Every child knows what it means to play, but the rest of us can merely speculate. Is it a kind of adaptation, teaching us skills, inducting us into certain communities? Is it power, pursued in games of prowess? Fate, deployed in games of chance? Daydreaming, enacted in art? Or is it just frivolity? Brian Sutton-Smith, a leading proponent of play theory, considers each possibility as it has been proposed, elaborated, and debated in disciplines from biology, psychology, and education to metaphysics, mathematics, and sociology.Sutton-Smith focuses on play theories rooted in seven distinct “rhetorics”–the ancient discourses of Fate, Power, Communal Identity, and Frivolity and the modern discourses of Progress, the Imaginary, and the Self. In a sweeping analysis that moves from the question of play in child development to the implications of play for the Western work ethic, he explores the values, historical sources, and interests that have dictated the terms and forms of play put forth in each discourse’s “objective” theory.This work reveals more distinctions and disjunctions than affinities, with one striking exception: however different their descriptions and interpretations of play, each rhetoric reveals a quirkiness, redundancy, and flexibility. In light of this, Sutton-Smith suggests that play might provide a model of the variability that allows for “natural” selection. As a form of mental feedback, play might nullify the rigidity that sets in after successful adaption, thus reinforcing animal and human variability. Further, he shows how these discourses, despite their differences, might offer the components for a new social science of play.

The Childcare Act 2006 imposes new obligations on childcare providers. This highly accessible guide offers a straightforward explanation of the first piece of legislation to focus solely on young children and childcare.Childcare Act 2006: the essential guide, offers a simple and comprehensive commentary on the Act, provides a clear explanation of how the Act will be implemented and explains how the new legislation will affect the planning and delivery of services. It also explains the effects on the new registration and inspection of services and presents the historical background to the legislation.The guide is for children’s services and other local authority officers, Ofsted inspectors, and all professionals working in both strategic planning and delivery of services.

The Childcare Act 2006 imposes new obligations on childcare providers. This highly accessible guide offers a straightforward explanation of the first piece of legislation to focus solely on young children and childcare.Childcare Act 2006: the essential guide, offers a simple and comprehensive commentary on the Act, provides a clear explanation of how the Act will be implemented and explains how the new legislation will affect the planning and delivery of services. It also explains the effects on the new registration and inspection of services and presents the historical background to the legislation.The guide is for children’s services and other local authority officers, Ofsted inspectors, and all professionals working in both strategic planning and delivery of services.

Master the art of delegation and master the business of time–the time to think, the time to plan, the time to accomplish more in a job and in career. This guide gives the foresight and the flexibility to multiply productivity, improve morale, and achieve solid results without putting in long, counterproductive hours. Here are the secrets that have put top executives on the top, plus comprehensive evaluation worksheets to help monitor and control delegated tasks.

Focusing on how managers should behave in order to ensure that they and their team members are providing an excellent service to all children in their care, this book provides a balance of accessible theory and practical application for a wide range of settings. It offers step-by-step guidance on: becoming a manger; linking theory to practice developing personal skills in managing people and services; and becoming more confident and effective.

How does the Children Act 1989 affect family support services? What are the implications for day care services for young children? What action should local authorities take? This guide provides a clear statement of the requirements placed on local authorities by the Children’s Act 1989, highlighting the need for authorities to review their existing childcare policies. It outlines effective strategies and policies to help authorities give practitioners a framework within which to work, discussing the implications for policy, procedures and practice. The Act gives local authorities a new range of duties, including identification of children who are in need or danger, support of children’s links with their families, provision of day care and the setting up of procedures to consider representations about the provision of services.

This book answers the key question that all fundraisers ask: Where is the money? It guides you through the research process, showing you the best places to look for inside information about trusts, individuals, and companies.

3rd Edition of the bestselling and invaluable guide to effective management for voluntary organisations and community groups. Clearly written in an accessible format, it is a companion volume to the newly updated ‘Voluntary but Not Amateur’.

