Well that jumped out us, didn’t it? All of a sudden, there it is: the announcement of the International Day of Play by the UN. June 11th, all over the world and every year. Remarkable. I am quite blown away by the enormity of this.
In my mind there is a sort of global TV or video scanning and we can watch as every nation pays tribute to our shared heritage of play. The language that unites us.
Of course, the irony is that children are being killed and oppressed and the ‘Right to Play‘ is not regarded as the glorious, life affirming wonder that we understand it to be. But we must never allow it to be thought of as a luxury. It’s as essential as “oxygen, nutrition and love”; it’s a basic human right and a biological imperative, and we need to advocate for it as such.
This day has snuck up on us. We were not expecting it at all. We have not fundraised or set aside budgets, or energy, or time to celebrate it as it deserves.
Adele Cleaver – playworker and author of Children Don’t Dissolve in the Rain – recently shared that she had requested that her child’s school plays, all afternoon, on that day. How simple and clever is that? The Head Teacher has agreed to it. Hurrah!
We can look at pavement play days, or take some loose parts to that boring fixed play equipment in the park so the children can zazz it up a bit and make it their own.
Perhaps we could just linger playfully in a place we normally wouldn’t linger with children, a shopping centre or a park by school.
At our play settings – where everyday is a play day – perhaps we just remember. Savour the moment. Film it. Document it. Photograph it, build a time capsule of it to add to each year.
Whatever you do to mark this day, the Playwork Foundation would love to hear about it and see your pictures, hear your stories.
It’s a chance to celebrate each other celebrating children playing, all over the world.
It gives me goosebumps. It really does.
This article was written by Penny Wilson of AssemblePlay and a Trustee of The Playwork Foundation. These views are her own personal views and not necessarily those of AssemblePlay and/or The Playwork Foundation.
Anti-Vietnam War propaganda poster. USA, 1966. Lorraine Schneider for Another Mother for Peace, Inc.
From Penny Wilson
Inspired by the playwork team of Assemble Play, I have been asking how we as playworkers can speak out against the hideous conflicts ripping through our world at this time.
Even if we had a real-world location, I would not use it to post banners and slogans about specific wars. An adventure playground, for example, should be a neutral safe place where children can spend time away from the pressures that war brings even when it is happening many miles away.
However, a lack of an open gesture, a specific social media post or a banner, does not mean that we as Playworkers do not feel outrage and revulsion against war.
Playwork Principle 4: “For playworkers, the play process takes precedence and playworkers act as advocates for play when engaging with adult led agendas”.
As an individual Playworker, I feel the need to make some sort of stand on behalf of children killed and injured by adult agendas of war.
This does not apply to one theatre of war only.
I cannot say how I think each conflict should be resolved.
It does however imply that I should care enough to try to understand the situations where children are being killed and see what useful actions I can take to ameliorate each of them. This may be a financial contribution to a trusted organisation, and sharing trusted charities and sources of information when I find them. It may mean going on protests or signing petitions or running events…
Because I am a Playworker I would not want to tell people what to do or how to do it, but I would like to make the connection between my responsibilities to children which my work is founded upon and a larger statement, say ‘Playworkers for Peace’?
I can march beneath that banner.
I can hold that banner high.
At first the idea seems rather weak.
I cannot believe that Netanyahu is sitting there, waiting for a declaration from the Playworkers of the world for him to stop pursuing his current course of action. However, if it helps us as a sector feel that we can share our various thoughts and research and ideas and actions, then it has an intrinsic value, even if we are not sure what that may be.
We above all people are happy not to try to control things tightly. We know the strength of seeing what emerges.
I remember standing in a deserted street during the Iraq war with a group of playworkers. We had all been attending training together and without much conversation, went outside at midday to mark 5 minutes of silent protest. Ian held a banner above his head with the name of the adventure playground we were studying in high above his head.
No one saw us.
But we did it, because we could.
The children and families subject to that war, could not do what we had done.
Perhaps that in itself counts for something. It drew us together, it was unforgettable.
“These are our Rules. There is no war here. We are all different, and that is fantastic”
Which sort of sums it up for me.
So, I propose: Playworkers for Peace.
It is a way for us to have a voice without adulterating our play settings with our political opinions.
I don’t propose a consensus of opinion beyond this statement.
I propose a sort of a free-form concept rather than a constituted group.
