What is playwork?

Playwork is a skilled profession that informs playworkers about their role when working with children and young people in their play and leisure time. Playwork adheres to the Playwork Principles that are the underpinning ethos of the way that we respond to children and their play. The Playwork Principles define what freely chosen play is and its importance to the overall healthy development of individuals and they guide our responses to children playing, our level of intervention, our positive attitudes to risk taking and the importance of reflective practice.

Playwork involves considerations towards the spaces we create for children to play in, the resources within those spaces and advocates for children to play in their own way for their own meaning.