Child Development Just Outside the Front Door: Neighbourhood Play Project

This project examines the nature of contemporary childhood with a focus on changing rates of play in Queensland’s urban neighbourhoods. The Neighbourhood Play Project is a pilot project funded by the Queensland Government Department of Sport & Recreation. The purpose of the project was to examine and record the prevalence of local children’s existing play networks in urban Queensland neighbourhoods and to quantify their influence on children's physical activity and outdoor play levels. The recorded decline of Queensland children’s activity levels and physical literacy over the last 30 years – and its direct negative correlation with children’s increasing screen usage over the same time period (Active Healthy Kids Australia (2016) – necessitated a focused study on the possible causes of these changes to Queensland childhood. At the outset of the project it was hypothesised that supporting the creation and growth of local play networks would see a corresponding growth in the healthy play habits and physical activity of the children immediately involved in the project, and subsequently of other children living in the local area. A collaborative approach was employed whereby the playwork practitioners leading the project facilitated the creation and development of local neighbourhood play networks. Additionally, they talked with parents about their understanding of and engagement with neighbourhood play at the outset and throughout the project.

A Curiosity About Links Between Adventure Playgrounds, Loose Parts, Playwork Approach, a State of "Flow" and Children’s Wellbeing

Over the past century there has been a documented rise in childhood anxiety and depression (Gray, 2011; Twenge, 2001). This increase largely correlates to the significant decrease in the amount of time children have to play freely (Gray, 2013). The suggested reason for this is a decrease in free time and play creating a strong external locus of control, the result of which has been shown to cause increases in childhood anxiety and depression (April, Dharani, & Peter, 2012; Gray, 2013). This paper records a practitioner’s musings on the links between aspects of playwork practice and children’s wellbeing. It considers Csikszentmihalyi (2008) concept of a state of flow and the development of an internal locus of control and the opportunities afforded children in an adventure playground wedded to playwork theory and practice.

Animal-Assisted Play: A Strategy for Promoting Children’s Physical Activity Play

This article explores how animal-assisted play might be used as a strategy in playwork to support children’s right to play, enrich their play experiences, encourage their physical activity play and better their health and life quality. Children’s interactions with pets or companion animals in free play or animal-assisted activities (AAA) can yield therapeutic benefits by increasing physical and mental health and well-being and also offer possibilities for more outdoor play, agency, risk-taking, fun and enjoyment, as well as high-quality play experiences. We invite playwork practitioners to consider the important role of animals in children’s lives and the potential value of animal-assisted play in creating opportunities for enriching children’s play and life quality.

How have adventure playgrounds in the United Kingdom adapted post-March Lockdown in 2020?

Adventure playgrounds have been a feature in the United Kingdom since the 1950s. Their growth and development was underpinned by ‘thinking together’, a concept in the Communities of Practice (CoP) approach. In March 2020, the United Kingdom (UK) went into lockdown. This study aimed to find out how adventure playgrounds responded to the Covid-19 situation when they reopened in July 2020. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with 18 adventure playground staff from 14 adventure playgrounds. Thematic analysis of the data constructed themes and sub-themes within four main headings: preparation for opening; reduction; targeted service and play behaviour. The results showed how the adventure playgrounds had to re-organise the provision with a reduction in the number of children and young people attending, moving to a more closed-access bookable provision and implementing new policies and procedures to meet the demands of social distancing. This paper reports on the findings of this study and reflects on how the CoP approach has been a feature of the post Covid response of these adventure playgrounds.