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Share| THE COLLOQUIUM | CONGRESS SUITE | ||
| 1 | children's everyday lives in new 'sustainable' communities | Peter Kraftl | This colloquium will be based around a large-scale research project in four newly-built sustainable communities in the English East Midlands, built since 2003 under the previous UK Government's 'Sustainable Communities' agenda. Since these communities were intended as 'inclusive' spaces, it will firstly examine whether and how children's play was incorporated into their formal design. Secondly, I will examine how children do play in these communities - from building sites to playgrounds, from the street to green-spaces. Thirdly, I will highlight how children's play has given rise to some surprising kinds of informal 'participation' in community life. Finally, I will consider what role play - and playworkers - should have in both planning and service provision for such new communities, which continue to be built. |
| Paper 45 minutes 10:30 – 11:15 | |||
| Discussion 45 minutes 11:30 – 12:15 | |||
| 2 | Labour of Love: why playworkers need to raise their occupational game | Pat Kane | Way beyond the educational or caring sector, play is one of the keywords of 21st-century discussions about the quality of our adult social lives. Public and private organisations use play techniques to increase their powers of innovation and adaptability. Mind scientists invoke the amount of play (alongside sleep) as a crucial indicator of human wellbeing, for adults and children. And never mind the play and games that occupy much of our popular culture, from computer games to X-Factor to the Olympics. What do playworkers have to say about all this? The crucial developmental importance of play in early years is now generally recognised in policy circles. But can playworkers develop an occupational/professional voice that can use the insights of their practice to inform other areas of society, to the same degree as other care professions (like teaching, medicine and the police) are able to do? |
| Paper 45 minutes 13:15 – 14:00 | |||
| Discussion 45 minutes 14:15 – 15:00 | |||
| 3 | Towards a unified playwork theory for provision for play | Bob Hughes | This paper will explore Bob's perceptions of what play is and what play does, and how and why we should ensure that children have regular access to what he terms, a 'wild' play environment. Drawing from his own intuition, his childhood memories, his playwork experiences and the scientific literature, he will highlight the 'magic' of play, it's bio-evolutionary outcomes, and the factors that make environments, 'play environments'. |
| Paper 45 minutes 15:15 – 16:00 | |||
| Discussion 45 minutes 16:15 – 17:00 |
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