Professionalising the Playwork workforce
Playworkers, like many sections of the children's workforce, have no professional body for practitioners. They have no independent voice and no organisational structure they can belong to that would set standards, establish their identity, support their professional development and campaign for improved terms and conditions. At SkillsActive we are committed to working towards the establishment of such a professional body called the Institute of Working with Children and Young People.
The Institute will provide practitioners with a record of their achievement, CPD support, career development, information, advice and guidance, involvement in strategic decision making and a lobby for better terms and conditions. For employers it will provide assurance that employees are suitably trained and qualified and have made a commitment to ongoing professional development. For parents it will provide confidence in the quality of the workers that provide for their children.
Integral to the Institute is for every member to hold an activepassport™ and we launched this on the 5 March 2008 at the Out2Play conference at Lords Cricket Ground. Every member will wish to have a readily accessible record of their achievement which is transferable wherever they live and work in the UK and can last throughout their whole career. An activepassport™ provides this. The activepassport™ for playwork is going to hugely benefit the workforce. By creating an accessible system of recording and verification the passport will assist the employer and practitioner in developing skills and knowledge and contribute to greater confidence for parents and carers. As we raise the investment needed to establish the Institute, playworkers can now purchase a passport for the very reasonable sum of £10. We also have a limited number of half price passports for those employers who wish to pilot the active passport for their staff.
The activepassport™ for playwork enables us to start the important process of facilitating a very useful tool for the sector and at the same time building the future membership of the Institute of Working with Children and Young People.
Benefits for employees:
· Being one of the first to join the new professional body of playworkers
· Having a transferable record of skills, with mobility across the children's workforce and other professions
· Having a secure, accurate and transferable record of your qualifications, training and development
· A career tool that lets you set goals and manage your development
· Costs just £10 and can be purchased by you and your employers.
Benefits for employers:
· A public statement of your commitment to a professional workforce
· Supports employee career development, professional mobility within your organisation and a worry free recruitment
· Provides quality play provision through highly motivated, supported and committed staff
· A verified record of employees skills and training to be utilised throughout their career
Play Wales are piloting the activepassport™ for playwork with their staff; they will also be working with other groups to support implementation of further pilots in Wales.
For more information, go to www.skillsactive.com and www.activepassport.com
April 2008
