annualreview2005

• Chief Executive Report 02

• Chairperson Report 04

• Treasurer Report 05

• All About PlayBoard 05

• Projects 08

Out 2 Play 08

Out Of School Hours Learning 08

PlayCare 10

Training 11

Finance & Monitoring 12

Reclaiming PlaySpace 13

Positive Playgrounds 13

Peace Through Music 14

• PlayBoard Resources 14

• PlayDay(s) 15

• SCOPE Awards 16

Board of Directors List 17

Funders & Sponsers 17

20 Years Celebrating Childrens Play (commemorative pullout)

Past - Present - Future

Contents

“It is playing and only in playing that the child…is able to becreative and to use the whole personality, and it is only inbeing creative that the individual discovers the self”Winnicott (undated)

Supported and nurtured by the contributions of past and

present staff and Chief Executives, PlayBoard has grown from

strength to strength and is celebrating 20 years of promoting

the Child’s Right to Play. It is therefore a great honour for me

to have been appointed the 5th Chief Executive of PlayBoard,

and especially poignant in our big birthday year. It is my

intention to safeguard the legacy inherited, by continuing to

lobby, advocate and promote children’s rights, especially for

their right to play.

There have been many achievements, accolades and goodbyes

since our last annual review. However, I cannot begin to

acknowledge any of these without first recognising and

applauding the endeavours of Marguerite Hunter Blair,

outgoing Chief Executive. Marguerite’s dedication, drive and

tenacity have moved the agency into uncharted waters,

firmly placing PlayBoard on the strategic map as a key

sectorial player.

I am delighted to start my tenure with the agency on a high

note. Over the summer the agency was the recipient of the

Scope Awards that recognise the Voluntary and Community

sector’s resources, publications and communication strategies.

We were delighted to be placed either first or runner up in a

number of categories, but the pinnacle was achieving overall

winner in the large voluntary organisation section.

PlayBoard continues to grow and develop, and I look forward

in the coming months to a number of new and exciting

initiatives. ‘Reclaiming Play Space’ began in July with the

appointment of Louise Tohill. In the early autumn our

‘Promoting Positive Playgrounds’ project shall be launched.

This initiative will work in partnership with schools to develop

appropriate playtimes for children and will complement the

new ‘Full Service Schools’ initiative, which is currently being

explored and piloted by DENI. The agency is working in

collaboration with DENI to ensure that the existing quality

community and voluntary play provision for School-aged

Childcare is incorporated into any future Full Service

School Initiative.

The agency warmly welcomes the appointment of Lord Rooker,

Northern Ireland’s first Children’s Minister. We were delighted

that Lord Rooker chose PlayBoard’s Play Day on August 10th

to perform his first formal engagement. After a year of

intense lobbying and media coverage profiling the financial

instability within school age childcare, we were extremely

pleased when Lord Rooker pledged his support for the sector.

I believe his promise to secure funding to safeguard its future,

has been instrumental in brokering a funding commitment for

the sector in the new finaiancal year. Having a champion for

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children within Government just as the new ‘R Wld 2’ 10 year

strategy for children and young people is about to be

launched, represents a significant watershed in the ongoing

campaign to ensure the rights of all children and young people

are upheld. We look forward to building relationships and

partnerships with the Minister’s administration.

Additionally, we also welcome the commitment to a regional

Play Policy for Northern Ireland, reflected in the priorities of

the Commissioner for Children and Young People’s office

(NICCY). PlayBoard has recently worked in partnership with

Newtownabbey Borough Council to review and develop their

existing Play Policy. We look forward to supporting both NICCY

and other councils in the development of future policies

on play.

Throughout the year, on behalf of, and in partnership with our

membership, we contributed to a number of consultation

documents. These have included the new Children and Young

Peoples strategy ‘R Wrld 2’, ‘Children First Review’, ‘Review of

Public Administration’ and ‘Youth Strategy’ New TSN.

Furthermore we endorsed a number of responses submitted

by CINI on behalf of all children’s organisations.

