Adventure Playgrounds

Many of us think of adventure playgrounds as play areas with fixed wooden play equipment.  A true adventure playground is much more than this, it is an open access setting staffed by trained playworkers, where children can find materials and support so that they can build and adapt their own play space to suit their own needs.  It is a rich play environment that compensates for today's lack of accessible natural space where children can play independently of adults.

An adventure playground is a place where children can build dens or treehouses, make campfires, dig gardens, stage water fights, play in the mud and rain.  It is a place that children should be able to call their own - where they can direct their own play, be spontaneous, loud, dirty, messy, silly, and where they can test themselves out against their environment and other people.

It is an inclusive place where children can play and socialise with others on their own terms and follow their own agenda.  There is an ethos of participation and self-help; children are involved in decision making and planning and are supported to follow their own initiative.  Rules are kept to a minimum - a long list can be overwhelming and prohibitive ... and easily forgotten. 

It is a place where children can confront and learn to manage risk.  Children can experiment, push boundaries, innovate, build and demolish in the knowledge that there are trained playworkers on hand to support them if necessary.

Adventure playgrounds provide outdoor space and playworkers - they do not necessarily have buildings or permanent structures.  The ethos of the adventure playground can be used across a range of play provision - from out of school clubs to playschemes and play ranger services.  For instance it might not be appropriate to have a fixed site in a rural area with a sparse population where children's independent travel is compromised, but it might be possible for playworkers to regularly visit a number of sites to support the principles of the adventure playground at a local level in an available space.

Adventure Play Reading List

More information can be found by clicking here

The Autumn 2008 issue of the Play for Wales magazine features an article by Penny Wilson, 'In defence of the fence'. To read the full version of this article click here