Play strategy for Scotland: our vision

SECTION 7: POSITIVE SUPPORT FOR PLAY

We need to foster a positive and supportive environment in order to enable quality play opportunities for all children in Scotland. This includes valuing children and young people and the importance of play.

Essential to achieving this is a professional, qualified, well led workforce with the skills and confidence to provide support and advice to parents and carers about play so that they in turn provide more play opportunities for children and young people outwith established settings.

Leaders and practitioners together, across the public, private and voluntary sectors, can shape the culture and practice of play in Scotland as it moves forward and we will enable that through cross sector and sector specific CPD. The infrastructure will be supported to have an active and sustainable role in delivering this Strategy, including the contribution of play organisations.

The workforce should universally emphasise the value of risk through play. Practitioners should be bold in providing challenging play opportunities, managed through risk-benefit assessment. Taking a controlled risk and seeing it payoff is essential to becoming a confident individual. The media also has a key role to play in promoting and fostering positive attitudes towards play in society.

This sets out our vision for the future of play in Scotland. Our action plan will follow this autumn which will set out how we aim to achieve this.