Opinion: Soapbox - Understanding is key to the play strategy

But what do we want from a play strategy? I believe it is a radicaltransformation in the way play is understood and provided for in sharedpublic areas and designated spaces both in and out of schools. Buttransformation is critically dependent on changing the generalunderstanding of play, which is a key difficulty.

It is no surprise, then, that every authority PLAYLINK has worked withis trying to change public understanding of play. Without that change,children's entitlement to play will be left in woeful play settings,their experiences hedged in by fears of negligence claims and parentalcomplaints.

Change occurs over time, whereas many local authorities are devising astrategy now. This is why those that my organisation works with seestrategy development as a process that explores and challenges commonmisconceptions, something different from the usual mechanisticapproaches.