Playwork

The theory and practice of playwork recognises that children's play should ideally be "freely chosen, personally directed and intrinsically motivated.

The profession has its roots in the early adventure playground movement which began after Lady Allen of Hurtwood visited a site in Copenhagen during the German occupation of the city during World War II.

The sites were not typical playgrounds, but rather empty public spaces with a plethora of resources and materials, otherwise mistaken as "junk," for children to build, create, and mold their own environment.

[3] Playwork today has been popularized in mainstream culture by the short documentary, The Land, about an adventure playground in Wrexham, Wales.

Playwork can be studied at the graduate school level, specifically in Leeds Beckett University in the UK under Dr. Fraser Brown.