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Supporting and encouraging emergent literacy

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Supporting and encouraging emergent literacy

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Learning how to read doesn't happen overnight. It is a lifelong process that begins at birth when children are immersed in literacy. Child care providers and parents play an important role in supporting children's literacy, simply by reading to children.

Signs of Emergent Reading

Emergent literacy refers to the ways that children learn about books and print text through everyday activities. Emergent literacy signs aren't hard to identify. As a child care provider, have you ever noticed preschoolers beginning to memorize the stories they grew up hearing, and filling in words at certain times? When reading Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See to a group of preschoolers, you may notice that they fill in repeated phrases such as "looking at me." Sometimes young children may appear to be reading a book because they know all the words and when to turn the page, and even stop you if you skip a word, paragraph, or page. They know you missed something and sometimes can even tell you what you skipped, but it's not necessarily because they were reading along. They had it memorized, and the story just doesn't make sense based on what they remember. Although these skills are not actually "reading," they are important foundations that will help children read later on.

Another sign of emergent reading is storytelling based on the pictures in a book. Storytelling is how children practice for the later task of learning to read. This shows that children can interpret pictures, know that they are meaningful, and can create an organized story around the photos. All of these are very important precursors to what we define as "reading" - being able to pick up a book they've never seen before and read it. Some children may begin reading in preschool or kindergarten, while others aren't developmentally ready to read on their own until they're 7 or 8.

Video: Emergent Reading in Action

Watch the following eXtension Alliance for Better Child Care video to see two emergent readers practicing their literacy skills. Notice that this child is "reading" her favorite book to her friend, but she's telling her what happens based on the pictures, what she recalls from the story being read to her, and her own experience, not what's actually written. This is called pretend reading, or emergent reading.

Supporting Emergent Literacy in Child Care

Here are some ways you can help support and encourage emergent literacy in a child care setting:

Read to children regularly, both in large groups and individually.

Display books where children can reach them, and rotate books regularly to engage children's imaginations.

Point to words and pictures as you read to children. This helps them begin to understand that words have meaning.

Occasionally follow words with your finger to show children that we read from left to right and top to bottom.

Read all the parts of a book to children. Make sure you read the cover page, authors/illustrators, and even dedications. It is important for them to know what the illustrator does, what the author does, and what a dedication is.

Label everyday items in your classroom (for example, table, chair, desk, pencil). This helps familiarize them with words.

Encourage children to "pretend" to read to you.

Invite children to help you read a story, and read favorite stories over and over. Repetition is key.

For More Information

To learn more about reading and literacy in child care, take a look at the following eXtension Alliance for Better Child Care articles:

For more videos related to quality child care, check out the Better Child Care channel on YouTube.

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Supporting and Encouraging Emergent Literacy in Child Care

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Learning how to read doesn't happen overnight. It is a lifelong process that begins at birth when children are immersed in literacy. Child care providers and parents play an important role in supporting children's literacy, simply by reading to children. Emergent literacy refers to the ways that children learn about books and print text through everyday activities.

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This new guide is the second from our Little Minds Matter series which brings together leading early years practitioners to write on the vital subject of children's social and emotional wellbeing.

The guide includes five chapters from the next five books in our series, covering the diverse topics of building positive relationships with children; safeguarding; neuroscience in practice; how creativity can support wellbeing; and the power of anti-racist practice and professional love

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What are the EYFS seven areas of learning and development?

The main focus of EYFS is learning and development. As such, the EYFS has highlighted three prime areas and four specific areas of learning and development that childcare providers must center children's activities and experiences around.

Below is a breakdown of these seven total areas outlined by the EYFS:

1. Communication and language development

Enabling children to develop their language and communication skills is an essential early learning goal that forms the foundation of the EYFS framework.

EYFS practitioners must provide an environment that encourages quality conversation between adults and young children to build a language-rich childhood. This can be done by speaking with children about their interests or repeating what the children have said back to them with new words. Additional activities include reading to children, storytelling and role play and asking a variety of questions to engage with them. This empowers children to learn new sentence structures, vocabulary and ideas in a supportive learning atmosphere.

A great resource for communication and language development is Stephen Parsons & Anna Branagan's Word Aware 2: Teaching Vocabulary in the Early Years which supports Early Years practitioners in the provision of effective vocabulary development in preschool children of all abilities.

2. Personal, social and emotional development

Personal, social and emotional development, also known as PSED, is an essential part of children's social skills, mental health and cognitive development. PSED can help young children learn to identify and understand their different feelings, which is an important skill that shapes their social world.

