NATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON PLAY RIGHTS​ AS A HEALTH, EDUCATION & SOCIAL JUSTICE CONCERN

Date ​| Friday 17th April 2026 | ​10:00-16.00​
Location ​| National University of Ireland, 49 Merrion Square, Dublin 2​ , D02 V583 ​
Directions from Heuston Station, Dublin

About the Symposium

This national symposium, aligned with the Making Space for Play in Irish Schoolyards research project, positions play rights in schoolyards as a critical cross-sectoral concern spanning education, health, planning, and children’s rights.​

Children’s right to play in schoolyards is increasingly restricted, despite overwhelming evidence that play is crucial for health, learning, and inclusion. Irish schoolyards are mostly hard-surfaced spaces, often crowded and devoid of any resources or natural areas with schools facing significant constraints, including: ​

  • limited policy guidance
  • inadequate design expertise
  • insufficient funding
  • lack of knowledge on play value

The programme brings together international and national research insights, policy analysis, children’s voices, and expert dialogue to address contemporary challenges and explore how evidence can be translated into meaningful change to support the co-design of policies, standards, and training that create conditions for all children’s right to play in Irish schoolyards.

Symposium Schedule

Registration
9:30-10:00
Opening Address
10:00-10:15
Keynote
10:15-11:00

Prof John McKendrick, Glasgow Caledonian University | Insights from the Scottish National school grounds census 2005-2025

Tea/Coffee Break
11:00-11:15
Research Presentation
11:15-11:45

Dr Michelle Bergin, University College Cork | Launch of National Evaluation of Play Rights Provision in Irish Schoolyards

Research Presentation
11:45-12:15

Dr Maedhbh NicLochlainn, University College Cork | Mapping provision for play in Irish Schoolyards:

Research Presentation
12:15-12:45

 Dr Fiona Armstrong, Technological University Dublin | Outdoor play and risk in kids

Lunch
12:45-1:30

Children's Photovoice Gallery Presentations

Research Presentation
1:30-2:00

Dr Avril Johnstone, University of Glasgow | Active Outdoor Play for Healthy Children: Evidence and Implications for School Playgrounds

Research Presentation
2:00-2:30

Angela Stallard & Alan Herron, Play Board NI | National Survey of Play in the Irish Context

Cross Sectoral Panel
2:30-3:00

Facilitated by Dr Bryan Boyle

Closing Reflections
3.30-4:00

Dr Wendy Russell

Symposium Organisers

This symposium contributes to MAKING SPACE FOR PLAY IN IRISH SCHOOLYARDS, a National 2 year funded research project evaluating existing provision for play in Irish primary schoolyards . This four-phase project uses diverse methods with school communities to raise consciousness on play rights provision in schoolyards.

Symposium Convenor
Dr Michelle Bergin, Lead researcher on Making Space for Play in Irish Schoolyards

Michelle is an occupational therapist, educator and postdoctoral researcher at the School of Clinical Therapies, University College Cork. In her current role as Research Ireland Postdoctoral Fellow , Michelle is lead investigator in the national evaluation of play rights in Irish schools. Michelle's doctoral research within the EU P4Play programme explored how restrictions to children's play are sustained in Irish schoolyards With over 20 years’ experience across public health, inclusive education, forensic mental health and disability services, her work spans projects in inclusive school design, primary care, play sufficiency, critical pedagogies, community-led poverty reduction and urban unsealing. Her interdisciplinary work draws on health, social sciences and the humanities, using participatory, critical and decolonial approaches to examine how everyday occupations- such as playing -are promoted, tolerated or restricted, and how this relates to health and social justice. Internationally, she contributes across teaching, research, supervision, policy, peer-reviewed publications, media and conference presentations, prioritising respectful collaborations with diverse perspectives to challenge inequities and co-construct alternative, healthier, and more just ways of living well together

Symposium Co-Convenor
Dr Bryan Boyle
Making Space for Play in Irish Schoolyards
Making Space for Play in Irish Schoolyards Project Link

Contributors

Keynote Speaker | Prof John McKendrick
Co-Director of the Scottish Poverty and Inequality Research Unit, Glasgow Caledonian University

