'Quality Training, Quality Play 2006-2011' is a ten-year vision with a five-year action plan aimed at raising the status of playwork as a profession.
It has been jointly developed with the play sectors in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales and hopes to identify shared goals, common themes and mutual objectives. The document states, 'It is crucial that playwork employers establish a shared vision which will provide a foundation that allows them to work together within a strategic framework.'
SkillsActive's director of playwork, Paul Bonel, said it was a 'very exciting time'. But he warned, 'There are serious consequences if this strategy is not implemented: the impact of unqualified practitioners facilitating children's play and childcare; a reduction in the positive links that play can make to good physical and mental health; and a diminishing public understanding of the importance of play in children's lives.'
SkillsActive anticipates that by 2015 playwork will be a profession seen as central to provision for children and young people.