Each of us might feel differently affected by different conflicts, affiliated through our heritage, faith, kinship or just a shared humanity.
That’s ok.
Our differences are a wonderful resource at our disposal in a quest for peace.
Anyone in?
This article was written by Penny Wilson of AssemblePlay and a Trustee of The Playwork Foundation. These views are her own personal views and not necessarily those of AssemblePlay and/or The Playwork Foundation
As a playworker, has anyone ever asked you if you get paid for what you do? Have people assumed that you are a volunteer? Have they watched you doing all the things that being a playworker entails (often in some of the most dynamic and volatile circumstances) and still been shocked when they realise it’s your job? Why is that?
Is it because we (as a society) don’t value childhood? I mean, we value people-in-waiting. Citizens-in-the-making. Economy-drivers of the future. But, do we really value what it is to be a child? Why it’s important to be a child?
And/or is it because we don’t value play? It’s considered frivolous. A luxury. But, “play is not a nice to have, [or] a maybe tomorrow” (as Matthew Rhys Evans says in Play Wales’s This is why play is so important film), it’s a necessity.
Of course, we – as playworkers – know that. The problem is that the rest of the world does not. Even some (emphasis on *some*) of our closest comrades – like early years workers, youth workers etc – don’t quite understand the distinct role playworkers play in keeping interfering adults away from the intimate realms where children’s minds commune with the physical world through play.
It’s our constant battle: To communicate the tricksy duality of play as simplistically complicated, yet simultaneously perplexingly plain.
From my own experience, youth workers don’t seem to have the same difficulty in communicating or demonstrating what they do, nor for the value of their role to be recognised by authorities and the community. Perhaps theirs is a little more obvious: they’re dealing with troublesome teenagers smashing bottles and smoking weed on the skate park – “That’s hard work, that – chwarae teg”. Whereas playworkers… “well, you lot just build sandcastles and roast marshmallows, right?” – right… 🙄
The benefits, impacts, and outcomes of enabling children’s play is one of speculation. There is no guarantee of return on investment. And, any dividends will be paid long-after the playworker has left the lives of the once-children/now-adults, which – in a capitalist system at least – makes it a hard sell for society to value in-the-now.
But is that the difference? Much of what youth workers do is playwork (to some extent), and vice-versa. As has been demonstrated at many workshops at the National Playwork conference in England, there is often very little that divides what we do either as playworkers or youth workers (or both) when working with young people.
But, there is a distinction. Just as there is a distinction between the “physical activity” that we see when children are involved in self-directed locomotor play, and the “movement” that might be described by sport practitioners. They are different. And, that’s ok. But sport and youth work have something we don’t… and it’s something that is being mooted as a potential way for playwork to finally receive the recognition it deserves.
That something is professional registration. What does that mean? And why is it of potential use?
Generally, a professional register is a list of maintained by a recognised professional body that includes the names of individuals who have met certain criteria. These criteria will typically be clarification that a practitioner has:
training, education, or experience of a particular level and/or standard (that is recognised by the government of the nation in which they work);
completed other mandatory training (e.g. safeguarding and Prevent Duty);
(if relevant) a valid enhanced criminal records check to enable them to work with children and/or vulnerable adults (e.g. DBS check in England and Wales, Enhanced Disclosure in Scotland, or AccessNI Check in Northern Ireland);
committed to adhere to a Code of Conduct;
committed to Continuous Professional Development (CPD).
The purpose? Very briefly, it is generally thought that professional registration brings greater professional recognition, elevated professional standards, and better employment terms and conditions.
Across Great Britain, there has been lively debate on the matter since last year, but the conversation is reaching a particular crescendo in Wales as the Welsh Government consultation on the Professional registration of the childcare and playwork workforce draws closer to its deadline of 7th March 2024 (a week today!).
The consultation was announced on 30th November 2023 by Deputy Minister for Social Services, Julie Morgan MS, and described as “an opportunity for those managing, working, and using childcare and playwork settings across Wales to tell us what they think about the principle of professional registration and whether they feel a workforce register would be beneficial for the childcare and playwork sector now or in the future”.
What’s not to like?
Some discussions have highlighted concerns that could have a negative impact on the playwork workforce:
It will cost – estimated figures put registration around the £65-100 mark to be covered by playworkers themselves. In the past, when DBS costs have been passed-on to playworkers, it can negatively impacted recruitment.
