Professor Fraser Brown

This chapter reflects on a therapeutic playwork project in post-Ceaușescu Romania. The project aided the recovery of a group of abandoned and chronically abused children living in a Romanian paediatric hospital. The playworkers worked in a specially allocated playroom, using a combination of groupwork and one-to-one techniques. The speed and quality of the developmental changes within the group was quite unexpected, because it contradicted standard child development theory. The chapter makes the case for these changes being due to the approach of the playworkers and the opportunities for playful interaction afforded by the design of the playroom, i.e., the children in effect healed each other.

This chapter serves as an Introduction to the book. It includes a reflection on the significance of play in a child’s life, especially their time in a healthcare setting. Play may be used to prepare a child for a medical procedure and as a distraction during such interventions. It may also be offered as a normalising function, especially where a child is likely to be in hospital for an extended period. The chapter also includes a brief preview of the chapters to be found in the book. It culminates in a plea for hospital authprities to take the child’s right to play seriously.

Within the UK, supervision attendance is mandatory for practising members of counselling and psychotherapy professional bodies. Supervision is a core element of the regulation of the counselling and psychotherapy profession. A significant amount of time and money is invested in supervision attendance. Whilst discourses in the field assign high status to supervision practice, there is a paucity of clarity in existing research regarding aims and impacts. This is amplified within Play Therapy supervision as the literature identifies a significant gap in empirical inquiry in this field. This thesis examines potential meanings and practice implications of play therapists’ experiences of supervision. It includes the perspectives of students, qualified play therapists, supervisors, and supervisors of supervisors (metasupervisors) who work in UK statutory, voluntary, and private sectors. The study involves members of the British Association of Play Therapists (BAPT), Play Therapy United Kingdom (PTUK), and the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP). Constructivist grounded theory method has been used to examine patterns and processes for potential application to the development of Play Therapy supervision in the UK. The main contribution of this study is the creation of a substantive grounded theory which identifies processes and corresponding impacts of Play Therapy supervision in a UK context. Potential meanings for Play Therapy supervision development are identified through analysis of supervisees’ creative representations and interviews. This theory affirms current rhetoric for mandated, regular Play Therapy supervision. However, it also confirms arguments that inadequate and harmful supervision are under-acknowledged and under-addressed. Power relations processes are identified as significant aspects of supervisory relationship facilitating or blocking supervision. The claim that creative exploration within a co-regulated, co-created supervisory milieu and relationship is time- and cost-effective in supervisor wellbeing and professional development is supported. Recognition of these processes has implications for future research and policies regarding supervision and the regulation of Play Therapy. Key Words: supervision, regulation, play therapy supervision, power relations, creative exploration, co-regulated, co-created, metasupervision

This chapter serves as an Introduction to the book. It includes a reflection on the significance of play in a child's life, especially their time in a healthcare setting. Play may be used to prepare a child for a medical procedure and as a distraction during such interventions. It may also be offered as a normalising function, especially where a child is likely to be in hospital for an extended period. The chapter also includes a brief preview of the chapters to be found in the book. It culminates in a plea for hospital authorities to take the child's right to play seriously.

The Roma children of Transylvania are probably the most materially deprived in Europe. They often live in one-room shacks made from wood and mud, with no running water, no sanitation, and sometimes no heating. Many rely on charity for their food and medicines. But, are they play deprived? This paper summarises an observational study of the play behaviours of children in a small Roma village. It highlights the striking contrast between the abject poverty that characterises their lives and the general happiness of the children. These children live their limited lives to the full. They ‘play everywhere and with everything’, but not in the generally accepted sense of that phrase. The usual niceties of privacy, personal possessions and property boundaries are irrelevant here. Their play is rich in imagination and creativity; it is living proof of Nicholson's theory of loose parts.

... This book invites you to reflect (see Palmer, p51). But above all, it is one that inspires action." Children and Society "Foundations of Playwork is a must read for anyone with an interest in playwork or children's services.

