PlayEducation came into being in 1982. It was created by Bob Hughes, a playworker since 1970, to address the chronic shortage of training and education opportunities in the field of playwork.

Since then PlayEducation has provided cutting edge play and playwork training and education for playworkers, childcare and early years workers, environmentalists, scientific professionals, architects and parents in locations as diverse as Northern Ireland, Germany, Japan, Wales, USA, Scotland, Argentina, England, Hong Kong, Australia, the Republic of Ireland and Portugal.