Welcome to Playwork London
'for all your play and playwork professional development needs'
Who we are: Playwork London is a not-for-profit organisation focusing on play and playwork education, training, research and consultancy. The organisation has a well-established reputation for developing and supporting high quality, available, relevant and accessible playwork education, qualifications and training for all people with a role in supporting children’s play.
Playwork London was previously the London Centre for Playwork Education and Training, established in 1991 as one of four National Centres across England which evolved from earlier London-wide networks. The management board is made up of some members who have been involved with the organisation for over 20 years and has continuously developed its membership to ensure a rich and varied input of skills, experience and knowledge to the organisation. Current members come from voluntary sector, higher education, freelance and local authority backgrounds with a range of expertise from academic to practitioner, trainer to manager and many diverse roles in between.
What we offer: The ability to provide good play environments and facilitate play opportunities effectively, requires a broad range of skills and a great deal of knowledge and understanding. Every playworker, including managers, trainers and play development workers, can benefit from training, education and qualifications. Other professionals such as teachers, planners, police and anyone who works with children and young people, or who can influence the environments in which children play, can also access our services.
Our key objectives are:
- To provide opportunities for communities of practice and networking for playworkers, playwork managers and employers and playwork training providers.
- To provide opportunities for continuous professional development and to promote and encourage its recognition and benefits to playworkers, managers, training providers, assessors, Play Associations and Development Agencies.
- To increase access to playwork qualifications, training and learning by building and maintaining a robust and well resourced local, regional and national playwork infrastructure.
- To support the development of a co-ordinated package of Playwork learning products that support continuing professional development needs within the sector, enabling access to flexible and sustainable learning programmes and materials.
- To provide opportunities for education and training for playworkers, managers, training providers, assessors, Play Associations and other allied professionals in order to improve the quality of opportunities for children and young people’s play and promote the understanding of the importance of play and its contribution to child-friendly communities.
- To promote awareness and understanding of play and playwork, by acting as a conduit for information, communicating to people at all levels, within the profession and beyond.
As well as writing and producing training materials and programmes for playworkers we have published two books, Play Types: Speculations and Possibilities written by Bob Hughes which looks in more detail at play types and their application, and, Playwork Voices: In celebration of Bob Hughes and Gordon Sturrock, a collection of stories, ludic musings, personal reflections and theoretical proposals from playwork people. We have established a successful series of Playwork Professional Development Seminars presented by leading play and playwork theorists which provides opportunities for playworkers, trainers, assessors and managers the chance to discuss the latest thinking in the playwork world.
We also host the London Playwork Trainers Network, a forum for anyone concerned with playwork education and training. In 2008, with partners, we organised the conference, ‘Adventure Play – New Ways Forward’, which looked at the development of adventure playgrounds in London.
The organisation is staffed and managed by experienced and well-respected playwork people from a range of public and independent organisations. We offer advice, guidance, information, training and consultancy in response to enquiries alongside our professional development opportunities. We are always open to new challenges and ideas to support children’s play and look forward to hearing from you.