It might cost even more – Youth Workers in Wales already have to be registered with the Education Workforce Council (EWC) in order to practice, with a baseline fee of at least £45 per year. Many teaching and youth work staff already feel this lacks value for money. It’s unlikely (but not impossible) that playworkers and youth workers will share a professional register, meaning those who practice playwork and youth work may have to pay twice.
Registered settings only? – It has been suggested that professional registration might only apply to those settings which have to register with Care Inspectorate Wales (CIW). At present, there are loopholes / exemptions that avoid the requirement to register with CIW (e.g. not open for more than 2 hours a day; not open more than 5 days a year). To avoid increased costs or to retain staff, providers may choose to use these loopholes more – this would counter the narrative of improving quality, and even increase the likelihood of safeguarding concerns.
“P3 or not P3? That is the question” – Which qualifications might the professional register recognise? What about playworkers moving to or working in Wales from elsewhere? What about those seasoned playworkers who have no qualifications? Which leads us on to one of principle…
Who decides? – Whether it’s recognition of previous experience or learning, or fitness to practice… who decides what is good enough?
Contemporary playworkers share their heritage with the adventure playground movement that first took seed in the Blitzed rubble of London in 1946. Grassroots community members – parents, carers, siblings, neighbours, councillors, shopkeepers – protecting spaces for children to play. 80 years later, how would they have stacked-up against a professional register? Is that still relevant?
In the 1970s and 80s – with the emergence of workplace health and safety legislation, and inspection and registration requirements – adventure playgrounds faced existential crises. Comply or close was often the reality. So, playwork practice changed. Then, in the late 00s, a change of Government in Westminster and an accompanying financial crash led to more adventure playgrounds being lost to the history books (and the housing developers).
Born in 1987, all of this I know from articles, books, and offensive-language-strewn YouTube videos about the early days of adventure playgrounds. But, my guess is that this prospect of professional registration is potentially what it might have felt like in the 70s and 80s on those OG APs [that’s “original gangster adventure playgrounds” for those of you even more ancient than I].
The Health & Safety at Work etc Act 1974 was an inarguable positive step for workers rights and public safety, but it must have been heart-breaking to watch the towers, high beams, and trampolines all be dismantled and discarded, never to return, as a result. But what if playwork had refused to change? Would it have survived to today?
Playwork is under threat. Whether it’s Forest Schools incorporating “playwork” into their practice whilst also fulfilling the Forest School Principles, sports bodies broadening and diversifying the definition of “physical activity” and “movement” to access funding, or the allure of education and structured activities in youth work provision for children aged 11 – 18, playwork is struggling to cut-through the noise.
Could professional registration elevate the perception of playworkers?
Is it just a question of timing?
Play Wales are encouraging playworkers, managers, and those working in the playwork sector to respond to the consultation, and have also published their own draft response to help people in doing so.
Another consultation with a slightly shorter deadline (TODAY) is Future spending purposes for dormant assets funding in Wales. Welsh Government is seeking views on how dormant assets could be used to improve the lives of people in Wales. Section 3.4 of the consultation specifically discusses the option of using funds to address barriers to children’s play and leisure activities.
This article was written by Siôn Edwards (Chair of The Playwork Foundation), and these statements represent his own views and do not necessarily reflect those of The Playwork Foundation.
An update to its 2017 policy paper A country that works for all children, the report provides a bleak overview of the Westminster Government’s treatment of children and young people in England:
“All too often it seems that where investment in children’s futures is needed, the bare minimum is on offer, whether that’s to repair or rebuild school buildings or support children to recover from the pandemic experience”
Some headline recommendations of the report – identified by ADCS members – include:
Cross-government plan for childhood coordinated by the Cabinet Office;
Sustainable multi-year funding from the Treasury;
Funding to local government and children’s services from the Department of Levelling-Up, Housing and Communities should better represent local contexts, populations, and levels of actual need;
The Department for Education to reaffirm its role as a champion and advocate for children and young people across the Westminster Government;
The Department for Health and Social Care should delegate the resources and responsibilities for the commissioning and provision of all children’s community and mental health services to place-based integrated partnerships;
A root-and-branch review of children’s mental health services in NHS England, so that needs are met as soon as possible in the places and spaces that suit children’s lives and preferences;
An independent evaluation of the impact of the current welfare system on children, young people and families should be commissioned by the Department for Work and Pensions to ensure it is working towards the eradication of child poverty.
