Information for Presenters

Preparing to Present

• Lead authors of accepted proposals have now been contacted via email (5 March 2026). Please check the programme link provided (to the draft programme) to confirm the slot you have been allocated, which may not be what you asked for eg you may have been offered a spotlight session or an outdoor session.
• All parallel sessions are 45 minutes (even if you requested longer), with a minimum gap of 15 minutes between sessions. Please stick to time as closely as you can.
• We have a PC in each room or you can connect your own laptop via HDMI. Please bring any adaptors you need. 
• We’re thinking about our sustainability, so think about what you need to print (for example, you don’t need to print copies of articles etc. to hand out, but do bring any specific materials for your activity, eg. card templates for delegates to cut out!). We can host any articles/slides etc. online for you. 
• There will be a resources table throughout the conference with general craft supplies including pens, scissors, glue sticks, tape, card and paper. Let us know what else you might need and we’ll help if we can. All resources will be shared across the conference. 
• Fun outdoors? The outdoors sessions are always popular in the summer – if you originally asked for a room but can think of a way to move your session outside and fancy trying this, then just let us know! Some of you may have been scheduled outdoors because we thought it would work well that way – we hope you are up to the challenge! 
• Pricing will stay the same as 2025 – It will be £450 for delegates for 3 days of the conference, all food and drink and 2 nights accommodation. If you need to arrive early you can add the Tuesday night accommodation for £65. And for presenters, there is a discount reducing the £450 to £395. 
• To make the programme more accessible this year, we are planning interviews with presenters about your abstract before the conference. These interviews will likely take place in May and we will share more details soon. This “Programme in a Pod” initiative aims to help attendees choose which sessions to join.
• If you expressed an interest in publishing your session we will be following up with you nearer the time.

What is a Spotlight Session?

A Spotlight session is a less structured way of sharing your content with the attendees, where a drop-in approach would work. You will be allocated a small, dedicated room on one day of the conference. You will have a table and chairs but can arrange the room as you wish for the day. How and when you use it is up to you! We will promote these activities each day. 

Feel free to use the free times before and after the conference sessions as well as lunch and coffee breaks. Open the door when you are accepting drop-ins and close it if you are eating/attending things or otherwise busy! Do think creatively about how you can balance supporting your activity with making sure you also get breaks and make the most of the conference. Helpers are available under your instruction if useful! 

How do Outdoor session work?

We have a range of open grassy outdoor areas available for you to use immeidately outside the conference veniue, including some seating areas with tables and access to a forest a few minutes walk away. If you have been allocated an outdoor session, or wish to switch to an outdoor session, drop us a line about what you think you’d like!

Outdoor sessions need to start and end promptly to allow delegates time to move to your outdoor space. Please consider accessibility when planning your session.

A rainy-day, indoor alternative will be available but hopefully not needed 🤞

This page will be updated in response to your questions – please check back here! for updates

Submitting a Proposal

The call for sessions is now closed.

Playful Learning is not a traditional conference, and we welcome a broad range of sessions to explore adult learning in different ways. We love Activities​, New research​, Theoretical explorations​, Playtest​s, Creative workshops​, Dance and Outdoor sessions – so propose something new!

Your submission will be judged against the following criteria:

1. Relevance to conference
2. Rigour and originality of contribution
3. Contribution to research or practice
4. Clarity and coherence
5. Playfulness of session design

Into the Woods…

Our theme for July 2026 is INTO THE WOODS. Sessions do not need to directly address this theme, but we encourage engagement with it and you are welcome to interpret it in any way you would like. Fairytales, danger, sustainability, woodworking – there are many directions in which you could take it! The theme generally helps us shape the activities outside the sessions, but if you want to include it, then go for it!

We have previously held an online opportunity for participants to talk through their ideas and gain support in planning before they submit. If you are new to Playful learning this will give you a good flavour – you can find the recording here.

To read more and see some examples of good practice, you can find the slides here.

When writing your submission, bear in mind the top reasons sessions are rejected:

• It is not clear what will happen in the session​
• It is not a new idea​
• Its focus is creativity and not playfulness​
• It is not directed at adult learning​
• It does not mention play