023 by Deputy Minister for Social Services, Julie Morgan MS, and described as “an opportunity for those managing, working, and using childcare and playwork settings across Wales to tell us what they think about the principle of professional registration and whether they feel a workforce register would be beneficial for the childcare and playwork sector now or in the future”.
What’s not to like?
Some discussions have highlighted concerns that could have a negative impact on the playwork workforce:
It will cost – estimated figures put registration around the £65-100 mark to be covered by playworkers themselves. In the past, when DBS costs have been passed-on to playworkers, it can negatively impacted recruitment.
It might cost even more – Youth Workers in Wales already have to be registered with the Education Workforce Council (EWC) in order to practice, with a baseline fee of at least £45 per year. Many teaching and youth work staff already feel this lacks value for money. It’s unlikely (but not impossible) that playworkers and youth workers will share a professional register, meaning those who practice playwork and youth work may have to pay twice.
Registered settings only? – It has been suggested that professional registration might only apply to those settings which have to register with Care Inspectorate Wales (CIW). At present, there are loopholes / exemptions that avoid the requirement to register with CIW (e.g. not open for more than 2 hours a day; not open more than 5 days a year). To avoid increased costs or to retain staff, providers may choose to use these loopholes more – this would counter the narrative of improving quality, and even increase the likelihood of safeguarding concerns.
“P3 or not P3? That is the question” – Which qualifications might the professional register recognise? What about playworkers moving to or working in Wales from elsewhere? What about those seasoned playworkers who have no qualifications? Which leads us on to one of principle…
Who decides? – Whether it’s recognition of previous experience or learning, or fitness to practice… who decides what is good enough?
Contemporary playworkers share their heritage with the adventure playground movement that first took seed in the Blitzed rubble of London in 1946. Grassroots community members – parents, carers, siblings, neighbours, councillors, shopkeepers – protecting spaces for children to play. 80 years later, how would they have stacked-up against a professional register? Is that still relevant?
In the 1970s and 80s – with the emergence of workplace health and safety legislation, and inspection and registration requirements – adventure playgrounds faced existential crises. Comply or close was often the reality. So, playwork practice changed. Then, in the late 00s, a change of Government in Westminster and an accompanying financial crash led to more adventure playgrounds being lost to the history books (and the housing developers).
Born in 1987, all of this I know from articles, books, and offensive-language-strewn YouTube videos about the early days of adventure playgrounds. But, my guess is that this prospect of professional registration is potentially what it might have felt like in the 70s and 80s on those OG APs [that’s “original gangster adventure playgrounds” for those of you even more ancient than I].
The Health & Safety at Work etc Act 1974 was an inarguable positive step for workers rights and public safety, but it must have been heart-breaking to watch the towers, high beams, and trampolines all be dismantled and discarded, never to return, as a result. But what if playwork had refused to change? Would it have survived to today?
Playwork is under threat. Whether it’s Forest Schools incorporating “playwork” into their practice whilst also fulfilling the Forest School Principles, sports bodies broadening and diversifying the definition of “physical activity” and “movement” to access funding, or the allure of education and structured activities in youth work provision for children aged 11 – 18, playwork is struggling to cut-through the noise.
Could professional registration elevate the perception of playworkers?
Is it just a question of timing?
Play Wales are encouraging playworkers, managers, and those working in the playwork sector to respond to the consultation, and have also published their own draft response to help people in doing so.
Another consultation with a slightly shorter deadline (TODAY) is Future spending purposes for dormant assets funding in Wales. Welsh Government is seeking views on how dormant assets could be used to improve the lives of people in Wales. Section 3.4 of the consultation specifically discusses the option of using funds to address barriers to children’s play and leisure activities.
This article was written by Siôn Edwards (Chair of The Playwork Foundation), and these statements represent his own views and do not necessarily reflect those of The Playwork Foundation.
An update to its 2017 policy paper A country that works for all children, the report provides a bleak overview of the Westminster Government’s treatment of children and young people in England:
“All too often it seems that where investment in children’s futures is needed, the bare minimum is on offer, whether that’s to repair or rebuild school buildings or support children to recover from the pandemic experience”
Some headline recommendations of the report – identified by ADCS members – include:
Cross-government plan for childhood coordinated by the Cabinet Office;
Sustainable multi-year funding from the Treasury;
Funding to local government and children’s services from the Department of Levelling-Up, Housing and Communities should better represent local contexts, populations, and levels of actual need;
The Department for Education to reaffirm its role as a champion and advocate for children and young people across the Westminster Government;
The Department for Health and Social Care should delegate the resources and responsibilities for the commissioning and provision of all children’s community and mental health services to place-based integrated partnerships;
A root-and-branch review of children’s mental health services in NHS England, so that needs are met as soon as possible in the places and spaces that suit children’s lives and preferences;
An independent evaluation of the impact of the current welfare system on children, young people and families should be commissioned by the Department for Work and Pensions to ensure it is working towards the eradication of child poverty.
But, what do you think?
Last week, AssemblePlay asked that very question, and received some interesting and passionate responses. Therefore, with The Playwork Foundation, we’re holding an open meeting for those within the playwork sector to come together and discuss, express, and propose the current state of children’s services in England, and across Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
If you would like to join us, simply save the date:
Following the success of our inaugural meeting in November 2023, the Adventure Playground Network’s next get-together is scheduled for Friday 23rd February, 11am – 1pm.
The subject of this meeting’s discussion, as proposed by Malcolm King from The Venture at the last event, is the relationship of adventure playgrounds to local government.
Lesley Griffiths MS with Malcolm King, Chief Officer of The Venture Integrated Children’s Centre
This might include:
implications for adventure playgrounds of the precarious state of local government finances;
matters concerning local authority grants and commissioning processes;
tenancies and leases; and,
the opportunities and threats faced by many adventure playgrounds as they deliver on services for children and families previously provided by our nations’ often underfunded local councils.
To receive the link for the meeting, sign-up to our mailing list or become a member (it’s free! Click Join Us from the menu).
If you were at the last meeting, thank you for all of your contributions and to those whose suggestions have developed the discussion topics for the forthcoming conversation. If you weren’t in attendance at the previous meeting, we’d like to extend this invitation to you to join a likeminded collective of adventure playground representatives.
The vision for this collaborative venture is to connect playworkers, from across Great Britain and Northern Ireland, to discuss issues affecting the adventure playground sector and shape the agenda for subsequent bimonthly meetings.
Ali Long (Course Director, Leeds Beckett) will be guest Chairing this meeting with the support of Mike Wragg (Senior Lecturer, Leeds Beckett) and Siôn Edwards (Chair, Playwork Foundation).
You can find all things Adventure Playground Network related here.
The Playwork Foundation 
