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Parks for Play are committed to creating resilient children through play opportunities in the community. We base our actions around eight core Play Principles:
“All children and young people need to play. The impulse to play is innate. Play is a biological, psychological and social necessity, and is fundamental to the healthy development and well-being of individuals and communities.”
Play comes from an inner ‘drive’ and may be expressed in a variety of ways and behaviours, not always easily recognisable as ‘playful’. Staff members are expected to take an essentially non-judgemental stance when working with children, taking care not to inadvertently ‘label’ behaviour and individuals.
‘‘Play is a process that is freely chosen, personally directed and intrinsically motivated. That is, children and young people determine and control the content and intent of their play, by following their own instincts, ideas and interests, in their own way for their own reasons.”
Staff members are encouraged to be reflective practitioners and should be conscious of how their own beliefs and values impact on how they work with children and young people. This is particularly relevant when it comes to the adult impulse to ‘lead’ or ‘direct’ children’s play choices.”
“The prime focus and essence of Playwork is to support and facilitate the play process and this should inform the development of play policy, strategy, training and education.”
“For play workers, the play process takes precedence
and playworkers act as advocates for play when engaging with adult led
agendas.”
At times staff members may need to gently and constructively question, ‘the way things are’ and this may be particularly evident when trying to differentiate between ‘education’ and ‘play’ environments, where sessions take place in dual-use settings. This should be as a consequence of team discussion / reflection.
“The role of the play worker is to support all children and young people in the creation of a space in which they can play.”
Consistently supporting children and young people in the process of co-creating playful spaces is hard work, physically, emotionally and cognitively. The professional behaviour relevant to this principle is about fostering a team approach and commitment towards continual improvement, recognising the things which inhibit play and taking steps to address them. This should be as a consequence of team discussion / reflection.
“The play worker’s response to children and young people playing is based on a sound up to date knowledge of the play process, and reflective practice.”
‘Play’ and the context in which it is taking place is constantly changing. Staff members are expected to engage in reflective practice and to respond positively and flexibly to challenges.
“Play workers recognise their own impact on the play space and also the impact of children and young people’s play on the playworker.”
Good adult / child relationships are paramount in the play space. Playwork is essentially concerned with ‘giving back’ power to children and young people – for example, to decide what and how to create, how to express emotion etc. This requires ‘minimal intervention’ on the part of the adult, i.e. staff should intervene in children’s play appropriately and only when necessary, and should be aware of inadvertently taking over play or ‘getting lost’ in their own play needs.
“Play workers choose an intervention style that enables children and young people to extend their play. All playworker intervention must balance risk with the developmental benefit and well-being of children.”
Children and young people want and need to take risks, (physical / emotional), and to feel challenged. ‘Professional’ in this context means taking a balanced approach, (engaging with the risk benefit process), and advocating for children’s rights to extend their capabilities.