I loved this.

I’m an old playwork dinosaur and if you had asked me ten years ago if it were possible for primary schools to totally get play and playtime, I would’ve said – maybe,a few, it’s not their fault, it’s all the pressures and so on, and if you’d asked me if it was possible not only for a primary school to totally get play and playtime AND get an outstanding for it from Ofsted, I would’ve just said – NO! and I would’ve said – I will eat my hat!

(Eating-related expressions of incredulity seem to be the emerging theme in these comments)

Superb piece: beautifully expressed, nuanced, diplomatic, great content, engaging and winning words, great understanding, knowledge worn lightly – the rewards of sustained work over the long-term (6 years minimum, I assume).

THE LESSON I’D LIKE US ALL TO TAKE FROM THIS IS THAT WE CAN ONLY PRODUCE WORK LIKE THIS OVER A PERIOD OF YEARS.

Long-term thinking in government used to mean one or more generations – 30 or 50 years. These days, when politicians talk long-term, they usually mean ‘before the next reshuffle or the next election’. Six months, maybe a year or two. Not enough, minister, not enough.

This piece made my day.

Thank you.

~• to find their ‘vocation’ the thing they want to contribute to the world, and the means to be able to make that contribution.

We all need to make a living as well as write operas.

(Note that I’m carefully avoiding using the word’ passion’ and the idea of ‘being on a journey with highs and lows’, and I’d like to keep it that way, thanks)

The key word is ‘contribute’ and my ‘star’ is a bit more than just ‘get a good job’

Many people do a rubbish job to subsidise what is disparaged as a hobby by others. The offspring of the rich often struggle to find something they really want to do, because they don’t need to work.

Yes my ‘star’ overlaps a bit with aspects of your three, and we could debate this for ages. I’ll leave that to academics and research wonks, like the lovely people at DFS who boiled down children’s hopes and dreams into the sticky gunk that is the ECM quartet. Enjoy and Achieve? Pah! You are aware that you are sort of reinventing the ECM consultation in a way, hopefully a better way, aren’t you?

The key thing I’m wanting to add to your list is this:

Humans are social creatures, every human wants to make a contribution.

That’s key in education, playwork, work with the unemployed, the elderly, etcetera. We all want to make a contribution. Sitting on your arse is a despairing and rubbish replacement for making a contribution to the world, be that writing symphonies, raising children, tidying canal banks or selling really healthy affordable snacks. Nobody settles for watching daytime telly with a hangover unless all the other alternatives for spending their time on earth have been taken from them by whatever means – bad luck, their own stupidity, accident of birth or calamity. Everybody starts out wanting to make a contribution, some have the stuffing knocked out of them along the way, but everybody wants to make a contribution.

Good question Cath, I enjoyed making that sermon.

We’re organising a tour of these schools on 30th Aug – details here:

http://www.ltl.org.uk/resources/results.php?id=477