Islington Play CEO
Week Seven.
The weather is amazing. Inappropriate clothing aside, I am basking in the late sunshine and watching the trees change colour on my train ride in the morning- it is a good way to start the day.
I am fighting a bug though, with a chesty cough and random sneezing interrupting my thoughts.
The play association is heading towards its AGM (November 19th if you would like to come!) so we are working on the annual report and various other documents that are usually presented at this time. This includes the accounts. It is also time to present the forecast budget for 15/16 so there is a lot of finance focussed thinking going on.
Lucky I attended my Sage training in Croydon.
Staff from IPA attended training on CAF (common assessment framework) last week - it led to some really interesting discussions about how our own childhoods and experiences can colour our understanding of what is happening for the children and young people we work with.
There is a natural and instant reaction amongst many adults to use the phrase ' that happened to me and it didn't do me any harm' but surely it is vital for us each to explore that a little bit...
Also there may be no intrinsic need for children to go through the most difficult things in order to learn how to cope - who really signs up to the 'school of hard knocks'?
For myself I feel that what I went through has meant that I have learnt ways to cope but I truly believe that others can learn from my experiences and ways of managing without going through the exact same thing.
Another part of the referral process at the heart of CAF is the recognition of children or families that may benefit from 'early intervention'. This is a difficult one for all of us whose job is to facilitate play - how far should we be getting involved with children's lives? Surely we should just provide the excellent environments and stand back and let the play happen? We are not social workers...
BUT the big issue is - if we really wish to facilitate the best play opportunities for children living in challenging circumstances then surely we need to take those circumstances into account? And if we have access and knowledge, links and partnerships with other services and support networks that may be able to have some influence on those circumstances why would we not do so?
These questions are ongoing and I am grateful for the honesty and openness of playworkers that means we can continue to explore and discuss the issues.
The youngest is having a difficult time, he says he has watched too many scary programmes and is very angry. As he only watches children's tv and won't even watch some episodes of Scooby Do this has left him feeling that only Deadly 60 and Octonauts are safe. With Steve Backshall (Deadly 60 presenter) on Strictly he watches from behind a pillow feeling stressed in case the dance routine goes wrong. In sharp contrast his friend from school watched the 'gas mask/are you my mummy?' episode of Dr Who (google it) by mistake.
Children have such extremely different experiences even when in the same social set, with stable homes and all creature comforts and they still worry, cry, feel frightened, experience anguish and have bad dreams.
All the more reason why universal play services are vital for them to explore their world and themselves in safe spaces, in freedom and with caring, reflective playworkers who are brave and honest enough to accept them and to listen to them and tell them about places to get extra support if that seems appropriate.