Adults should model and guide children to manage their emotions, set goals and build confidence in their own abilities. Children's social skills should also be supported through interactions with other children, which can teach them how to form positive relationships, cooperate with others and resolve issues constructively.

3. Physical development

Children have a lot of energy, so it's not very difficult to get them to be active. However, the underlying aim of this learning area is to help children achieve and learn how to maintain a healthy and active lifestyle right from the start.

Gross and fine motor skills develop slowly and begin with sensory and strength activities that then lead to coordination, positional awareness and play movement. EYFS practitioners should incorporate indoor and outdoor games to help engage children's physical development in early childhood.

If you want additional information on how to engage with children's creative play in the outdoors, a helpful resource is Julie Johnson and Ann Watts's Developing Creativity and Curiosity Outdoors.

Meanwhile, if you're looking for more sensory play experiences, consider Sue Gascoyne's Messy Play in the Early Years.

4. Literacy

Literacy covers two main learning objectives: language comprehension and word readings. It's crucial that children are introduced to new words, stories, reading and writing opportunities from an early age to set a solid foundation for future learning.

Adults should read with children and teach them about new rhymes, poems and songs. Similarly, they can incorporate books for young children to teach word reading that works out the pronunciation of unfamiliar words and recognition of familiar words. Writing should include spelling and handwriting practice, as well as composition to teach them sentence structure and idea articulation.

For additional techniques to help young boys develop writing skills, take a look at Julie Cigman's Supporting Boys' Writing in the Early Years. Learn how to encourage them to become confident and capable writers.

5. Mathematics

Children should be guided through the early learning objectives of numbers, as well as shapes and spaces to help develop their mathematical skills.

EYFS providers must teach children how to understand and use numbers one through 10 with confidence. Through mathematical activities, such as using building blocks or pebbles to count and organize, children can develop spatial reasoning skills and look for patterns and connections. With a positive environment, the child can learn confidently.

A great resource for mathematics is Di Chilvers' How to Recognise and Support Mathematical Mastery in Young Children's Play, which provides practical guidance tips.

6. Understanding the world

This learning area asks adults to assist children to observe and understand the physical world around them and their community. By increasing a child's interactions with new places, ideas and technology, adults can help them increase their awareness and knowledge beyond their home.

Some activities to incorporate into daily life include visiting parks, libraries and museums to meet new people and see novel places. Another great activity is to share stories from a broad range of perspectives and places.

Take a look at Sarah Watkin's Outdoor Play for Healthy Little Minds: Practical Ideas to Promote Children's Wellbeing in the Early Years which includes adaptable and cost-effective activities designed to help children feel more confident and connected to the world around them.

7. Expressive arts and design

A key method to support a child's imagination and creativity is to develop their awareness of art and culture.

Adults can encourage the children's artistic sides by helping them engage with new activities that feature a variety of media and materials. From drawing to painting to playing instruments, allowing children to express themselves and communicate through art is an extremely positive developmental activity.

Learn how to foster and inspire children's imaginations with Ruksana Mohammed's Creative Learning in the Early Years.

Understanding who the EYFS framework is for and where it applies

The EYFS framework is a crucial tool designed for an array of early years providers. It applies primarily to childminders, maintained nurseries, pre-schools, infant schools and the reception year in primary schools across the U.K. - offering comprehensive guidance for fostering robust learning and development for children from birth to five years old.

In England, all maintained schools and settings - which includes nurseries, pre-schools, and primary schools with reception classes - must implement the EYFS framework. This mandate is set forth by Section 40 of the Childcare Act 2006, ensuring that early education experiences offered in these settings are broad, balanced and consistent.

Private nurseries and registered childminders, while not state-funded, also fall within the purview of the EYFS. These providers must adhere to the EYFS assessment and reporting arrangements. Although there may be exemptions for these settings from the EYFS learning and development requirements for children aged three and over, they're nevertheless expected to ensure a nurturing environment that facilitates robust early learning.

As of 2023, the EYFS framework places an increased emphasis on communication and language development. It offers actionable insights on how to support and enhance these critical skills in young children, highlighting the role of enriching interactions and meaningful conversations in fostering a child's confidence, cognitive development and social skills.

Why the EYFS framework continues to evolve

The United Kingdom implemented the EYFS as statutory in 2008 for children in response to research that showed the correlation between quality childcare and children's future learning and development. Since then, the framework has gone through several changes and updates, including in 2012 and as recently as September 1, 2021 and again in 2023.

Why does the EYFS framework keep changing? Simply put, it's because the field of early childhood education itself is ever-evolving, and our understanding of how young minds learn and develop is continually deepening. These updates aim to better support children's early learning and development by implementing the latest research findings and feedback from experienced educators and childcare providers.

