Introduction
School playgrounds offer many opportunities for children to connect with others, Improve their conflict resolution skills, become physically active and use imaginative play. Nonetheless, it is known that individual characteristics can predict the extent to which children have opportunities to enjoy the benefits of the school playground. In this chapter, we focus on a school-based intervention to promote playfulness, known as the Sydney Playground Project. The Sydney Playground Project was developed by a multidisciplinary team, including the authors of this chapter. Key principles of the Sydney Playground Project were to find ways to enable children to engage in better quality play and have the intervention accessible to all children, families and teachers. Recently, we have seen a particular focus on children with disabilities for whom goals include development in areas promoted through play; however, a range of barriers often prevents this group from full participation.
Playfulness
Play is difficult to define, so it is important to be clear about what we mean by the word ‘play’. Skard and Bundy (2008) have identified four elements of playfulness (internal control, intrinsic motivation, freedom to suspend reality and framing) which we believe are important in any definition of play. With these elements in mind, it is clear that many environments promote playfulness, not just those specifically designed for early years learners. It is also clear that playfulness can be enhanced by lack of structure in an environment. Structure and equipment with a specific purpose can inhibit children's creativity. It is important to note that our definition does not include some activities that broader definitions of play capture.
Before describing the Sydney Playground Project in detail, we briefly review some of the changes in the social and physical contexts of early years learners that are now understood to have a negative impact on mental and physical wellbeing.
Compelling international research provides evidence of direct relationships between play of early years learners and wellbeing. There is also international consensus that historically-recent lifestyle changes have had the unintended consequence of reducing the quality and quantity of opportunities for play. Decline in opportunities for early years learners to participate in playful experiences has been linked to increases in a range of physical and mental health problems (see Bundy et al, 2011).