Practice: Playwork in Times of Austerity

McKendrick, John H.; Horton, John; Kraftl, Peter; Else, Perry

doi:10.1332/205316214x13944646135712

Cited by 6 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…The impact of service withdrawal for children, youth and families over the past decade has been well acknowledged by scholars and activists (Horton 2016;Hall, 2019;Horton, Pimlott-Wilson and Hall, 2021;McKendrick et al 2014;Lambie-Mumford and Green, 2017;Davies, 2019). This landscape has shaped young people's identities in austerity Britain and how they anticipate their futures (McDowell, 2012;Pimlott-Wilson, 2017), connecting to longstanding work and themes in children's geographies (Yarwood and Tyrrell 2012).…”

Section: Geographies Of Austerity and Youth Servicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The state and voluntary sector in austere times: 10 years of National Citizen Service

Mills¹,

Waite²

2022

Geography

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In this paper we examine the latest chapter in the relationship between the state and the voluntary sector in the UK. We present an analysis of the UK Government's 'National Citizen Service' scheme and map the landscape of youth services over the past decade.Drawing on interview data with delivery providers of the programme, and key government and policy actors, we explore the new geographies NCS has created and reflect on the wider implications of this programme in austerity Britain.

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Section: Geographies Of Austerity and Youth Servicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The state and voluntary sector in austere times: 10 years of National Citizen Service

Mills¹,

Waite²

2022

Geography

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“…This latter reading can be understood in relation to Goffman's (1959, 203) discussion of 'impression management', whereby an individual works to stage a character to be received in a particular way, by a particular group of people. Chris' tale can also be viewed through the lens of play (testing boundaries and exploring risk, McKendrick et al, 2014), or more specifically pretend play (the use of fantasy and make-believe, Russ, 2004). In this pretend play, Chris uses fantasy to weave a context, story, and characters.…”

Section: Performance and Creative Storytellingmentioning

confidence: 99%

The performance of youth voice on the airwaves

Wilkinson

2018

Children's Geographies

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This paper uses the case study of a youth-led community radio station, KCC Live, to argue that community radio is not a cure-all solution for disenfranchised and silenced young people. Drawing on 18 months of participant observation at KCC Live and data from in-depth interviews with volunteers, I argue that, owing to institutional constraints by station management; college management; and the regulatory body Ofcom, young people consider the airwaves to be a supervised, as opposed to emancipatory, arena. However, in attempting to combat the restricting nature of the airwaves, young people find new, performative ways to communicate. This paper provides empirical evidence which goes beyond previous simplistic conceptualisations of voice in youth media production and argues that romanticised notions of youth voice preclude performance and creativity. This paper offers an important contribution to children's geographies in finding that pretend play, characterised by performance, can be considered a 'life-span activity'.

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“…Unlike in Scotland, and to a lesser extent Northern Ireland and Wales, these cuts in England have not been offset by a devolved Government that is outwardly supportive of play; on the contrary, the Government with responsibility in England has disinvested, failed to support, and demonstrated some hostility toward play. It would be remiss to ignore that these are trying times for playworkers (McKendrick et al, 2014) and play in the UK.…”

Section: Concluding Thoughtsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Geographies for play in austere times

McKendrick

Kraftl

Mills

et al. 2015

International Journal of Play

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Tensions eased, tensions raised: Play in contemporary UK Tim Gill describes the recent history of play in England as a "rollercoaster". This analogy has merit, and was the premise that gave rise to the seminar in Leicester, from which this collection of papers was derived. As Tim's paper details, and the others in this collection each suggest, the UK Government's commitment to children's play, unparalleled levels of investment, a strengthened national and regional play leadership, professionalisation of the playwork workforce (Skillsactive, 2010), and an ever more expansive evidence base to extol its value, took play to the top of the hill, only for post-austerity cuts to bring it right back down again.Although the facts of the matter cannot be disputed, how these facts are to be regarded are open to multiple interpretations. It is perhaps the litmus test for whether a UK playworker is an optimist or a pessimist to ask their opinion of the recent history of play in the UK; the former will emphasise the progress made in the growth years and the legacy it has left behind; while the latter will bemoan the potential not realised of an English

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Practice: Playwork in Times of Austerity

Cited by 6 publications

References 2 publications

The state and voluntary sector in austere times: 10 years of National Citizen Service

The state and voluntary sector in austere times: 10 years of National Citizen Service

The performance of youth voice on the airwaves

Geographies for play in austere times

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