For instance, the 2021 revision saw a significant shift in the framework which reduced the number of early learning goals from 69 to 17. This revision also simplified the assessment that's required at age five and provides earlier intervention for any child who requires additional support with a progress check at two years old. Moreover, the need for written risk assessments for all activities was reconsidered, alleviating some administrative burden.

In a proactive move as part of the 2023 Budget, the government affirmed several important changes to the EYFS statutory framework that will affect group-based early years settings. One of the key changes was the increase in the adult-to-child ratio for two-year-olds, moving from 1:4 to 1:5. This adjustment was made following extensive consultation in 2022 and was aimed at ensuring that early years settings remain manageable and effective in fostering children's development.

Another noteworthy modification concerns childminders. The updated EYFS framework has clarified that childminders can now care for more than the specified maximum of three children under the age of five in certain scenarios. These circumstances include instances where childminders are caring for siblings of children they already look after or if the childminders are with their own baby or child. This change offers increased flexibility and supports families in accessing consistent, quality care. Lastly, the EYFS has made explicit a new guideline concerning children's mealtimes. The framework will now stipulate that 'adequate supervision' while children are eating requires children to be within an adult's sight and hearing. This amendment shows the commitment to children's safety and well-being at all times.

The new early years foundation stage (EYFS) framework can be found here.

Additional Resources from Routledge

Whether you're an experienced educator or a new childcare provider, staying updated with the changes in the EYFS framework is crucial. It ensures you're able to continue fostering an environment that supports children's early learning and development in the best possible way.

Take the initiative to delve deeper, enhance your knowledge and stay at the forefront of early education best practices. Be sure to explore our carefully-curated selection of EYFS books, and equip yourself with the resources necessary to navigate the dynamic landscape of early years education with confidence and competence.

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What Is the EYFS Framework and How Has It Changed?

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The EYFS framework explores how to help children learn and develop from birth to age 5. Learn more about EYFS here.

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Summary of DfE "Reading Framework" - July 2021

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A summary of the Reading Framework. Though abridged (from 115 pages down to less than 9 pages), all of the text is copied and pasted directly from the original DfE d

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Supporting Children's Literacy Skills In The Early Years - Early Years Careers

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The first question we really need to ask is, 'what does literacy actually involve?' Literacy covers speaking and listening and reading and writing. Literacy in the early years is particularly important for children as it gives them a head start in learning these essential life skills that they will use on a daily basis, as well as preparing them for when they begin school.

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Guidance for primary and secondary schools to meet existing expectations for teaching reading.

Applies to England

Documents

Details

This guidance is for:

teachers

school leaders

reading and literacy leads

governing bodies

initial teacher training partnerships

specialist provision

This guidance:

sets out the research underpinning the importance of talk, stories and systematic synthetic phonics (SSP) in reception, the importance of fidelity in phonics, and the Department for Education's evidence-informed position on the best way to teach reading

supports schools to evaluate their teaching of reading from reception to year 9, and to identify how to improve provision if weaknesses are found

provides practical support for high-quality teaching of SSP, fluency and comprehension, including assessment

explains the importance of systematic phonics teaching for older pupils who are at risk of failing to learn to read because they cannot decode well enough

supports schools in motivating pupils to develop a love of reading

supports schools working with parents to help their children learn to read

helps schools to meet existing expectations for teaching early reading, as set out in:

This document has been developed through the contributions of experts from across the literacy sector and of school leaders. It is based on the valued experience and knowledge of teachers, reading and language experts, educational organisations, English Hubs council members, and our 34 English Hubs.

Schools considering purchasing a new SSP programme can find more information at choosing a phonics programme.

Further support for schools is available through our English Hubs Programme.

Thank you for your feedback

Report a problem with this page

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Guidance for primary and secondary schools to meet existing expectations for teaching reading.

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How to encourage literacy in young children (and beyond)

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Supporting early childhood literacy is not just about reading to your child. Research has found there are many and varied ways to increase literacy in early learning.

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Key points: Formative assessment is an integral part of teaching young children. Practice starts with the child, and grows in partnership. Responsive pedagogy is needed to recognise what children know, understand, and can do. Children and adults construct the curriculum together. Observation, assessment and planning is part of professional practice.

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Supporting Your Child’s Literacy Development

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Supporting Your Child’s Literacy Development

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This toolkit helps parents and families take part in literacy experiences at home to develop children's reading and language skills.

You will learn:

This toolkit includes:

Supporting Materials

Download and print these infographics with ideas linked to the tutorial to help your child develop as a reader.

