Playwork is a highly skilled profession that enriches and enhances children’s play. It takes place where adults support children’s play but it is not driven by prescribed education or care outcomes.
Our role is to improve the quality and range of play opportunities for children and young people through the professional development of the playwork workforce across the UK.
Playworkers can be found in a range of settings: adventure playgrounds, play centres, after school clubs, holiday play-schemes and mobile play-schemes operating from buses and vans. Play rangers work in parks and open spaces and, in some areas, playworkers can be found in schools.
Our vision is "A skilled, qualified and developing play workforce, whose practice is underpinned by the Playwork Principles, who provide high quality, accessible play opportunities for children and young people". Find out more about our strategy for 2011 - 2016.
We offer a coordinated voice for the sector, which is reflected in a coherent and research based demand for skills, and we work with training providers to meet the skills and training needs of the sector.
Professional, well-trained playworkers are a key part of the children’s workforce and we work to influence education and skills policies across the four nations, ensuring their relevance to the sector. We also work to advise government on how to prioritise its funding, as well as re-directing funding into the sector.