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Announcements

1. Neighbourliness and the Outdoors: communal outdoor spaces within social housing and mixed tenure estates – PLAYLINK report

2. Risk-benefit workshops: new date – 26 May - and in-house workshops

‘Liberating, informal but reassuring’

‘Thought provoking and informative’

‘Very beneficial to me, intend to implement …not only in play equipment and playgrounds but also into …Council risk management decision-making process.’
H&S Officer

1. Neighbourliness and the Outdoors: communal outdoor spaces within social housing and mixed tenure estates – PLAYLINK report

Below is a Guinness Trust Press Release in respect of a project that PLAYLINK undertook on one of their estates and which is now complete. The project prompted the writing of a brief PLAYLINK report that discusses shared outdoor communal space and how a more inclusive, creative approach is required if its potential is to be realised. An abridged version of the report can be viewed here: ‘Neighbourliness and the Outdoors: communal outdoor spaces within social housing and mixed tenure estates’.

7 August 2010: Thumbs up for new play area

Date: 17 August 2010 - for immediate use

Media Contact: James Rae, tel: 0151 625 3900 (office) or 07919 156432 (mobile)

YOUNGSTERS on the Stamford Hill estate in Hackney have a fantastic new playground to enjoy this summer.

The play area has undergone an amazing £80,000 transformation creating an attractive space with sand, seating, planting, grass as well as more conventional equipment. The ball court has been renovated with new goal ends and basketball net.

Residents on the estate, which consists of 352 properties owned and managed by the Guinness Trust, have been fully involved in the redevelopment of the park with the children themselves helping to choose the new equipment.

And the new play area got a big thumbs up from children enjoying the facilities at a fun day on Friday.

"This park area is now an oasis in an urban desert" says Rolston Dennis, Maintenance Surveyor for the Guinness Trust. "The previous playground was neglected and this is a much-needed facility in the area.

"We talked to the children, parents and other residents on the estate to find out what they would like to see in this area. This is not just a traditional play park but a sensory experience with things like a sandpit and a gravel path.

"As well as the play equipment there is a revamped ball park where older children can enjoy football and basketball. But the park is also a beautiful thing to look at and can be enjoyed by our older residents as a place to picnic and watch the children play. It has been landscaped in a very appealing way."

Resident Kate Vigilant, who has lived on the estate for 15 years, says: "The children were involved in saying what they would like to see on the site and are really looking forward to playing there now it is complete. It has made the whole estate look really nice and I'm sure it will be very well used."

Funding for the project was provided by the Guinness Trust and the Learning Trust, a government funded organisation.

The area was designed by PLAYLINK, and its Principal Bernard Spiegal, says: "It is seldom realised that housing organisations such as Guinness are major landholders of open space. Historically, these spaces have not been given the attention they deserve.

"The Stamford Hill Estate project marks - we hope - a significant first step in changing the way housing estates can look and feel."

ENDS

Media Contact: James Rae Tel 0151 625 3900 (office) or 07919 156432 (mobile)

Notes to Editors

Founded in 1890, Guinness Trust is now one of the largest housing associations in England and has been providing good quality, affordable homes for well over 100 years.

Guinness Trust directly manages 10,000 affordable homes across London, East Anglia and the South East of England. It is part of the Guinness Partnership which owns and manages nearly 60,000 homes while providing services for over 120,000 customers throughout England.

The organisation was founded in 1890 with an endowment of £200,000 by Sir Edward Cecil Guinness, great grandson of the founder of the Guinness brewery. Guinness Trust is proud to have HRH The Prince of Wales as its patron.

For more information please visit:www.guinnesspartnership.com

2. Risk-benefit workshops: new date and in-house

• London (26th May) workshop
• In-house workshops
• Provider support

The aim is to help those responsible for a wide range of provision to feel confident and competent to offer the sort of play, adventurous and leisure opportunities that so many of us believe in. That is, to offer beneficial risk-taking opportunities across a range of settings and situations.

A risk-benefit assessment is recognised as a ‘suitable and sufficient’ risk assessment and thus complies with the statutory duty to undertake risk assessments.

Risk-benefit assessment workshops

The workshops are for all those who have responsibility for judging risk levels in a range of settings: play, outdoor activities, sport, parks, schools, out of school projects.

