SkillsActive attends the 17th International Play Association (IPA) World Conference in Hong Kong

Uzma Ahmad, SkillsActive - 01/02/2008

The theme for the event was ‘Play in a Changing World’, and among the key note speakers, delegates heard from Dr Roger Hart, director of the Children’s Environments Research Group, Sue Palmer, writer and broadcaster, and Prof. Jakob Egbert Doek, Chair of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child between 2001 and 2007.

Lesli Godfrey, Programme manager at SkillsActive hosted a presentation on the topic - "Every Child Matters in the UK: the Playwork Response". The presentation outlined the content of the government's initiative.  She set the context for the current nature of the Playwork profession in England through a brief historical overview and statistical analysis of the playwork profession.  Lesli then went on to explain the playwork response to this government initiative while also describing some of the recent non-governmental developments that are influencing the range of play provision offered, and presented some examples of ways in which playwork can support children to meet the five outcomes of Every Child Matters. Lesli drew on current issues in education and training across the children’s workforce to highlight potential areas of development for the future of playwork as a profession. While the detail of Every Child Matters is specific to the UK, there are lessons that can be drawn on by strategists and practitioners working for, and with, children in other countries.

This presentation is based on a chapter about playwork for the book ‘Making Sense of Every Child Matters’ to be published by the Policy Press in September 2008, and which will provide an overview of the responses to this far-reaching government initiative by a range of professions in the children’s workforce.

To view the Lesli's presentation, click here.