Plan and support self-directed play
Overview
Who is this unit for?
This unit is for those who plan and support children or young people's self- directed play activities. It is suitable for those working in any kind of school setting, including secondary schools, and would be particularly suitable for those involved in extended services.
What is this unit about?
This unit is about identifying the play needs and preferences of children and young people, developing play spaces that will meet these needs and supporting children and young people during play.
This unit contains four elements:
1. Collect and analyse information on play needs and preferences
2. Plan and prepare play spaces
3. Support self-directed play
4. Help children and young people to manage risk during play
Performance criteria
You must be able to:
Collect and analyse information on play needs and preferences
P1 collect information on children and young people's play using a range of
methods
P2 investigate and take account of the needs of children and young people who experience barriers to access
P3 analyse information to identify play needs
P4 consult with children and young people and take account of their ideas on play needs and preferences
P5 research and identify a range of play spaces and resources that will meet the play needs of children and young people
Plan and prepare play spaces
P6 plan play spaces that will meet the needs of children and young people and can be adapted by them to meet new needs
P7 make sure the play spaces provide for a range of different play types P8 obtain the resources needed for these play spaces
P9 work within the available budget or find other creative ways of obtaining or making resources
P10 create the planned play spaces, involving children and young people wherever possible
P11 make sure that the range of play spaces will be accessible for all children and young people who could take part
P12 make sure the play spaces take account of health and safety requirements
Support self-directed play
P13 encourage children and young people to choose and explore the range of play spaces for themselves, providing support when necessary
P14 leave the content and intent of play to the children and young people P15 enable play to occur uninterrupted
P16 enable children and young people to explore their own values P17 ensure children and young people can develop in their own ways P18 hold children and young people's play frames when necessary
P19 observe play and respond to play cues according to the stage in the play cycle
Help children and young people to manage risk during play
P20 allow children and young people to experience and explore risk during play
P21 identify hazards when they occur
P22 assess the risks that these hazards pose in a way that is sensitive to the nature of the children and young people involved
P23 raise children and young people's awareness of hazards and how to manage risk themselves
P24 balance the risks involved with the benefits of challenge and stimulation P25 only intervene if the level of risk becomes unacceptable
Knowledge and Understanding
You need to know and understand:
K1 relevant playwork assumptions and values that apply to this unit K2 the short- and long-term benefits of play
K3 the playworker's role in supporting play
K4 indicators/objectives you can use to evaluate play provision K5 behavioural modes associated with play:
K5.1 personally directed K5.2 intrinsically motivated K5.3 in secure context K5.4 spontaneous
K5.5 goalless
K5.6 where the content and intent is under the control of the children and young people
K6 the range of play types that are commonly accepted K7 how to provide for the following play types:
K7.1 communication play K7.2 creative play
K7.3 deep play K7.4 dramatic play
K7.5 exploratory play K7.6 fantasy play K7.7 imaginative play K7.8 locomotor play K7.9 mastery play K7.10 object play K7.11 role play
K7.12 rough and tumble K7.13 social play
K7.14 socio-dramatic play K7.15 symbolic play
K8 the mood descriptors associated with play and how to recognise these: K8.1 happy
K8.2 independent K8.3 confident K8.4 altruistic K8.5 trusting K8.6 balanced
K8.7 active or immersed K8.8 at ease
K9 the main stages of child development and how these affect children's play needs and behaviours
K10 the particular needs of disabled children and how these need to be met
when planning for and supporting play, including helping them to manage risk
K11 why it is important to identify children and young people's play needs and preferences
K12 the types of information you can use to identify play needs and preferences and how to access these
K13 the barriers to access, including disability but taking account of others, that some children and young people may experience and how to address these
K14 why it is important to consult with children and young people on play needs and preferences
K15 effective methods of consulting with children and young people
K16 the range of different types of play spaces that can meet children and young people's needs and preferences
K17 how to plan play spaces that meet children and young people's play needs
K18 why it is important to create spaces that children and young people can adapt to their own needs
K19 how to obtain and/or create resources needed for a range of play spaces K20 how to involve children and young people in the creation of play spaces K21 the importance of access for all children and how to ensure this happens K22 the health and safety requirements that are relevant to play spaces and
how to ensure you take account of these
K23 why it is important for children and young people to choose and explore play spaces for themselves
K24 the types of support you may need to provide and how to decide when it is appropriate to provide support
K25 why it is important to leave the content and intent of play to children and young people
K26 why it is important to allow play to continue uninterrupted
K27 why it is important to allow children to develop in their own ways and not to show them `better' ways of doing things when they are playing unless they ask
K28 the main stages of the play cycle K29 how to define a play frame
K30 how to identify play cues
K31 how to identify when and how to respond to a play cue
K32 why risk is important in play and how to encourage and support acceptable risk-taking
K33 levels of risk acceptable according to organisational policies and procedures
K34 the range of hazards that may occur during children's play and how to recognise these
K35 the basic stages of child development and the implications these have for levels of risk