Working in partnership is a key component of our work and

this year the agency has nurtured and forged a number of

relationships, to name but a few - the four Childcare

Partnerships, TWN, YouthNet, PlayDale, CYWU and further a

field Skills Active and the 4 Nations Play Policy Forum. We

welcome the new sector skills council for Care and

Development and hope to establish a working relationship in

the future.

In reflecting on the past year’s achievements, I commend the

staff team for their motivation, commitment and

professionalism in what was an exciting, diverse, rewarding

and sometimes challenging period. I would also like to

acknowledge the leadership and strategic vision of the board

of directors whose support and guidance has been invaluable.

This year we said fond farewells to a number of staff Suzi Gray

‘Training and Quality Manager’, Janette McKnight ‘Finance

Manager’ and Joan McGrath ‘Quality Assurance Officer’. We

wish them all well in their new employment.

In drawing to a close I would like to thank our membership for

their continued support, and to commend and congratulate

the quality improvements within the play sector.

Thirteen projects have attained PlayBoard’s ‘Fit 4 Play’ award

and a further ten projects have attained ‘Pathways to

Excellence’ quality assurance status, ‘Well Done everyone and

Happy Birthday PlayBoard.

Jacqueline O’LoughlinChief Executive

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Once upon a time there were 6 Blind Men of Indostan who

were introduced to an elephant. One caught hold of the tail

and said it was a rope, another felt the side of the elephant

and thought it was like a wall, another grabbed the trunk and

mistook it for a snake, a fourth thought the leg reminded him

of a tree, while another felt the tusk and thought it was a

spear, the final man felt the elephants ear and said it was like

a fan. Of course none of them described the elephant properly

because everyone experienced a different part of it.

Over the past twenty years PlayBoard has grown to fulfil a

number of roles. Many people may think PlayBoard is primarily

a lobbying tool for mainstream money and Peace funding.

Others may focus on the valuable role we play in regard to

training and quality assurance. Some will see us as an IFB,

administering and monitoring funding. Still others will

acknowledge how our ‘Fit for Play’ and ‘Reclaiming Play

Space’ projects contribute to promoting health and well being

in children and young people. Many will have experience of the

support and development we give to the Out of School

Childcare Sector and of the complimentary resources we

produce. As we look our task is to ensure that no one is blind

to what we do in the big picture. The many parts to our

organisation all work towards our primary goal - to promote

children’s right to play.

We are supported in working towards that goal by a team of

dedicated and highly motivated staff, many who have worked

as Playworkers themselves.

We are also supported by Playworkers who we can call on to

support our lobbying and to speak out in support of their

sector. Our Board of Directors has a range of skills and abilities

but also have a heart for children and play. All have worked

hard this year to keep play on everyone’s agenda.

A word of thanks to Marguerite Hunter Blair, who has led

PlayBoard over the past 4 years. No one, except perhaps her

family, will ever be aware of the full extent of the effort she

put in as Chief Executive. Her passion for play fuelled her in

the fight to carry forward our Mission Statement. Marguerite is

a champion of children’s play issues and we know she will

continue to be an advocate. We wish her and her family well in

the future.

Finally, a word of welcome to our new Chief Executive,

Jacqueline O’Loughlin, who has slipped seamlessly into the

role. Jacqui is also passionate about play and with her as

‘mahout’* she will lead PlayBoard further along the path to

successfully growing, developing, equipping and ensuring a

long term future for the sector.

Barbara Mc Ilwrath*Someone who drives an elephant!

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I would like to take this opportunity to extend a huge thank

you to all PlayBoard staff, but especially PlayBoard's Finance

Team for ensuring excellence in all of the agencies financial

and business acumen and their compliance with relevant

legislation and financial regulation requirements. Additionally

I would once again this year like to say thank you our Auditors

Grant Thornton, in particular David Hall and Andrew Ervine

whose support for the organisation has been exceptional.

This year the agency celebrates 20 years of promoting the

child’s right to play, and in many ways we still face the same

old financial challenges! PlayBoard continues to grow and

develop and over the years the agency has become adept in

attracting funding for new and exciting play projects and

developments. However the Board of Directors would like to

move the agency to a more secure core funded position,

becoming less dependant on short term funding streams. As

treasurer, it is my duty to ensure the coming year priortises

the quest for financial stability for the organisation.