This book examines the long-lived success of The Venture, an adventure playground in urban Wrexham. Written by Fraser Brown, Reader at Leeds Metropolitan University, from conversations with Malcolm King (a founder and current manager of The Venture) and Ben Tawil (one of its recent playworkers).

Put very simply, the concept of this book is to use 101 stories of children playing to examine a range of play and playwork theories. Where this approach has been used previously it has often been contrived, with the stories being made to fit the  ...

Rethinking Children's Play examines attitudes towards, and experiences of, children's play. Fraser Brown and Michael Patte draw on a wide range of thought, research and practice from different fields and countries to debate, challenge and re-appraise long held beliefs, attitudes and ways of working and living with children in the play environment. Children need to play and the benefits of play are many and varied, but they are too often underestimated by parents, educators, politicians and society in general. The authors apply a playwork perspective to a wide range of settings populated by children, both formal and informal, to explore the idea that children's learning and development derives substantially from their opportunities to engage with a rich play environment that is supportive of the play process. Thoughts are provoked through examples of research, reflections on research, activities, key points and guidance on further reading. Rethinking Children's Play is essential for all those studying childhood at undergraduate and graduate level and of great interest to those working with children in any field.

"[An] excellent book... With its breadth of discourse, it held my attention throughout. ... This book is informative, but also challenges views on the play experience and the playwork profession.

... This book invites you to reflect (see Palmer, p51). But above all, it is one that inspires action." Children and Society "Foundations of Playwork is a must read for anyone with an interest in playwork or children's services.

Over the duration of my teaching career I have witnessed the intensification of attitudes devaluing play, and now in my role as a university professor I have visited many school sites that offer little time for child-initiated play. These personal experiences painted a bleak picture for the inclusion of play in the daily lives of children. So while attending The Association for the Study of Play’s conference in 2006, I sought out sessions that focused on issues of play advocacy. As it turned out, a session offered by Fraser Brown titled Children Without Play was just what the doctor ordered. At that presentation I was introduced to the field of Playwork and became intrigued by a profession whose underlying principles were well suited to address the societal factors devaluing children’s play in America.

This lecture explores how we can deal with the approach that western societies have taken to the study of children and childhood of isolating the problems that individual children pose to society. It looks at the significance of play in childhood and in a child’s world and whether playwork can offer solutions; or is it wrong to ask it to provide solutions when the playwork profession seeks to enable children to find their own play in the world? We can all, as adults, share the experience of having had a childhood and can provide insights into a child’s world but this rarely make us "experts". In reality, each person’s childhood is a unique experience, and it is that which draws us into the complex and often emotional arenas of debate about childhood. The Playwork profession in the UK has always exchanged their experiences of working with children and often reflected for both the children and the playworkers. In this lecture, Professor Brown offers a selection of stories that have been submitted by playworkers for inclusion in his forthcoming book, Play and Playwork: Reflection on Practice. The stories are about children playing. They are always instructive, often funny, and sometimes sad. The stories help us explore complex issues such as risk and the unpredictable nature of play. The introduce us to a number of key theoretical concepts, such as play cues, adulteration and the significance of reference points in children’s lives. Some of the stories illustrate the therapeutic aspects of children’s play. The overall intention is to focus on the connection between theory and practices that is so often misunderstood by politicians. Professor Fraser Brown is the first Professor of Playwork in the UK. He is also the joint course leader of the BA (Hons) Playwork degree at Leeds Metropolitan University. He has presented at conferences across the country and around the world and has produced several key texts in the field of play and playwork. He is the chair and Co-Founder of the Aid for Romanian Children Charitable Trust, and a member of the Executive Board of the Association for the Study of Play (TASP). He has researched into a wide range of subjects, including the concepts of play value, the impact of deprivation on children’s behaviour, and the reasons for the longevity of certain adventure playgrounds. He is probably best known for his research into the therapeutic effects of playwork on a group of abandoned children in a Romanian paediatric hospital. Fraser’s work as an academic, as both tutor and author, is characterised by his gift for making difficult concepts accessible to a wide range of audiences. This should not be seen as trivialising the subject matter, but rather following the principle that there is little point in producing work which your audience cannot understand. His most recent work makes use of real life stories of children playing, and prompted the following response from one reader: “You have a very graphic style of writing. Reading your article feels almost as if I am there, seeing it happen.

