Nursery World - Warning on playwork qualifications

The playwork sector is in danger of becoming a 'diluted workforce' unless the quality of play qualifications improves, a playwork trainer said last month. Speaking at the London Centre for Playwork Education and Training Conference, Phillip Smith, training and development officer for the early years and childcare section in Wandsworth, south London, said, 'Some of the new qualifications - in particular the CACHE Level 2 Certificate in Playwork and to some extent the Diploma in Playwork - are very weak in terms of aspects of child and adolescent development, and the level of evidence required to pass them is very low.

Speaking at the London Centre for Playwork Education and Training Conference, Phillip Smith, training and development officer for the early years and childcare section in Wandsworth, south London, said, 'Some of the new qualifications - in particular the CACHE Level 2 Certificate in Playwork and to some extent the Diploma in Playwork - are very weak in terms of aspects of child and adolescent development, and the level of evidence required to pass them is very low.

'If playworkers are going to call themselves "experts in their own right", the quality of play qualifications needs to be improved. Otherwise, the sector is in danger of producing a diluted workforce.'

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