Open Access Play

Come and join in the fun at the MKPA Summer Play Sessions, we provide craft activities, a bouncy castle, games and sports.  This is completely free of charge and events will take place in the following locations and on the following dates below.

The sessions are open to all children aged 4-14yrs: parents are asked to accompany their children under 8 and join in the fun!  Please note that children may get messy or paint on their clothes (washable at 60C), and there may be water activities, weather and venue permitting.  All sessions are staffed by experienced playworkers.

Please note the sessions are open access and children remain the responsibility of their parents and at all times, as children are free to come and go as they wish.

Click here for the dates & times &

click here for locations for our Summer Play Sessions.

Click here for sessions for week beginning 30th Aug 2010

The Milton Keynes Local Safe Guarding Board

Are an interagency organisation who support practitioners from across the Childrens workforce and those who come into contact with children develop interagency practice.

The board offers a range of courses to support practitioners in understanding, promoting and facilitating interagency working.

These courses are funded centrally by the MKSCB partners to allow all practitioners equal opportunities to access. All training is one full day – 9.30-4.30 unless stated.

Using existing Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) checks and whether to employ a person before a check.

Please click here to go to the Ofsted CRB advice document which is being circulated on behalf of Jo Hooper, Professional Advisor to Milton Keynes Safeguarding Children Board.

BIG ART @ Spirit of Play 2010

Spirit of Play is an annual event run by Skills Active which is designed to celebrate Play. It is one of the more practical and fun conferences that are available.

BIG ART was one of the three workshops that MKPA were invited to run, and a total of 26 delegates attended.

BIG ART is an achievable art session that is easy to do and great fun for the children in your setting.  The workshop cost an average of 25p per person for the scrap materials used, and the other materials should be readily available in most settings.

Masking tape was used in the first activity to mark out the design, then paint smothered on, and finally the masking tape removed, leaving the finished artwork.  Simple….

The second activity was to design a 21st Playworker out of scrap, and some very clever ideas were produced.

The finished 21st Century Playworkers formed the finale to the conference, and the ingenious features, such as eyes in the back of the head, a utility belt, and wheels for feet, were warmly appreciated by all the conference delegates.

The other workshops that MKPA delivered were “Inclusive Games” and “Rockets”

National Playwork Conference, Eastbourne

2-3 March 2010

A conference in sunny Eastbourne - who could turn that down? Nicole and CJ attended both days and yes, it was sunny. This conference brings together those who have an interest in play from far and wide: Playworkers, managers, play professionals, theorists, playrangers, play organisations and many more. The conference, in its 8th year, goes from strength to strength with over 300 people attending, organised by Meynell Games a national playwork training organisation, if you have met Meynell will certainly remember the barefooted play enthusiast.

There was a total of 53 workshops over the two mornings, streamed broadly by content, so that delegates were able to either choose a particular theme, or pick workshops from. In the afternoons ‘round-table’ discussions were available, where delegates were able to sit and listen or discuss with other participants and move on to other tables if desired. CJ facilitated a round-table around ‘risk’, discussing the pros and cons of risk within the play sector and Nicole facilitated a round-table on ‘older children’, which attracted a variety of people from varied backgrounds.

Many organisations that had stands giving delegates the opportunity to talk, share ideas and find out what other people were doing, and delegates from all over the country (and Hong Kong!) showed an interest about the Scrapstore and our training calendar.

On the Tuesday evening we were treated to a dinner and entertainment, a chance to relax, have a drink or two and network. The entertainment was excellent with a fire breathing show outside the venue as people were arriving. Stories were told by a teenager from Bristol, which captivated the audience, and after the three-course meal, there was a playwork quiz.

Baroness Delyth Morgan Parliamentary Under-secretary of State for Children, Young People and Families, had been planning to come to address the conference on the Wednesday afternoon, but due to other commitments sent a recorded speech in support of the work of Playworkers.  This was followed by the awarding of The First National Playwork Conference Awards, presented by Meynell and a host of respected members of the playwork community.

After a very long two days and a successful conference everyone made their way home, bursting with ideas and information to take back to their settings and looking forward to next year’s event!

www.meynellgames.org.uk                  www.playworkconferences.org.uk      

Resource Unit January 2010

Happy New year to you all.