Bringing together authors from a range of academic disciplines and research backgrounds united as standard-bearers for the child s right to play and set against a backdrop evoking play s critical essence, this book documents the ...

This book honors the legacy of Dr. Brian Sutton-Smith, Professor Emeritus of Psychology and Folklore at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Sutton-Smith was considered the premier play scholar of his generation, with numerous publications in the fields of developmental psychology, folklore, anthropology, sociology of sport, education, and philosophy. We present an eclectic array of essays written in honor of the centennial of his birth, ranging from the scholarly to the overtly playful. There are essays distilling his work to their key ideas and some that offer a robust and respectful critique. There are personal anecdotes honoring his memory, and original works of fiction celebrating his legacy. The book is a publication in the TASP biannual Play and Culture Studies series and includes photographs of Brian Sutton-Smith, as well as heartfelt appreciation from scores of colleagues.

On the final day of the 2015 TASP conference, we heard of the sad passing of our great friend and inspiration, Brian Sutton-Smith. The memorial panel, which was one of the centre-pieces of the 2016 TASP conference, was the first opportunity we had to mark his passing. We did so with a selection of memories and reflections on his life. Brian spent his adult life studying the phenomenon of play in all its forms: child and adult; frivolous and serious; sporting and educational; charming and disgusting. He showed that children are not always innocent in their play, and that adults often feel guilty about theirs. His academic legacy lies in hundreds of articles and over fifty books, including the seminal work The Ambiguity of Play (1997). However, those of us who knew him well also remember the great joy with which he lived his life. The Panel was a mixture of friends, collaborators, ex-students and TASP colleagues. All of them had a story to tell about the way this great supporter of TASP touched their lives.

The Roma children of Transylvania are probably the most materially deprived in Europe. They often live in one-room shacks made from wood and mud, with no running water, no sanitation, and sometimes no heating. Many rely on charity for their food and medicines. But, are they play deprived? This paper summarises an observational study of the play behaviours of children in a small Roma village. It highlights the striking contrast between the abject poverty that characterises their lives and the general happiness of the children. These children live their limited lives to the full. They ‘play everywhere and with everything’, but not in the generally accepted sense of that phrase. The usual niceties of privacy, personal possessions and property boundaries are irrelevant here. Their play is rich in imagination and creativity; it is living proof of Nicholson’s theory of loose parts.

This chapter aims to contextualize the special circumstances of Roma children’s early education and support needs, with particular reference to the high level of exclusion experienced by members of the communities in Central and Eastern Europe. It presents the impact on households of the social determinants of health which potentially affect child development and well-being. Regardless of ethnicity, the lack of early childhood education leads to serious problems in terms of subsequent educational attainment. In the case of Roma children throughout Central and Eastern Europe this challenge is accentuated by a range of issues, including language, segregation, exclusion and outright racism. Cultural stigmatization has historically led to deep suspicions regarding public bodies and public education on the part of Roma parents, who are themselves likely to have been on the receiving end of discrimination and a poor-quality education. Throughout Europe Roma children are severely under-represented in educational statistics and families frequently report discrimination at all stages of the school system.

Over the duration of my teaching career I have witnessed the intensification of attitudes devaluing play, and now in my role as a university professor I have visited many school sites that offer little time for child-initiated play. These personal experiences painted a bleak picture for the inclusion of play in the daily lives of children. So while attending The Association for the Study of Play’s conference in 2006, I sought out sessions that focused on issues of play advocacy. As it turned out, a session offered by Fraser Brown titled Children Without Play was just what the doctor ordered. At that presentation I was introduced to the field of Playwork and became intrigued by a profession whose underlying principles were well suited to address the societal factors devaluing children’s play in America.