Typical workshop participants’ comments:

‘Liberating, informal but reassuring’

‘Thought provoking and informative’

‘Very beneficial to me, intend to implement …not only in play equipment and playgrounds but also into …Council risk management decision-making process.’ H&S Officer

The workshop aims to enhance practitioners' understanding of, and confidence to address, risk-benefit assessment. We do this by:

Discussing the underpinning rationale of a risk-benefit approach
Comparing and contrasting it to conventional risk assessment methods
Looking at the factors that affect practitioners' judgment, including concerns about the potential for negligence claims, complaints by the public, adverse publicity
Explaining negligence: the difference between negligence and an accident
Considering what constitutes reasonableness
Asking: what is a serious injury?
Each participant then does a risk-benefit assessment.

Our experience confirms that the workshops can play a key role in developing a cross-organisation consensus about risk.

The workshops are useful for:

outdoor activity provision
play providers generally
parks
Registered Social Landlords
health and safety officers
schools – teachers, Governors and playground supervisors
senior personnel across departments and responsibilities
landscape architects and designers.

We generally limit the number of workshop participants to 15/16.

In-house workshops

We particularly recommend the in-house workshops. These are most likely to prompt significant, positive changes within an organisation. This is because workshop participants will include those responsible for determining what constitutes an ‘acceptable level of risk’, whether as front-line workers, those with management responsibilities, and those directly responsibility for ‘health and safety’.

Recent organisational clients include: The National Trust, LB Islington, Learning Trust, Hackney, Play Association Tower Hamlets.

Workshops run from 10.00 a.m. – 3.00 p.m.

Coffee and tea will be served.

To secure a place please call or book online.

Full cost: £125 plus VAT per person.

For more information go to risk-benefit assessment workshop.

Risk-benefit assessment support

It is the responsibility of the provider to make judgments about the balance to be struck between risk and benefit. This responsibility cannot be out-posted.

It is PLAYLINK’s view that there is some confusion about the role of external inspections and their relationship to risk assessment.

PLAYLINK supports and works alongside authorities, agencies and organisations that have begun to use – or want to start using -the risk-benefit assessment approach. This support is designed to work with you on specific ‘real-time’ assessments. The nature of the support will be tailored to suit your particular situation. The strategic aim is to embed an in-house confidence and capacity to undertake risk-benefit assessments.

To discuss the risk-benefit assessment support, please contact us.

Writings

Oh, I thought we agreed »

A discussion paper prompted by Scottish National Heritage’s recent ‘Sharing Good Practice, School Grounds for Nature, Health, Learning, Play and Social Development’ conference. Points raised have wider application.

Common Sense, Common Safety »

The submission to Lord Young’s review ‘Health and Safety and the Compensation Culture’ by the authors of ‘Managing Risk in Play Provision: implementation guide’ – Professor David Ball, Tim Gill, Bernard Spiegal – is reproduced here’.

Revised risk-benefit assessment form »

The section on secondary risk management is now located after the risk-benefit assessment of the activity or feature being considered. This further underscores the point that the first judgment to be made is in respect of the benefits and risks to potential users. Secondary risk considerations, for example, the views of Regulators, parents, or the potential for reputational risk to the provider should be considered after that initial judgment. In PLAYLINK’s view, this should help providers think through how secondary risks could be managed. This could include, for example, being more explicit and positive about the virtues of beneficial risk-taking in policy and publicity.

There are Paedos in the bushes »

Eleanor Image reports on her search for paedophiles in Tower Hamlets.

Consultancy services »

PLAYLINK is a multi-disciplinary practice focusing on children, teenagers’ and adults’ quality of life and well-being. We deploy Associates with a wide range of skills, knowledge and experience.

We would appreciate your help in disseminating information about PLAYLINK's work.

If you care to, please:

Send this notice to individuals and organisations offering them the opportunity to join the PLAYLINK/Freeplay Network emailing list. This will help keep them informed about events and developments.
If you are signing on for the first time, click the link below to record your contact details.

To send your details, go to: our subscription page.

