Play Beyond Brexit - Pièces détachées pionniers de France

November 2016: Feeling proud….Dan Rees-Jones and Kirsty Wilson take a selfie outside the Boite a Jouer in Ecole Wurtz. 

On a dark and stormy afternoon in 2013 Jean Marc and Emma left France behind and flew into the Bristol mist at Children’s Scrapstore on a fact finding mission….. They wanted to understand more about the process of introducing loose part play into primary schools and wanted to spend a week observing and questioning us to learn more about the idea of replicating Scrapstore PlayPods back home.  

It so happened I was training some playworkers that Monday evening so we all headed over together to the training venue discussing PlayPods

on the way.  Both Jean Marc and Emma spoke good English but I wasn’t too sure how much they would get from this observation…. I do tend to get a bit over excited when I’m training, jump around a lot, and use a lot of anecdotes and stories to support concepts and theories, which may get lost in translation, I feared.   On the way back I asked them how they found it.  Emma simply said:
“you speak very quickly”

Over the course of the week they worked tirelessly with our team…. observing Scrapstore PlayPods in action, training sessions in schools and asked a lot of questions about virtually everything loose part related. Initially it felt strange to be “watched on the job” for a week but as we waved them off on Friday we had grown accustomed to it enjoying the process. We all wondered what would come of this trip and whether we would see them ever again?
We didn't have to wait long! Incredibly within 6 months Jean Marc and Emma had not only formed a association called Jouer Pour Vivre but had successfully crowd funded for a pilot of Boite a Jouer (aka PlayPods)  in two primary schools, one in Die, Emma's home town and the other in Paris in a school called Virtruve.  The videos below show a computer generated idea of a Boite a Jouer and different people from Vitruve discussing what impact the Boite a Jouer has had on their school.

A 3D representation of a Boite a Jouer

Evaluation of Boite a Jouer in Vitruve

Both of these pilots were incredibly successful for the children’s play and learning elements about how this project may work within a French context.  It provided a catalyst for a lot of interest from parents, practitioners and organisations alike all seeing the brilliant potential of loose parts play in schools. Jouer Pour Vivre were keen to explore this further and went on from here to draft a bid for an Erasmus+ project with a large organisation called La Ligue based in Paris and Encis based in Spain to pilot loose parts play in primary schools and after school clubs.  We were thrilled when Jouer Pour Vivre asked Scrapstore Play Services to become the knowledge transfer partner and agreed eagerly.  The bid was successful and after a slightly delayed start we all embarked on a two year Erasmus + Project introducing loose parts play into schools in France and Spain.  As well as working in two countries, the project involved two research partners University 13 Experice and Ferria Guardia who intended to do a scientific synthesis of its implementation recording the changes in the way children played with the loose parts and responded to it.
The Erasmus + project officially started in February 2015 with all the project partners meeting at Bristol Children’s Scrapstore.  It was incredible to consider how the idea and concept had progressed so far so quickly.

May 2015: Erasmus Partners at First Transnational meeting at Children’s Scrapstore Bristol

Scrapstore Play Services involvement was mainly based at the beginning of the project.  To begin with we visited all the potential sites identified for the pilots of the loose parts. In France this involved visiting two primary schools and a leisure centre (after school provision), In Spain this consisted of one nursery to measure the play value.  The process involves assessing school playgrounds adapting existing assessment models that enables schools to make considered choices about the development of their school grounds.
After our site visits we created a baseline report: Diagnosis of Play Settings

July 2015: Dan Rees-Jones, Kirsty Wilson & Debbie Woods in Manresa, Spain visiting the Encis Office after a site visit to La Lluna assessing play value.

Once sites had been agreed and we had supported with the collection and suitability of the loose parts we then hosted a five day training event in Paris focussing on concepts and theories for supporting play and playwork.  This was interesting as the term playwork or playworker doesn’t really exist in Spain or France so it was like teaching an additional new language on top of the three languages already being spoken! It contained similar elements of the training for lunchtime staff we deliver in the UK, which the partners all found useful for the development of the project and supporting the notion of playwork in France and Spain.

October 2015: Dan Rees-Jones delivering training on Risk Benefit Assessment within a public park shortly before being properly ‘told off’ by The Guardian of the Park for introducing loose parts!

In May 2016 after all the necessary planning, gathering of loose parts, training and shed building the PlayPods or loose parts sheds opened in the respective schools and nursery.  We went to visit Ecole Wurtz (a primary school for 250 children ) in Paris twice after Boite a Jouer opened.  Even though I have been opening PlayPods for the last seven years I wasn’t quite sure what to expect but on arrival to the playground, I may as well have been in the UK ….it looked like a PlayPod, sounded like a PlayPod and even smelled like PlayPod!

November 2016: Feeling proud….Dan Rees-Jones and Kirsty Wilson take a selfie outside the Boite a Jouer in Ecole Wurtz. 

I felt strangely proud at this moment on the playground…. the notion of a simple idea being  replicated so seamlessly  in another place and context.  Even though I couldn’t take credit for the work…. Just watching the chaotic joy and noise that loose parts was bringing to this school was brilliant! The children loved it and even the staff loved it! Valerie the lead animateur for came up to us and said.

“ We used to dread opening the

Boite a Jouer but now we dread

not opening it!”

It was fascinating and reassuring to see how the project had so many similarities and successes to the English model. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the partners for their contributions and success in delivering this exciting project and hope that these positive early steps will set the foundations for more children to experience high quality play opportunities in schools across Europe.  Well done all!