But, what do you think?
Last week, AssemblePlay asked that very question, and received some interesting and passionate responses. Therefore, with The Playwork Foundation, we’re holding an open meeting for those within the playwork sector to come together and discuss, express, and propose the current state of children’s services in England, and across Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
If you would like to join us, simply save the date:
Following the success of our inaugural meeting in November 2023, the Adventure Playground Network’s next get-together is scheduled for Friday 23rd February, 11am – 1pm.
The subject of this meeting’s discussion, as proposed by Malcolm King from The Venture at the last event, is the relationship of adventure playgrounds to local government.
Lesley Griffiths MS with Malcolm King, Chief Officer of The Venture Integrated Children’s Centre
This might include:
implications for adventure playgrounds of the precarious state of local government finances;
matters concerning local authority grants and commissioning processes;
tenancies and leases; and,
the opportunities and threats faced by many adventure playgrounds as they deliver on services for children and families previously provided by our nations’ often underfunded local councils.
To receive the link for the meeting, sign-up to our mailing list or become a member (it’s free! Click Join Us from the menu).
If you were at the last meeting, thank you for all of your contributions and to those whose suggestions have developed the discussion topics for the forthcoming conversation. If you weren’t in attendance at the previous meeting, we’d like to extend this invitation to you to join a likeminded collective of adventure playground representatives.
The vision for this collaborative venture is to connect playworkers, from across Great Britain and Northern Ireland, to discuss issues affecting the adventure playground sector and shape the agenda for subsequent bimonthly meetings.
Ali Long (Course Director, Leeds Beckett) will be guest Chairing this meeting with the support of Mike Wragg (Senior Lecturer, Leeds Beckett) and Siôn Edwards (Chair, Playwork Foundation).
You can find all things Adventure Playground Network related here.
Play is a universal biological imperative. Sport is an artificial construct, elevating the survival of the fittest (in this I include disabled sports people).
Sport revels in elitism – it is a status term, a badge of pride.
Play is antithetical to competition. It is predicated upon the joy of failing.
Play is egalitarian. The play of every child is valid, creative, unique and stunningly beautiful.
To reduce the glorious essential complexity of the neurological processes which inform the intricate business of the exquisite slow nurture and growth of each individual human body, mind, soul, ethical foundation, empathy, wit, relationships – the genius, continuing, discovery of one’s existence in this world as uniquely different from every other amazing individual – to equate this quotidian miracle with an externally imposed set of shallow rules, pointless goals, team kits, and bought loyalty is farcical.
To imagine, because one small sliver of play incorporates physicality woven in and out of its luscious tapestry, that this splendid phenomenon of humanity should sit under the aegis of a burpee obsessed mindset is risible and insulting to our species.
Play cannot be sold for a handful of glass beads. It is not ours to sell. We do need money, but we need our souls too.
To have our treasured craft of playwork governed by goal-orientated mindsets is simplistic and ill-informed. It is adulteration (this is a loan word employed as a neologism by a man of genius who had dedicated his life’s work to understanding and advocating for play). Sturrock used the word to describe the corruption of the play process leading, if unchecked, to the annihilation of that play process. That is a superb example of ow to reinvent language to express complex and nuanced concepts, by the way.
Just because the concept of sports and competitive tunnel-vision-based constructs are easy enough to understand that they can secure funding… Just because there is a naïve success agenda 0 rewarding externally imposed trained behaviours with treats (money, fame, praise, tasty biscuits) this success agenda bringing proxy glory to sponsors and funders, just because that is easy enough for even he most binary of adults to understand, doesn’t n that we should snuggle up to them. Ewwwww.
Years ago, Thatcher’s Government realised that investing in children’s play could go some way to placate and quell the city riots. The existing tried-and-tested infrastructures that had evolved around the play process, to support it as its core, those infrastructures which included playwork theory and language and practices and training and education – all of this was unpicked and reconfigured, remodelled at the whim of the unsafe minds behind the Tory agenda.
We were coaxed to accept this rebrand with sugar lumps of money.
Play was used as the opium of the people in communities that were being treated contemptuously. The, what a shock everything was dropped, disowned. We were left with the suggestion that we take funding from the tobacco industry. The responsibility for training playworkers was handed over to tick-box minds wo knew nothing of the delicacy and essential vibrancy of what they were doing. Of what they were systematically killing off.
