Adrian Voce
Playing for England: How Play Advocates Achieved a Play Strategy for England

Monday, June 8, 2009, 4 p.m.
Donnelley Theatre
Heimbold Visual Arts Center

Adrian Voce is Director of Play England, part of the National Children’s Bureau for England and Northern Ireland. After a long career in play, residential care and special educational needs, Adrian Voce was appointed in 1998 as the first director of London Play, where he led this new organization in the development of a nationally accredited quality assurance scheme for the play sector, a major development program for London’s voluntary and community play sector and the successful campaign to establish a play strategy for the Mayor of London. As Director of Play England, he now leads a £15m, five-year plan to develop and establish a strategic national play agency, with regional support and development capacity, for England. The project is an integral part of the Big Lottery Fund’s £155m Children’s Play program. Adrian has also had many articles on children’s play published in national journals, including Community Care, Children Now and Nursery World. He was the executive editor of Quality in Play (London Play, 2000) and the author of The Mayor’s Guide to Preparing Play Strategies (GLA, 2005).