MANAGER’S HANDBOOK This book provides practical support for all staff with managerial responsibilty and is also ideal for those interested in developing their management role. It gives straightforward advice on issues such as staff development, routines, writing policies, budget-setting, health, safety and preparing for inspection. Each chapter provides useful checklists and tips as well as case studies for dicussion at staff meetings. The book also has an invaluable selection of photocopiable resources, including sample policies, appraisal forms, staff questionnaires and action plans. Throughout the book, links are made to the Standards for the S/NVQ in Management at Levelv 3.

Managing Activities describes and explains the nature of managerial work. It gives a definitive overview of the activities carried out in organisations to achieve their aims and meet the expectations and needs of their stakeholders – owners, managers employees, customers, suppliers and the public.

Helps to learn what you need to know about successful delegation from deciding which tasks to delegate and selecting an appropriate candidate to ensuring the brief is clear and the task is carried out to your satisfaction. This title shows you how to free your time and motivate your staff and provides practical techniques to try when delegating.

Making management ideas easy to grasp and providing practical advice on management theory and practice, this book focuses on how to make policy work in practice:providing comprehensive advice on managing resources including advice on Health & Safety and promoting a healthy environment clear explanations of how to measure cost, incomes, ratios and effective efficiency Suggestions on how to bring about change and improvement.

A practical handbook for making management great again, “Managing for Happiness” offers a complete set of practices for more effective management that makes work fun.Work and fun are not polar opposites; they’re two sides of the same coin, and making the workplace a pleasant place to be keeps employees motivated and keeps customers coming back for more. It’s not about gimmicks or ‘perks’ that disrupt productivity; it’s about finding the passion that drives your business, and making it contagious.This book provides tools, games, and practices that put joy into work, with practical, real-world guidance for empowering workers and delighting customers. These aren’t break time exploits or downtime amusements–they’re real solutions for common management problems. Define roles and responsibilities, create meaningful team metrics, and replace performance appraisals with something more useful. An organization’s culture rests on the back of management, and this book shows you how to create change for the better.Somewhere along the line, people collectively started thinking that work is work and fun is something you do on the weekends. This book shows you how to transform your organization into a place with enthusiastic Monday mornings. Redefine job titles and career paths Motivate workers and measure team performance Change your organization’s culture Make management–and work–fun againModern organizations expect everyone to be servant leaders and systems thinkers, but nobody explains “how.” To survive in the 21st century, companies need to dig past the obvious and find what works. What keeps top talent? What inspires customer loyalty? The answer is great management, which inspires great employees, who then provide a great customer experience. “Managing for Happiness” is a practical handbook for achieving organizational greatness.

The IPD core management standards define the essentials for competently managing and developing people, and are compatible with an N/SVQ at level 4 in management. This book offers an introduction to working with people. It examines how to motivate employees, differing work patterns and their implications in the workplace, and how to manage work-related stress.

Making management ideas easy to grasp, the Managing in the Early Years series provides practical advice on management theory and practice. Focusing on all aspects of staff assessment and the importance of creating an effective childcare environment, this book: includes advice on grounding the approaches to good management in the values of excellent childcare practice offers advice on equality & diversity, child development, quality and standards and curriculum and presentation clearly explains every aspect of managing people from support and appraisal to recruitment and induction provides clear explanations on how best to communicate and listen to parents. \n Easy to use and apply, this is a must-have for students, assessors, nursery nurses with an interest in career development into management and anyone working within a early-years environment in a managerial role.

This text aims to equip workers and interview panelists with the necessary skills and information to make a better job of the recruitment process. Features include scenario examples and practical tips.

The authors draw on their extensive experience to lead you through: setting objectives and finding an innovative; idea planning and budgeting; choosing venues and recruiting patrons; dealing with the public and talking to the media. Illustrated by case studies from the British Red Cross and other major charities, this is an invaluable guide for major event organisers.