We are still reeling from this colonisation and the oppression of children whose playhoods are being stolen from them. Abused by adults who failed to recognise their right to play.
This will not happen again. Not with us advocating for the people whose work is predicated on its primary focus and essence being to support the play process on behalf of children.
This article was written by Penny Wilson of AssemblePlay and a Trustee of The Playwork Foundation. These views are her own personal views and not necessarily those of AssemblePlay and/or The Playwork Foundation.
“From the moment your child is born, you become grateful for playgrounds… these spaces can be a refuge: from traffic, drunks and scary dogs… without playgrounds, you end up breastfeeding on kerbs or walls”
It’s been a busy week for play (and it’s only Tuesday!). On Monday, Guardian columnist Lucy Cosslett – in her article ‘Arrogant parents and extravagant tantrums: all the world’s a stage in our precious playgrounds’ – provided an honest personal account of the safe haven fixed equipment playgrounds can be for parents/carers of young children, whilst also shining a light on some stark statistics that playworkers will unfortunately familiar with, or at least not surprised.
Some examples included:
In England, parks budgets have fallen by £350m in the past 12 years;
One anecdote about “wrangling a heavy, furious child” waiting for their go on the swings, particularly caught my eye:
Thankfully, most parents… will say gently to their kid, “It’s time to let the baby have a go.” There is always one, however, who lets their darling offspring hog the equipment and then affects to see right through you, your tantrumming toddler and the queue behind you”
As a playworker on an adventure playground, rather than being on one parents side or another, I’m immediately reminded that (however well maintained and designed) these playgrounds are not accompanied by trained playworkers to hold the space in an informed, sensitive, and more impartial way than even parents/carers with the best of intentions.
Then, today, Sandra Laville – Environment correspondent for The Guardian, writing in her article ‘Children suffering due to lack of outdoor play, UK charities warn‘- highlighted the voice of a coalition of charities pushing the Westminster Government to recognise the damage being inflicted upon the health and wellbeing of children in England by refusing to prioritise outdoor play.
The call for evidence has closed, with over 100 pieces of written evidence submitted, and the first oral evidence session is tomorrow – Wednesday 24th January 2024, from 09:45am – and can be viewed live on the parliamentlive.tv website here. Current agenda listed below:
It’s just 7 weeks until the 21st National Playwork Conference in England, and The Playwork Foundation is pleased to share that, not only will our Trustees be travelling from all corners of Great Britain to attend but, we will also be curating our own track!
In an email earlier this week, Meynell of Meynell Games (the organiser of the conference) shared some of the exciting speakers lined-up for another new track entitled ‘Play and Playwork Around The World’:
Meera Patel and Juliette Liebi will be drawing on their experiences in South Africa, and discussing the Art Panels their project has produced;
Maya Lan will be traveling from Cyrpus to deliver a session on processing trauma through play, which she has noticed in her work in the Middle East;
Niki Buchan will be drawing on her experiences working in South Africa and Australia, and talking about the importance of play for mental health and wellbeing; and
Joan Beattie will be speaking Playwork and the experience in Transylvania.
We also got a sneak peak of what Playwork in Progress regular, Suzanne Axelsson, will be presenting on at the conference:
Conference prices will be going up again in February, so if you’ve not already booked now is the time (and tell them The Playwork Foundation sent you 😜):
There is an interesting history to vapes, with the first modern e-cigarette invented for good reasons and appearing to be a timely saviour to a deadly addiction.
But in the 18 years since they were first introduced in the UK, rather than coming of age, the dark side of vaping is beginning to become more apparent. What was once an innovative smoking cessation tool, is increasingly ensnaring children and young people in a nicotine seine net.
When I was at school in the 00’s, smoking had mostly fallen out of fashion, so the 80s stereotype of big-haired girls sneaking a ciggie in the toilets was a thing of the past. You only hung-out in there if you wanted the best gossip (yes, I used to sneak into the girls) or you were escaping Mrs Davies’ Welsh Class.
Today, we’ve gone back to the 80s but with a modern twist. Stories are emerging of schools removing the main doors of toilet blocks, employing CCTV cameras to monitor the entrances, and installing “vape detectors” above cubicles to provide the tell-tale timestamp to track down vagrant vapers.
