Recent Evidence-based Research (2001 – 2006) Demonstrating .

THE BENEFITS OF PLAY AND PLAYWORKDefining Play, Playwork and Play SettingsPlay is a form of behaviour, which has been recognisedthroughout time. Playwork is an emerging professionwhich can arguably be traced back to the mid-Victorianera. Play settings can be as old as the natural environmentor as new as the most recently opened extended school.This research focuses on the inextricable relationshipbetween play, playwork and the playwork setting. Whilstmodest in scope, in terms of time, the availability ofresearch and current funding, it feels useful at the outsetto state the epistemological orientations of the work.Studies that concern themselves with human behaviour,work and social settings tend to be found within threebroad traditions: the scientific, social constructionist andapplied approaches. These three traditions characterisethe study of childhood and provide a useful orientationfor future research into play and playwork.The scientific approach – as exemplified by developmentalpsychology and evolutionary/social biology has tended todominate contemporary understandings of play withinplaywork. Such an approach sees play as an innate,instinctive, driven form of behaviour, which is essentialto life, evolution, growth and development. For example,within playwork, the widely accepted definition of play is:Freely chosen, personally directed and intrinsicallymotivated, [behaviour] that is, performed for no externalgoal or reward (Play Education 1982).This is accompanied by a typology of some sixteen playtypes1 that have been identified as an elaboration of thenature of play, indicating the importance and complexityof the focus of playwork, and which for this project invitethe question: how are specific play types correlatedwith specific benefits?The scientific method characterises this approach andincludes: observation, experimentation, demonstrationand verification, and inclines to quantitative methodologiesand evidence.The social constructionist approach is a much ‘newer’or younger approach concerned with the study of everydaylife and processes of ‘human meaning-making’.12Hughes, B. (1996) A Playworker’s Taxonomy of Play Types, PLAYLINKUnited Nations Convention on the Rights of the ChildThe nature and value attached to children’s play haschanged over time, and varies within and between cultures.Social understandings are framed through discoursesthat explain and justify social institutions and behaviourand can inform social action and interaction. Themethodologies of this tradition are qualitative, and includeobservation, ethnography and discourse analysis anddeconstruction. The aim is not to demonstrate truththrough evidence, but rather to explore taken-for-grantedassumptions and values that underpin everyday life, tothink about things differently, and explore potentialitiesfor change.Within playwork, there is increasing concern about thenature and processes of the construction of the knowledgebase of the profession, and with the telling of stories, as amethodology for sharing practice and developing theprofession as a practice open to study.To an extent Sutton-Smith (1999) in The Ambiguity ofPlay, adopts a multi-disciplinary approach to uncoverthe ideological rhetoric that characterises theories of playfrom a diversity of disciplines, employing a methodologywith a social constructionist ‘flavour’: “of the rhetorics ofthat play that can illuminate our understanding of it” thiscomplementing his essentially evolutionary/scientificapproach to the study of play. His work exemplifiesthe value of different traditions to the study of play.The applied approach lies somewhere between theacademic discipline of childhood studies and the dailypractice of playwork and can be broadly characterisedby two dimensions:Firstly commitments to the UNCRC2 and to all children’srights in many cases, especially those relating to children’sparticipation as well as to preventative, protective andprovision rights. A rights-based approach sits easily witha child-centred profession advocating the rights of thechild to play.Secondly, reflective practice is valued highly by playworkand involves the linking of experience in practice withtheory, in order to inform improvement and future action.5

