A Free  End of Year Celebration

Presentation title

Building tenacity and resilience through play: why adventurous play matters for children’s mental health

About the Presenter:

Helen Dodd is Professor of Child Psychology at the University of Exeter, and the director of the newly funded Outdoor Play Research Centre. Helen brings a background in children's mental health to the field of play, publishing in 2021 a key paper exploring adventurous play as a route to preventing anxiety.

Helen has built a programme of work that includes national level data collection, in depth work with schools, methods development and evaluation of how play links to child mental health. Her work has been funded by a range of funders including most recently by a prestigious UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship.

Helen has received awards for her work, including one from the British Psychological Society for her contribution to developmental science. She is an elected director of Play England and an advocate for children's outdoor, adventurous play, and her work is regularly featured in national and international press.

EVENT: Play Australia festive end of year celebration

Date: Tuesday 8 December 2026.

Time: 4:00pm to 7:00pm

Venue: Canva

             110 Kippax Street, Surry Hills, 2010 Sydney