We were delighted to host our 2025 AGM and bring together a room full of people passionate about play. Our event was called Playful Parents, Practitioners, and Places, mirroring Scotland’s Play Vision Statement and Action Plan from the Scottish Government, launched this year.
Annual General Meeting
We heard from Paul Liddel, the chair of Play Scotland, about the busy year the organisation has had. Including:
- Chairing the external steering group for the development of the new Play Vision Statement and Action Plan
- Working closely with the Scottish Government to develop the Children’s Version and poster versions of the new Play Vision Statement and Action Plan, in collaboration with children and young people across Scotland
- Delivering training to 468 delegates, impacting over 28,000 children
- 30 more schools joining the Play Pedagogy Award
- The number of OPAL schools increasing to 36, benefiting over 7,000 children
- Supporting local authorities in their Play Sufficiency duty with the newly released Getting it Right for Play
- Supporting the Scottish Government with Scotland’s Play Park Survey – the first of its kind!
- Delivering Playing Together on Pedals and Outdoor Community Play with ScrapAntics
- Supporting the review of the National Occupational Standards for Playwork, Social Care and Childcare and Vocational Qualifications and Modern Apprenticeships.
- Celebrating the International Day of Play and Playday with community events across Scotland
We welcomed our new CEO, Mary Ramsay, and marked the retirement of our previous CEO Marguerite Hunter Blair.
We bid a farewell to our Treasurer of 20 years, John Cleary, and officially welcomed our new Treasurer, Mark McLeod.
Speakers
Christopher Russell
We heard a governmental update from Christopher Russell. Christopher is the Scottish Government policy manager for play. He has been in post since 2018 and leads on the Play Vision Statement and Action Plan and on the £60 million play park renewal funding.
Sukanya Krishnamurthy
Sukanya is a Chancellor’s Fellow and Senior Lecturer at the School of Geosciences, University of Edinburgh. She spoke about her research into play spaces in Asia and epistemic issues of play value. Her key interests include placemaking and participatory approaches and child-friendly planning. She has been a PI and team member on research projects (EU, NWO, third sector funding) in the Netherlands, Germany, Canada, Israel, UK, Turkey and India.
Karen Sharp
Karen is an education professional with over twenty years of experience in playwork and childhood practice across Scotland. She currently serves as Curriculum Manager at Glasgow Clyde College and Senior External Verifier with the Scottish Qualifications Authority. She spoke about her work as the chair for Playwork Education and Training Council (PETC) Scotland and the Playwork National Occupational Standards Writers Group, and how playwork and play can benefit all professions.
Amy Woodhouse
Amy is the Chief Executive of Parenting across Scotland. She spoke about the important work of researching the barriers parents face to play, and how to support them to overcome these barriers. In 2023 Amy became a Churchill Fellow. Her fellowship focused on national approaches to improving children and young peoples’ access to hobbies, learning from the experiences of Finland and Iceland.
Play Champion Awards
We were delighted to present our Play Champion Awards this year to:
- The Yard – for their work in creating inclusive play spaces for disabled children, young people, and families across Scotland.
- MACS Breakfast Club and Afterschool Care – for 30 years of service to play, playwork, and childcare.
- Play, Baby Boxes, and Early Years Parenting Team – for their tenacious work on the Play Vision Statement and Action Plan.
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