THE BENEFITS OF PLAY AND PLAYWORKThe playwork profession has the potential for expansionand is hungry for a theoretical base that informs thedevelopment of practice. In this context the practitionerwill adopt a pragmatic approach to the selection of theoryfrom either of the traditions, with a healthy tendency tovalue that which works in practice. There is also a growingtendency for playworkers to develop their own theoriesbased on observation and practice, and increasingly‘story-telling’.It is believed that a multi-disciplinary approach tounderstanding play, complemented by a diversity ofepistemological and methodological approaches will be inthe best interests of play, playwork and the developmentof playwork settings.Defining PlayworkIt might be claimed, with some caution, that there is aconsiderable degree of consensus and acceptance ofthe generic description of playwork as being:“a term used to describe working professionally withchildren through play.” 3In presenting the findings, from the evidence-based andrelated researches, such definitions are used somewhatloosely and interchangeably.Defining Play SettingsThe diversity that characterises the provision of children’sservices unsurprisingly influences and is reflected indescriptions of the play setting. There is a sense withinthe profession of play settings simply being the provisionof services, with the primary purpose being play provisionfor children such as, adventure playgrounds, play centresand holiday play schemes. There is also a view that playcan be provided in specific settings (e.g. hospitals,refuges, children’s homes, prisons), that play can be takento outdoor environments (e.g. play rangers and mobileplay provision), and that play happens inevitably in out-ofschool provision. This links to contemporary debatesabout the Every Child Matters agenda, out-of-schoolcare and extended schools.Implications for the Research Reviewor as:A number of factors have had an impact on this researchproject and are worth setting out below to provide acontext for the literature review:“a highly skilled profession that enriches and enhanceschildren’s play.” 4 The difficulties of defining play for research and otherpurposes are well documented and bring complexityto the task; There is a shortage of evidence-based research intothe benefits of play amongst children over five andteenagers; A useful distinction can be made between understandingsof playwork as:There is an established literature of play theory drawnfrom a diversity of traditions, though primarily from thescientific tradition; There are few studies of the impacts of playwork(related to the relatively young status of the profession);“a methodology i.e. distinct way of working with children –the art and science of facilitating children’s play.” 5 There is a need for more research into the nature andbenefits of play and playwork;and: The emergence of forms of play provision seem to becontingent upon a range of external variables, politicalagendas, policy commitments, local conditions and toan increasing degree responsiveness to programmesof advocacy for play;More specifically, Brown (2000) in Playwork Theory andPractice defines playwork as:“the specific act of affecting the whole environment withthe deliberate intention of improving opportunities forplay.”“a service delivered by adults for children, either throughpeople, places or a combination of both.”3456Lyon, K (2003) Using play and play work with teenage parents and their children, Journal of Family Health Care Volume 13 No 1SkillsActive (2006) Quality Training, Quality Play 2005 – 2010: The first UK strategy for playwork education training and qualificationsNewstead, S. (2004) The Buskers Guide to Playwork, Common Threads Publications Ltd.Ibid.6

THE BENEFITS OF PLAY AND PLAYWORK Definitions of play within the research review havebeen contextualised to the topic under review e.g.social play refers to social play types and assumptionsand anecdotes about its benefits; All available/found research is included, whichhas various degrees of rigour; Gaps in research are highlighted; Attention is given to appropriate methodologiesgiven the context of play and its complexities.Some ObservationsThe project has revealed an increasingly well-documentedidentification of the limited availability of evidence-basedresearch documenting the benefits of play and playwork(see Making the Case for Play and Realising the Potential:The case for cultural services – Play summarised inAppendix Two).The topics included in this research review relate tocontemporary agendas within playwork, for example, therelationship between play and social/personal development,the impacts of play deprivation, and in terms of publicpolicy, the relationship between play and children’s healthand childhood obesity. These contemporary agendas alsoinclude the expansion of out-of-school care, and thechanging face of childhood services, e.g. extended schoolsand reform of the children’s workforce through the EveryChild Matters agenda.This project is modest in terms of time and funding andtherefore it is not ‘fully comprehensive’. Areas such as risk,community development and others have not beenincluded. However, hopefully, this work is one of manyearly steps towards the development of a broader andstronger awareness of the evidence base for the benefitsof children’s play and particularly of staffed provision.Existing evidence focuses on the links between play andchild development and agendas relating to the changingnature of childhood and the contemporary experiencesof children.7