This article concerns a therapeutic intervention with a group of abandoned children living in a Romanian pediatric hospital. The children, ranging in age from one to ten years old, had suffered chronic neglect and abuse. They had previously spent most of their lives tied in the same cot in the same hospital ward. They were poorly fed and their nappies were rarely changed. Although able to see and hear the other abused children, they experienced little in the way of social interaction. The article focuses on the play-based methods that were employed to aid the children’s recovery, while at the same time highlighting the general benefits of this very specific therapeutic approach to children’s recovery and development. In particular, there is an exploration of concepts such as symbolic representation, negative capability, joining, and the significance of play cues. However, despite the clear value of these individually focused techniques, the article proposes the tentative hypothesis that the most powerful healing factor was the unfettered playful interaction between the children themselves. In other words, the children in a very real sense may have healed each other while playing.

This chapter explores aspects of play provision and seeks to answer the following questions: • How has the nature of play provision in the UK developed in the last 50 years? • What are the implications of this piecemeal approach?.

This chapter focuses on the developmental usefulness of play for the child, particularly with regard to providing the psychological foundation for the social and intellectual skills that human adults need to function in the increasingly complex social environment that sociologists call ‘the global village’. In this way play is about a flexible, self-directed experience, which serves the needs both of the individual child, and of the future society in which s/he will live in adulthood. The chapter presents three alternative perspectives on the role of play in children’s lives - psycho-social, educational, and playwork - which provide different, but not incompatible, standpoints and constructs for examining the complex concept of play. The linkage of’play’ with ‘the development of behaviour’ is a common focus for developmental researchers. Psychoanalytic theory was originated by Sigmund Freud, who believed that play had an important role in children’s emotional development.

In the 1950s and 1960s, largely in response to the ideas of C. T. Sorensen, several adventure playgrounds appeared in the United Kingdom. Sorensen envisaged ‘junk’ playgrounds, where children could imagine, shape and create their own reality. Sutton-Smith’s classic text The Ambiguity of Play contains the most comprehensive examination of play theory that has yet been attempted. Sutton-Smith identifies over 100 theories, which he groups under generic headings. Some are respected; others ridiculous. They have one thing in common: they all fall short of providing a full explanation of play. Tim Gill draws attention to developments that have taken place in UK society that have had a negative impact on children’s play, and especially on children’s opportunities to experience risk. S. Nicholson, in developing his ‘theory of loose parts’, explains it thus: ‘In any environment both the degree of inventiveness and creativity, and the possibility of discovery, are directly proportional to the number and kind of variables in it’.

The Venture is an adventure playground sited in the middle of one of the most deprived estates in Wales, Caia Park in Wrexham. While hundreds of open access play projects have come and gone during the last twenty-nine years, The Venture has moved from strength to strength, and is now one of the most respected projects of its type anywhere in the UK. It now employs around thirty staff, and has an annual turnover of approximately £450,000. The Venture has been used as the model for the programme of integrated children’s centres in Wales, wherein one of the four key aspects is open access play (Welsh Assembly, 2002). A similar process has been adopted in Scotland. Recently the Secretary of State for Wales, Peter Hain.

Today, the Internet seems to be everywhere and in the western world is often viewed as ubiquitous. It almost appears that if you are not using the Internet then you are just not with it, a dinosaur from a previous age. Human rights organizations and activists are not immune from this perception. The Internet has become a powerful force in the world and, as in most other walks of life, has had a considerable impact upon how human rights work is accomplished. However, many issues and questions remain-both to be asked and to be answered-concerning the appropriate use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) 1 and human rights. For example, who is using the Internet in the human rights world and how is it being used? What are the benefits of this new technology for human rights work? What is the impact on developing countries? What dangers does the Internet pose for human rights in terms of privacy, censorship, child pornography and hate material? Does the Internet confer a new potent force which of and by itself will encourage democracy and empower communities? These are just a few of the questions that this book will raise and discuss.

