Playwork

<h2 id="history">History</h2>

<p>The profession has its roots in the early <a href="/facts/Adventure_playground/BKW6Wj47">adventure playground</a> movement which began after <a href="/facts/Lady_Allen_of_Hurtwood/eMl7Af56">Lady Allen of Hurtwood</a> visited a site in Copenhagen during the German occupation of the city during World War II. The term and concept of "adventure playground" truly began after she brought the concept back to London. The sites were not typical playgrounds, but rather empty public spaces with a plethora of resources and materials, otherwise mistaken as "junk," for children to build, create, and mold their own environment.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a> 
</p><p>Playwork today has been popularized in mainstream culture by the short documentary, <i><a href="/facts/The_Land_(Adventure_playground)/Hd7jnVh5">The Land</a></i>, about an adventure playground in Wrexham, Wales.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a> Non-profits such as <a href="/facts/Pop-Up_Adventure_Play/LmWT8Kmy">Pop-Up Adventure Play</a> host trainings, workshops and open play workshops across the UK, US, and Canada. Playwork can be studied at the graduate school level, specifically in <a href="/facts/Leeds_Beckett_University/2MUxJM8w">Leeds Beckett University</a> in the UK under Dr. Fraser Brown.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a>
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<h2 id="play-rangers">Play rangers</h2>
<p>A play ranger is a local government employee who visits parks and outdoor spaces, providing equipment and some guidance to help children enjoy their public spaces more. They have been described as a combination of a park ranger and a playworker.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a> They share some skills and goals in common with staff of a <a href="/facts/Forest_kindergarten/rhfUktlr">forest kindergarten</a>, but are more focused on <a href="/facts/Play_(activity)/72zJ5jYn">play</a> than workers at <a href="/facts/Forest_schools/KRncbSyK">forest schools</a>.
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<h2 id="external-links">External links</h2>
<ul><li><a href="http://www.allianceforchildhood.org/playwork">The Playwork Primer (2010)</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.skillsactive.com/playwork">SkillsActive</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.playengland.org.uk">Play England</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.playscotland.org/">Play Scotland</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.playwales.org.uk">Play Wales</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.playboard.org">PlayBoard NI</a></li>
<li><a href="https://playworkfoundation.org.uk">Playwork Foundation</a></li></ul>

<h2 id="references">References</h2>

<ol>
<li id="fn:1"><p>SkillsActive. "Playwork Principles" Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine, "Playwork Principles Scrutiny Group, 2005", accessed October 12, 2014 <a href="http://www.skillsactive.com/PDF/sectors/Playwork_Principles.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.skillsactive.com/PDF/sectors/Playwork_Principles.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:2"><p>Hughes, Bob (2006). Play types: speculations and possibilities. London Centre for Playwork Education and Training. ISBN 0955432006. <a href="0955432006" target="_blank">0955432006</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:3"><p>Wilson, Penny (2009). The Playwork Primer. College Park, Maryland: Alliance for Childhood. pp. 4–5. <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:4"><p>Berkshire, Geoff (2016-02-02). "Sundance Film Review: 'The Land'". Variety. Retrieved 2017-10-12. <a href="https://variety.com/2016/film/reviews/the-land-review-sundance-1201689627/" target="_blank">https://variety.com/2016/film/reviews/the-land-review-sundance-1201689627/</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:5"><p>Tao Holmes, Tao (November 6, 2015). "Playworkers, Ph.Ds, and the Growing Adventure Playground Movement". atlasobscura.com. Atlas Obscura. Retrieved February 8, 2017. <a href="http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/playworkers-ph-ds-and-the-growing-adventure-playground-movement" target="_blank">http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/playworkers-ph-ds-and-the-growing-adventure-playground-movement</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:6"><p>Gill, Tim (2007). No fear: growing up in a risk averse society (PDF). Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation. p. 81. ISBN 978-1-903080-08-5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-03-06. <a href="978-1-903080-08-5" target="_blank">978-1-903080-08-5</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
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Playwork open-in-new

Playwork