Many thanks to all our funders, sponsors and partners, your

interest, support and dedication to PlayBoard is valued and

much appreciated.

David Raymond

"Changing the child's world through play"

PlayBoard is the lead agency for children's play in

Northern Ireland, working to improve the quality of

children's lives by increasing their opportunity to play.

PlayBoard – who we are:

PlayBoard is a voluntary organisation set up 20 years ago to

support and develop the out of school play needs for school

aged children and young people in Northern Ireland. The

agency has grown and expanded and is now the lead agency

for the development of play for children and young people

throughout Ireland.

PlayBoard advocates the benefits of play, highlighting the

importance and impact of free time activities. The agency

strives to improve the quality of and promote the benefits of

play experiences, as well as, highlighting the consequences of

play deprivation in local communities. We do so by lobbying,

advocating and influencing relevant existing and emergent

policy. This approach is reflected in our Mission Statement

‘Working for the Child’s Right to Play’.

PlayBoard exists to promote, create and develop quality play

opportunities, through three strategic key functions:

Tackling Play Deprivation in the Community

Supporting Quality Out of School PlayCare provision

Workforce Development of the Playwork sector

Treasurer report

Strategic Support:

PlayBoard is proud to offer strategic support to various

partners as we aim to create, support and sustain services for

school aged children and young people.

We work alongside Local Childcare Partnerships, Social

Services, interested agencies and other organisations to

develop effective solutions and to build best practice for play

provision ensuring that local needs are assessed and met.

By working with others, we develop forward thinking strategies

to create integrated approaches to a broader range of play

services.

Most recently we have been working in partnership with the

Northern Ireland Commissioner for Children and Young People

(NICCY) to develop Play & Recreation Priorities identified in

the Commissioners research.

PlayBoard represents Northern Ireland on a number of

National Forums including the Four Nations Play Forum,

Children’s Play Policy Forum and we also represent NI on the

European Network for School Age Childcare.

Capacity Building:

The agency is a membership organisation, with affiliates

drawn from the voluntary, community, statutory,

private and education sectors, as well as individual

playworkers and students.

We Promote quality for the play sector through our ‘Pathways

to PlayCare’ Quality Assurance Programme.

We are striving to building workforce capacity.

We Provide strategic advice and support to providers and

would be providers on establishing sustainable playcare

enterprises.

Projects & Development:

PlayBoard has a range of innovative projects which aim to

enrich the experiences of children and young people and to

develop the opportunities for the Playwork workforce.

Playboard are constantly involved with the creation and

implementation of exciting new initiatives and projects.

Out 2 Play – developed to highlight the importance of outdoor

physical play.

PlayCare - Out of school provision supporting employment &

training for women.

OOSHL – enabling children to play & learn in fun filled

environments!

Regional Networks – a forum for play providers to meet to

discuss current issues.

Finance & Monitoring – working with play projects to

encourage sustainability.

Reclaiming PlaySpace – play in safe, open spaces for children.

Positive Playgrounds – working with schools to develop

positive PLAY opportunities in schools and

school playgrounds.

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Consultancy Services:

PlayBoard Consultancy Services provides expert advice on

play and out of school care throughout the UK and

Southern Ireland.

This has included:

Play Needs In Hospitals;

Business Planning for Out of School Clubs;

Play Policy and Strategy Implementation;

Setting up of play spaces.

PlayBoard Consultancy Services provide expert advice and the

strategic support to turn policy into best practice. We offer a

comprehensive service to voluntary, statutory, education and

private sector employers and departments.

Consultancies are tailored to suit individual requests.

PlayBoard Training Department:

The Training Department can tailor and deliver sessions to

meet your individual needs and requirements.

Existing training offered includes:

Play for All Out 2 Play

Games not Names Food 4 Play

Play Development Addressing disability in Play

Half Day Courses Accredited Courses

Top Play / Active Clubs Positive Playgrounds.

Quality Assurance:

Pathways to Excellence - PlayBoard’s accredited quality

assurance scheme illustrates a commitment to quality within

the playwork sector. It can be used as a self assessment

quality tool within any play setting and 2 levels of quality can

be achieved. Mentoring and support is available to all those

participating.

