Dear Playwork Colleagues

As we highlighted in our April newsletter (see article here) Playwork South East is no longer an independent organisation; we are part of SkillsActive, as its south east regional centre for playwork education and training.  SkillsActive has developed a membership package that offers many benefits to the playwork sector, whether as a full member (playwork employer) or affiliate member (training provider).  All SkillsActive members receive great discounts on events run throughout the year, and new members will receive a half-price copy of the Workforce Development CD Toolkit when they sign up (usually £40).  You will find more details in this newsletter.

We must also inform you that our Development Officer, Vanessa Roberts, has decided to accept an offer to move permanently into the secondment position at West Sussex County Council that she took up last year.  Vanessa has been part of Playwork South East from its conception, leading on the Foundations 4 the Future project which resulted in the creation of the centre, and has been a constant and dedicated force for playwork in the region.  She was a pleasure to work with and will be greatly missed, and we wish her all the best for the future. 

For anyone interested in applying for this position, an advert will be appearing soon.

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This month we are putting a spotlight on Play Rangers.  In the south east, Milton Keynes and West Oxfordshire District Council have received funding for Play Ranger projects - if you know of any other projects please let us know.

Milton Keynes Play Association: has recently been awarded five years Lottery funding for a Rural Play Ranger Project.  Read an overview here from Cris, one of MKPA's Rural Play Rangers.

Oxfordshire Play Association is looking for a Senior Play Ranger!   This exciting scheme is being run as a pilot project and will involve freely chosen play opportunities in parks and open space within West Oxfordshire.  Interested?  Click here for more information and details for applying before the deadline of 19th October.

Community Play Rangers:  since 2004, Wandsdyke Play Association has been running all of Bath and North East Somerset's play ranger schemes, winning in the process three national awards from SureStart, SkillsActive and Community Care.  They have recently published The Play Ranger Guide, a comprehensive guide to setting up and running play ranger projects.

Helping to Reclaim the Muddy Ground for Children's Play! A play ranger conference taking place on 16th November in Torquay - your chance to find out about different play ranger models; practical play ranger skills; links to the national agenda' play ranger training courses developed by Play Wales; Play England's role in developing sustainable play provision.

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Oxfordshire Play Charter:  Following the launch of Oxfordshire's Play Strategy on 1^st May 2007, children and young people involved in writing the strategy have produced a Play Charter.  

Surrey's Early Years and Childcare Service Out of School department is running a project called Including Me - more information here.

The Base, a playscheme for young carers in Milton Keynes, celebrated its 5th birthday this summer.  Read about highlights of the day here.

If you have an event or piece of news you would like to share, email it to us in time for the next newsletter.

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Out2Play: 18 October 09:30 -16:00, Lords Cricket Ground, London.   Focussing on play and everything outdoorsy with an opening address by Patricia John, Department for Culture, Media and Sport and followed by Maggie Brandon, Department for Children, Schools and Families, there will be loads of workshops: learning about the play ranger developments, how you can play naturally, designing for children's play, and how play is shaping up in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. We will even help to provide you with guidance on all workforce issues such as policy, funding, research, workforce development, training plans, writing job description, NOS to name a few.

ActivePassport: If you are a volunteer, employee or employer then you need activepassport -  an online resource for keeping track of qualifications and other employment details.

Funding Newsletter download SkillsActive's summer newsletter.

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Re:Play:  Play England is working closely with SkillsActive and Re:Play, the play association of the south east, towards a play infrastructure for the region.  Re:Play is currently advertising for a part-time Freelance Development Worker - full details here.  Deadline for applications 17th October.

PlayEducation: Play England is offering a limited number of bursaries for playworkers and students to attend this groundbreaking conference featuring current debates about playwork theory and practice.  Strictly on a first come first served basis, the booking form is available at http://www.playengland.org.uk/events.  If you have any enquiries about the event and the bursary scheme, please call 01353 661294 or email .

Playful Ideas:  To find out what grants have been awarded in your area for children's play under Playful Ideas, click here.

Trainee research assistant: Play England has an exciting development opportunity for someone interested in play research.  Deadline for applications 15th October.

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The White Paper 'Further Education: Raising Skills, Improving Life Chances' sets out the Government's commitment to have a well qualified and professional workforce across colleges and LSC-funded providers. Major reforms came into force in September, and can be seen here.

