OUT2PLAY – SkillsActive 5th Annual Playwork Conference proves to be a huge success

Leonie Wilson, SkillsActive - 06/03/2008

Louise Turner from Crechendo Training said that “the conference was a great opportunity to meet up with old friends and colleagues and to have the opportunity to discuss issues with the right people ‘on tap’.”

“We had a very impressive turn out” says Paul Bonel, Playwork unit Director, “in fact, this year’s conference proved to be the most popular in the history of the annual conference. It was a fantastic opportunity to engage playworkers and the children’s workforce in moving towards a more professional identity for the sector.”

The day kick started with a ‘market place’ showcasing a range of organisations promoting several initiatives including funding, policy updates, solutions, training and qualifications such as the, soon-to-be launched, Society, Health and Development diploma.

The conference was also the official launch of the activepassport™ for playwork, a unique web based facility for recording skills, qualifications and achievements. Each delegate received a complementary activepassport™ for playwork from SkillsActive to record everything they learnt at the conference and to continue developing their own online record of achievements.

Delegates took part in a wide range of interactive workshops with the theme of outdoor play. The sessions focused on workforce development and training, play ranger training and initiatives to encourage outdoor play through SkillsActive and other playwork organisations. The workshops covered a range of topics including how adults interpret and influence children’s play in the playground, how to incorporate the four elements as a natural resource for play and an introduction to the Venture, the UK’s most successful adventure playground.

On the day SkillsActive presented an award to playworker, Danny Pitman, to commemorate passing the 100,000^th NVQ milestone across the active learning and leisure sector.

Throughout the day delegates had the opportunity to listen to a number of keynote speakers rounding off the day with a panel discussion with speakers and workshop leaders. Simon Wilson opened the presentations by giving an overview of the Children’s Plan and the implications for playwork followed by Tim Gill and Michael Follett on children and outdoor play. The conference concluded with a presentation on the opportunities and challenges for playwork by Robin Sutcliffe.

“SkillsActive are very excited about building on the success of this year and very much look forward to next year’s conference” says Paul Bonel.