Resources for Preschool

Parents and caregivers play an important role in supporting children's literacy development, especially when children are having difficulty. Explore these ideas and resources from the tutorial to learn how.

Big Ideas

Talking with your child helps your child to learn about letters and letter sounds, learn new words and ideas, practice hearing and saying words, and practice talking back and forth.

Helping your child with speech sounds and letters helps your child hear how language works, learn that letters relate to spoken sounds, link letters to their sounds, and read words later.

Talking about books with your child helps your child see that pictures stand for real things, learn that print tells a story, find new ways to say things, and learn new words.

Reading with your child helps your child learn new sounds, words, and ideas, link letters to their sounds, and learn how books work.

Asking questions when talking about or reading books helps your child think in new ways, consider new words and ideas, explain her thinking; and make sense of letters, sounds, and words.

Visit these Resources to Learn More

Resources for Elementary

Parents and caregivers play an important role in supporting children's literacy development, especially when children are having difficulty. Explore these ideas and resources from the tutorial to learn how.

Big Ideas

Reading with your child helps your child learn new words and ideas, understand the purposes for reading, hear what reading sounds like, develop thinking and problem-solving skills, and enjoy reading and learning.

Ask questions that are about ideas or words from the book, can be answered with more than one or two words, and need information from the story to answer.

Learning how speech can be broken into parts lays the foundation for breaking smaller sound parts in speech.

Correctly linking sounds to letters to sound out words helps your child read new words, recognize familiar words, and understand what is being read.

Fluency is the ability to read words, phrases, sentences, and stories correctly, with enough speed and expression. Reading aloud frequently helps your child develop reading fluency.

Visit these Resources to Learn More

Resources for Adolescents

Parents and caregivers play an important role in supporting children's literacy development, especially when children are having difficulty. Explore these ideas and resources from the tutorial to learn how.

Big Ideas

Reading with your child helps your child build background knowledge of topics, discuss ideas and issues, see a model of what good reading sounds like and learn words and how language works.

When engaging in conversations with your child, talk about school, friends, or current events. Ask questions about what your child is reading, listen to his answers, and discuss information read together.

A literacy-rich environment is a place that encourages reading and writing, such as listening to stories, reading together, and talking about ideas. To offer a literacy-rich environment, you can have a variety of reading material at home.

You can model reading and writing behaviors by reading and writing yourself and reading and writing together. Show your child how reading and writing is related to other activities.

You can be a media mentor for your child by showing and telling what you are doing online and why. Help your child to be an educated consumer of information on the internet.

You can motivate your child to read by following your child's lead. Talk with her about her lack of interest in reading, listen and acknowledge your child's reasons, talk about how reading can be enjoyable, and continue to provide an environment that encourages your child to read.

Visit these Resources to Learn More

Facilitator's Guide

Family Connection of South Carolina Testimonial

Explore More Toolkits

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Supporting Your Child's Literacy Development

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This toolkit helps parents and families take part in literacy experiences at home to develop children's reading and language skills.

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Literacy and planning in the early years

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Literacy and planning in the early years

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The term "literacy" is used by some to simply describe reading and writing, but in fact literacy covers a much wider range of learning.

Literacy in the early years includes talking about books, print in the environment, early mark making and writing, as well as sharing books and reading. The statutory frameworks in England and Wales emphasise the fundamental importance of literacy and sharing books, and this page will be your helping hand to achieve that.

Literacy in your childcare setting

"From the day our children are born (yes), to the day they tell us to stop, we should read to them," says Michael Rosen (pg.39 Good Ideas How to Be Your Child's and Your Own Best Teacher).

Introducing literacy into your childcare setting doesn't have to be confined to the printed ink on a page.

Chatting away in funny voices as you flick through picture books, enjoying interactive eBooks together, listening to stories being told via video or audio and singing nursery rhymes can all spark communication and literacy learning. Essentially it is these ideas and questions the activities promote that create the foundation for developing reading and writing skills.

"A shared story between a child and a familiar, loved adult has a huge impact on children's interest and motivation for reading later on," says PACEY President, Penny Tassoni.

National Storytelling week

Once upon a time (15 years ago to be exact) the Society for Storytelling's National Storytelling Week was launched. Of course the art of telling a tale, spinning a yarn and using narrative skills goes back way before that.

National Storytelling week takes place each year and is a fabulous way to celebrate literacy in your childcare setting. Events take place in storytelling clubs, school, theatres, hospitals and theatres around the country. To find out what's going on in your area take at look at the National Storytelling events website.