Schools Development:

PlayBoard has had many years experience in advising schools

on Play Development, play in school strategies and the

advantages of play development in school playgrounds.

Recently through it’s ‘Out of School Hours Learning project’

PlayBoard has encouraged and enabled relationships to

develop between primary schools and local play providers.

This has allowed children the opportunities to learn through

play in fun environments.

This work compliments new government initiatives such as

Full Service Schools (Extended Schools) and is allowing

PlayBoard opportunities to develop school links and

developments further.

Information & Library Services:

PlayBoard has a range of services offered to members through

its Information Department. @Play Magazine (3 per year),

Quarterly newsletter keeping you up to date on all play news,

a wide range of publications and resources including the

Pathways to Playcare PlayBox a must for all afterschool

provision. We also have a small library for members to access.

Employers:

Recent government legislation on flexible working patterns,

parental leave and work-life balance has led to the increase in

demand for quality play opportunities for children. PlayBoard

has experience in working with employers and businesses

offering specialist advice on the Setting up out of out of

school playclubs, advising on working tax credits and on

investing in the work-life balance of employees.

PlayDays:

Children and young people are at the very core of everything

that PlayBoard does! We are delighted each year to take part

in and organise ‘PlayDay’ a national event celebrating

children’s play.

Room Hire:

PlayBoard has a large bright fully equipped Training Suite

ideal for large groups (Max 60 people) and a smaller Meeting

Room (max 15 people) available for hire. We can cater for

morning, afternoon or evening sessions and have fully

accessible disabled facilities.

PlayBoard Insurance:

PlayBoard offer competitive insurance rates to Out

of School Provision.

FIT FOR PLAY

The Fit For Play Award which has been designed to help tackle

the obesity crisis affecting the children in today's society is

proving to be very popular in the Playwork Sector. The

message of getting children outside

to play has finally hit home and

PlayBoard has even travelled to

Scotland this year to deliver ‘Out 2

Play’ Training.

The programme which aims to

improve the long term health and

well-being of children integrates

physical activity and nutrition and

fully supports and promotes the

development of healthy lifestyles

amongst our children.

OUT OF SCHOOL HOURS LEARNING

Over 1500 children have been able to access fun learning

activities through PlayBoards ‘Out of School Hours Learning’

Initiative. The initiative which is funded through the Big

Lottery Fund and Esmee Fairbairn Foundation allows schools

and play providers to work in partnership to deliver high

quality play programmes for children.

Children attending the Out of School Hours Learning projects

have had yet another successful and exciting year. Schools

and Play Projects continue to offer fun learning activities for

the children taking part.

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This year the children from all of the projects were able to

take part in a wonderful weekend residential aimed at

developing their friendships and celebrating their own

individual achievements.

Angela Stallard who co-ordinates the iniatitive reports;

“The weekend which was held in The Share Centre in

Lisnaskea began on Friday evening when the children were

given the opportunity to ‘chill out’ and to get to know

one another. I was amazed at how quickly the children

made friendships with such ease and curiosity.

Saturday morning got off to a bright early (8am)

start when the projects gathered for breakfast

and a rota was drawn up for clearing and

washing dishes, which amused many of the

children!!

After breakfast the children (and adults) were

taken to their chosen activity for the morning

session. On offer was wall climbing, canoeing,

sailing, cruising or modroc. Children were

interested in all of these activities and I was glad to see

a good mix taking part in each. This morning session

lasted 21/2 hours and some very tired and wet children

(especially those canoeing) returned to base happy

but exhausted!

Following lunch the children were again split according to their

chosen activity – kayking, windsurfing, archery, fuzzball, and

sailing. Again the group mixing was

perfect. I had fun watching the

children windsurfing try to stay out of

the water – a skill a few of them

managed by the end of the session. I

was also intrigued by ‘fuzzball’ which

was like a giant sized football table

where the children were the players.

The children really enjoyed this!

