Social Issues

My political ambitions are modest, so I have the luxury of being able to say pretty much what I like, damn the consequences. Today I’m going to take the following controversial and unpopular stance:

Bristol City Council does not need a play strategy, and neither do children.

Admittedly I have to assume this is unpopular and controversial, as whenever I’ve explained to people that the council employs Play Workers (£19-21k per annum), Play Work Apprentices and spends a lot of time and money developing and operating a Play policy, the response has universally been surprise that one can make a career out of this.

Well, you can. And as with all non-statutory government interventions there are both non-job opportunities out in the field and plenty of work for graphics designers and web designers.

Bristol’s distinct “Play” website is Go Places to Play, which contains an excellent template introduction for any bit of non-statutory public expenditure':

Bristol has a rich tradition of children’s play which is provided by many organisations and partnerships investing in play throughout the city, including Bristol City Council which hosts over 150 children’s playgrounds and four adventure playgrounds.

More than thirty playgrounds across the city are currently benefitting from a massive £2.5m cash windfall which was awarded to the council from the government’s Play Pathfinder initiative – find out here how local communities can have their say and contribute throughout this three year development to their local playgrounds

Let’s break that down to reveal the basic structure:

{region} has a rich tradition of {activity} which is provided by many organisations and partnerships investing in {activity} throughout the {region}, including {cash recipient} which hosts {item summary}.

More than {item summary} across {region} are currently benefitting from {cash figure} awarded to {cash recipient} from {grant broker} – find out here how {end user} can {link to comments page} throughout this {duration} development to {activity}.

After you read a few press releases and policy documents you start to see the same pattern. As with all political language, it is considered bad form within organisations to ask fiddly question such as “What is a rich tradition?” or “Is taxpayers’ money received from central government really a windfall?”.

I’m going to quote some stuff from the Council’s Play Policy verbatim, so on the assumption that people will stop reading as the fog fills their brain, I’ll put in the useful information first.

This new bit of press activity and web design relates to a small proportion of Bristol’s “play space”, specifically the bits on which the Council are spending £2.5 million of borrowed money. So the maps don’t show all the other areas where you can dump the kids for a bit.

Just in Central Bristol, these include:

• St Paul’s Adventure Playground (near Riverside Park where the Police propose to move the street drinkers currently on Turbo Island)
• Clifton & Durdham Downs
• Redland Playground (by the Railway Bridge)
• Redland Chapel Green
• The last bits of Redland Green, subject to drainage
• St Andrew’s Park (technically in Redland Ward)
• College Green (although the goths might make your kids depressed)
• The Playground in the residential area nr Clarence Place (with bollards painted like Grenadier Guardsmen)
• Millennium Square (with analemma visible from space)
• Lloyds Plaza (if the kids are skaterboarders)
• Fremantle Square (bit small, but it is grass)
• Castle Park (including St Peter’s and a kid’s playground, although watch out for needles at the latter). [Note – I’d always though the church in Castle Park was called Temple Church, but actually it’s St Peter’s, so I’ve been getting it wrong for years. Temple is a bit further south and was largely destroyed in WW2, but the shell still remains). Thanks to Chris Hutt for the correction.
• Queen Square

There are probably a few more in the area that I haven’t mentioned, plus the libraries.

View Playgrounds in Bristol in a larger map

Back to the Play Policy then. I have no enthusiasm to critique this in detail, but I offer it up to you as a reminder of the sort of marginally productive activity that passes for work in this particular branch of the public sector.

Why we should have a play policy

consistency of principles - a play policy identifies an agreed set of principles and definitions about play and its value for children’s well being and development.

[Agreed by who? Parents already “value” play.]

focus on children and young people - a play policy provides the context in which the focus can be shifted from existing institutions and practice to the needs of children and young people, creating the possibility of change, innovation, and long term development.

[Wtf? Change what? who is focussing? What institutions?]

transparency - a play policy clarifies the purposes of provision for providers, service users, funders and regulators.

local commitment - the process of creating a policy unlocks local interest and energy and creates commitment to services; children and young people, parents, carers and local communities get involved.

[really? Parents need their interest in “play” “unlocked”? to create “energy”. If they ever put a tax on quotation marks I’ll be in trouble]

a necessary first step - a play policy is essential for identifying service objectives and planning strategies.

[This one sounds fairly sensible, although I reckon you could fit it all on one sheet of A4, even if you have big writing]

a basis for quality - quality has no meaning unless it is related to the specified purposes of the services and provision; the purposes are themselves justified in the terms of the policy.

[I always thought “quality” was defined by reference to the customer, not to the provider, but then perhaps I’ve spent too much time in the private sector]

a foundation for safety practice - without the framework of a policy, and the practice which is derived from it, providers will have difficulty in determining what is appropriate safety practice and in demonstrating that they have acted reasonably where negligence becomes an issue.

[Clearly common sense and parental responsibility are not enough]

a framework for the allocation of resources - a play policy provides the rationale for an allocation of resources which can be explained and justified both in relation to competing claims from other services and to the public. Children and young people benefit from expenditure being more accurately targeted to their needs and wishes.

[OK, so that’s two sheets of A4, in big writing]

consistency between training and practice - the commitment to common principles specified in the play policy provides the link between service and practice development locally and the national standards for playwork education and training and the professional development of playworkers.

[The first step to creating a new profession is raising the barriers of entry]

Last thought – the important thing to remember about websites like http://www.goplacestoplay.org.uk is that they exist for no reason other than to provide screen shots for civil servants making power point presentations. If you’re responsible for giving millions of pounds of someone else’s money away, you’ve got to have something to use when arranging the ministerial visit.