Continuing professional development

The Play Shaper programme has two elements of assesment. Firstly, participants attend the one-day seminar. They are then given the opportunity to undertake further independent reading and reflection in order to complete a two-part online assessment.

Om succesful completion of both parts of the online assessment, a Play Shaper certificateacknowledging ten-hours continuing professional development accrediation will be issued to the participant by play work Partnerships and the University of Gloucester, supported by other professional organisations involved.

How do I get my CPD certificated?

To obtain this certificate you will need to undertake further independent reading and reflection, and then complete an online assessment (comprising of two parts; Part 1 - multiple choice questions, Part 2 - critical reflective account).

To complete the assessment go to the Play Shaper website at www.playshaper.org.uk and click through to the Online Learning Environment.

Who accredits this continuing professional development?

This accreditation is issued by Playwork Partnerships and the University of Gloucestershire, and is independently endorsed by SkillsActive, the Sector Skills Council for active leisure and learning including play. The assessment has also been mapped to the National Occupational Standards for Playwork at level four and Management at level four.

When do I complete the question paper?

You will be give 12 weeks to complete the assessment once in receipt of your online learning environment username and password, which will be issued to you by Play work Partnerships within five working days of attending the seminar.

Where can I find further information to help me complete the online assessment?

Signposting to further reading that you may need to undertake before completing the question paper can be found in the Resources section of this website.

When do I find out if I have passed?

Once submitted the online assessment will be marked, second marked and marks published within 35 days (this is reflected in the assessment marking schedule, within the assessment handbook).

What is the pass mark?

You need to obtain 52% to pass and must pass both the Part 1 and Part 2 assessment.

What happens if I pass?

Playwork Partnerships will post your certificate within six weeks of achievement.

What happens if I don’t pass?

You will be notified after your result is generated (within 35 days) to undertake further reading and reflection before returning to complete a second online assessment, this may be either Part 1 only, Part 2 only or both parts. The same process applies to the completion and marking as the previous assessment. However, if you are unsuccesful on the second attempt this will be marked as a fail and no further attempts can be made.

How can I make a complaint?

If you feel that the assessment process is unfair, you have the right to complain. Please put your complaint in writing to:

Claire Mills
Play Shaper Training Manager
Playwork Partnerships
University of Gloucestershire
Oxstalls Campus, Oxtsalls Lane
Gloucester, GL2 9HW

Tel: 01242 714531  Email: cemills@glos.ac.uk

Playwork Partnerships will respond within seven days of receiving your complaint. If you are not satisfied with the response you can request a complaints enquiry. The procedure for an enquiry will be forwarded to you at this stage.

Further feedback

Your feedback is welcomed as it enables us to reflect upon practice and develop good assessment procedures. Please send any comments to the named contact above.

Alternative assessment formats

Should you require a copy of the assessment in an alternative format, such as hard copy, Braille, large print or audio, please contact us on 01242 714 594 or email kconibere@glos.ac.uk You will receive your alternative format along with the assessment handbook for this format.

Review

The Assesment Policy and Assesment Procedure are reviewed at regular intervals in response to participant,  programme and legislative changes. New and amended policies and procedure will be made available through the Play Shaper website www.playshaper.org.uk

Quality assurance

We want to ensure the Play Shaper programme reaches the highest standards.

SkillsActive, the Sector Skills Council for Active Leisure, Learning and Well-being, provides quality control of both the content and delivery of Play Shaper seminars, and the routes to endorsement and validation.

SkillsActive is working closely with other Sector Skills Councils covering relevant professional sectors (such as those involved with landscape architects and designers, planners and developers, parks and leisure, police and community safety, and regeneration and housing) to ensure the relevance and compatibility of the Play Shaper programme.

This includes validation of the programme within other sectors’ continuing professional development frameworks. 

Quality assurance visits

SkillsActive has a team of quality assurance verifiers from a range of professional backgrounds. They all have extensive experience in the assessment and delivery of quality adult education and training.  

On average, 20 per cent of all Play Shaper professional development seminars receive a quality assurance visit from a verifier.

These visits help to ensure that each seminar reaches the high standards set out in SkillsActive quality assurance systems. 

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Further information

Play Shaper online learning

Use the online learning environment after you have participated in a Play Shaper seminar. You can access learning materials, online discussions and an assessment quiz that accredits your continuing professional development.

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