Playwork and play theory

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The Playworker's Taxonomy of Play Types

Bob Hughes

This updated manual categorises play into its 16 different parts, currently known as 'play types'. It looks at what the scientific literature has said about each one, it adds comments from experienced playworkers, it gives practical examples of children engaging in different play types, like creative, deep, mastery and so on, suggests things to look for when attempting to identify different play types and presents the reader with practical suggestions of things they can do to make it possible for children to engage in different play types.

An essential 'original source' for anybody studying play and playwork and those who want to understand more about how children play in their settings.

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Play Clips 1 - Understanding Play Types

Philip Waters

Unique video/DVD (approx 60 minutes) which contains 48 sequences of footage of children's play in a variety of situations. Each type is illustrated by 3 different sequences of children playing in a variety of environments. The sequences cover all sixteen play types (as originally identified by Bob Hughes in his 'Taxonomy of Play Types'), edited and produced into an accessible and flexible audio-visual toolkit for anybody wanting to promote children's play. Although produced with the trainer in mind, Play Clips One can be used for and by anyone who has an interest in children's play, including parent meetings, conferences, training workshops and promotional events.

Guidance notes (with introduction by Bob Hughes) also available on CD-Rom to guide and support discussion work - see below.

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Play Clips 1 - Notes

Philip Waters

This set of notes accompanies the Play Clips 1 DVD. It gives background information on each clip and also links the visual images to a wide range of playwork theory.

Invaluable for trainers who want to use the play clips to guide and inform discussion work.

Published on CD-Rom with an introduction by Bob Hughes.

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Therapeutic Playwork Reader One

Gordon Sturrock and Perry Else

Key reading for anybody teaching or studying play or playwork, this book is a source text which shows the development of work up to and beyond the 'The Colorado Paper', which introduced psycholudics to a wider audience. Therapeutic Playwork Reader - One shows how key terms were introduced such as; play cues, play returns, play frames, ludic ecology, the metalude, play drive, dysplay, play adulteration, playwork interventions.

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