Last month, the story of Sarah Griffin came to light after an appearance on This Morning and numerous articles from the BBC and other legacy media outlets. Having first tried a vape at the age of 9, this 12 year-old girl in Northern Ireland wound-up in intensive care and was placed into an induced coma for four days to bring an infection affecting her lungs under control.
Though they were ultimately able to save her life, doctors pointed the finger of blame directly at vaping, which had exacerbated her asthma and put her life at risk.
Sarah’s story is being shared as part of an anti-vaping campaign from the charity Northern Ireland Chest Heart and Stroke. As their campaign page describes:
Many people may think there is little, or no risk of personal harm associated with regular vaping. The biggest misunderstanding about vapes is that they are harmless compared to cigarettes.
This is not true. The long term health implications are unknown – just as they once were with tobacco.
As I’m sure is the case at many adventure playgrounds, we have watched at The Venture as vaping has become more-and-more prevalent as time marches on, and even more concerning as their use is discovered amongst children of younger-and-younger ages. Discarded disposable vapes, too, are now a common visual of the crisp packet and pop bottle litter landscape.
With the general positive perception of vapes as a way to help people stop smoking tobacco, without a clear catalogue of evidence demonstrating the dangers of vaping, calls to curtail their use will struggle to break through – particularly to children and young people.
Moves are, nonetheless, underway to try to tackle youth vaping. In September, Public Health Wales released new guidance on vaping for secondary schools. And in October, Rishi Sunak announced a public consultation on plans, backed by all the devolved nations and administrations, to create a “Smokefree Generation” – this includes the intention to clampdown on access to vapes by children.
…the health advice is clear – if you don’t smoke, don’t vape and children should never vape.
The consultation is open until 6th December. Please take part if you can. [THIS CONSULTATION HAS NOW CLOSED]
You can view the full online advice session delivered by Northern Ireland Chest Heart and Stroke on YouTube, and below that we’ve included some useful links from the presentation. We will also continue to compile useful links and resources at the bottom of this page which may be of use to playworkers and youth workers.
It’s the final push for nominations to the 14th Annual Playwork Awards
Arguably the highlight of the playwork year, the Annual Playwork Awards mark the pinnacle point of the National Playwork Conference held in Eastbourne, England, each year (except when there’s a pandemic, of course).
Now in their 14th year, it’s easier than ever to nominate who you think are the GOAT of playwork. Nominations can be in writing (as before) and can also be made by audio and video! And all you need is to answer 3 questions:
Who are you nominating?
Which award are you nominating them for?
Why are you nominating them?
But you will have to be quick, as time is running out with the deadline for submissions this Friday, 17th November 2023.
Here are the different awards you can nominate under:
The Play and Community Development Award 2024
This Award recognises an organisation or individual who has engaged with and involved the local community to increase children’s opportunities to play.
The recipient of this award will be able to demonstrate:
Engagement with the local community through auditing play, gathering children’s views, hyperlocal research, fundraising, access to play and/or spaces of play
Commitment to the playwork principles, diversity, equity and inclusion
Appropriate collaboration with children to ensure their voices are heard
Paul Bonel, who died in January 2011, was always striving to make the world a better place for children and was at the forefront of the development of playwork as a recognised profession. We are looking to celebrate a living individual who has made a difference to children’s lives through their contribution to playwork.
This award will go to an individual:
Who has made a significant contribution to the development and understanding of playwork practice at a local or national level
Whose contribution is respected and acknowledged by their peers
This award is for an organisation or individual who has really made a difference through their training, mentoring practice, and approach to professional development. This can be for either internal workplace or external training and mentoring
The recipient of the award must be able to evidence/demonstrate:
How they promote playwork and the playwork principles in their training, mentoring and professional development work with individuals and organisations
How they work so that the individual needs of staff, learners or mentees are met as much as possible to enable inclusive practice
How their work results in demonstrably innovative and sustainable playwork practice from those they train, support or mentor
The recipient of this award is recognised for their flexibility and openness to others – specifically around issues of diversity, equity and inclusion – as they make the celebratory and transformative potential of playwork theory and practice real.
The award goes to the individual or organisation that best meets the following criteria:
Have a diverse and inclusive reach professionally and with the wider community
Constantly working to improve or upskill themselves and/or their team about other cultures, beliefs, abilities and preferences
Show responsiveness within their practice to support the diverse needs of others
The Playwork Foundation 