In Our Hands: The Learning and Skills Council  have said that almost half the people in England were unaware of the return on investment that training can bring individuals, so it has launched a website to give advice on training and professional development.

Trainers Membership:  The benefits of membership with SkillsActive is now not just available to employers: you can gain tangible, relevant benefits by joining us as an Affiliate. We have developed a great package inspired by the industries we work with, offering research, news and fantastic discounts. We also have committed representatives across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland that can assist you and your organisation with their knowledge and contacts in their area.

14-19 Diploma: The Diploma is an exciting qualification that will bring an innovative approach to learning. It will enable students to gain knowledge, understanding and hands-on experience of sectors that they are interested in, while putting new skills into practice. The Society, Health and Development (SHD) diploma places the intrinsic value of all human beings at the heart; it is fundamentally about the development and care of children and young people.

Diploma Guides:  QCA provides two guidance resource for those involved in delivery:  Design for Success: Shaping your curriculum to incorporate the Diploma and Diploma Curriculum Guidance underpinning the qualification specifications.

Code of Practice:  The SkillsActive Code of Practice for playwork trainers encourages good practice in playwork training delivery that in turn benefits learners, trainers and employers, and provides a quality standard for the delivery of playwork training.  Successful registration brings many benefits - more information here.

Do you already have Code of Practice?  We can put your details on our website as part of our one-stop shop for employers, trainers and students to find the training they need in the south east.  Click here to find out how.

National Skills Academy:  a network of employer-led, world-class centres of excellence delivering the skills required by employers in the sector, on a local level. SkillsActive aims to establish the National Skills Academy for sport and active leisure as a network of centres of excellence for work-based learning. 

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Are you an employer?  Let us know!  Playwork employers are our 'bread and butter' - to keep you up to date with employer-specific regional news on playwork news, opportunities and events, please send us your details by clicking here.

SkillsActive membership:  Full membership is open to all playwork employers.  Click on the link for full details of all the benefits and savings -  up to date and relevant industry news and policy, your needs represented to government, great discounts, and much more.....not to mention the chance to get a copy of our Workforce Development CD for half price (normally £40)!

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Sport & Leisure Diploma Consultation:  This includes Playwork!  It is vital that playwork employers participate in this consultation to ensure that their views and expertise are taken into account in developing this qualification.  Click here to go to the consultation document.

ContinYou is urgently looking for case studies from the play sector that have demonstrated an impact: short, mid and/or long term, on families, children, the school and/or the community.  In particular they are looking for those that have impacted on children's attention, concentration, confidence, engagement in learning, emotional health and well-being, physical activity, achievement (personal and/or academic) and/or contributed to community cohesion etc etc. If you would like to help please contact Jenna Hall at jenna.hall@continyou.org.uk, telephone: 07966 906 032.

Time to Talk: The DCFS is asking anyone with an interest in making things better for children, young people and families what they think needs to be done to achieve it. The debate starts with this survey. If you have any views on what children, young people and families need or want, please let them know by the deadline of 19 October. 

Southampton Children's Play Association is currently recruiting volunteer Trustees for their Executive Committee.  If anyone is interested in joining contact Layla O'Cain on 023 80 337 888 for an application pack or to discuss the role and commitment required.   Executive Committee Meetings are held approximately once every six weeks, usually in the evenings. Once you are a Committee Trustee there is opportunity to join the Finance, Staff and Planning Play Projects Sub Committees. Due to the nature of the work that SCPA carries out, all Trustees are subject to checks such as CRB and references.

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Many thanks to those who responded to our request for help in bringing our database up to date by filling in the form provided in the last newsletter.  Well done to Liz Pearson, Manager of London Meed After School Club in West Sussex, who was the lucky recipient of a £25 Marks & Spencer voucher by being the first out of the hat in our prize draw!

If you would like to make sure your details are up to date, the form is still available here (although no more M&S vouchers!)

Liz has kindly contributed an article about her ASC, which has had its share of difficulties but is now seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.  Thanks Liz, and we hope you enjoyed your vouchers!

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Forestschools.com: if you are currently running a Forest Schools project or initiative in the UK you can get yourself listed in the new Forest Schools directory on this brand new website.  Contact dave@archimedes-training.co.uk to get your project listed or for more information.

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