THE BENEFITS OF PLAY AND PLAYWORK2. The Education and Learning Benefits of Play and PlayworkPlay and Playwork in an Education and Learning ContextThe cognitive benefits of play have characterised thewritings of developmental psychologists, with Piagetseeing play as a mechanism for the consolidation ofskills, and Vygotsky their application and extension.More contemporaneously, play is recognised for theimportant contribution it makes to education and lifelonglearning, a finding confirmed by many studies of earlychildhood. Research prior to 2001 with animals foundthat play can enhance problem solving; it is also widelyregarded as providing opportunities for social interactionand language development. The contribution of play toeducational development is suggested through theinherent value of different play types e.g. through risktaking and exploratory play in formal and informal settings,allowing children to experiment, try new things and pushtheir boundaries. Research also suggests that “thelearning outcomes from play are enhanced when playis ‘properly directed’” by adults7.The other area of focus for the impact of play andplaywork on education and learning is the role of playat school break periods and the impact on children’sbehaviour and learning in class. One of the currentconcerns voiced in the media is children’s opportunitiesfor imaginative play and its educational benefits beinglimited because of the demands of the school curriculumthreatening to make school playtimes shorter.Taking risks, experimenting and pushing boundariesis an important part of growing up. Young people needopportunities to learn about their world in ways thatprovide challenge and excitement through positivethings to do and opportunities to play.Playing allows children to make mistakes and learnthrough trial and errors, which again helps them torecognise their limitations, as well as to discover theirabilities. If play becomes too safe, it is not only predictableand boring, it also limits children’s practical experiences ofrisk management, and hence their ability to recognise anddeal with risky situations.Ludvigsen, A., Creegan, C. and Mills, H. (2005) Let’s PlayTogether: Play and inclusion, Evaluation of Better PlayRound Three, Barnardo’sList of Findings Research into role play and imaginative play in theschool environment shows that uninterrupted playbenefits children’s learning. The complexity of theplay is dependent on the provision of time, space andchoice in the classroom. “Our observations of role playparticularly between peers show that high quality roleplay can provide opportunities for complex cognitiveand social development” (Rogers 2005).This evidence is usually discussed in the context ofthe school curriculum putting pressure on children’stime for play. Freedom to play in the natural environment contributesto a child’s development including their physical andemotional well-being and learning. A Child’s Placerecognised clear learning outcomes from outdooractivities pursued by children, including:- Communicating and negotiating with others(especially in the playground)- Responsibility for others (e.g. younger siblings)- Curiosity in living thingsDepartment of Health (2004) Choosing Health: Makinghealthy choices easier, Public Health White Paper- Story-telling, magic and myths (especially inrelation to secret places).(Thomas and Thompson 2004)7Coalter, F. and Taylor, J. (2001) Realising the Potential of Cultural Services: The case for Cultural Services - play, Local Government Association8

THE BENEFITS OF PLAY AND PLAYWORK Evaluation of three Forest Schools by Forest Researchand the New Economics Foundation found that play ina woodland environment increased children’s knowledgeand understanding of the natural environment and gavethem the confidence “to develop a responsibleindependence and initiate their own play andlearning” (Murray and O’Brien 2005). Forest Schools also increased children’s languagedevelopment and communication skills by facilitatingspontaneous talk and the use of descriptive languagethrough children’s freedom to explore and play in theoutdoors. The environment inspired children to learnthrough experimenting with language in imaginativeplay and encouraged children who had otherwisebeen reluctant to join in to increase their accessto learning through discovery with their peers.The Better Play Evaluation found that children learntnew, and improved existing, practical and social skillsthrough play: “Practical skills were learnedexperientially, while social skills were learned throughactivities and interaction with others”. Furthermore “all the projects showed that children had gained orimproved practical skills, social skills and levels ofknowledge and understanding” (Youlden and Harrison2006). Practical skills described by the evaluationincluded: physical and motor skills, model making,cooking and arts and crafts activities. Social skillsincluded: teamwork, communication, listening skills,turn-taking and cooperation.Learning is linked to different play types, for example,exploratory play, imaginative play and opportunitiesfor challenge and risk all enhance learning. Better Playfound that playworkers were influential in this processand “staffed play opportunities gave children theopportunity to try new activities, take risks andextend boundaries in a supported environment”(Youlden and Harrison 2006).Play facilitated by playworkers can maximisechildren’s education and learning benefits. The skillsand knowledge of the staff in the Better Play evaluationwere key to the child’s learning: “The key influenceson learning and knowledge were found to be the staff,working with external partners, equipment and tools,the type of activities available and the projects’ overallaims” (Youlden and Harrison 2006). Play projects have been found to give parents andcarers opportunities to learn about their children’s playthrough observation. This was a finding of the BetterPlay Evaluation and was the focus of recent study bythe Next Generation Foundation (NGF). The NGF foundthat parents could learn about their children’s playthrough observation and by playing alongside them,which benefited parents’ understanding of theirchildren’s behaviour and encouraged them to engagein their children’s learning through play in noninstitutional settings (Thomas and Bradburne 2006).Recent Sources for Education and Learning Benefits1Murray, R. and O’Brien, L. (2005) Such Enthusiasm –a Joy to See: An evaluation of Forest School inEngland, Forest Research and the New EconomicsFoundation2Rogers, S. (2005) Role Play in Reception Classes,Economic and Social Research Council3Thomas, G. and Thompson, G. (2004) A Child’s Place:Why environment matters to children, A GreenAlliance/Demos report4Thomas, S. and Bradburne, J. (2006) Making PlayfulLearning Visible, Next Generation Foundation5Youlden, P. and Harrison, S (2006)The Better PlayProgramme 2000-2005: An evaluation, YouldenAssociates for Barnardos and Children’s Play CouncilGaps/Future Research Projects Long-term research building on the large body ofknowledge about the benefits of play to learning inearly years that looks at the continued impact of playon learning and education through 5 – 15 year olds.There is a gap in research that clearly separates theearly years from older children. The benefits of play to the learning of childrenwith special educational needs. The benefits and methods of adult-directedplay on learning.9

