Experience:
I have worked with many institutions on developing a strategic and policy based approach to improving play. In addition to my eleven years spent at Bath and North East Somerset Council and South Gloucestershire Council, I have worked in an advisory capacity for The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE), The National Trust, The National Lottery, The Ministry of Justice and Play England (National Children's Bureau). 

• Director of OPAL  
  
• Qualified Teacher and Playworker 
  
• Six years as schools' play adviser within South Gloucestershire Council school improvement team
  
• Five years as Play Strategy Officer for Bath and North East Somerset Council
  
• Elected member of Play England Advisory Board and national charity trustee.
• Twelve years as public speaker, writer, trainer on play

My early work in schools focused on how adults could get children to play differently, through interventions like behaviour management and playground games. As I have worked in depth with over 100 primary schools over the past eleven years this approach has evolved. Now my starting point is not the children but the adults, as they define the school's culture and its ability to understand and support play. The journey of cultural change is exciting and empowering for schools and is the secret to progress which can be sustained long after mentoring and support ends.

I have used my studies of play environments in schools, public spaces and children's settings across the UK and in Germany, Sweden and Denmark to develop a simple and universal approach to creating high quality play landscapes which I have applied to the design of new school grounds, major housing developments, new public spaces, parks projects, children's centres and early years settings.

I have worked developing innovative design briefs for major developments including; the ground breaking Hanham Hall in Bristol, Kingsgate Park in Yate and Jubilee Green in Bradley Stoke and new schools and children's centres in South Gloucestershire. In 2011 I completed a commission for the National Trust to write their design brief for play.

• Are you an experienced trainer and passionate advocate for children play? 
  
• Do you have the confidence and skills to works with schools senior leadership?

The OPAL play in schools programme is being offered more widely across the country as more free-lancers and organisations join. If you are interested in becoming a partner organisation or training as an associate mentor please click here. 

The Love Outdoor Play campaign is calling on everyone to take action to show that they Love Outdoor Play. This could be as simple as taking five minutes to map their local play space on the online map, signing up to regularly give money, time or skills to a local play project, or finding out about local – or national – volunteering opportunities to help more children play outside more often. 

OPAL was developed during my time as Play Adviser working for the Learning and School Effectiveness Service of South Gloucestershire Council. The Council has transferred the rights to the new OPAL Community Interest Company so that other schools in the UK and beyond will be able to benefit from the programme. I would like to acknowledge the huge contribution the Council have made to the development of play in schools and to thank them for allowing other schools the chance to benefit from the OPAL play in schools programme.

OPAL is a registered Community Interest Company dedicated to improving the quality of children's play opportunities especially in primary schools.
Community interest companies (CIC) are a new type of limited company designed specifically for those wishing to operate for the benefit of the community rather than for the benefit of the owners of the company. This means that a CIC cannot be formed or used solely for the personal gain of a particular person, or group of people.

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child is an international human rights treaty which grants all children and young people a comprehensive set of rights, including the right to express their views and have them taken into account in all matters affecting them (article 12); the right to play, rest and leisure (article 31) and the right to protection from all forms of violence (article 19).
Parliament ratified the convention on 16 December 1991. As international law, the Convention is meant to be followed and should be referred to by courts, tribunals and other administrative processes when making decisions that affect children.
OPAL is committed to ensuring that Article 31 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child is recognised and implemented in the UK schools and organisations which have an impact on the quality of childhood.

OPAL is committed to the principles set out in the Charter for Children's Play.
This common set of values has been agreed by the wide spectrum of organisations which make up the play sector.
The Charter for Children's Play sets out a vision for play, plus the basic principles of what play means for children. It aims to be a catalyst for individuals and organisations to examine and improve their provision for children and young people's play and informal recreation.