Scottish Play Commission

Play Scotland are delighted to announce that we launched the Scottish Play Commission at the Scottish Parliament on Thursday 13th December 2007.  This was Chaired by Sue Palmer, Author of Toxic Childhood and Detoxing Childhood and launched by Adam Ingram, MSP, Minister for Children and Early Years and Kathleen Marshall, Scotland’s Commissioner for Children and Young People.  The event was hosted by John Scott, MSP.

The launch was by invitation only and were sent to MSPs and key organisations within the Play Sector in Scotland.

From left to right: Marguerite Hunter Blair, Chief Executive, Play Scotland; Kathleen Marshall; Sue Palmer; Adam Ingram MSP; Margaret Westwood, Chair, Play Scotland; John Scott, MSP

The Play Commission has been set up to enable us to provide quality key recommendations to the Scottish Government regarding improving children’s play opportunities in Scotland and making the Children’s Right to Play (UNCRC Article 31) a reality and to support the development of a National Play Strategy for Scotland.

The Play Commission will enable us to gather a wide range of views through our events and the online forum (see below for registration details) and recommendations on the state of Play in Scotland in 2008. A full report and summary of recommendations will be published in May 2008.

“Having the chance to play and interact with others is great fun for children but it also teaches them vital life skills. Learning about relationships and risk is a key part of children’s emotional andphysical development and we want to help all of our young people get the best start in life. That’s why we’re looking at how to best support play and welcome different views on the most effective way forward.”
Adam Ingram MSP

The Launch followed the ‘kick start’ of the Play Conversations on the State of Play in Scotland on Monday 19th November 2007.

Speakers were: Dr Roger Hart, Co-Director of the Children’s Environments Research Group and Professor at the City University of New York, Dr John McKendrick from Glasgow Caledonian University, Sheila Dobie OBE and Andy Dalziell from the Institute for Neuro-Physiological Physiological (Scotland) Ltd.

Dr Roger Hart speaking on "Free play" and the changing roles of adults with children

Dr John McKendrick speaking on 'Beyong the playground towards a play friendly Scotland, towards a progressive Scotland through play'

'Highland Yak!'
On 29 February 2008 we held the ‘Highland Yak!’ in Inverness.  For our guest speakers Tim Gill and Arthur Battram, who thought a Highland Yak was a hairy coo, we explained that in Scotland yak is a euphemism for talk – and the talk about play in Inverness was tremendous!  Over sixty delegates from a wide range of backgrounds, including academic, sport, health, childcare and play development gathered in the Highlands to yak about play.

The day opened with an introduction from the Chair of the Scottish Play Commission, Sue Palmer.   Sue explained how in the course of her two year research for her book she had looked at 10 possible socio-cultural impacts which could influence the problems experienced in childhood today.  She discovered no magic bullet, however by far the biggest sea change had occurred in children’s opportunities for free play.  In one generation play for many children had become indoors, sedentary, screen-based and solitary.  Sue, an educationalist with an interest in literacy, has been converted to a play advocate who realises the importance of raising awareness and alerting politicians to the changes happening in childhood – not just for the benefit of children, but for the future of society.

Tim Gill evoked play memories of wild, exciting and scary times outdoors away from adults, and reminded us why memories are an important message to adults who set policies today – nationally or in small settings.   Experiences that children have enjoyed for generations are now seen as sinister and dangerous, either for the child or to society, but Tim reminded us these are about getting the hang of being a human being.  He argued that a zero risk tolerance approach to childhood takes society 180 degrees away from what childhood needs to be, and that we need a culture change from a Philosophy of Protection to a Philosophy of Resilience.  

Arthur Battram began with the premise that as play is a function of all primates, it is innately essential to human beings.  He presented the model that an effective play environment is an environment which operates on the edge of chaos.  Arthur illustrated how the complexity of play is a transient, dynamic phenomenon, poised between order and chaos, and that the duty of Playworkers was to support rather than manage.  He highlighted that play is not about childcare or education, and urged delegates to challenge the “Elfansafety” culture; to focus on the benefits of play; and to change the focus from problems to solutions.  Play is serious, as it is through play we become humans. 

We would like to thank all the delegates for attending this event.

Focus Groups
We will be hosting 2 Focus Groups in conjuntion with the SPC:

29 April in Aberdeen
2 May in Melrose, Scottish Borders

For information and how to book contact Susan at susanmcintyre@playscotland.org or telephone her on 0131 440 9070.

'Round up' - 27 May 2008
The 'round up' event of the Scottish Play Commission will be held on Tuesday 27 May at the Radisson SAS Hotel, Glasgow. This will give you the final chance to comment on the draft findings before they are launched at Scottish Parliament in June 2008.

This is an extremely important event for anyone with an interest in Play in Scotland.

Speakers: Sue Palmer on 'Toxic Childhood' and Adrian Voce, Play England on the new English Play Strategy.

For details on how to book contact Sharon on 0131 440 9070 or email: sharonforrester@playscotland.org

The Play Commission Online Discussion

An online discussion forum is now available for you to contribute to the Scottish Play Commission (just follow the link below). This online forum will be available until the end of March 08.

The online discussion is a key way in which you can help to develop these recommendations – we need lots of participation to get a good result. Also, look out for news of events, such as the 'Highland Yak' on 29th of February in Inverness. The events will provide an opportunity for face to face dialogue and for our thinking to be stimulated by speakers. Ideas from the online forum will inspire our discussions at the events, and vice versa.

Some topic areas are in place to get people started with general discussion, although topics can be changed or added if relevant. If you wish to suggest a specific key recommendation you can enter this under the topic heading: Recommendations to Government. Although many of the issues we’ll discuss will be experienced locally, it would be useful if we could try to identify the national links – what needs to happen at a national level? We are aiming for more and better play opportunities in Scotland!

Note: Each time you want to access the forum you must use the undernoted link.

www.playscotland.org.uk

Should you have any queries please let us know.

Watch this page for further information.

[ Back to top ]