About Us
Playwork Partnerships' mission is to enrich children's
and young people's lives and support their wellbeing through
play.
Opportunities for children to 'play out' unsupervised are
increasingly restricted by the lack of suitable public space, more
time spent on computers or watching television, increased traffic
and anxieties for children's safety. At Playwork Partnerships we
are passionate about supporting the conditions for children's play;
physical, emotional and social.
Rich in expertise, with an established presence both in the
south west region and nationally, we take pride in our creative
partnership centred approach and being an essential resource for
the play sector. People who benefit from our services include
playworkers, playwork trainers, assessors, playwork organisations
and allied professionals who work in the sphere of children's play
including early years workers, teachers, environmental workers,
planners and landscape architects.
Throughout all of our work we aim to build an infrastructure of
support for children's play and to ensure sustainability and value
for money.
Support
Playwork Partnerships offers a range of support services to
those who work directly within the sphere of children's play. These
include:
- administration support for the South West Play Forum
- organisation of regional and national conferences including the
South West Play Celebration and Wild and Away.
- co-ordination of Playwork Learning
and Skills e-group for playwork tutors
- co-ordination of the National Play
Ranger Forum
- Play Ranger briefings
- provision and distribution of a national e-newsletter
Advocacy
Raising the profile of children's play and advocating for the
child's right to play is a key part of our work. Ways in which this
is achieved include:
- responding to national consultations on policy and strategy
from a children's play perspective
- participating and presenting at Party Political
Conferences
- representing Playwork Partnerships and the South West Play
Forum at national fora including Play England and
SkillsActive.
Research & Publications
Playwork Partnerships and colleagues at the University of
Gloucestershire are keen to contribute to the research and
knowledge base relating to children's play.
Opportunities and funding for this area of work are through
commissioning, project work and student research scholarships.
Knowledge, Education and Training
Over the past 18 years, Playwork Partnerships have developed a
portfolio of qualifications, training courses and products to
meet the needs of workers who support children's play. These
include playworkers, the wider children's workforce,
environmental workers and arts workers.
All courses are endorsed by SkillsActive, the Sector Skills
Council for Active Leisure, Learning and Wellbeing including
playwork.
If you would like to see previous projects we have worked on see
our Funded
Projects Page.
If you would like to see some of the research with have worked on
see our Research
Page.
Get
Involved!