ABSTRACT
One of the particular trends in UK community development has been work with children. Sometimes this work is with younger teenagers on play schemes improving opportunities for personal expression and collective enjoyment in inner city settings. Other times it is focused on preschool-aged children and their parents, to support personal development, provide collective support to parents, and sometimes as a vehicle for developing a wider range of work on local issues.
Set in North Wales, this case study explores the needs and rights of children for play, the idea of ‘play sufficiency’ and how this can be created in a world that is adult-focused and increasingly controlled. As can be seen in the Priorities identified by this work, the idea of play, once researched and developed, leads to a broader range of community needs and the potential for wider community development. In particular the study discusses:
Children’s rights
Building a sense of place for families
Play space in adult controlled environments
The importance of local assessment, planning, monitoring and evaluation
In this case study the work is led by the local authority (it could, though, be developed by a local community-based organisation).
