New Research

This track will take place on Tuesday

What is Workplace Play? - Dr. Mike Wragg

This session presents the findings of a doctoral research project investigating play as it is understood in the workplace, and explores the potential of the study's conclusions and recommendations for children's play and playwork.

Staging: Children's gendered negotiations in Play - Dr. Sarah Goldsmith

Finally I have finished my PhD! And with your input over the years I have developed a framework, Staging: a tool to evaluate playwork practice, and the play environment in terms of gender. Staging uses the analogy of the theatre to help playworkers better support and understand the multiple and often complex influences on children’s gendered performances and negotiations during play. Come along to find out more.

A Story of Survival: Playwork Provision - Dr. Alexandra Long

The first half of this session will provide an overview of a PhD research project which examined the financial sustainability of playwork provision between 2014 and 2020. The session will include an overview of phase one of the research examining the loss we've experienced as a sector. I'll share findings from the latter phases of the research project which focused specifically on Adventure Playground provision and the model which summarises the strategies used to sustain adventure playgrounds by those involved.  I'll introduce you to Strategic Action Fields Theory and how this can be used to consider how we utilise our networking skills to increase the likelihood of sustaining playwork provision.