Every Child Plays - Introduction
This project was originally conceived by the Wakefield and District Play Forum who, in common with many others in the play sector, had concluded that the Every Child Matters agenda may prove very significant in terms of local authority play provision and that the outcomes framework in particular, although providing some challenges, could also prove very useful. The forum contracted Marc Armitage, an independent Children’s Play Consultant working under the name PLAYPEOPLE ~ taking play seriously, to carry out fieldwork and write a final document. Funding was provided by Wakefield Children’s Fund.
The fieldwork consisted of a number of group meetings and individual interviews with local authority officers from different councils around the country. A total of twenty-six officers from a variety of council departments were involved in this stage of the project.No assumptions were made at the beginning of the project about what form the final document should take but the fieldwork did suggest both a structure, purpose, and to a large extent the content of this eventual document which is aimed mainly but not exclusively at local authority officers around the United Kingdom.
The document is not intended to provide a definitive statement on play provision by local authorities, or even on all the links there might be between play provision and the Every Child Matters Framework – what it is intended to be is a tool for discussion and development. It is suggested that groups of local authority officers use this document as an agenda and discussion tool in staff meetings, planning events, and partnership meetings to help them clarify the state of play provision by their own departments and others and identify gaps.
It would be helpful if such meetings included officers from a variety of different departments and also play specialists from inside and/or outside the council structure.
Download the complete Every Child Plays Report (5.5mb)