Social Enterprise
Common Threads has been supporting people who work in children's play for 13 years. Originally founded as Common Threads Consultancy by Shelly Newstead (B.A. Hons., Dip.P.TH.), the name 'Common Threads' refers to the links between childhood and adulthood, between play, development and therapeutic benefits, and also to the links between the different types of settings in which adults and children spend leisure time together.
Common Threads has never been 'profit-oriented'. We operate as a 'social enterprise' organisation - any profits we make go straight back into funding and developing new resources to support people working in children's play. We also have an Ethical Trading Policy and you will also see from our shop pages that we donate money from several of our publications to support and encourage children's play provision, both in the UK and abroad.
Common Threads Publications
The publications arm was set up in 2002 as a result of frustration at the lack of relevant resources to back up our training - so we decided to develop our own! Common Threads resources 'speak' directly to people who work in children's play, because they are;
- 'by the field and for the field' - developed and written by experienced practitioners who are passionate about play
- designed to help practitioners to improve the quality of children's play and leisure experiences
- accessible, relevant and practical - in other words, they tell you not only what good practice is, but how to make it happen!
- unique - Common Threads produces resources that larger publishers would not publish due to the relatively small market for such publications.
Common Threads Training
The training arm develops and delivers training and consultancy for a wide range of people who work with children all over the UK and abroad. Common Threads training is distinctive - both in style and content - because;
- Courses are developed in order to meet the needs of the sector by experienced practitioners (basically if we haven't done it ourselves, we ain't training it!)
- We recruit our trainers as much for their passion for play as their ability to communicate it
- We work flexibly with participants to meet their learning needs, rather than simply trot out what's in the training manual.
Common Threads trades as Common Threads Publications Ltd
a company registered in England and Wales, Registration Number 4500413
VAT Reg No 806 6795 96
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