History: Serious about Play: Childhood, Play and Policymaking in Wales, 1945 to the present (RS936)

Start date: 1^st October 2026 (enrolment open from mid-September) **(Please see the note below regarding potential later start dates.)

Supervisor:  Dr Sarah Crook, Dr Jacky Tyrie

Mode of Study: Full-time or Part-time

Place of Study: Swansea University

Aligned course programme: History, PhD

Project description:

Wales has been a pioneer around asserting and formalising the importance of children’s play within its policy-making. It was among the very first nations to adopt a national play policy, to enshrine opportunities for children’s play into law, and play is embedded in the nation’s flagship Wellbeing of Future Generations legislation. Taking a historical approach, the researcher undertaking this project will investigate how and when Wales came to develop such a distinctive stance on children’s play. The student will explore the postwar history childhood in Wales to assess whether the emphasis on play that manifested at the start of the 21st Century represented a point of continuity or a moment of rupture in the national imaginary. They will also examine more recent history to understand how notions of childhood and play have been linked to ideas about wellbeing, health, and Welsh national identity since devolution. During the project the doctoral candidate will undertake a 3-month+ placement with a relevant partner organisation, enabling them to consider the ‘real world’ interest in and application of their work, and to develop their skills in relevant policy areas. The placement may take over a period of time rather than in one block.

The research project, led by the doctoral student, asks: is there a distinctively Welsh history of play, and how is it entangled with broader histories of health, public space, urban design, childcare, community, risk, housing, and child development in Wales? How has play been mobilised in the political sphere, and how has play been used to inform and express ideas about cultural identity, shared values, and national character in the recent past? Moreover, the 2002 play policy was underpinned by the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (ratified by the UK in 1991), prompting this research to consider how Welsh policy has mapped onto global shifts in thinking about children’s rights. Wales has also historically been a hub of toy manufacturing, with thousands of employees working across factories in Trefnant, Bridgend, Fforestfach, and beyond. Major brands were part of this story - including Lego, which had a factory in Wrexham, and Mettoy, whose Swansea plant was opened in 1949. This reveals a little-recognised connection between play, toy production, and Wales’s industrial past.  

Policy-makers have recently lamented the lack of scrutiny and historicization of Welsh policy-making. The researcher will draw upon online political archives to map the political roots of play policy, using Assembly – now Senedd – material to understand the discursive function of play in the modern Welsh political landscape. This will be complemented with oral history interviews with policymakers, practitioner and campaigners. But looking beyond this more recent past, the student will use newspapers to understand the reception of play policies, as well as materials produced by and disseminated within practitioner communities – nursery and early-year settings, for example, and infant and primary schools. The student will be invited to use objects held by National Museums Wales to invite oral history participants to reflect upon changing play technologies.  The project contributes to the historiographies of childhood, Welsh history, political history, and to social history. It crosses disciplinary boundaries, however, informing work in childhood and early years’ studies. 

Field(s) of study: Social History, Political History, Cultural History, Early Childhood Studies, Welsh History, Early Childhood Studies 

Applicant webinar:

A webinar for applicants will be held on 3 March at 4pm. This will be an opportunity to discuss the Lles project and ask questions. To register for the webinar, please complete the form here

UK fee eligible applicants only

To receive Lles studentship funding, you should have qualifications or experience equivalent to an UK honours degree at a first or upper second-class level, or a master's degree. Students with non-traditional academic backgrounds are also welcome to apply.

Note for applicants holding international qualifications: details of how your qualification compares to the published academic entry requirements can be found on our Country Specific Entry Requirements page.

English Language
IELTS 6.5 Overall (with no individual component below 6.5) or Swansea University recognised equivalent. Full details of our English Language policy, including certificate time validity, can be found here.

The studentship funded by Lles covers tuition fees and an annual tax-free living stipend in line with UKRI minimum rates (currently £20,780 for 2025/26).

If you have a disability, you may be entitled to a Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) on top of your studentship Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA)

To apply, please complete the entire application form:

Full time

Part time

In order to be considered for this scholarship award the following steps are also required.

1) In section ‘Programme Related Information’ please input the relevant RS Code for the scholarship award i.e. RS936

2) In section ‘Research’ you will see ‘Proposed project title/studentship title’* (Mandatory)

• In ‘Proposed project title/studentship title’ please input:

• the RS Code, RS936 and
• the scholarship title.

• Please leave Proposed Supervisor field blank
• Please leave Research Project (if applicable) blank
• In ‘Do you have a proposal to upload?*’(Mandatory) Please select Yes
• Then upload copy of advert (you can save the advert by clicking print, and then print to pdf)

3) In section ‘Funding information’ please choose the option ‘Scholarship Funding’ only. Please ensure no other options are selected.

*It is the responsibility of the applicant to list the above information accurately when applying, please note that applications received without the above information listed will not be considered for the scholarship award.

If you’ve previously applied for this programme, the system will display an “Application Submitted” warning and block a new submission. In this case:

1. Apply for the same course with the next available start date (e.g., select January if October is unavailable).
2. Email pgrscholarships@swansea.ac.uk with your student number and the relevant scholarship RS code, requesting the start date be amended to match the advert.
3. Admissions staff will then update your application accordingly.

One application is required per individual Swansea University led research scholarship award; applications cannot be considered listing multiple Swansea University led research scholarship awards.

NOTE: Applicants for PhD/EngD/ProfD/EdD - to support our commitment to providing an environment free of discrimination and celebrating diversity at Swansea University you are required to complete an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Monitoring Form in addition to your programme application form.  

Please note that completion of the EDI Monitoring Form is mandatory; your application may not progress if this information is not submitted.

As part of your online application, you MUST upload the following documents (please do not send these via email):

• CV
• Degree certificates and transcripts (if you are currently studying for a degree, screenshots of your grades to date are sufficient)
• A cover letter including a ‘Supplementary Personal Statement’ to explain why the position particularly matches your skills and experience and how you choose to develop the project.
• One reference (academic or previous employer) on headed paper or using the Swansea University reference form. Please note that we are not able to accept references received citing private email accounts, e.g. Hotmail. Referees should cite their employment email address for verification of reference.
• Evidence of meeting English Language requirement (if applicable).
• Copy of UK resident visa (if applicable)
• Confirmation of EDI form submission

Assessment 

Short-listed applicants will be invited to interview. As part of the interview process, applicants will be asked to give a short presentation and answer a series of panel questions.  

Interviews may be held in person but are also available through Zoom/Teams for all students who wish to participate in that way.

*It is the responsibility of the applicant to list the above information accurately when applying, please note that applications received without the above information listed will not be considered for the scholarship award*

Short-listed applicants will be invited to interview. Interviews are expected to take place in April/May 2026

Informal enquiries inquiries relating to the project should be directed to Dr Sarah Crook S.R.E.Crook@Swansea.ac.uk / PGR-Lles@swansea.ac.uk

*External Partner Application Data Sharing – Please note that as part of the scholarship application selection process, application data sharing may occur with external partners outside of the University, when joint/co- funding of a scholarship project is applicable.

**In exceptional circumstances, and subject to the discretion of the University and/or the relevant funding body, a deferral of offer may be granted to the next available enrolment period. Such deferral will typically not exceed a duration of three calendar months from the originally stipulated commencement date. Please note that only one deferral may be considered, and any such deferral is not guaranteed.