The tools you need to enrich the performance-appraisal experience as you streamline the processWhether you’re a manger looking to implement employee appraisals for the first time, concerned with improving the quality and effectiveness of the appraisal process, or simply trying to save time and mental anguish “Performance Appraisals & Phrases For Dummies” provides the tools you need to save time and energy while presenting fair and accurate evaluations that foster employee growth.This convenient, portable package includes a full-length appraisal phrasebook featuring over 3,200 spot-on phrases and plenty of quick-hitting expert tips on making the most out of the process. You’ll also receive online access to writable, customizable sample evaluation forms other timesaving resources.Includes more than 3,200 phrases for clear, and helpful evaluationsHelps make evaluations faster, more effective, and far less stressfulOffers far more advice and coaching than other performance appraisal booksServes as an ideal guide for managers new to the appraisal processWith expert advice from Ken Lloyd, a nationally recognized consultant and author, “Performance Appraisals and Phrases For Dummies” makes the entire process easier, faster, and more productive for you “and” your employees.

Many existing fundraising books are overwhelmingly dull affairs, preoccupied with technique and rarely mentioning the human dimension to giving or the values that are essential to good fundraising. people to reflect on their practice and challenge them to work and think in a different way. Different chapters can be used to stimulate discussion at fundraising team meetings, both for paid and voluntary. It is also useful for non-fundraisers who have to work in an organisation that has fundraisers within it. Some of the chapters are very effective as motivational texts for fundraisers, with the aim of drawing them back to why they do what they do and the difference they make. As such, this book could be considerably valuable to the tens of thousands of fundraising groups in the country who struggle to maintain enthusiasm and commitment. Some chapters can also be used for team discussions and debates. fundraising, revealing the sometimes uncomfortable truths about both fundraisers and givers.

Sayer explains legal requirements, roles and responsibilities, cash analysis, bank reconciliations, financial planning, management accounting and reporting, computerisation, tax and trading, tax effective giving, investments and bookkeeping.

A volume in the series of books aimed at helping the reader develop skills in a chosen subject area. Particular attention is paid to the career options relating to public speaking and there are details of all relevant training courses and work experience.

Step-by-step guidance on interview techniques to ensure you choose better people more efficiently.

Setting up a nursery is a central reference work for anyone intending to become a provider of nursery care and education. Aimed at community providers and the voluntary sector, it offers guidance and introductory information on all the steps that nursery providers need to take before they can open a new setting, and points to publications that cover each of the various issues in detail

Staff Training Activities This book provides guidance on how to organise and run 48 cost-effective staff training sessions. These are designed to be flexible enough to be covered in after-hours staff meeting times, or to be linked together to make longer ‘training day’ programmes. There is step-by-step information on the timing, group size, resources needed, what to do during the session and further action to follow it. Helpful photocopiable activities and hand-outs are provided for the staff taking part. The training activities provide excellent ways of developing staff knowledge and ideas, reviewing provision, team-building, applying quality control and ensuring that there is agreed practice in your setting.

This edited collection covers the full range of themes and issues relevant to teaching/classroom assistants studying on a foundation degree course.With a heavy emphasis on developing both effective study skills and “reflective” thinking skills, this book: covers issues relevant to all age ranges so students can transfer this knowledge to their own educational settings; provides specific guidance for assistants supporting bilingual learners; helps students develop skills in guidance, counselling, child protection, and behavior management; offers detailed advice on organizing and managing a voluntary club; and includes practical activities for “Developing Study Skills,” discussion pointsz and boxes to help “Reflect on Practice.”

