Fund play materials for social workers, campaigners urge

According to researchers, fewer than 20 per cent of social work practitioners currently use play resources during their work with children.

Academics claim that the materials are a "vital tool" for initiating contact and building trust.

Sussex University's professor of social work Gillian Ruch, one of the team members behind the Kitbag Campaign, acknowledged councils are cash-strapped, but suggested a relatively small outlay would bring bigger benefits.

Ruch said: "Appropriate child-centred materials are a vital tool for making initial contact with children and building up the required levels of trust, so it really is concerning that many social workers don't have these materials to hand for their day-to-day work.

"While we appreciate that budgets are tighter than ever in local government, we feel strongly that a very small investment in suitable materials will certainly reap rewards in terms of greater engagement with the children for whom local councils have a duty of care."

The Kitbag, which contains "finger puppets, feelings and emotions cards, a Talking Stick and calming oil", was designed by Scottish educational charity International Futures Forum (IFF).

Dr Margaret Hannah, IFF's director of health programmes, said: "Kitbag uses simple materials expertly designed and brought together to help establish a nurturing relational space and has been adopted with enthusiasm in schools, family and other settings - with or without professional support."

The campaign has the backing of the British Association of Social Workers (BASW), which is advocating for social workers' time to be rebalanced so they spend less time on administrative tasks and more on "direct relationship-based work with children and their families".

Children's charity Children 1st already uses the bag and Brighton and Hove City Council is embarking on a six-month trial, making it the first English local authority to be involved.