With a new licence as the Sector Skills Council (SSC) representing playwork and other sections of the active learning, leisure and well being sector we are embarking on a new strategy for Playwork Education, Training and Qualifications while reaffirming our commitment to a qualified workforce.

In an era in which government itself has set targets to reach the top eight in the international ranking for world skills and to professionalise all sections of the children’s workforce in England our sector has its work cut out.  Only a third of the workforce is qualified to level 3 in playwork, and we have very few HE institutions providing graduate opportunities for playworkers.

In England there have been many policy advances for children and young people under the auspices of the Every Child Matters banner including the Children Act and the Children’s Plan.  All of these developments have had a strategic implication for playworkers but it was really in the 2020 Workforce Strategy that we saw a real commitment to the playwork workforce.  Funding to qualify 4000 playworkers to level 3, a leadership and management programme at graduate level, and research into the position and potential for a graduate workforce.

Our Sector Qualifications Strategy is providing the framework for playwork qualifications that will be accessible and challenging for the new recruit, the experienced worker and the fully competent practitioner alike.  At levels 2, 3 and 4 they will begin populating the Credit and Qualifications Framework from January 2010.  Underpinning these qualifications in the future will be a new suite of National Occupational Standards – the building blocks for all sector training and qualifications – that include new units for adventure play, integrated working, working as a Play Ranger and playwork with under 5s.

How do we know these standards and qualifications will be ‘fit for purpose’?  Well, because we develop them with the sector and we quality assure them with a peer led process of endorsement and approval involving employers and other stakeholders at every stage.

As we move towards 2010 and a new election we think the sector is in a very strong position.  play and playwork is now integral to children’s services and children’s workforce policy and those gains must continue with the next government, who ever that may be.  The lives of children and well being of our society depends on it.

At SkillsActive we will continue to play our part as the SSC for playwork, working with the sector, government and our partners towards the development of a workforce qualified with the skills, knowledge and understanding to deliverer a truly professional service for children, young people and their families.

In a previous post I wrote about concerns I had regarding the impact of the changes brought about by the introduction of the Childcare Act 2006, and specifically about the impact that the changes in qualification requirements would have on holiday playschemes. We have been carrying out an online survey to find out the effect on employers and children, and the results do not paint a happy picture!

The Childcare Act requires that 50% of staff working under a level 3 qualified manager/supervisor must have a relevant level 2 qualification, and essentially there is not enough qualified staff to go around. 37 of the 49 settings who responded to our survey said they had had to reconsider their plans for holiday play schemes. 6 settings had decided to exclude under 6’s, and a further 13 were considering it. While it is always dangerous to extrapolate, if this percentage is accurate across England, then 12% of holiday playschemes will have excluded under 6’s, and 26% have considered it, and may in fact have done so since filling in the survey – which started at the end of May!

Other ‘solutions’ that settings have put in place include offering activity based provision so that they are exempt from the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS). Responses indicate that 2 employers have done this and a further 6 were considering it; others are using qualified staff to work with younger children and unqualified staff to work with older ones. I do not feel this adds up to offering quality playwork, but I suspect also that a huge number of dedicated playworkers have been putting in a lot of unpaid hours and working below minimum wage in order to run summer schemes. This is not a recipe for a sustainable, professional sector.

The number of children affected is equally disturbing. It is estimated that 7500 children would be affected as a result of changed plans and a further 4300 if settings considering different options took these forward.

At SkillsActive we are working DCSF officials for acceptance of the new level 2 Award in Playwork.  This qualification takes a similar amount of time to complete as training based on the induction standard. This will be practical for University students who make up the bulk of the summer playscheme workforce and an accessible solution for employers needing to recruit and qualify temporary staff for holiday provision.

The new Vetting and Barring Scheme, comes into effect this October. It impacts all those working in playwork in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and will also link to an initiative in Scotland. The scheme promises a much more comprehensive way of identifying and monitoring individuals who mean to harm children and vulnerable adults. It will be a continuously updateable system, rather than the existing CRB ‘snapshot’ check, and new information will be communicated to all those who register a legitimate interest in the individual. It will not just refer to criminal convictions when making a decision on whether an individual can be registered, but also on ‘softer’ information from a wide range of sources.

In principle this all sounds positive, with the timescale planned to avoid putting additional bureaucratic burdens on voluntary sector summer play schemes, and a one off fee of between £58 and £64 (free to volunteers). However there will be new obligations on employers, starting with a duty to refer to the new Independent Safeguarding Authority any information about individuals who may pose a risk, and it will become a criminal offence for an employer to take on an individual in regulated activity if they fail to check that person’s status, or to allow a barred individual, or an individual who is not yet registered with the ISA, to work for any length of time in any regulated activity. Employers will need to re-examine their child protection policies and make sure they and their staff are aware of their new responsibilities.

The  scheme is aimed at identifying and monitoring those who mean children harm, I think employers will need to ensure their safeguarding and protecting policies and procedures on recruitment are well thought out and up to date. Playwork employers need to be clear that the scheme does not impact on their ability to offer challenging and adventurous play opportunities; it is not a call to return to the days of wrapping children in cotton wool. The word ‘risk’ when referred to in the context of the vetting and barring scheme is referring to the risk posed by individuals who work with children as opposed to the opportunities provided within play settings.