John’s research interests cover children’s use of space, children’s play and child poverty. He was on the Board of Directors of Play Scotland from 2007-2017 and was awarded the Play Champion Award by Play Scotland in 2024 for services to play. He has examined several PhD theses on play and served as external examiner for university degrees on play at Gloucestershire, Leeds Beckett and Northumbria universities. He has edited ten collection of papers on play. Four of these collections also arose from the International Play Association’s triennial conference in Glasgow in 2023, for which he co-ordinated the Academic and Practioner Panel: two pre-conference collections and edited two collections of papers, in which participants shared their perspectives on Priorities for Play: Towards 2030 and beyond and Inspirationally Playful: people, places and practices that have inspired play practitioners and researchers and two post conference collections, i.e., Born to Play, a collection that aims to promote play in Scotland, and Play for Health and Wellbeing, an edited collection of research papers in the International Journal of Play. Other collections include ‘Play and education in Scotland’ (Scottish Educational Review, 2019); ‘The playway to the entrepreneurial city’ (Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, 2018); ‘Unleashing the Power of Play: Research from the International Play Association 20th Triennial Conference’ (Children, Youth and Environments, 2018), two collections of papers examining the impact of Austerity on playwork (Journal of Playwork Practice, 2014) and playspace provision (International Journal of Play, 2015), and an earlier collection of papers on 'Children's playgrounds in the built environment', a Special Edition of the Built Environment (Alexandrine Press, 1999).

Dr Avril Johnstone
University of Glasgow

Avril is a Research Fellow in the School of Health and Wellbeing at the University of Glasgow and a public health researcher specialising in children’s active outdoor play. Her research examines how school, community, and nature-based environments shape children’s physical and mental health, with a particular focus on reducing health inequalities. She integrates intervention development and evaluation, systems approaches, and qualitative research with children to generate policy relevant evidence. With a background in Physical Activity and Health and experience as a playworker, her work bridges research, practice, and policy, with a strong focus on translating evidence into real-world impact.

Dr Fiona Armstrong

Fiona is an experienced Occupational Therapist with a strong background in the Irish healthcare system, having worked across both acute and community settings with children and adults. Throughout her career, she has been committed to delivering client-centred interventions as part of multidisciplinary teams, supporting individuals to achieve meaningful participation in everyday life.
Fiona holds a Master’s degree in Health Services Management from Trinity College Dublin (TCD). Driven by a particular interest in paediatrics, she later completed a Master of Education (MEd) in Early Intervention at TCD, further strengthening her expertise in supporting child development and promoting positive developmental outcomes.
Fiona is particularly passionate about approaches that empower children and families while promoting independence, participation, and wellbeing.
Fiona’s PhD project explored Play and Risk in children. Her research examined how play supports the development of executive functioning and life skills, particularly through opportunities for children to assess risk, develop self-awareness of their strengths and abilities, and build safety awareness. The study also investigated the current state of play infrastructure in Ireland, parental attitudes towards risky play, and injury rates associated with children’s play. Through this work, Fiona aims to contribute to evidence-based approaches that support healthy child development and balanced perspectives on risk in play.

Dr Maedbh Nic Lochlainn
University College Cork

Maedhbh is a Lecturer in Human Geography and GIS at the Department of Geography at UCC. She teaches across a range of undergraduate and postgraduate modules in geography, but have particular strengths in critical GIS, digital/urban geographies, and research methods. Her research interests are at the intersection of urban and digital geographies, and she has published research in leading international peer-reviewed journals (including City, Housing Studies, and Digital Geography and Society). Prior to starting at UCC, Maedhbh was a
Postdoctoral Researcher on the FINCITY: European Financial Centres in Transition project at the University of Luxembourg. She completed her Ph.D. in Geography at Trinity College Dublin, where she was a Government of Ireland Postgraduate Research Scholar. https://orcid.org/0000- 0002-5391-14015

Dr Wendy Russell
University of Gloucestershire

Wendy is a Senior Research Fellow in Play at the University of Gloucestershire, UK. Her current research mostly focuses spatial justice for children both in public and institutional spaces and on playwork. She is a co-founder of the international Philosophy at Play conferences and is on the editorial board of the International Journal of Play.

