The role of the local authority

The local authority is responsible for sponsoring the Play Shaper seminar, as the lead body on play within both the Local Strategic Partnership (LSP) and the local Children’s Trust arrangements.

This includes identifying and bringing together up to 20 participants from across the LSP who hold key strategic positions for delivering the Play Strategy and achieving the goals set out within the statutory guidance to Children’s Trusts.

The venue for the Play Shaper seminar can be within the local authority or another member of the LSP, such as the Primary Care Trust or the police.

The relevant regional Play England office will give support throughout the process of setting up the event and will provide guidance on who to invite, how to promote it and venue requirements.

The facilitators and all supporting materials will be provided free of charge.

During the Play Shaper seminar, participants make commitments that they will take forward in their individual professional spheres. Examples include:

• writing playable space into master planning exercises
• developing more free play in schools’ extended services
• building play opportunities into local obesity strategies
• building closer links between open space strategies, transport plans and their Children and Young People’s Plans
• re-drafting health and safety guidance

These commitments will be passed to the local authority play lead so the local play partnerships, under local Children’s Trust structures, can follow up on these as appropriate to the area.

Over the months following the event, the play lead and their Play England regional team will meet to discuss how to embed the learning and build on the commitments made.

Local authorities are encouraged to build Play Shaper into ongoing training and continuing professional development, and we welcome suggestions on how we can facilitate this.

Where planning and the built environment are a particular concern, a limited number of ‘Placemaking and Play’ modules will be available in certain areas from spring 2010. In addition, a module is being developed for those who supervise places where children play, such as the police and parks' staff.