Working in Playwork

There are more out of school clubs than ever before, and other playwork settings are on the increase too. Playworkers are now a highly respected workforce, recognised for the valuable input they have into children’s lives. The Daycare Standards, as part of the Scottish Social Service's Council's Registration Agenda, are used to regulate play settings for under 8s mean that playworkers need to be well trained and qualified. This means that being a playworker is rewarding, valued and also leads to career development opportunities. There has never been a better time to take up a career working with children.

The Role of a Playworker
Playworkers work with school aged children in out of school settings. Different playwork settings are run in different ways, but all aim to give the children and young people choices about how they spend their leisure time.

Playworkers offer a range of activities and provide children with a safe place to play, socialise, try out new things or just spend quiet time. Safety in a play setting doesn't mean children can't take risks - after all, risk is often what makes play fun. It means the playworker has thought about protecting the children from harm, for example providing crash mats for a made up climbing game or helping the children work out their own safety rules.

Play helps children develop in many ways, and a playworker might find themselves involved in creative activities, sporty games, drama, den building, cooking and talking to a child about their worries all in the same day. No two days are the same, and the work is never likely to be boring!

A playworker needs to be:

• A good team worker, and get on well with children, their parents/carers and with other staff.
• Able to plan activities with children and young people.
• Flexible - if children want to change their plans or don't want to take part it's their choice.
• Good at listening to children.

The children who attend playwork settings come from all walks of life and will all have different abilities and personalities. Some disabled children using play settings need additional support, others who have extra help at school might not need it in a play setting. A good playworker will be able to work well with all sorts of children.

Playwork Settings
It's important to remember that even though many playwork settings offer childcare for parents, the time children and young people spend in the play setting is their leisure time.

There are many settings in which to work with children as a playworker including the following:

Breakfast clubs: 8:00-9:00am

• parents bring children to club
• children can have breakfast
• staff take children to school
• some activities may be provided

After-school clubs: 3:00-6:00pm

• caters for 4 -14 year olds
• parents book children in
• clubs collect children from school
• parents collect children from club
• most clubs organise a refreshment break during the session

Playbus

• open access, the bus goes to clubs, groups, play areas or other appropriate places
• the children may come and go at will
• activities can be organised
• in some cases the bus staff may organise something only open to members of a group or club

Play Centre/Youth Groups

• play centre/youth groups can cater for a variety of age ranges 8-14 years, 11-14 years, 13-18 years, up to 25 years
• venues vary from purpose built buildings to village halls, church rooms and schools
• opening times vary from one day to everyday of the week

Adventure Playground

• open access, children can come and go at will
• children do not need to be booked in and out of the playground
• the staff supervise outdoor activities and equipment
• outdoor play equipment is often designed and built by the children
• some activities may be available indoors, often led by the children

Holiday Play Schemes

• holiday play schemes are usually for 4-14 year olds but some may be open to older children
• play schemes can be run by a variety of organisations, for example the church, voluntary organisations and uniformed groups
• the times of opening and the number of days per week vary between schemes

Not all settings fit with these descriptions, for example, some after school clubs may be open access, playbuses may run activities in a variety of settings including open access play in public parks or after school clubs in village halls, some adventure playgrounds run sessions like after school clubs.

Employment and career prospects
As well as working directly with children as a playworker, there are other employment opportunities in the field of Playwork. Here are some examples:

Manager/Lead Practioner

• Managing staff and resources on a large site or for a play service in a local authority.

Development Worker

• Establishing new play provision in a community for a voluntary association.
• Taking forward the National Childcare Strategy for an Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership.
• Developing education and training opportunities in a region.

Small to Medium Business Enterprise

• Setting up and managing one or more after school clubs.

Training Provider and Trainer

• Developing and running training courses in Playwork.
• Delivering Playwork training.
• Assessing playworkers working towards an NVQ.

Specialist Playworker

• An experienced playworker could train to work in play therapy or specialise in working with children with identified needs in play settings.

Volunteers

Volunteer Development Scotland estimate that 983,664 volunteers work 113,552,796 hours (67,590 full-time job equivalent) in Scotland each year with their local community, charities, clubs, associations and countless other sectors. Working closely with paid workers, volunteers make up a vital part of the workforce in this country. The personal benefits that people can gain from volunteering are:

• Enjoyment.
• Meeting new people.
• A sense of personal achievement.

There are also other important benefits that can be gained such as:

• The opportunity to learn new skills or gain a qualification which can be used to improve a person's employability.
• Helping to shape the organisation or community.
• Achieving a position in an organisation or community.

Education, Training and Qualifications
Playworkers need to be trained and qualified workers. There are now opportunities at every level to take part in high quality training and gain qualifications that have been endorsed by the Sector and practioners working in Playwork settings that provide care now need to be registered with the SSSC and working towards qualifications approved by them. Support workers will need to be registered with the SSSC from October 2008. For more information on registration and the qualifications required by the SSSC go to http://www.sssc.uk.com

People who are interested in working with children but not sure what they would like to do can attend a training course called "Making Choices". The course was written to help you make an informed choice about which age group and setting they wish to work in. It is delivered by Local Authorities Early Years Development and Childcare Partnerships.

If you will be working at Level 3, for example, running play setting and working without supervision, you'll need to have or be working towards a Level 3 qualification.

Half the playworkers at Level 2 in a playwork setting, who work with supervision, need to have a Level 2 playwork qualification.

There are a lot of different playwork qualifications available now. You can work towards a qualification in different ways, depending on what suits you – full-time or part-time study, distance learning, training sessions on evening and weekends or e-learning. Qualifications are offered by private, voluntary sector and local authority training providers, Further Education Colleges and Universities. Playwork qualifications include S/NVQs, as well as diplomas and degrees available from universities. There is a wide range of Playwork training courses available and SkillsActive provide a list of courses which have been approved by people involved in Playwork. Training keeps your skills and knowledge up to date and can give you new ideas and inspiration.

Quality Training, Quality Play 2006-2011
SkillsActive has launched Scotland's first ever strategy to address education, training and qualifications in the Playwork sector.

The aim of this strategy is to improve the quality and range of play opportunities for children and young people.

They are working closely with Play Wales, PlayBoard N.I., Play Scotland and children's organisations and servies across the UK.

For a copy please click here

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