Playground History galleries

The Gypsy Poets Playground histories galleries

THE EARLY DAYS OF

I first heard about adventure playgrounds in the early nineteen sixties when i was a CSV student working on projects with disabled children,another CSV student Peter had copies of the NPFA pamphletts compiled by Drummond Abernethy who was then the Secretary of their play leadership department.

Reading through these book and viewing the photos of kids building camps and lighting fires lit a spark in my imagination and I wanted to know more.I wrote to NPFA and received my own copies then later when I was based at Redditch to operate their very first holiday play scheme for children I was offered training in London with NPFA based at playfield house.

I was seconded by Redditch District Council and spent a few weeks working on Notting Hill adventure playground in ladbrooke grove working under the legendary Pat Smyth alongside other early pioneers of the childrens play movement.

It was an amazing experience working on a playground where leaders and children were busy sawing and hammmering, constructing neat play houses, whilst others swung from ropes or tyres andstraddled rope netting on high wooden towers.There seemed to be somthing happening all the time with a childs allotment area and a pets area.A small bonfire supervised by children with regular visitors from film companies.Including the cast of the west end show Oliver and the local police providing car rides in their panda cars.

In the far corner was a galvanised shed where a carabean band of local youngsters practiced and where in later years the Notting Hill carnival band rehearsed.

ADVENTURE PLAYGROUNDS FILM NPFA

From National Playing Fields Association and Stanley Schofield Productions.

The concept for adventure playgrounds originated in postwar Europe, after a playground designer found that children had more fun with the trash and rubble left behind by bombings -inventing their own toys and playing with them- than on the conventional equipment of swings and slides. Narrator John Snagge was a well-known voice talent in the UK, working as a newsreader for BBC Radio.

http://media.uoregon.edu/channel/2011/08/01/adventure-playground/

LADY MARJORIE ALLEN

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/womanshour/2001_51_mon_05.shtml

play leadership

http://www.thegypsypoet.co.uk/play_leadership.html

Adventure Play

http://www.adventureplay.org.uk/RK%20Adventure%20Playground.pdf

FAIR PLAY CAMPAIGN established by Rev Trevor Huddleston Bishop of Stepney 1972

http://www.fairplayforchildren.org/index.php?page=Links

DO CHILDREN STILL PLAY THE WAY THEY USED TO

http://www.nla.gov.au/pub/nlanews/2010/dec10/do-children-play-the-way-they-used-to.pdf

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