After a BBQ dinner the projects gathered at ‘The Haven’

for Group Presentations. This was fun! We were

entertained in various ways: the traveller children

sang and taught us an old folklore song, children

from Glen Parent and Youth taught us a ‘shopping

game’ which encouraged group participation, the

children from Manor Street who forgot their pre-

prepared picture board told us about the area in

which they lived and then told us a poem. Playworkers

accompanied the Focus on Family children who sang

us a song about their after school group, played the

guitar (which they learnt at their ooshl project) and

recited us a poem. Finally, nerves got the better of the

children from Strathroy and they declined from presenting for

us. However one of the children did some disco dancing for us

later in the evening. Well done to all the boys and girls!

Swimming in the beautiful indoor swimming pool was next

where some children told me they had never been in a pool

before! One little boy (who was nine) tried desperately to

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learn the art of swimming once he had

been given a set of armbands by the

swimming guard. This was something

he had never experienced.

The highlight of the day had to be the disco when the

children really came to their own! The style (and make-up) was

something else as was the dancing skills. Adults and

playworkers eagerly joined in the dancing and lots of

friendships were made.

On Sunday morning following breakfast activities got

underway. These included; canoeing, t-shirt printing, go-

karting, climbing wall and due to its popularity yesterday

fuzzball was offered again. The children, who were by this

stage probably worn out, relished taking part in the activities

and go-karting had to be the most popular choice – it ran over

time just to let everyone have a turn.

The weekend concluded with lunch and evaluations.

Statements from children like “can we not stay another day?”

proves how much the children enjoyed themselves.

Feedback from all of the projects has been fantastic. Children

benefited fully from all that was on offer and storybooks,

scrapbooks and photographs have all been used to record the

children’s memories.

Thank you to The Big Lottery Fund who funded this

superb weekend.”

THE PLAYCARE INITIATIVE

The PlayCare Initiative which is now in its 10th year continues

to deliver high quality child centred PlayCare provision across

Northern Ireland. The Initiative is funded under Measure 1.5.

Economic renewal – Positive Action for Women, EU

programme for Peace & Reconciliation. Currently 91 projects

are being supported through this Initiative.

Providing continuous support to all PlayBoard members

and representation on relevant forums, the PlayCare team

continue to lobby for core funding, professional status and

quality for school aged childcare.

PlayCare training and development staff support and assist

clubs towards sustainability by co-ordinating best practice

activities including:

• Management capacity building

• Developing resources to meet project needs

• Introduction and implementation of the accredited Quality

Assurance Scheme, Pathways to Excellence

• Cross Community Networking

• Promotion of Equality of Opportunity and Anti

Discrimination within the PlayCare Sector

• Anti-Sectarian Training

• Play Development and Co-ordinators training

• Team Building Days

• Development of cluster groups with a cross

community/cultural focus

• Children’s Committees

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The PlayCare Team have continued to support projects

through either direct or indirect contact i.e. 1-1 meetings,

quality assurance mentoring, telephone contact, information

sharing, delivery of training and attendance at

network meetings.

The PlayCare team have also responded to numerous

consultations and facilitated consultation events relevant to

the PlayCare sector over the past twelve months:

• The Review of Children First

• The Young Peoples Fund

• The Big Lottery Priorities

• ‘R Wrld 2’

• ‘Consulting with Staff, Parents and Children’ WCP

• Skills Active Playwork Training and Development Strategy

- Review of the Minimum Standards

TRAINING UPDATE

A number of training events have been running throughout

the province with great success. A mix of play providers, social

workers and management committee members from all board

areas across Northern Ireland have availed of training which

has included:

Play Development Training

This training which is broken down into four sections enables

Playworkers to look at play, examine the role of the

playworker, plan programmes for play and finally to examine

the role of the Play co-ordinator. During this course we look at

underpinning legislation, playwork values and assumptions

alongside the new Playwork Principles. Opportunity is also

given to consider the different play types.

Summer Scheme Training

A number of play providers requested training this year on the

topic of ‘Summer Schemes’. Sessions were delivered according

to needs and included planning for summer schemes, use of

and induction for volunteers, venue ideas, legislation and

management of schemes.

Games not Names

We had a huge uptake this year on our ‘Games Not Names’

training. The two day course examines language, myths and

stereotypes within the context of antidiscriminatory and anti-

bias practice.

Quotes from participants include:

“I now know the importance for children to have a freedom

of choice and should have a choice what to participate in.

