History: about Play: Childhood, Play and Policymaking in Wales, present

Organisation/Company Swansea University Department Central Research Field History Researcher Profile First Stage Researcher (R1) Positions PhD Positions Final date to receive applications 22 Mar 2026 - 23:59 (Europe/London) Country United Kingdom Type of Contract Temporary Job Status Full-time Hours Per Week 35 Offer Starting Date 1 Oct 2026 Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Not funded by a EU programme Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure?

No

The studentship is part of the AHRC‑funded Lles project, which will fund 28 studentships across Wales’ universities. This studentship will commence in October 2026.

Lles is a consortium of all Wales’ universities, working in partnership with Welsh public and third‑sector bodies. It will fund and train PhD students to investigate issues relating to wellbeing through the arts and humanities. Lles is a Welsh word that means ‘benefit’ or ‘wellbeing’. Its use here captures both how Lles students will benefit from training and career development and how their research on wellbeing will be for the benefit of wider society in Wales and beyond.

Lles and its studentships are guided by the ambition, principles and requirements of the Well‑Being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015. This legislation is globally unique and obligates Welsh public bodies to set objectives and take steps to improve the economic, social, environmental, and cultural wellbeing of Wales against seven goals: prosperity, resilience, equality, health, cohesive communities, vibrant culture and Welsh language, global responsibility.

Lles seeks to use the arts and humanities to meet and understand these goals.

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 Well‑Being 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 post‑war history of childhood in Wales to assess whether the emphasis on play that manifested at the start of the 21st Century represents 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 place 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 historicisation of Welsh…