Team building is an essential skill for today’s managers. The ability of staff to perform as a team as well as on an individual level is vitally important for the good of the department, as well as that of the whole organisation. In order to build a cohesive team that is motivated towards common goals, managers need to develop a positive attitude and adopt a structured approach to leadership. Managers who adopt these skills will find that their team members achieve more and that the workplace becomes more efficient and productive. With checklists, quizzes and examples, this self-help book provides busy managers and their teams with advice for developing and improving: planning and organisation; communication; training and coaching; the selection of qualified people; commitment and trust; and, the resolution of conflict and complaints. For managers keen to learn and improve these crucial skills, this informal step-by-step guide provides the keys to setting realistic goals and giving ongoing support and encouragement to their staff.

Based on a series of articles published in Charity, a jargon-free handbook written for anyone who has been appointed to care for the funds of smaller voluntary organisations. Topics covered include dealing with cash receipts, recording bank transactions, cash flow measures and accounts.

This is a practical fundraising guide for community groups, local charity projects, schools etc. It contains details of several money-spinning ideas which really work, and a clear breakdown for each event of operating and equipment needs.

A handbook of advice on running successful fundraising events, aimed at charities, voluntary organisations and community groups.

Will be invaluable for students following S/NVQs in Early Years Care and Education and in Playwork, those taking CACHE qualifications (CCE and DNN) and the BTEC Diploma in Early Years.

If you judge books by their covers, Jack Welch’s Winning certainly grabs your attention. Testimonials on the back come from none other than Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, Rudy Giuliani, and Tom Brokaw, and other praise comes from Fortune, Business Week, and Financial Times. As the legendary retired CEO of General Electric, Welch has won many friends and admirers in high places. In this latest book, he strives to show why. Winning describes the management wisdom that Welch built up through four and a half decades of work at GE, as he transformed the industrial giant from a sleepy “Old Economy” company with a market capitalization of $4 billion to a dynamic new one worth nearly half a trillion dollars. Welch’s first book, Jack: Straight from the Gut, was structured more as a conventional CEO memoir, with stories of early career adventures, deals won and lost, boardroom encounters, and Welch’s process and philosophy that helped propel his success as a manager. In Winning, Welch focuses on his actual management techniques. He starts with an overview of cultural values such as candor, differentiation among employees, and inclusion of all voices in decision-making. In the second section he covers issues around one’s own company or organization: the importance of hiring, firing, the people management in between, and a few other juicy topics like crisis management. From there, Welch moves into a discussion of competition, and the external factors that can influence a company’s success: strategy, budgeting, and mergers and acquisitions. Welch takes a more personal turn later with a focus on individual career issues–how to find the right job, get promoted, and deal with a bad boss–and then a final section on what he calls “Tying Up Loose Ends.” Those interested in the human side of great leaders will find this last section especially appealing. In it, Welch answers the most interesting questions that he’s received in the last several years while traveling the globe addressing audiences of executives and business-school students. Perhaps the funniest question in this section comes at the very end, posed originally by a businessman in Frankfurt, who queried Welch on whether he thought he’d go to heaven (we won’t give away the ending). While different from the steadier stream of war stories and real-life examples of Welch’s first book, Winning is a very worthwhile addition to any management bookshelf. It’s not often that a CEO described as the century’s best retires, and then chooses to expound on such a wide range of management topics. Also, aside from the commentary on always-relevant issues like employee performance reviews and quality control, Welch suffuses this book with his pugnacious spirit. The Massachusetts native who fought his way to the top of the world’s most valuable company was in many ways the embodiment of “Winning,” and this spirit alone will provide readers an enjoyable read. –Peter Han

This edition deals with some of the legal problems that may arise in providing services for young people or working with young people.

This updated edition brings to fundraisers’ attention the changes in what funders are looking for and developments in the application process. It makes fundraisers aware of common mistakes and how to avoid them, illustrating this using worked examples. This title is considered the standard and best book on the subject. It includes: a section on outcome funding; online applications; top tips from successful fundraisers; new case studies; and, examples of funders’ guidelines for the ‘ideal’ letter.

This is a practical handbook tailored to help anyone – novice or experienced fundraiser – raise cash for youth projects.