“It made me more aware of providing games that all children

can participate in plus legislation that is involved and how it

affects the workplace”.

“We have put a lot of our knowledge we learnt into our daily

practice and has enabled us to extend play with games we

have learnt!”

“I enjoyed the discussions that took place”

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Training Sessions can be tailored to suit individual needs and

requirements. Sessions can be delivered at a venue of your

choice, onsite or at PlayBoards training Suite. Contact

PlayBoard for further details.

UK Strategy for Playwork Education & Training

Playboard welcomes the opportunity to be working with Skills

Active to develop a strategy for Playwork Education and

Training across the UK.

This, the first UK strategy is currently being circulated for

comment within the sector and it combines a ten year vision

alongside a five year strategic plan. The aim of the strategy is

to improve the quality and range of play opportunities for

children and young people through the support and

development of education, training and qualifications for an

estimated 120,000 playworkers in the UK.

PlayBoard believes that developing education and training is

essential to the delivery of quality play services. The UK

Strategy will be important for realising the potential of

playworkers entering the profession and is especially vital as it

is envisaged that the number of playworkers needed in the

sector will grow rapidly over coming years.

FINANCE & MONITORING

The Finance Department within PlayBoard continues to

support the Chief Executive, The Board of Directors and the

Project Managers within to identify, and monitor sources of

income for the organisation and its members. One of our

main functions is to ensure that PlayBoard has open and

transparent accounting systems for all income and

expenditure.

We were very sad this year to say goodbye to our Finance

Manager Janette McKnight who has moved on to pastures

new. We would like to extend our gratitude to Janette, for her

hard work and commitment to the organisation during the

time that she was with us.

The Finance and Monitoring Team continues to support

PlayBoard in its status as an Intermediary Funding Body. This

year the team has forged a consortia partnership with our

colleagues TWN (Training for Women Network). This allowed

us to secure the tender for ‘Measure 1.5’ funding, under the

Peace 11 Extension Programme. The consortia opened a call

for applications in July 2005 and we anticipate that decisions

on successful grant applications will be announced before the

end of 2005. Good Luck to all projects in their applications.

The Team would like to acknowledge the hospitality and

openness that we have been afforded whilst working with

projects across the region finalising current funding awards.

We would like to wish all of our projects continued success.

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'RECLAIMING PLAYSPACE'

This summer PlayBoard welcomed Louise Tohill to its staff

team. Louise employed as ‘Reclaiming Playspace

Co-ordinator’ is tasked with taking forward this exciting and

innovative project.

Targeting disadvantaged communities, the aim of the project

is to provide safe, fun play opportunities for children aged

between 4 and 12 years of age. It is a well known fact that

children are playing less and less outdoors and through the

use of a mobile play unit, PlayBoard plans to deliver quality

play opportunities for children at designated times within

specified areas. Children will be encouraged back out into

open spaces to enjoy their free time.

The Reclaiming PlaySpace project funded through The Big

Lottery Fund / Sports Council for Northern Ireland will initially

be be piloted throughout North Belfast.

POSITIVE PLAYGROUNDS

During the past year PlayBoard has been inundated with calls

and information requests from schools throughout the

province looking for advice on developing children’s play

within the context of the school environment.

We are delighted to be announcing the launch of our newest

project POSITIVE PLAYGROUNDS which has received funding

from The Esmee Fairbairn Foundation.

The funding will allow PlayBoard to develop and deliver a

training package for schools, teachers, lunchtime supervisors

and indeed children to develop play and play opportunities in

the school environment.

The training will include a mix of practical ideas and theory

and the children’s views and voices will form an intrinsic part

of the process.

We envisage that this exciting programme will transform

school playtimes and there will be no more excuses for boring

playtimes with bored children!

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PEACE THROUGH MUSIC’ PROJECT

The peace through music project was piloted in 2004, with the

Shropshire Music Foundation. PlayBoard recognising the

potential of music being used as a common denominator to

engage with children from different cultures and traditions has

developed this project in partnership with the “Kosovo

Children’s Music Initiative”. This Foundation has had many

years experience of working with children and young people in

high impact conflict areas such as Kosovo. The project pilot

consisted of a number of single identity and cross community

projects including projects from the Irish Language medium.

