PLACES for PLAY: Photo Exhibition

Policy

Playwork Practice

Designing for Play

Play at School

Risk and Safety

Play Publications

Policy and Consultations

• Preliminary Legal Assessment
• Mechanically constituted playgrounds
• Play Policies: Ripples in the Pool
• Play Review: the Government Responds
• Playwork Principles consultation, deadline for responses, 14 February 2005
• 'Every Child Matters' - PLAYLINK's Response
• Play in Parliament, MPs hold their first debate on Play
• National Play Strategy
• New Housing - what about play
• National Daycare Standards and Ofsted Guidance

Preliminary Legal Assessment

A preliminary legal assessment by Public Interest Lawyers (PIL) this week confirms that PLAYLINK's play policy combined with the Play Safety Forum's Managing Risk in Play Provision Statement and proper risk assessment provides: 'a robust, explicit framework for organisations to demonstrate that they have acted reasonably in offering children acceptable levels of risk in their provision for play, whether in designated play space or shared public space.'

Read the Briefing >>

Mechanically constituted playgrounds

Play equipment has its place, but its place and prevalence can only be determined within a wider context; a wider context informed by values and understandings connected to a lively sense of what one is trying to achieve for children. Where equipment is used, it should form an integral part of a wider offer to children that includes, in particular, access to the natural environment.

Read the Article >>

Play Policies: Ripples in the Pool

When it comes to successful play policy, does divergence or consensus pose the bigger threat? Bernard Spiegal, Principal of PLAYLINK, considers the options.

Read the Article >>

Play Review: the Government Responds

On 20 January 2005, the Government published its response to the Play Review, confirming that "a decision has been taken not to ring-fence lottery money for play". The Free Play Network is disappointed by this decision, which we believe will make it difficult to ensure that money gets to the children and projects that need it most.

In June 2001, then Secretary of State for Culture, Media & Sport Chris Smith MP announced a new scheme to earmark £200million from the fourth round of the New Opportunities Fund to create new safe play areas throughout the UK.

In January 2004, a Government commissioned review, Getting Serious About Play recommended that the funding should be used to create and improve thousands of spaces, supervised and unsupervised, where children and young people can play freely, free of charge and in safety. Funding should be focused on areas and groups with the poorest access to quality play opportunities, with an emphasis on the inclusion of disabled children and young people.

In December 2004, following indications from DCMS officials that the £200m might no longer be ringfenced, the Free Play Network sent an Open Letter to Tessa Jowell, asking her to give an assurance that the £200 million will be, as originally intended, a designated fund for play.

You can read the text of the Government's response to the Play Review at:

http://www.culture.gov.uk/global/press_notices/
archive_2005/dcms003_05.htm

http://www.culture.gov.uk/global/publications/
archive_2005/govt_repons_gsap.htm

Read Press Coverage of the Lottery Funding Issue

• Piggy in the middle, The government's failure to honour a pledge it made at the last election to provide £200m threatens to decimate community-led children's play schemes. Alison Benjamin reports on the casualties, The Guardian, 12 January 2005.
• Concern over future of children's play funds, Debbie Andalo, The Guardian, 19 November 2004.
  

Playwork Principles consultation

The Final Phase of the Playwork Principles consultation is now underway. We would like to invite all playworkers throughout the UK to contribute their views in the final round of this consultation. The deadline for submissions to this Phase is 14 February 2005.

Play Wales has been given funding to undertake a review of the Playwork Values and Assumptions - the principles that underpin playwork and playwork training. All the other major organisations that have an interest in playwork have agreed to contribute to the review process.

For further information visit the Play Wales website at: http://www.playwales.org.uk/.

'Every Child Matters' - PLAYLINK's response

PLAYLINK has posted it's response to the Government's green paper, Every Child Matters. You can read the final version of PLAYLINK's response by following this link.

The Government's stated aim is 'to protect children at risk within a framework of universal services which support every child to develop their full potential'. This is not a document about play. But it clearly offers the chance for play providers and service managers to ensure that play is on the agenda within the new frameworks for children's services.

The emphasis is on joined up thinking and practice between professionals delivering services for children and there are proposals for revised local authority frameworks and workforce reform to support this. There is also to be a Children's Commissioner, reporting annually to Parliament, specifically to advocate for children and a new Young People's Fund, with an initial budget of £200m, to focus on out of school activity.

Consultation on the green paper closed on 1 December 2003, but you can still view the green paper and associated documents at http://www.dfes.gov.uk/everychildmatters.

New Housing - what about play

The Government's drive for new housing means that there are lots of new initiatives promoting good design in affordable housing. Some pilots are already complete or nearing completion but how well are they dealing with the needs of children and young people. In the South East, 56 sites have been identified for development by the Housing Partnership in Basildon, Crawley, Hemel Hempstead, Milton Keynes, Northampton, Peterborough, Stevenage and Welwyn Garden City. How are they proposing to involve young people in the planning and design. PLAYLINK would like to hear from Free Play Network members who know of successful examples providing imaginative play opportunities in new or renovated housing estates.

National Daycare Standards and Ofsted Guidance

Following consultation in the summer, the revised versions of the National Daycare Standards (for England) and the matching Ofsted guidance are now available in printed form. The set of Standards for 'Out of school care', which is the relevant one for open access/play provision, can be obtained from DfES Publications Centre, Nottingham, tel: 0845 602 2260 or fax: 0845 603 3360. The reference is: DfES/0652/2003.

Ofsted have published just the revised sections of their guidance resulting from the changes as 'Day Care: Guidance to the National Standards, revisions to certain criteria'. This publication is obtainable from 07002 637 833 or from your local authority. The reference is:HMI 1786.

You can download copies of both the Standards and the Guidance from the Ofsted and the SureStart websites by going to http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/publications/index.cfm?
fuseaction=pubs.summary&id=3382 and following the links.

You can read PLAYLINK's response to the Department for Education and Skills' consultation on changes to the National Standards for Under Eights Day Care and associated regulations. The Standards apply to childcare providers in England.