Dr Pete King
Dr Pete King has spend the last 30 years practicing, researching, and teaching about the Play Cycle.
With a professional background in playwork starting in 1996, Pete has run after school clubs and holiday playschemes in England, and an open access mobile play project in Wales.
Pete has researched and developed the theory of the Play Cycle when the programme director for the MA Developmental and Therapeutic Play course at Swansea University from 2013-2026. Pete has developed a method of recording the Play Cycle, the Play Cycle Observation Method (PCOM).
Pete has published two books ont he Play Cycle, the first 'The Play Cycle: Theory, Research and Application' with the Late Gordon Sturrock, and the most recent publication 'The Play Cycle in Practice: Supporting, Observing and Reflecting on Children's Play'.
Pete is available to offer workshops on the Play Cycle, building on their 30 years of practice, research and teaching. Pete is also available to deliver lectures and seminars on the Play Cycle. To contact Pete, click on the 'CONTACT NOW' button below.
Publications on the Play Cycle
Books:
King, P. & Sturrock, G. (2019). The Play Cycle: Theory, Research and Application. London: Routledge. https://www.routledge.com/The-Play-Cycle-Theory-Research-and-Application/King-Sturrock/p/book/9780367728007
King, P. (2025). The Play Cycle in Practice: Supporting, Observing and Reflecting on Children's Play. London: Routledge. https://www.routledge.com/The-Play-Cycle-in-Practice-Supporting-Observing-and-Reflecting-on-Childrens-Play/King/p/book/9781032976778
Research Papers
King, P. & Temple, S. (2018). Transactional Analysis and the Ludic Third (TALT): A Model of Functional Fluent Reflective Play Practice. Transactional Analysis Journal, 48(3), 258-271. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03621537.2018.1471292
King, P. & Newstead, S. (2019). Understanding the adult role in the Play Cycle—an empirical study. Child Care in Practice, 27(3), 212-223. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13575279.2019.1575187
King, P. & Newstead, S. (2019). Childcare Worker’s Understanding of the Play Cycle Theory: Can a Focus on “Process not Product” Contribute to Quality Childcare Experiences?. Child Care in Practice, 28(2), 164-177. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13575279.2019.1680532
King, P. (2020). The Play Cycle Observation Method: A Pilot Study. International Journal of Playwork Practice, 1(1), 1-20.https://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1002&context=ijpp
King, P. & Newstead, S. (2020). Re-defining the Play Cycle: An empirical study of playworkers’ understanding of playwork theory. Journal of Early Childhood Research, 18(1), 99-111. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1476718X19885991
King, P., Atkins, L. & Burr, B. (2021). Piloting the Play Cycle Observation Method in 'real time': Recording children's Play Cycles in pre-school provision. Journal of Early Childhood Research, 19(3), 298-308. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1476718X20969851
King, P. (2022). A Theoretical Expansion of the Play Cycle: Jakob von Uexküll’s Functional Cycle and the Perceptual Cue. American Journal of Play, 14(1), 173-187. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1359209.pdf
King, P. (2023). Flow and the Play Cycle A Theoretical Consideration of the Importance of Flow in Established Play Cycles. American Journal of Play, 15(2), 197-195. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1398384.pdf
King, P. (2025). Play-Based Learning and the Play Cycle: A consideration of the adult role in the process of play within Play-Based Learning. American Journal of Play 17(3), 309-324. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1487324.pdf
Cartmel, J. & Mackay, F. (2025). The Play Cycle, Outside School Hours Care and Autistic Children. International Journal of Playwork Practice, 5(1), Article 1. https://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1058&context=ijpp
King, P. (2026). The role of play in social work education, training, and practice. Journal of Social Work Practice https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10.1080/02650533.2026.2624794?needAccess=true
Mugford, E. C., & King, P., (2026). Exploring autistic children's play cycles using the Play Cycle Observation Method (PCOM). International Journal of Playwork Practice, 6(1), Article 1. https://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1077&context=ijpp
Free Videos
You can watch short animated versions of the Play Cycle and Play Cycle Observation Method (PCOM) on my YouTube channel in English, Welsh, Cantonese, and Arabic https://www.youtube.com/@drpeteking1751