Angela Stallard
Director, Service Delivery & Development PlayBoard

Angela has spent over forty years working in the field of play, including thirty years in a variety of roles with PlayBoard. She is currently PlayBoard’s Director of Service Delivery and Development. Angela successfully led the implementation and management of an EITP (Early Intervention Transformation Programme) – funded project Play Matters project during a two-year secondment to the Department of Education in Northern Ireland. Aligned with one of the eight high-level outcomes of the Children and Young People’s Strategy—that children and young people enjoy play and leisure - the project created a strong framework for shared understanding and collaboration among a wide range of stakeholders, including government departments, local authorities, community planning partners, health and social care professionals, schools, and parents. She also developed and established PlayBoard’s ‘Positive PlayGrounds’ project which has since been delivered in over 400 primary schools across Northern Ireland.
In her current role, Angela provides operational oversight of PlayBoard’s portfolios including Play Services, Schools Programmes – Positive PlayGrounds and Taking Outdoor Play Seriously (TOPS), Youth@Play, Spaces to Be – OUR Generation, Playful Minds, Training/Workforce and Bright Start. She also oversees development work with local authorities and councils and is currently developing a new initiative focused on Special Educational Needs and Inclusive Play.

Alan Herron
PlayBoard NI

Alan joined PlayBoard in 2009 and was appointed as Chief Executive Officer in the summer of 2022. Alan is passionate about championing every child’s right to play and his work is grounded in a commitment to social justice, inclusion, and the creation of child-friendly communities.
At policy level, Alan was centrally involved in the development of Northern Ireland’s first-ever Play and Leisure policy, and the development and roll-out of the Executives Bright Start School Age Childcare programme. Alan has further led the development of play investment strategies across a number of Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland based councils, working to enhance access to quality play opportunities and experiences for all children and young people. At national level, Alan sits on the UK Children’s Play Policy Forum, the UK Play Safety Forum and the British Standards Institute Group SW/65 (Children’s Play Equipment).

Cross Sectoral Panel Contributors

Christina Duff
Irish Heart Foundation

Christina is the Schools Physical Activity Coordinator with the Irish Heart Foundation’s Children and Young People team. The Irish Heart Foundation supports primary schools in their mission to nurture children’s wellbeing with engaging programmes and resources for active classrooms, movement breaks, healthy eating, PE and more - all co-designed with children and available free online.
Christina is a Registered Health Promotion Practitioner and a passionate advocate for active play, physical literacy and wellbeing. She is a current committee member of the newly established Irish branch of the International Play Association, former chair of the Children’s Research Network’s Outdoor PLAE (Play, Leisure and Education) Special Interest Group and an active member of the PARS Playwork Practice international community.

Dr. Helen Lynch
P4play and collaborator with University College Cork, Ireland

Helen is a play researcher and advocate, and qualified occupational therapist, specialising in working with children with disabilities, families and communities. She worked for 20 years as an academic in UCC and continues to contribute to UCC via ongoing research and PhD student supervision. She is currently supervising 4 self-funding PhD students from Ireland, Malta, Greece and Belgium. She has coauthored over 55 papers, 12 chapters and has presented at many conferences internationally. With expertise on child-centred methodologies, she has led many research projects concerning inclusive childhood play environments, and the rights of children to play and was Co-PI on a Horizon2020 EU grant, P4play: www.p4play.eu. She is a member of the steering committee for Cork Child Friendly Cities and convenor of Internal Play Association Ireland branch in 2025.

Fíonnadh McGonigle
National Disability Authority

Fíonnadh is an architect, who joined the Centre for Excellence in Universal Design at the National Disability Authority in February 2023. In her role as Senior Built environment Design Advisor she works to promote Universal Design in the built environment. She completed a Masters in Advanced Environmental and Energy studies at the Centre for Alternative Technology, and her keen interest in sustainability and architectural ethics, brought her to issues about social sustainability and Universal Design. Fíonnadh previously worked in architectural practice in Co. Wicklow

Prof Emer Ring
Dean of Early Childhood and Teacher Education at Mary Immaculate College, Limerick, Ireland.

Emer leads and manages the Faculty of Education, which is one of the largest education faculties in Ireland, providing a wide range of teacher education programmes from early childhood to post-primary level, both at undergraduate and post-graduate levels. Emer lectures at undergraduate and post-graduate levels and engages in a wide range of research focused on inclusion, pedagogy, autism, children’s rights, education policy and early childhood education.

Funding

NUI Early Career Academics Grant
Research Ireland post-doctoral fellowship grant
University College Cork
Inclusive Playgrounds
Universal Design for Playspaces
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