Innovative methods to centre children in research: celebrating 10 years of play with the PEDAL Research Centre

Centring children in play research is fundamental for both children and researchers. It also offers the opportunity to gain important insights that would otherwise remain hidden from view for other beneficiaries of research, such as practitioners, service providers, and policy makers. This paper highlights three projects led by the PEDAL Research Centre over its first decade, all of which incorporate child-centred design, data collection, or co-production. The ChiRPP project investigates peer play and social development in early and middle childhood; the Healthy Start Happy Start study evaluates a playful parent–child intervention to reduce challenging behaviour in early childhood; and Children on the Move explores how young children reclaim and reshape spaces for play. While PEDAL has contributed to innovative and child-centred research methods over the last decade, there are many areas for future learning and some challenges to overcome. PEDAL continues our commitment to ensuring that children are meaningfully centred in play research.