The Resource Unit is ready for the new term rush despite the start of January being a bit slow. Something to do with the weather possibly!!

Latest development which should be advantageous to many of you is that the Resource Unit will now be open on Fridays from 10.00am until 4.00pm.

Look out for some more jackets and fleeces in the Scrapstore thanks to local firm DREAD. Just the job for the winter chill.

Don’t forget we have 6 brand new slim-line integrated dishwashers on offer to anyone who has a need for one.

There are still some new lockers left but you may have to act quickly as they may not be here much longer.

Just in are some nursery sized tables and chairs. These are always snapped up very soon so get in quick if you need some.

The shop will be stocking the usual range of quality products at value for money prices, but we need your help.

We need to supply what members want so if there is a demand for different stock, then please let us know and we will try to provide it.

Remember also that VAT has increased this year so until we get all the stock through the system, some of the prices may differ marginally from those indicated on the label.

Just a reminder too that you may need to book early for the fundraising equipment hire and also to let us know of any membership details which have changed so we can keep our records up to date.

Looking forward to seeing you all soon in the Resource Unit.

Santa Cruise

Father Christmas on the narrow boat sleigh,

Cruised down the canal in a merry way

Ringing his bell and shouting hohoho

He had lots of sweet treats for the children to throw

People waved as we cruised on the MKPA sleigh

With pretty lights to guide the way

It looked really good and was very much fun

Next year he’s back so tell everyone

Santa Cruise was the brain child of Emma Egerton our Boat Ranger. We spoke one lunch time about Christmas and how cool it was when Santa used to come down the street and wave to all the children. She thought it would be good if the Funion Bargee were to cruise along the canal and have Santa on board to bring Christmas cheer to all the children along the way and deliver some sweetie goodies to them.

The first part of the cruise was a long stretch from Simpson to Peartree Bridge, Santa brought much cheer to the locals of the Peartree Inn Pub and families came rushing to the doors in order to get a glimpse of the jolly big man. Further down the canal many children and families came rushing to the windows of their homes for a wave, one fully grown man even stopped his car to get out and take a picture. Just goes to show you’re never too old to stop believing! We ended the journey that evening with one lucky girl coming aboard Santa’s water sleigh and cruising for a little bit with her mummy and Santa before having her photo taken with him.

The second outing was from Peartree Bridge to Campbell Park but unfortunately due to the Christmas like weather there weren’t many people coming out to say hello this time but Santa continued to spread his Christmas cheer to all the households that he passed along his merry way.

The next stretch, Campbell park to Cosgrove we heard the excitable children before we saw them!

Over the course of 3 nights Santa spread his cheer to over 50 people and dished out a whole tub of lollies to all who greeted him.

So for all those believers and non believers out there, you should keep your eyes peeled in 2010 and you never know Santa might just come to your town.

Funion Bargee is finally launched

After a year being built the Big Lottery funded MKPA Playboat is finally launched on the Grand Union Canal. In front of a crowd of around 200 adults, children and young people, the Mayor Cllr. Euan Henderson smashed the traditional bottle against the hull to siganl the start of this 5 year project to bring play opportunities to the canal in Milton Keynes. The Funion Bargee will spend its time cruising the canal between Slapton just south of Leighton Buzzard and Gayton in Northamptonshire. The idea is to introduce children into the delights of the canal, its wildlife and the nature places children can play safely around the waterside.

To catch up with all the latest developments read our blog at the Funion Bargee Blog

Forest Schools  MKPA

With help from funding from Milton Keynes Community Foundation, and with the kind permission of the Parks Trust to use an area of woodland, MKPA are now able to offer a series of taster sessions for groups interested in Forest School sessions between now and March 2009.

The Forest Schools ethos is to develop children and young people’s self-esteem by using the outdoors as a learning environment and setting appropriately challenging yet achievable tasks.

Session content and timing will be tailored to the client group’s needs, so please feel free to contact us to discuss your requirements.

We are also able to offer training to people interested in delivering Forest Schools within their own environment.

For more information, visit our sister site http://mkforestschools.co.uk

Please contact CJ or Cris on 01908 263033