The purpose of this research was to identify nurses’ involvement in play for children within the hospital environment in England. Longitudinal focus groups were used to gather data which was analysed using thematic analysis and a ‘pencil-and-paper’ strategy for coding. Themes emerged around play being part of the nurse’s role, time constraints, importance of senior staff support, identifying a play need and referring on; and the concept of ‘passing play.’ It was concluded that play for children in hospital is important. Nursing staff have an important role in recognising this need, making a play referral when required, and participating in ‘passing play.’ There needs to be an increased awareness in nurses and nurse leaders to the importance of play. Nurses need to recognise when a play referral should be made as well as making the most of all opportunities to participate in play with their patients.

A Plan for Play is an Eye View Series Report, published by The Children's Alliance. The Eye view Series Reports are authoritative ‘single issue’ studies designed for everyone to learn from and understand – from politicians to professionals, locally and nationally – and of course, parents and carers. The Plan for Play calls for children's play to be prioritised in primary schools, for school staff to receive training on the subject of play and for it to be prioritised beyond the EYFS. The report calls for ring-fenced funding for play, ensuring sufficient opportunities for play across all Local Authority areas, for play to be identified as a protected characteristic within the Equality Act 2010 and for all children to be able to fulfil their right to play when sick, in accordance with the NICE (2012) guidance

Exploring how practitioners make use of play’s developmental benefits and therapeutic healing properties to aid the child’s healthcare journey, this reflective book expands and enhances the knowledge base underlying the practice of play in hospitals. The work of health play specialists and child life specialists in hospitals in the UK and around the world requires a deep level of clinical knowledge, so that preparing children for procedures can be done with skill and precision. It builds on an understanding of both child development and the impact of traumatic experiences so that children’s deepest fears and biggest emotions can be faced without flinching. It also relies on an acceptance that play is the foundation of everything – the child’s safest, most natural space – and from this trust, strength and resilience can grow and be nurtured. This new edited text explores the breadth, depth and skills of these trained healthcare practitioners providing play for babies, children, young people and adults, and places the power of play squarely at the centre of most clinical settings. Its starting point of the theory that underpins practice is explored and developed through a combination of reflective essays, case study chapters from the UK and around the world, and the newly emerging use of play in diverse settings. Drawing on the collective work of over 30 play specialists, child life specialists, play service managers, lecturers and researchers, this book is unique in all it offers to paediatric practitioners and settings, in training and in practice. It is an important resource for healthcare play specialists, playworkers, children’s nurses, occupational therapists and more.

To determine the number of programme specifications which cite play within the curriculum and in what context. Play is an essential part of childhood. Therefore we might expect nurses caring for children to be trained in how to facilitate play within their clinical areas. Programme specifications provide information on course aims, the intended learning outcomes and what the learner is expected to achieve.

Under direction from the Nursing Midwifery Council, nurse education is becoming more generic. With an increasing adult focus there is a risk and concern that issues relevant to children’s nursing may become diluted or removed altogether. When a child is hospitalised, play becomes an important link to home. It is a way they can take control of what is potentially a very painful and distressing time for them. There is concern that children’s nurses may not be taught to assess and plan for the children’s play needs - a key part of being able to provide holistic nursing care.  The aim was to investigate the education which pre-registration children’s nurses receive in play in both academic and clinical arenas. To achieve this three research questions were identified. First what experiences of play do pre-registration children’s nurses have whilst out on clinical placement? Secondly what are pre-registration children’s nurses taught in university concerning play? Third, what education in play would pre-registration children’s nurses like to receive to prepare them for their clinical role?  A mixed methods design was utilised. Programme specifications and focus groups have been examined using inductive content analysis and thematic analysis. This was the first time that both programme specifications have been examined, and the opinions and experiences of student children’s nurses around play researched.  Concerning programme specifications, only 17% cite play. Those that do, make clear links between play and communication and distraction. They do not contain any reference to therapeutic play or the benefits which play in hospital can bring. Focus group discussion centred around two main categories, ‘play within hospital’ and ‘education needs.’  Recommendations are made around a number of areas: the content of teaching of play within the curriculum, placement documentation, increased nurse’s awareness of the importance of play, parents being supported to play with their children in hospital, and the importance and use of the hospital playroom.