Tag: playworker

London Adventure Playground Playworker Gatherings 2023

A photo of the exterior of The White Swan - a Wetherspoon pub in Highbury.

Exterior of The White Swan, Highbury

We know, through attending conferences like Eastbourne and IPA, that talking to playworkers and other practitioners working with children and young people in other settings can be greatly beneficial to our ongoing professional development.

A square photo of Sarah Wilson. She appears to be on a dirt track in open countryside, with green fields, hedgerows, and walkers in the background. Sarah is smiling with her hand on her right hip. She has short dark hair, glasses, and dressed all in black.

Sarah Wilson, who has been a playworker for 14 years, is aiming to bring those valuable opportunities to connect with each other out of the conferences and into the real world. Her aim is to link up frontline playworkers, managers, volunteers, and trustees of adventure playgrounds in an informal environment. The first of these get-togethers will be on Thursday 18th May 2023, from 7:30pm, at The White Swan, Highbury.

“When I first started out, I was keen to meet other Playworkers but quickly found that everyone was scattered and not really in contact. I hosted some Hackney playwork drinks about 8 years ago and it was a great chance for frontline playworkers, from different projects, to get together.

A photo of four children playing on a sanded area on an adventure playground. Multicoloured poles protrude from the ground, as a fence, in the background. A tire swing and cargo netting hang in the foreground. Two children and stood on the sand watching two other children jump on a black trampoline.

A photo of Shakespeare Walk Adventure Playground

Now, as well as being Senior Playworker at Shakespeare Walk Adventure Playground, I also carry out annual health and safety inspections for other adventure playgrounds as an APIA-approved inspector and get the opportunity to meet playworkers at playgrounds who all say the same thing- they’d love to be in contact with others. I thought it was time to resurrect the Playworker socials! “

Sarah is hoping to hold more gatherings across London in the coming year, with the next gathering pencilled in for June in the Richmond area. Playworkers from other areas are also welcome to attend and Sarah would be happy to support/encourage other gatherings in other places.

For more information, or to let Sarah know you intend to go along, please email sarah@sarahwilsons.com.

Don’t forget, Trustee Penny Wilson (AssemblePlay) and Chair Siôn Edwards (Y Fenter | The Venture) host a virtual reflective practice sessions most weeks via Zoom. Join the mailing list to receive the link and regular provocations on all things play and playwork.