Employers will need to plan for the scheme’s introduction, SkillsActive will produce a briefing paper for the playwork sector highlighting key points and advising on how to incorporate the changes. We would encourage the sector to considering investing in the activepassport scheme and plan for workforce development, and membership of SkillsActive to act as a representative voice for employers.

Playwork sector employers will be aware of the changes in policy regarding the registration of childcare for children under the age of eight that took place in September 2008.

Childcare is no longer registered under the Children Act 1989; it now falls under the Childcare Act 2006. The changes separate the regulation of under and over sixes to reflect the different needs of school aged and pre-school children. These changes have caused some confusion for employers, particularly in relation to the qualifications that are accepted by Ofsted, and therefore recognised on the Early Years Register – recognised within the Childcare Act.

The Children’s Workforce Development Council (CWDC) was charged by government to develop a set of criteria against which qualifications are assessed. This assessment determines whether qualifications are deemed ‘full and relevant’, and only then will they gain entry onto the Early Years Register.

The majority of playwork qualifications have passed the assessment and are recognised on the Early Years Register; and SkillsActive is now working to ensure that the new Diplomas in Playwork at level 2 and 3 meet this assessment before they are launched next year.

The Childcare Register – another core Register within the Childcare Act, requires all level 2 and 3 qualifications held by staff to be on the current National Qualifications Framework (NQF) However as the new Qualifications and Credit Framework takes shapes and supersedes the NQF over the next few months, SkillsActive is working to ensure all new Awards, Certificates and Diplomas at level 2 and 3 that are developed match any new regulations; and working with training providers and employers to ensure existing qualifications are up-to-date and relevant to ensuring recognition on the new Framework.

Currently there is no provision for a transitional arrangement covering holiday playschemes this year, following Ofsted’s refusal to recognise the Playwork Induction Standard, so employers who are unable to recruit qualified staff will need to consider how they might become exempt from registering on the Early Years Register in the interim.  Reluctantly, we would advise employers to consider taking only children of eight years or over or operating playschemes for less than two hours a day or for less than 14 days in the year until a replacement for the induction standard has been approved.

We are gathering information on the impact of the new registers on recruitment to holiday playschemes, and have devised a brief questionnaire for employers so they can share their views with us. If you are an employer, help us make the case for the playwork award at level 2 to be accepted for holiday playschemes on the Childcare Register, by visiting: www.skillsactive.com/survey/holidayplayschemes

The DCSF has no plans to establish a database listing appropriate qualifications for staff working in settings on the Childcare Register, but has confirmed that it is SkillsActive’s role to determine which qualifications were appropriate for staff in play settings. To this end DCSF has agreed that we will publish a list of qualifications on our website that playwork employers can consult when appointing staff to play provision and we are developing this at the moment.

The governments’ recognition of play and the importance of playworkers has seen an increasing emergence of agencies to deliver to the sector. As the Sector Skills Council for playwork, SkillsActive’s role is to improve the quality and range of play opportunities for children and young people through the professional development of the playwork workforce. The skills agenda is a devolved matter; with this in mind we work to influence education and skills policies across the four nations, ensuring their relevance to the sector, and advising government on how to prioritise its funding, as well as re-directing funding into the sector.

We are a coordinated voice for the sector, which is reflected in a coherent and evidenced demand for skills, and we work with deliverers and suppliers of vocational education to meet the skills and training needs of the sector.

SkillsActive’s vision is more people, better skilled, better qualified; we believe that in order to deliver quality services it is imperative that employers commit to investing in the their workforce. The playwork sector is central to our work and we have an integrated mission across our footprint – to promote healthy and active lifestyles, alongside a child’s right to play.

Playwork is not driven by prescribed education or care outcomes however, like sport, outdoor and adventure activities, play allows for active learning. It lays the foundation for an active and healthy lifestyle, and is provided in settings that are shared across the whole of the active leisure and learning sector – leisure centres, recreation centres, community centres, holiday playschemes, outdoor activity centres and recreation grounds.

To ensure the sector’s ongoing success, we are delivering on five priorities identified by playwork employers within our Sector Skills Agreement – to improve recruitment and retention of the workforce, to upskill and professionalise the existing workforce, to match training and supply to employer demand, to redirect and secure new funding for training to meet employment needs, to increase sector investment in our people – these priorities shape our work within the sector across the UK.

Funding for 4,000 places on training courses has been offered to Playworkers in England as part of the Government’s commitment in the Children’s Plan to develop a professional Playwork workforce.
This is an encouraging response to all those with a stake in Playwork and a ringing endorsement of the role that skills and qualifications have in improving quality of services, productivity and relations with children, young people and their parents and carers.

Moreover it is recognition of the value of individual Playworkers’ contribution in playwork settings.  Training results in a sense of job satisfaction, outward recognition and presents scope for career progression in the Children’s Workforce. Professional, well-trained playworkers are a key part of the children’s workforce.