Play is an essential part of every child's life, and is vital for healthy growth and development. This fully revised edition of Playwork is for those who work with children aged 5 to 15, and aims to help them to create opportunities for play and to develop through play. The job of playworker requires a wide range of skills and abilities: responsibility and enthusiasm; awareness of safety combined with a desire for adventure; creativity and the ability to plan and evaluate work; and, above all, an understanding of children and the ability to form relationships which allow them to take responsibility for and pleasure in creating their own play. Playwork should help those following a playwork or playcare training course or preparing for assessment for an NVQ/SVQ in playwork at levels 2 and 3 to acquire the necessary underpinning knowledge and put theory into practice through work-based activities. It should also aid those who work in an after-school club, holiday playscheme, playbus, playcentre, adventure playground, family centre, or care for school-age children in the home to develop their skills and evaluate their approach to children and play. The book is suitable for: N/SVQs at levels 2 and 3 and other equivalent training courses, such as those of Kids' Club Network; childcare and education N/SVQs at levels 2 and 3; BTEC and NNEB courses; workers in after-school clubs, holiday playschemes, playbuses, playcentres, adventure playgrounds, and family centres or people who care for school-age children in their own homes.