Playwork goes to school: professional (mis)recognition and playwork practice in primary school

Abstract

The article considers some of the key contemporary challenges facing playwork professionals in England when working in interagency and inter-professional contexts, specifically in English primary schools. This paper is based on a small-scale qualitative evaluation of a pilot play project situated within a primary school in a large English town. By drawing on broader debates within sociological literature and interview and observational data, this paper provides insights into the gendered, classed and interprofessional discourses that are in play within a new phase of the austere economic and occupational public sector landscape. Drawing on concepts of ‘misrecognition’, the authors’ explore issues of professional power, the process of professionalisation and how aspects such as gender and status shape contemporary inter-professional dynamics in schools and playwork contexts.

Keywords:

• Playwork
• professionalism
• misrecognition, role models
• inter-professional culture
• austerity

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the anonymous reviewers for their very helpful and supportive comments on earlier drafts of this paper. Thanks are also due to the participant and agencies involved in the study and to our colleague, Dr Simon Bradford for insightful discussion about the nature of professionalism and playwork and comments on earlier versions of the manuscript. All errors remain our own.

Notes

1. Playwork is recognised to a greater or lesser extent in the UK, Ireland, Denmark, and across other European contexts as well as Australia and the USA (see Miller and Almon 2009).

2. At the time of writing, there is only one undergraduate degree course in the UK for those wishing to enter playwork. Many practitioners are now trained via a limited number of competence based vocational routes and ‘on the job’ training.

3. In a 2014 report, between2010–2013 62% of councils reported cuts in playwork staffing with 22% stated that they no longer employ any play staff (CYP Now 2014).

4. The term ‘gifted and talented’ is itself ambiguous but is used within English school policy for schools to identify pupils with abilities above their age group in academic or practical areas. Schools are tasked to provide more challenging opportunities for children identified as such.