Professor Pat Broadhead
Pat Broadhead is Professor of Playful Learning at Leeds Metropolitan University. She has undertaken research into play and learning in educational early years settings and has many publications in this field also. She has been an Early Years and primary teacher. Visit the Leeds Met website for more information about Professor Broadhead...
Watch Pat's Key Note Speech
Dr Fraser Brown
Dr Fraser Brown is Reader in Playwork at Leeds Metropolitan University, and lecturer on the BA Hons Playwork degree. For ten years he was Director of the playwork training agency Children First, and previously held advisory posts with Playboard and the NPFA. He spent three years on an adventure playground in Runcorn, and managed a range of projects for the North West Play Association. For two years he was District Leisure Officer in Middlesbrough.
His publications include Foundations of Playwork (2008); The Venture: a Case Study of an Adventure Playground (2007); Playwork: Theory and Practice (2003); School Playgrounds (1990) and Working Together: a Playwork Training Pack (1989). He has also been a contributing author to various publications on childhood.
Fraser has spoken throughout the UK and abroad about his research into the effects of therapeutic playwork on a group of abandoned children in Romania, and has recently published a journal article on the subject, Children Without Play.
Watch Fraser's Key Note Speech
Ruth Churchill Dower
Ruth Churchill Dower is the Director of Isaacs UK, a cultural learning consultancy working across the arts, cultural and early educational communities.
Isaacs provides specialist support in areas of Early Years, arts in education, networked learning partnerships, professional development, online learning, evaluation and impact assessments, research and evaluation. One of the main networks run by Isaacs UK is Earlyarts, a professional development network for arts, cultural and early years professionals working creatively with young children and families.
Ruth has worked on developing arts, cultural, early education and learning strategies in both policy and practice, with clients such as Arts Council England, CAPE UK, Department of Culture, Media and Sport, National Museums Liverpool, Canterbury Children’s Centre, Museums, Libraries and Archives Council, and Creative Partnerships.
Previously, Ruth was Headed of Lifelong Learning at Metier, the National Training Organisation for the Arts and Entertainment Industries; Arts Officer with Norwich City Council; and Manager of the Dacorum Borough Arts scheme, a professional development programme for artists and schools. Ruth has also been a visiting lecturer at University of Hertfordshire, University of East Anglia, and Norwich School of Art and Design.
She has published a range of papers, articles and guides in the areas of creative practice in early years, online learning and knowledge management. The most recent ones being:
- Ruth Churchill Dower (2008) Fostering Creative Learning for 3-5 year-olds in Four International Settings, chapter 9 of Creative Learning 3-11 and How We Document It, edited by Anna Craft, Teresa Cremin and Pamela Burnard. Published by Trentham Books, ISBN: 978-1-85856-410-4.
- Ruth Churchill Dower (2006) Imagination for Life and Learning , Yorkshire, Arts Council England, ISSN/ISBN: 0-7287-1191-5
- Ruth Churchill Dower, Helen Sims, Chris Hoy (2006) Search for Meaning - The Children's Curriculum, Bradford, Canterbury Nursery School and Centre for Children and Families.
- Fiona Anderson; Tim Caulton; Ruth Churchill Dower; Pat Cochrane; Dr Catherine Burke (2006) Cultural Entitlement: the capacities of cultural and creative organisations in the Yorkshire region to deliver a ‘cultural entitlement’ agenda in schools, , Arts Council England, Creative Partnerships, Leeds University, Yorkshire Museums Libraries and Archive Service.
Ruth is a Director and board member of Yorkshire Culture and Germination, a cultural production company. She is also a member of Small Size (European network for the diffusion of performing arts for children), EUnetART (European Network of arts organisations for children and young people), RSA (Royal Society for the Encouragement of the Arts) and works as an Expert Advisor to Youth Music.
Rachel Riggs
Formed in 1994, Dynamic New Animation (DNA) creates visually stimulating performances and activities promoting the artform of puppetry, to people of all ages, ethnic origins and abilities through performance and creative education work. Specialising in combining puppetry and visual theatre techniques, DNA offers a range of workshops that compliment touring shows for arts centres, youth groups, schools, early years organisations and festivals, regionally, nationally and internationally.
Mike Wragg
Mike Wragg is a Senior Lecturer on the BA (Hons) Playwork degree at Leeds Metropolitan University. Prior to taking up that post he worked as Head of Play Services for Stoke-on-Trent City Council, and as manager of Warwick Adventure Playground & Community Campus in Knottingley, West Yorkshire. Within that role Mike worked as a face-to-face playworker and delivered a number of playwork training courses. Previously he was Play Development and Training Officer with Bradford Metropolitan District Council. Mike has also been a part-time lecturer, and worked in, and managed, a number of out-of-school clubs and holiday playschemes. He is actively involved with several regional and national playwork organisations and committees.
