The Playwork Induction Standard has existed to help play scheme workersto work towards Level 2 qualifications for several years now. At CommonThreads we offer Playwork Basics Plus, which was in fact the firstcourse to be accredited to the standard.
We have trained thousands of play scheme workers, enabling them to meetthe standard in a way that suits their needs. Small play schemes, forexample, often break the course into small chunks and run it some weeksin advance of running their play scheme.
Certificates are valid for a year, which means play schemes can run fortwo years following one Playwork Basics Plus course. Even after thosetwo years have finished, none of the groups we have worked with havebeen made to repeat it after every year, as your article suggested wascommon.
In practice, play schemes work with Ofsted to make sure practice isupdated and refreshed and that good play schemes are kept running withmotivated and skilled staff.
The Playwork Induction Standard offers short, flexible trainingopportunities for play scheme workers. It provides an opportunity forshort-term workers, both voluntary and paid, to get recognition fortheir skills and to benefit the children they work with.
It is only through serious misunderstanding of requirements coupled witha lack of flexibility that schemes are in danger of closure.
Surely it would have been more helpful for the article to providereaders with some clarity and ways forward, rather than suggesting wereinvent the wheel and go back to where we were five years ago with playschemes being left out in the cold every summer?
Shelly Newstead, trainer, Common Threads Training.
