Post pandemic, many of us have been thinking carefully about children’s wellbeing and learning. There have been reports about school attendance levels dropping and an increase in mental health issues. This has been against a backdrop of the cost-of-living crisis, increasing demand for SEND provision, more children coming into care, and, in recent weeks, a concerning number of young people being involved in civil disorder. If ever there was a time to think differently, right?
My journey started with a visit to a local family centre facilitating a Dungeons and Dragons game with a group of neurodiverse children.
Very quickly I was immersed into a magical world where dragons were flying alongside trolls and elves in a fantasy realm. The story was immersive and spellbinding. We learned about new skills and threats as we threw various sided dice to determine our fate. The creativity and imagination that the group was sharing was enthralling, with comedic moments, perilous encounters, and philosophical musings.
Each of the seven young players were struggling to achieve their full potential in their school environments – and yet in this imaginative setting they had created, they were thriving. And by thriving, I mean they were studying the background material to understand the setting of the story and their characters, they were embracing the numeracy skills required to determine actions and consequences, they were co-operating with each other to ensure the group had the best chance for success, and they were constantly problem-solving as they encountered challenging situations. I was captivated – not just in the game, but by the benefits of gaming for these young people.
With a bit of research, I discovered a wealth of evidence highlighting the benefits of tabletop role-playing games in promoting numeracy and literacy skills, creativity and collaboration, and confidence, resilience and problem-solving – and of course, having fun!
Inspired by our seven imaginative young adventurers, we decided to test the local appetite for a games-library, making games available to loan and hosting events to lure some of our adolescents off their devices and into our libraries.
There is a strong body of evidence that play makes us smarter, more adaptable, and keeps us open to possibilities. Very quickly, we were being introduced to a whole community of games-lovers, willing to guide us on our journey into new adventures, where thinking differently is actively encouraged and embraced. Working with staff in a local games shop, we are creating new ways to talk about rules and boundaries with groups of primary school children struggling to focus.
We are developing creative ways to engage with young offenders about expectations and consequences, and we have a list of children signed up to become ‘young dragons’, ready to embrace new skills to explore new lands and tell some awesome stories.
We now have more than 350 games ready to borrow and three-quarters of them are loaned at any one time. There are also games groups running at local primary and secondary schools, and we have young people regularly coming into our libraries. It’s early days, but seeing young people come back each week to continue their adventures is really encouraging. Our next ambition is to get more parents and carers involved in these new projects, engaging them directly in the games so that they see the benefits in creating more opportunities to play and have fun.
It may seem strange, but tabletop games are bringing a new joy to my role as director of children’s services. As we navigate a changing world, I am learning new skills to embrace the new challenges ahead.
Sarah Newman is the executive director of children’s services for Westminster and Kensington and Chelsea.
