Understanding Playwork Principles free essay sample

Briefly explain why it is important that the team work together when supporting children and young people’s play. (3 marks) The team needs to be aware of all the children situations, to all work in the same direction and provide a common and strong support or pace of action. Moreover, through observing kid’s needs, the team can share what they have spotted and thereafter set the play setting according to their needs, likes and dislikes. At the same time, the team is responsible to act collaboratively to keep the space safe and â€Å"organised† for the kids to enjoy fully of their time to play and take the most of it, for the same reason the team needs to be ready to respond, trigger and challenge to children’s cues. 2. Briefly explain the role of playworkers acting as advocates for play. (3 marks) As advocates for play, we have to enrich the child’s play environment by: †¢offering, encouraging and providing play opportunities taking into account their individual and collective needs, †¢ Providing equal opportunities for every kid no matter their backgrounds or health conditions. Listening to their interests and ideas, responding to their requests and challenging, †¢Supporting and enriching their development. †¢Observing any indicator that may suggest they are suffering from any abuse or being neglected and take action to protect and help them. †¢Developing a child centre approach and self-directive play 3. Explain three different methods a playwork team can use to support children and young people’s play. (3 marks) †¢OBSERVATION: observing children in their play process to see: -Their development (social, emotional, individual, intellectual,.. -Check the resources provided to support their needs. Assessing, afterwards, these observations to improve the weak points and enhance the strong ones. Check we have displayed enough resources and whether the set plan is useful and cover kid’s needs. -Observe our intervention towards responding to children’s cues, whether we are interfering or not and whether we are supporting kid’s needs in the right way or if they could be improved. -Check we are fulfilling health and safety policies and risk assessment appropriately, keep them up to date and modify them whenever it is necessary. †¢PLANNING and PROCURING RESOURCES: Setting a plan covering the five areas of development (SPICE) as the setting allows us and responding to children’s requests according to their ages, ensuring we are supporting and covering their needs as well as offering equal opportunities, taking into account: -Health and safety and risk assessments -The display of the resources respecting different areas of play (relax corner, building games, reading corner, art table, dolls, fancy dresses, tents,. ) -The kids have access to all resources, eliminating (reducing) all possible barriers that may prevent any of them to enjoy of their self- directed freely chosen play. . Explain the importance of balancing the needs and rights of individual children and young people with the needs and rights of others. (3 marks) Every kid and person must be respected and protected as an individual with his/her own specific needs and characteristics, who at the same time will be socialising with other individuals and their needs and personalitie s. Thus, when all being together we have to ensure that we are supporting them as individuals as the same time we offer them a comfortable environment to develop their socialising skills 5. Explain three ways playworkers can have an impact on the play space. 3 marks) 1. Providing a welcoming and nice environment for the kids, task setting, and clean, inviting and safe space. 2. Taking part or stepping back on their play. Getting involve when they require, that is, responding to their cues and observe when they are enjoying on their own and do not need us. 3. Playworkers’ skills: personal and professional, playwork features and qualities: active, observer, with initiative, approachable, compromise, funny, predispose, challenging, aware we are models for the kids, willingness to improve and extend knowledge and training 6. Explain three ways children and young people’s play can have an impact on members of the playwork team. (3 marks) Every way in which children and young people? s play will have an impact on us, being it positive or negative. Nevertheless, when children or young people are playing showing negative aspects towards other kids or member of the staff, such as the followings, will affect us in a way that we will have to intervene in their play or take further action: Violence: if the children are playing in such a way (being it verbal, psychological or physical) they are bullying other child/children involved in the play. The fact that they are using such behaviour show that they may be living in an environment with violence and abuse, or they may be experiencing some personal difficulties, and thus they are reproducing, copying and realising their anger in they play setting. If it would be happening, we will have to check the kids involved are safe and take action and find out why this person is behaving in such a way a provide him/her the way to sort it out and safeguard and support him/her. Depending on the matter, after it being discussed in the staff meeting and being reported, it would have to be passed to social services, child protection if it was required. -Sexual implications: That is true that in children and young people there is a biological process of discovery of their and other? s sexuality. Nonetheless, it can happen that some children or young people show inappropriate behaviours towards other kids or young people, not being in line with their ages. For example, using sexual language, doing explicit games between them or in front of some other or to other kids. If this would happen, we will have to intervene and find out why that person behaves in that way because it would be a sign of abuse in their home or surroundings. So, we will have to report it and take further action talking to social services, family. -Discrimination: If the children or young people are discriminating others, being through their play, behaviour or language because of, for example, the other kids’ origin, culture, language, social background, appearance or any disability, they are mistreating them and breaking their responsibility towards their rights. Thus, we will intervene to find out why this person is behaving in such disrespectful way, bearing in mind that it may be caused by issues back at their homes, some problems at the school, or going through a personal difficult moment- 7. Briefly explain the concept of ‘leadership’ within the context of a playwork team. (3 marks) Playwork team good leadership will offer quality to kids and parents. All members of the staff fulfil leading roles in different ways and are involved in the improvement of the process. Debbie Garvey and Andrea Lancaster, 2010) In the case of the supervisor the following skill, abilities, qualities and responsibilities would make will make it successful: -Organisational ability, approachable, good listener, acting responsible and following procedures, fair, committed, aware and applying health/s and safeguarding policies(as well as they are being fulfil by everybody), carrying a good practice of the playwork principles and children? rights, contr olling and problem solving. -Lead the team in a horizontal and communicative way as well as assigning tasks to the member of the team in a fair, equalitarian and respectful way. Listening to the team? s needs and suggestions, helping them to improve (appraisals). -Updating training, reflective practice and assessments. -Dealing with kids, team, parents, school, office and external bodies (social services, hospital†¦) to support them and keep the confidentiality. In the case of the playworkers, following their supervisor guidance and instructions and respecting him/er as such, they also develop leading roles in the sense that they are active participants with in the play setting and team; leading play provisions and ideas, carrying out duties on the checking of the play setting and its safety as well as the kid? s one, in addition to their initiative, observations and commitment.