THE BENEFITS OF PLAY AND PLAYWORK3. The Health and Well-Being Benefits of Play and PlayworkPlay and Playwork in a Health and Well-Being ContextPlay is often recognised for its contribution to physicalhealth and emotional well-being. Traditionally the healthbenefits of play are recognised as the physical activityinvolved in playing energetically and play enhancing themental health of children and young people.Play is recognised for the valuable contribution it canmake to increasing children’s physical activity levels andhelping children to achieve the government’srecommended 60 minutes of at least moderate intensityphysical activity each day. The Chief Medical Officer notesthat “active play involving carrying, climbing, rough andtumble will help develop and maintain muscular fitnessand flexibility” and recognises the role of “educationprofessionals and play leaders to encourage children andyoung people of all abilities, shapes and sizes to take partin sports and activities that engage them throughout life.” 8The mental health contribution of play can be seen notonly through the play therapy discipline which is used fortreating emotional and behavioural difficulties and helpingchildren to deal with traumatic events, but also throughunstructured freely-chosen play contributing to children’semotional health and well-being, for example, by providingchallenge and choice. Evidence from the Mental HealthFoundation’s Bright Futures Inquiry in 1999 found thatfactors like poverty, social isolation and a lack of strongrelationships have a negative impact on children’s mentalhealth but “positive or resilience factors” balance these,of which play is a key factor. It is noted that opportunitiesto play including taking risks and testing boundaries buildchildren’s confidence, self-esteem and resilience in morethan just the short term.9 letting children go out to play is one of the best thingsthat parents can do for their children’s health.Mackett, R. (2004) Making Children’s Lives More Active,Centre for Transport Studies University College London89.we are all aware of the "five portions a day" concept as itapplies to fruit and vegetables, let me suggest that as wellas those five portions a day, children should be given theopportunity to engage in a minimum of three portions ofplay a day.Cole, D. (2005) The Concept of Play Malnourishmentin the UK, International Play Association JournalList of Findings Commentators recognise that the rise in obesityamongst children could be linked to decreasing levelsof physical activity, with one of the contributory factorschildren’s unsupervised play outdoors being limited byparents worried about traffic danger and ‘strangerdanger’, as well as inequality of access to quality greenspaces across the UK. Evidence from children findsthat they would like more opportunities to play out.In a BMRB survey for the Children’s Play Council andThe Children’s Society 39% of children said that theydo not play out as much as they would like to. Playing (unstructured ball games and general outdoorplay) is one of the most effective ways of ensuring thatchildren get the physical activity they need. Thenumber of activity calories burnt by children playingwas second only to those consumed during schoolPE and games lessons. Furthermore children weremore likely to walk to play at play provision or outdoorspace, increasing the intensity of the activity andleading the researcher to conclude that: “Walking andplaying provide children with more physical activitythan most other activities” (Mackett 2004). Children’s contact with the outdoors and use of thenatural environment for exploratory activities, includingplay, contributes to their emotional and psychologicalwell-being, including “letting off steam, shouting andrunning, quiet reflection, confiding in others and beingwith family members and pets” (Thomas andThompson 2004).Chief Medical Officer (2004) At Least Five a Week: Evidence on the impact of physical activity and its relationship to health, Department of HealthMental Health Foundation, Bright Futures, Mental Health Foundation10

THE BENEFITS OF PLAY AND PLAYWORK Playground interventions can help to increasechildren’s physical activity levels. There is evidence toshow that “Skipping and typical playground gamesstimulated by painting playgrounds can significantlyincrease children’s physical activity in the short-term”(Stratton 2002). Along with playground markings it wasalso suggested that children need stimulation in theform of prompts from teachers or parents to enablethem to be more physically active.Evaluation of The Better Play Programme found thatprojects fostered both physical a

3. NPFA (2000) Best Play: What play provision should do for children Contents 1. Introduction 2. The Education and Learning Benefits of Play and Playwork 3. The Health and Well-Being Benefits of Play and Playwork 4. The Economic Benefits of Play and Playwork 5. The Social Benefits of Play a