THE POWER OF PLAY

In Credu we have been reflecting on our work with some of our youngest Carers. The importance of early recognition and support and building relationships with families. Our Young Carers groups invite members from 8yrs old and many of our trips have a Primary school aged focus.

We offer occasional smaller group activities to our younger young carers aged under 8 and can invite them into Family days out and activities and other events that would be suitable.

Two such recent appropriate activities included a set of Well-being Workshops delivered through Play in three Primary schools across Wrexham, Conwy & Denbighshire and a day of Play in Halkyn Castle Woods.

A penned reflection by https://duxicus.com/ who we invited to lead our Wellbeing Workshops ( March & April 2025 ) taking place at Ysgol Penmorfa, Ysgol Sant Elford & Ysgol Rhosymedre through the medium of play.

“ A poet went to play he did, to play a poet went

In Ysgol space three circles formed, Wellbeing as intent.

Through forming, norming and performing groups emerged in play

Repeated themes and joyful scenes were manifest each day.

As sessions built were lessons found to illustrate that life

Is complex in its meaning and aint always black and white. “

Using the ‘5 Ways to Wellbeing’ framework we set about creating safe spaces for groups of Young Carers to come together ( in a weekly circle ) and explore the things that affect us as we grow. The challenges of being in a caring role were approached from a gentle non-judgemental direction with children being encouraged to be open and supportive towards each other. Weekly fluctuations in spirit were recognised in the opening circle where children self identified ( via a number or colour ) their current emotional temperature. This circle also asked them to reflect backwards on the week past or imagine forwards to future desires. Each week we generated a playspace with pens, paper, puppets, loose parts and visiting characters in a space where we threaded together exercises which allowed us to think about :

The importance of connecting with others ( C )

The value of learning ( L )

The joys of being active ( A )

The power of noticing ( N )

The benefits of giving to others ( G )

Three different groups in three different schools with three different emergent energies seeking to explore ( via play ) the world of emotional intelligence, life skills and coping mechanisms . Each group at a different stage of connection to each other and to Credu. The sessions built a momentum of fun and expectation. Some games were repeated at the request of the group and new games were introduced each week. Elements of chance were embroidered into the sessions and the role of jeopardy in games created a useful playful tension - you win some / you lose some - how does this feel?. The letter C featured heavily in exercises of both Oracy and Literacy. The Cookie Monster song allowed children to earn cookies by working together to compile a lexicon of C words Community / Caring / Cool / Children / Cancer / Cuddles / Company / Colours / Creativity Big shared rolls of paper allowed us to record words/sounds/doodles - always based on what we know collectively - space to acknowledge each others recall and creativity. Balloons and elastic bands were used as prizes for various achievements - observation games and memory games were employed to focus on NOTICING. Role play via puppets was used to identify loneliness as a place of sadness ( how does this feel ) and CONNECTION to others a source of wellbeing. We found lots of opportunities to think about LEARNING and the role it can play in our self-esteem - we generated lists of things we have learnt already ( walking/talking/reading/gaming/cooking etc and things we would like to maybe master one day ( gardening/art/music ). Each group generating a long list of ways of being ACTIVE ( things that are freely available walking/playing/sports/fitness/etc and things that may cost trampolining/surfing ) Kindness and co-operation were key elements in our focus - winning prizes that could be swapped with others / given away / kept - this act of GIVING was central in our work - giving attention to others, giving praise to others, giving time to others. Focus was also given to APPRECIATION, our play circles encouraged self reflection on things that we enjoy and make us feel well - the counterpoint was also acknowledged and we identified times when we felt less than OK, we were not afraid to look at the reasons why we sometimes feel sad, or stressed or angry. We focussed on relationships to others ( family and friends ) as the scaffold for how we feel and, in turn, how we are able to help others feel. Whilst most of the games, exercises and general flow felt light and playful we were also able to handle the darker shades of difficult feelings. Each play circle was bookended with a ‘check-in score’ and in every session the number at the end was noticeably higher than at the start. This i believe serves as testimony to the work of the group in supporting each other to thrive. I hope and trust that this work can be continued by the Credu team as there are clear benefits to be found in small groupwork which seeks to promote wellbeing and emotional resilience.

Halkyn Woods BIG day of Play saw over 90 Young Carers enjoy a back to nature and nurture day of fun. Credu organised the event for its three North Wales Young Carers projects in Wrexham, Conwy & Denbighshire. The funding from Wrexham Football Club allowed us to open up the day to Flintshire Young Carers supported by Newcis and Gwyneth & Ynys Mon Young Carers supported by Action for Children.

Halkyn Woods created areas in its meadow, its woodland, by the Troll bog and around the Tipi. The activities on offer were creative, playful and open to children's imagination. Groups of children naturally teamed up to create dams, created fishing rods out of wool and sticks and sacrificed a bit of their ham sandwich.

The May flowers and areas of longer wild grasses allowed day dreaming and quieter moments. Nature showed herself as the perfect playground for Free Play, co-operative play and learning.

The range of ages from 5 to 12 allowed the children to be kind and inclusive, mindful of younger ones and watch and learn from the older ones.

Please enjoy this short video of the day at Halkyn Woods: https://youtu.be/7CeS0IvtYuM