Irish Traveller children's play Preliminary representations from a critical scoping review

The following is an abstract summary of an oral presentation on representations of Irish Traveller children's play and practice implicationsat the World Federation of Occupational Therapists Conference in Paris. Introduction Revolution implies a fundamental change in the way that we thinkand act.An occupational rights agenda affirms our responsibility as Occupational Therapists to support children’s right to play and identify and address the barriers to play. Irish Traveller children experience systemic discrimination within schoolyards- increasingly understood as a significant place in the lives of children.Our insufficient understanding of IrishTraveller children’s play leaves us vulnerable todecontextualised and deficit focused practicesthat risk contributing to systems that sustain inequality and exclusion. There is a diverse body of information available that may assist in understanding thecomplexities ofpolitical, historical,spatialand relationalfactors relevant to Irishchildren’splay to support our practice. Objectives Toidentify, map and summarizeexistingevidenceon Irish Traveller children’s playin schoolyards. Method Thisstudy applied the methodological guidance onconducting a scoping review from the Joanna Briggs Institute.A PRISMAScrflow chart was used to track the scoping review search process. Results The scale and variety of evidence relevant to Irish children's play in schoolyards was mapped and summarised.Expected resultsinclude theidentification ofimportant constructs apparent in the existing body of workandgreaterunderstandingsof thecomplexities of factors relevant to Irishchildren’splayin schoolyards. Preliminary results on representations of Irish Traveller childrens play will be presented. Conclusion This study will provide crucial knowledge tosupportrights-basedpracticewhich requires Occupational Therapists to critically reflect on the situated and relational nature of children’s play in schoolyards.