What is play?

“Play is freely chosen; personally directed, intrinsically motivated behaviour that actively engages the child…Play can be fun or serious. Through play children explore social, material and imaginary worlds and their relationship with them, elaborating all the while a flexible range of responses to the challenges they encounter” Best Play-What play provision should do for children NPFA/PLAYLINK/Children’s Play Council (2001) “What children and young people do when they follow their own ideas and interests in their own way and for their own reasons” DCMS - Getting Serious about Play, a review of children’s play, 2004

What play is not! Childcare Structured Activities Adult directed

What play should be Outdoors Physical Adventurous Risky Adult-free (the elements that are often missing today) Outdoors Physical Adventurous Risky Adult-free Roaming Street Games

The seven play objectives are: The provision extends the choice and control that children have over their play, the freedom they enjoy and the satisfaction they gain from it. The provision recognises the child’s need to test boundaries and responds positively to that need. The provision manages the balance between the need to offer risk and the need to keep children safe from harm. The provision maximises the range of play opportunities. The provision fosters independence and self esteem. The provision fosters children’s respect for others and offers opportunities for social interaction. The provision fosters the child’s well being, healthy growth and development, knowledge and understanding, creativity and capacity to learn.

Play Environments should provide opportunities for: A varied and interesting physical environment. Challenge in relation to the physical environment. Playing with the natural elements. Movement Manipulating natural and fabricated materials. Stimulation of the five senses. Experiencing change in the natural and built environment. Social Interaction. Playing with identity Experiencing a range of emotion

Free Play Matrix 6 factors of Free Play Goals/No Goals Spontaneity Choice Freedom Organisation Time

Balancing Risk and Play The need to manage the balance between offering children the opportunity to experience challenge and risk within play provision, and the need to keep them safe from harm is becoming an ever increasingly difficult task. All too often children’s play opportunities are limited because of fear of litigation. The effect is to stop children from enjoying a healthy range of play opportunities, limiting their enjoyment and causing potentially damaging consequences for their development

Play Strategy 2007-2012

Action Plan Priority 1: Promote the benefits of play for children and young people in all areas and environments that they may interact with, and its impact in achieving the outcomes of Every Child Matters. Priority 2: Promote and support a range of quality provision for local supervised open access play. Priority 3: Promote and support a range of quality provision for year round local out of school play care, with particular emphasis on free play and choice. Priority 4: Promote and support the increased use of local unsupervised play spaces and play facilities. Priority 5: Promote and support access to play for specialist children whose play needs are not being met because of their current circumstance. Priority 6: Promote and support children’s opportunities to experience risk and challenge through play. Priority 7: Promote and support quality standards across play, including access to education and training.

BIG Projects

5 teams of Detached Playworkers working across: Ladywood/Perry Barr Sutton Coldfield/Erdington Hall Green/Selly Oak Edgbaston/Northfield Hodge Hill/Yardley

10 Constituency Projects: Ladywood – Development of new play sessions Perry Barr – Environmental play/Play in Parks Hall Green – MUGA/Play Equipment Sutton Coldfield – Drop in Play at Library Yardley – Development of natural play area Northfield – Boulders at Lickey Hills/Play centre Hodge Hill Erdington Constituency Detached Teams Selly Oak Edgbaston

VCS Sharing data and knowledge Signposting Networking Partnership Capacity building