These projects came together twice a week over a twelve-

week period to learn a number of musical instruments and

singing techniques.

The project hopes to produce a CD combining music from both

the Kosovo and Belfast projects. In total 7 projects

participated with over 100 children availing of this opportunity.

Since the completion of the pilot the play projects have

continued to meet and have held summer projects together.

We look forward to a new and exciting programme re

commencing in the autumn.

LAUNCH OF PLAYBOARD RESOURCES

This year seen PlayBoard launch a number of

resources and this was celebrated back in

March at The Malone House, Belfast.

Games not Names For All

Designed to encourage practitioners to reflect

upon and examine the values that underpin and

inform their play provision. Delivered using a

play focus, practitioners are offered a safe

environment to develop anti-discriminatory

practice and to become aware of relevant

legislation.

Addressing Disability

This training course hopes to provide

Playworkers with an introduction to the practical

implications of including children with disabilities

into mainstream settings.

PlayBox

Pathways to PlayCare – a must for all play

providers. Contains high quality resources

such as sample policies and procedures,

recruitment and selection guidance, business

plans and staff appraisel formats.

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Green Gang

“Green Mean Fighting Machine”

This waste management resource

for children aims to develop

positive attitudes and approaches

to waste management. In

particular it highlights waste

reduction, recycling and re-use of

waste for children.

PlayBoard Website

An interactive informal website with all the information that

you need to know about PlayBoard…and more!!

Find us at

LET’S HEAR IT FOR PLAYDAY!

PlayBoard hosted not one but two fun filled

PlayDay Events this year.

Oxford Island in Craigavon and The People’s Park

in Ballymena were the venues this year and over

1000 children attended.

This was the 18th year of the National PlayDay

(nearly as old as PlayBoard) and the theme was

‘Fit for Play’. The theme chosen highlights, sadly,

how todays children’s inactivity contributes to the

rising levels of childhood obesity. A worrying thought.

Children at the events enjoyed activities such as face painting,

crafts, bouncy castle and inflatables, street entertainers,

traditional stories and songs, puppet making, duck feeding,

swing ball …the list goes on and on.

Thank you to everyone who attended and we look forward to

seeing you again next year!

“Active Play, especially outdoors, burnsmore calories than other forms of playhelping children keep fit.”

Play

Day

(s)www.playboard.org

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WELL DONE PLAYBOARD!

The awards, which are run annually for the community and voluntary sector, aim to recognise the high quality of communication

within several categories.

PlayBoard were delighted to be awarded:

PlayBoard have received recognition for their work through NICVA’s Scope Communication Awards

Overall Winner of the Large Organisation Category

Winner for the Annual Report Category

winner for the Publications Category

Runner-Up for its Training Materials

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BOARD OF DIRECTORS (SEPTEMBER 05)

Barbara McIlwrath – Chair

Ryan Williams – Vice Chair

David Raymond – Treasurer

Peter McCartney – Director

Francis Loughlin – Director

Glenn Moore – Director

FUNDERS AND SPONSORS

Youth Council for NI

Department of Employment and Learning

Proteus

Childcare Partnerships

Member fees

EUSSPPR

EU Programme for Peace & Reconciliation

New Opportunities Fund, The Big Lottery

Community Foundation NI

The Childhood Fund

Sports Council NI

Zurich

Esmee Fairbairn Foundation

‘Play for Peace Fund’ - Chairman Robert Buxton

CONTACT DETAILS

PlayBoard (Head Office)

59-65 York Street

Belfast

BT15 1AA

Tel: 028 9080 3380

Fax: 028 9080 3381

PlayBoard (Armagh Office)

1 College Street

Armagh

BT61 9BT

Tel: 028 3752 2330

PlayBoard (Rural Office)

Glenelly House

11 Main Street

Plumbridge

Omagh

BT90 8AA

Tel: 028 8164 8000

PlayBoard Website: www.playboard.org

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PlayBoard

Published by PlayBoard,

59-65 York Street,

Belfast BT15 1AA

Tel: 028 9080 3380

Fax: 028 9080 3381

Email: information@playboard.co.uk

Website: www.playboard.org

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