20 years of the Playwork Principles - share your views

2025 marks the 20th anniversary of the Playwork Principles. Play Wales has commissioned the Childhood Development and Playwork Team at Leeds Beckett University to undertake a survey on how widely the Playwork Principles are used across the playwork sector.

This research aims to understand where, how and to what extent the Playwork Principles have been adopted 20 years since they were first devised. It involves surveying the playwork sector nationally and internationally to identify:

• Organisations and stakeholders who have adopted or use the Playwork Principles to inform their work

• Organisations that have adopted alternative guiding principles for playwork

Anyone who has any role or responsibility for facilitating play for children in a staffed setting is invited to complete the survey.

Play England encourages practitioners and organisations in England to take part – helping to build a picture of how the principles continue to shape playwork today.

This aligns closely with our bold, new strategy - It All Starts with Play! - particularly our Skills priority (p. 25), which focuses on developing a recognised and respected play workforce across all settings.

We are keen for the survey to be distributed as far and widely as possible, nationally and internationally. Are you a representative of an organisation with contacts across the children’s workforce who may be applying the Playwork Principles in their practice? Could you help promote the survey? If so, please email the Childhood Development and Playwork Team.

Complete the online survey by 31 December 2025

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