K36 how to assess risk according to age and stage of development K37 the importance of balancing risk with the benefits of challenge and
stimulation
Scope/range
Collect and analyse information on play needs and preferences
1. Methods
1.1. researching playwork theory and practice
1.2. observing children and young people at play
1.3. interacting with children and young people
Plan and prepare play spaces
2. Play spaces
2.1. for physical play
2.2. for affective play
2.3. transient
2.4. permanent
Support self-directed play
3. Play spaces
3.1. for physical play
3.2. for affective play
3.3. transient
3.4. permanent
Help children and young people to manage risk during play
4. Hazards
4.1. physical
4.2. emotional
4.3. behavioural
4.4. environmental
Scope Performance
Scope Knowledge
Values
Behaviours
Skills
Glossary
Glossary Affective play
play that involves the children or young people experiencing or experimenting with emotions, feelings and attitudes
Barriers to access
things that prevent or discourage children and young people from taking part in play provision. These may include physical barriers for disabled children, but could also include wider issues such as discrimination, lack of positive images, lack of culturally acceptable activities and customs, language barriers and
many other factors that affect different communities
Children and young people
non-disabled and disabled children and young people in the age range four to six years, both girls and boys, from all cultures and backgrounds
Communication play
play using words, nuances or gestures, e.g. mime, jokes, play acting, mickey- taking, singing, debate, poetry
Creative play
play which allows a new response, the transformation of information, awareness of new connections, with an element of surprise, e.g. enjoying creation with a range of materials and tools, for its own sake
Deep play
play which allows the child to encounter risky or even potentially life- threatening experiences, to develop survival skills and conquer fear, e.g. leaping onto an aerial runway, riding a bike on a parapet, balancing on a high beam
Disabled children
children with impairments who experience barriers to accessing mainstream childcare and play facilities. This includes children with physical and sensory impairments, learning and communication difficulties, medical conditions, and challenging and complex needs which may be permanent or temporary
Dramatic play
play which dramatises events in which the child is not a direct participator, e.g. presentation of a TV show, an event on the street, a religious or festive event, even a funeral
Exploratory play
play to access factual information consisting of manipulative behaviours such as handling, throwing, banging or mouthing objects, e.g. engaging with an object or area and, either by manipulation or movement, assessing its properties, possibilities and content, such as stacking bricks
Fantasy play
play which rearranges the world in the child's way, a way which is unlikely to occur, e.g. playing at being a pilot flying around the world or the owner of an expensive car
Hazard
something that may cause harm to the health, safety and welfare of users of the play setting, e.g. broken glass, faulty play equipment, doors being left open that should be closed
Imaginative play
play where the conventional rules which govern the physical world do not apply, e.g. imagining you are, or pretending to be, a tree or ship, or patting a dog which is not there
Locomotor play
movement in any and every direction for its own sake, e.g. chase, tag, hide and seek, tree climbing
Mastery play
control of the physical and affective ingredients of the environments, e.g. digging holes, changing the course of streams, constructing shelters, building fires
Object play
play which uses infinite and interesting sequences of hand– eye manipulations and movements, such as examination and novel use of any object, eg. cloth, paintbrush, cup
Permanent
something that lasts, or is intended to last, for a long time
Play
play is freely chosen, personally directed and intrinsically motivated
Play cues*
facial expressions, language or body language that communicate the child or young person's wish to play or invite others to play
Play cycle*
the full flow of play from the first play cue from the child, its return from the outside world, the child's response to the return and the further development of play to the point where play is complete
Play frame*
a material or non-material boundary that keeps the play intact
Play needs
the individual needs of children to play
Play space
any area that supports and enriches the potential for children to play
Risk
the likelihood of a hazard actually causing harm; this will often be influenced by the age or stage of development of the children and young people involved
Role play
play exploring ways of being, although not normally of an intense personal, social, domestic or interpersonal nature, e.g. brushing with a broom, dialling with a telephone, driving a car
Rough and tumble play
close-encounter play which is less to do with fighting and more to do with touching, tickling, gauging relative strength, discovering physical flexibility and the exhilaration of display, e.g. playful fighting, wrestling and chasing where the children involved are obviously unhurt and give every indication that they are enjoying themselves
Social play
play during which the rules and criteria for social engagement and interaction can be revealed, explored and amended, e.g. any social or interactive situation which contains an expectation on all parties that they will abide by the rules or protocols, i.e. games, conversations, making something together
Socio-dramatic play
the enactment of real and potential experiences of an intense personal, social, domestic or interpersonal nature, e.g. playing at house, going to the shops, being mothers and fathers, organising a meal or even having a row
Symbolic play
play which allows control, gradual exploration and increased understanding, without the risk of being out of one's depth, e.g. using a piece of wood to symbolise a person, or a piece of string to symbolise a wedding ring
Transient
not permanent
* Gordon Sturrock and Perry Else, 1998, The playground as therapeutic space: playwork as healing (known as “The Colorado Paper”), published in Play in a Changing Society: Research, Design, Application, IPA/USA, Little Rock, USA. Available as a PDF free of charge from www.ludemos.co.uk or info.ludemos@virgin.net
Links To Other NOS
TDASTL10 Support children's play and learning TDASTL15 Support children and young people's play
Origin of this unit
This unit is taken from the National Occupational Standards in Playwork where it appears as unit PW9.