The final report looks at the findings from the synthesis from both countries and makes for an interesting read: Findings Report

As the project came to a close Jouer Pour Vivre surprised us yet again.. moving up a gear by winning a government contract to deliver no less than ten Boites a Jouer in Paris over the next two years!

I’m not quite sure what the next few years will bring to loose parts play in Europe….but if the last few are anything to go by its definitely going places!

The Super Power of Loose Parts: Loose Parts Play in School

By Dan Rees-Jones

Within the first week or so of new job at Children’s Scrapstore as a Play Development Officer, I found myself delivering training in a small room to six lunchtime staff about play and playwork and what they could expect to see when their new Scrapstore PlayPod * opening in a few weeks.  I was confident in talking about play and playwork, but my main problem was that I really hadn’t got a clue about what they could expect to see!

It’s not that I was “loose parts shy”.  I am no stranger to Scrapstore and like many other play professionals I was one of those many folk that not only forgot my membership card every time but also relied heavily on Scrapstore for inspiration and valuable resources that supported and extended various different play sessions.... fondly remembering a play ranger session where we played cricket with a mannequin arm with much amusement!

The day before “The Opening” after delivering a training session, I thought I would be a good idea to do an observation of the lunchtime to gauge how introducing hundreds of loose parts into the environment might work… After approximately 15 seconds of standing on the playground a girl and boy approached me and asked me what I was doing….. They then announced that it was probably best for them to give me a guided tour of their playground and playing field.  As we all moved around the space they pointed out what features they enjoyed and the types of games they liked to play. They seemed really excited about their new roles as tour guides, which they took very seriously and in the knowledge that they had the complete attention of the ‘new person in our playground’.  I felt quite honoured that they were giving up their free time to show me their playground and enjoyed the attention I was receiving.  As the tour progressed I was also invited to play various different types games they liked playing and asked if I knew any games…. And so on and so on…..then the whistle went and that was the end of playtime.  Observation fail!

On the opening day, I had a small briefing with the lunchtime staff, where I tried to inspire confidence and excitement within the team… which was difficult in the circumstances… but I think it went well and everyone seemed excited about the prospect.  Just before the children arrived on the playground we removed all the large loose parts from the Scrapstore PlayPod leaving the floor clear so children could run into the structure.  Not knowing what was about to happen created some a range of feelings for me at this point.. an unusual mixture of giddy excitement, dread of something going wrong leading to anticipation/nervousness of being the one responsible or the notion of being dramatically under whelmed.

I heard the children before I saw them then in what seemed like a stampede about 100 children ran past me with obvious excitement, shouting and screaming. Some children appeared to be clutching almost waving pieces of paper, which I later learned were design plans for the structures they wanted to build!  The effect for the first few minutes was quite mesmerising, almost unbelievable… More and more children kept streaming from the lunch hall and then proceeded to literally clear every item of “scrap” out of the structure onto the field with the adults, (myself included)… just stood still almost rooted to the spot watching in amazement. Quite redundant.

To the observer it looked like 210 children had just unwrapped their presents on Christmas Day in the playground, a powerful assault on the senses….lots of bright colours, movement in every direction and plenty more noise.  It was chaotic to observe in the first instance.  Once the ‘Great Scrap Rush’ subsided the play morphed into a hive of frenzied building activity.  Large and small groups of children were making dens, offices, hammocks and swings building off anything and everything available to them. There was small groups combating with cardboard tubes, others pulling children around in crates and banging drums or making as much noise with scrap as possible.  As all of this unfolded I started to relax and then found myself smiling… The children weren’t enjoying this, they were loving it, which was an enjoyable spectacle to observe.

The lunch time was over as quick as it started. I wasn’t sure how all the stuff was going to fit back inside the box…but the children collaborated brilliantly.  As the playground became clean and silent again I had an epiphany:

Maybe I am a loose part?

Just yesterday, I had been the new and exciting loose part/person, bringing novelty and interest into the environment.

Today not one child spoke to me or even seemed to acknowledge me being there.. It was like I had become invisible or hidden from sight.  Because of the loose parts I had become redundant to the children’s play needs. 

What if I am a loose part?

Whether I am a loose part or not… what this experience demonstrated to me was the super powers loose parts possess.  They are an amazing enabler in play and offer potential to build, create, transform, destroy, build resilience, learn about, stimulate imagination, support group collaboration and build friendships.  

The description ‘loose parts’ was first explained by Simon Nicholson in 1971. His theory was based on the idea that children will play more imaginatively and flexibly with loose parts that are lying around than specifically designed play equipment.

‘In any environment both the degree of inventiveness and creativity, and the possibility of discovery, are directly proportional to the number and kind of variables in it.’

*The Scrapstore PlayPod introduces loose parts into school playgrounds to transform playtimes.    
                  

Here is another account from a playwork trainer of his observations of how loose parts play can make a significant impact on children’s approaches to play.
Further Reading

Theory of Loose Parts, An important principle for design methodology: Simon Nicholson 1972, Vol. 4, No. 2,

Play & Playwork, 101 stories of Children Playing: Fraser Brown 2014

The Value of Play: Perry Else 2009

You can also read our other blog posts in this series:
What is Play?, The Importance of Play, The Play Cycle, My Sofa: Enabling Environments, Easy Rider: Risk and Play, Children and Schemas, Visual Play Audit Service

Scrapstore Play Services offers a range of playwork training courses if you would like to find out more about playwork training and loose parts play in schools.
Phone us on 0117 9143002