Courses

The Play Team provides a 3 day intensive training in Child-centred play and Reflective Listening. The course is accredited by the Open College Network and is open to:

All professionals working with children.

Students will be required to submit a reflective practice journal within 4 weeks of completion of training in order to receive certification.

Separate non-certificated courses are run for:  Parents, grandparents and carers although anyone who works with children and families will benefit from this child centred approach to helping children play.  It is especially helpful in enabling children to communicate if they are suffering from trauma or stress and will help them to work through issues that may be affecting them.

Social workers and family support workers will find it a useful tool when making assessments (see ‘Child-centred Communication’ in Luckock et al, 2006.)

Teachers and Support Staff will be able to use child-centred play in supporting children with behavioural difficulties within the classroom.  The communication skills developed during training will be a key tool when working with children within nurture groups.

Parents will find the skills learned through the reflective listening invaluable in bonding and building good relationships with their child/children.

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN

* The theory underpinning child-centred play and reflective listening
* How to use a reflective learning journal
* Skills of reflective listening
* The qualities of being a practitioner
* The key theories and debates around Emotional Literacy and Child Development
* Policies and Issues around safeguarding children
* The benefits of using art media in play such as sand play and miniature world, puppets, musical instruments, creative art media, drama and dance, and storytelling.

THIS COURSE IS LARGELY PRACTICAL and does not involve powerpoint!

Participants will be given opportunities to practice:

* Reflective listening & descriptive feedback
* Self– directed free play
* Sand play
* Authentic movement
* Role play
* Writing a journal that reflects your learning on the course

 

NEXT COURSE

Our next course will take place from Fri-Sun 14th-16th October 2011 at Dovecote, Bignor Park from 0930hrs-1630hrs daily

Cost £360 (support may be available so please let us know your circumstances)

For more information contact  Judith Woodworth(Trainer) email: ukplayteam@gmail.com

“A TIME FOR PLAY – Encouraging greater play opportunities for children and young people” – Department for Culture, Media and Sport

All children benefit from opportunities to play but for disadvantaged children it is particularly important. Local authorities know that access to play offers children opportunities to learn and develop new skills, including physical activity. Combining play strategies with wider programmes for health, regeneration, childcare, extended schools and youth offending, will provide a powerful platform for local authorities = capable of reducing inequalities and helping children to reach their potential.

What do we mean by play?

The play review ‘Getting Serious About Play, 2004:

‘Play means what children and young people do when they follow their own ideas and interests, in their own way and for their own reasons.’

‘…a space, some facilities or equipment or a set of activities intended to give children the opportunity to play as defined above. At its most successful, it offers children and young people as much choice, control and freedom as possible within reasonable boundaries. This is often best achieved with adult support, guidance or supervision. The children and young people may themselves choose play involving certain rules or, in some cases, informal spsort.’

Why does play matter?

Play is the child’s work!  It’s their way of making sense of their worlds.

Research shows that play is particularly relevant to children’s health. Advice from the Chief Medical officer states that ‘children and young people should achieve a total of at least 60 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity each day’. There is growing evidence that unstructured play is the most effective way to achieve this. A recent study by university College London (2004) highlighted its benefits. Play came second only to PE in calorific intensity, and the study concluded that ‘walking and playing provide children with more physical activity than most other activities.’

There are also links to mental health, in ‘Read the Signs’ (Department of Health, 2003) the Mental Health Foundation reported that the increasingly limited amount of time children have to play outside, or to attend supervised play projects, was o ne factor causing the rise of mental ill health in young people