	PLAYLINK online \| issues \| publications \| contact

	You are receiving this email from PLAYLINK because you are subscribed to our mailing list. To ensure that you receive emails from us, add info@playlink.org.uk to your address book. To unsubscribe from this newsletter, please follow the instructions at the end of the email. Announcements 1. Neighbourliness and the Outdoors: communal outdoor spaces within social housing and mixed tenure estates – PLAYLINK report 2. Risk-benefit workshops: new date – 26 May - and in-house workshops ‘Liberating, informal but reassuring’ ‘Thought provoking and informative’ ‘Very beneficial to me, intend to implement …not only in play equipment and playgrounds but also into …Council risk management decision-making process.’ H&S Officer 1. Neighbourliness and the Outdoors: communal outdoor spaces within social housing and mixed tenure estates – PLAYLINK report Below is a Guinness Trust Press Release in respect of a project that PLAYLINK undertook on one of their estates and which is now complete. The project prompted the writing of a brief PLAYLINK report that discusses shared outdoor communal space and how a more inclusive, creative approach is required if its potential is to be realised. An abridged version of the report can be viewed here: ‘Neighbourliness and the Outdoors: communal outdoor spaces within social housing and mixed tenure estates’. 7 August 2010: Thumbs up for new play area Date: 17 August 2010 - for immediate use Media Contact: James Rae, tel: 0151 625 3900 (office) or 07919 156432 (mobile) YOUNGSTERS on the Stamford Hill estate in Hackney have a fantastic new playground to enjoy this summer. The play area has undergone an amazing £80,000 transformation creating an attractive space with sand, seating, planting, grass as well as more conventional equipment. The ball court has been renovated with new goal ends and basketball net. Residents on the estate, which consists of 352 properties owned and managed by the Guinness Trust, have been fully involved in the redevelopment of the park with the children themselves helping to choose the new equipment. And the new play area got a big thumbs up from children enjoying the facilities at a fun day on Friday. "This park area is now an oasis in an urban desert" says Rolston Dennis, Maintenance Surveyor for the Guinness Trust. "The previous playground was neglected and this is a much-needed facility in the area. "We talked to the children, parents and other residents on the estate to find out what they would like to see in this area. This is not just a traditional play park but a sensory experience with things like a sandpit and a gravel path. "As well as the play equipment there is a revamped ball park where older children can enjoy football and basketball. But the park is also a beautiful thing to look at and can be enjoyed by our older residents as a place to picnic and watch the children play. It has been landscaped in a very appealing way." Resident Kate Vigilant, who has lived on the estate for 15 years, says: "The children were involved in saying what they would like to see on the site and are really looking forward to playing there now it is complete. It has made the whole estate look really nice and I'm sure it will be very well used." Funding for the project was provided by the Guinness Trust and the Learning Trust, a government funded organisation. The area was designed by PLAYLINK, and its Principal Bernard Spiegal, says: "It is seldom realised that housing organisations such as Guinness are major landholders of open space. Historically, these spaces have not been given the attention they deserve. "The Stamford Hill Estate project marks - we hope - a significant first step in changing the way housing estates can look and feel." ENDS Media Contact: James Rae Tel 0151 625 3900 (office) or 07919 156432 (mobile) Notes to Editors Founded in 1890, Guinness Trust is now one of the largest housing associations in England and has been providing good quality, affordable homes for well over 100 years. Guinness Trust directly manages 10,000 affordable homes across London, East Anglia and the South East of England. It is part of the Guinness Partnership which owns and manages nearly 60,000 homes while providing services for over 120,000 customers throughout England. The organisation was founded in 1890 with an endowment of £200,000 by Sir Edward Cecil Guinness, great grandson of the founder of the Guinness brewery. Guinness Trust is proud to have HRH The Prince of Wales as its patron. For more information please visit:www.guinnesspartnership.com 2. Risk-benefit workshops: new date and in-house • London (26th May) workshop • In-house workshops • Provider support The aim is to help those responsible for a wide range of provision to feel confident and competent to offer the sort of play, adventurous and leisure opportunities that so many of us believe in. That is, to offer beneficial risk-taking opportunities across a range of settings and situations. A risk-benefit assessment is recognised as a ‘suitable and sufficient’ risk assessment and thus complies with the statutory duty to undertake risk assessments. Risk-benefit assessment workshops The workshops are for all those who have responsibility for judging risk levels in a range of settings: play, outdoor activities, sport, parks, schools, out of school projects. Typical workshop participants’ comments: ‘Liberating, informal but reassuring’ *‘Thought provoking and informative’* *‘Very beneficial to me, intend to implement …not only in play equipment and playgrounds but also into …Council risk management decision-making process.’ H&S Officer* The workshop aims to enhance practitioners' understanding of, and confidence to address, risk-benefit assessment. We do this by: Discussing the underpinning rationale of a risk-benefit approach Comparing and contrasting it to conventional risk assessment methods Looking at the factors that affect practitioners' judgment, including concerns about the potential for negligence claims, complaints by the public, adverse publicity Explaining negligence: the difference between negligence and an accident Considering what constitutes reasonableness Asking: what is a serious injury? Each participant then does a risk-benefit assessment. Our experience confirms that the workshops can play a key role in developing a cross-organisation consensus about risk. The workshops are useful for: outdoor activity provision play providers generally parks Registered Social Landlords health and safety officers schools – teachers, Governors and playground supervisors senior personnel across departments and responsibilities landscape architects and designers. We generally limit the number of workshop participants to 15/16. In-house workshops We particularly recommend the in-house workshops. These are most likely to prompt significant, positive changes within an organisation. This is because workshop participants will include those responsible for determining what constitutes an ‘acceptable level of risk’, whether as front-line workers, those with management responsibilities, and those directly responsibility for ‘health and safety’. Recent organisational clients include: The National Trust, LB Islington, Learning Trust, Hackney, Play Association Tower Hamlets. Workshops run from 10.00 a.m. – 3.00 p.m. Coffee and tea will be served. To secure a place please call or book online. Full cost: £125 plus VAT per person. For more information go to risk-benefit assessment workshop. Risk-benefit assessment support It is the responsibility of the provider to make judgments about the balance to be struck between risk and benefit. This responsibility cannot be out-posted. It is PLAYLINK’s view that there is some confusion about the role of external inspections and their relationship to risk assessment. PLAYLINK supports and works alongside authorities, agencies and organisations that have begun to use – or want to start using -the risk-benefit assessment approach. This support is designed to work with you on specific ‘real-time’ assessments. The nature of the support will be tailored to suit your particular situation. The strategic aim is to embed an in-house confidence and capacity to undertake risk-benefit assessments. To discuss the risk-benefit assessment support, please contact us. Writings Oh, I thought we agreed » A discussion paper prompted by Scottish National Heritage’s recent ‘Sharing Good Practice, School Grounds for Nature, Health, Learning, Play and Social Development’ conference. Points raised have wider application. Common Sense, Common Safety » The submission to Lord Young’s review ‘Health and Safety and the Compensation Culture’ by the authors of ‘Managing Risk in Play Provision: implementation guide’ – Professor David Ball, Tim Gill, Bernard Spiegal – is reproduced here’. Revised risk-benefit assessment form » The section on secondary risk management is now located after the risk-benefit assessment of the activity or feature being considered. This further underscores the point that the first judgment to be made is in respect of the benefits and risks to potential users. Secondary risk considerations, for example, the views of Regulators, parents, or the potential for reputational risk to the provider should be considered after that initial judgment. In PLAYLINK’s view, this should help providers think through how secondary risks could be managed. This could include, for example, being more explicit and positive about the virtues of beneficial risk-taking in policy and publicity. There are Paedos in the bushes » Eleanor Image reports on her search for paedophiles in Tower Hamlets. Consultancy services » PLAYLINK is a multi-disciplinary practice focusing on children, teenagers’ and adults’ quality of life and well-being. We deploy Associates with a wide range of skills, knowledge and experience. We would appreciate your help in disseminating information about PLAYLINK's work. If you care to, please: Send this notice to individuals and organisations offering them the opportunity to join the PLAYLINK/Freeplay Network emailing list. This will help keep them informed about events and developments. If you are signing on for the first time, click the link below to record your contact details. To send your details, go to: our subscription page.
	Tel: 0207 720 2452 - Web: http://playlink.org/ - Email: info@playlink.org Content copyright (c) PLAYLINK 2006 unless otherwise stated