Written by Voda Zsófia , TANDEM,n.o.
22nd of March was the chosen date for the next multiplier event to be held in our CAPS – Children’s Access to Play in Schools collaboration. The main aim of the workshop was to acquaint teachers with the traits of Play-friendly Schools including Quality Criteria and to emphasize the importance of free play. The workshop was attended by members of different platforms, such as teachers of primary and lower secondary schools, staff of children’s leisure centre and secondary school teachers.
During the lead-in, after introducing our organization and the project, the participants could recall one of their cherished childhood memories. They could think about play and discuss it in pairs and define a Play-friendly School based on their own understanding. As proceeding further with the workshop the participants were immersed in the topic and they could attain a role of a member of the school stating pros and cons according to the given question. It was aimed to help them become more involved with the workaday matters of a Play-friendly School.
The workshop has shown that the teachers opinion towards changing schools to a place which serve children as presented above reflects eagerness and scepticism at the same time.
“I would like to attend a school like that” – stated one of our participants, immediately adding “but I don’t think, the system would allow it.”
This duality led to fierce but productive debates, which continued even after the workshop.