We've rounded up a bunch of the best literacy tools around for childcare professionals. You'll find fun and educational children's books and a selection of favourites from Clickety Books and I CAN.

Discover a range of resources including practice guides about sharing books, videos about communication and partner activity sheets from the BookTrust and ICAN's Chatterbox Challenge amongst others.

Read along with Michael Rosen's video of 'Going on a Bear Hunt', and read our guest blog about early speech and phonics .

Free literacy resources for members

Here are a variety of materials, available free for members, including practice guides and factsheets, all of which support literacy learning and development.

Very Hungry Caterpillar Early Years Resource Pack - written by PACEY in conjunction with Puffin Books, this downloadable resource will inspire activities linked to the early learning outcomes in England and Wales, based on the much-loved book.

Literacy practice guide - a brilliant guide to help you think about supporting the development of literacy skills in children.

Supporting children's language development - A guide to help you support and understand children's language development for under and over 3s, and causes of communication difficulty.

Sharing books - A guide to help you think about sharing books with children, looking at why sharing books is important, creating a book friendly setting, sharing books from birth, encouraging book sharing at home and what children learn from book sharing.

Supporting children and families with English as an additional language (EAL) - A factsheet exploring how to support children and families with English as an additional language.

Routines - A factsheet that explores the benefits of routines in children's learning and development. Children can learn literacy skills from routines from learning vocabulary associated with time to reading about routines in books and through stories and rhyme.

Transitions - A guide that explores the different types of transitions that children go through, as well as how you can help children settle in well to your childcare setting.

Partnership with parents - a factsheet giving you information about working in partnership with parents, encouraging parents and carers to become more involved with their child's learning of literacy.

Blog: How a floppy-hatted scarecrow, a spider and a magic box can be your top tools for early literacy - Amanda Baxter from I CAN tells us her interesting top tips for early literacy and language development.

Telling stories video - A practice video that explores how to engage children in stories and the learning and development benefits they bring.

PACEY Live webinar: Stories and Poetry. The Michael Rosen Masterclass - Dive into the science and explore how words, storytelling and poetry support children's brain and emotional development

BLOG: The power of books and reading - Ben O'Donnell, Children's reading and creative literacy consultant, talks about the impact that books have had on his life and why books can be so powerful for children.

Storytelling videos

Author Michael Rosen performs the children's classic - We're going on a bear hunt:

Clickety Books storytelling- the YouTube channel from our friends at Clickety Books have a fantastic variety of clips from story books including Jake the Achy Snake, Tracy the Pacy Plaice and Corky the Squawky Hawk voiced by Rik Mayall and Ronni Ancona.

BookTrust - Book Start - I love stories and rhymes! - A short top tips video with the blue bears from Bookstart.

Free partner resources

We hope this page has been useful for developing the literacy learning in your childcare setting. We'll leave you with this quote from Michael Rosen that sums up the importance of literacy and empowering children with words:

"The feeling of entitlement about words is one of the most important platforms we can give children - whether that's for getting what they need from education of beyond."(pg.55)

Do you follow us on Facebook and Twitter? Check out our pages now for updates on the latest news, competitions, products and more.

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Take a look at our round up of helpful resources and links for support for literacy in the early years.

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Developing an effective and efficient system of planning is vital to being able to provide high-quality early years practice, says Marion Breslin...
In any team it's critical to find processes that are effective and easily understood by all practitioners, whether senior staff, students or apprentices.

In settings that are full, daycare practitioners get very little non-contact time, so ensuring planning, observation and assessment techniques are as streamlined as possible, while ensuring all areas of the EYFS are covered, is vital.

Even though my setting, Carlton Hill, is part of a larger organisation - London Early Years Foundation (LEYF) - teams are able to develop systems that work within their own particular settings.

EYFS planning ideas

We don't run a room-based system at Carlton Hill; our under-twos have their own floor, and the children from two to five years are together as a family group over the remainder of the building for free play time and only divide up for small focused times.

All children have access to our outdoor area and this provides time for siblings to be together, especially when one is under two years old.

This works really well for us as the older children scaffold the younger children's learning during free play times and the practitioners are able to plan activities for focus group times dependent on the age group to which they're allocated.

The same practitioner stays with a set group of children for a four-week period to maintain continuity and development.

Outstanding EYFS planning

In our 'outstanding' Ofsted inspection, inspectors were impressed by the systems in place and the team's knowledge and ability to support the children's development by following their interests and providing a broad, balanced and stimulating curriculum.

We've developed a good balance between child-initiated and adult-led activities, ensuring our ethos of 'learning through play' is always maintained.

At various times in our daily routine practitioners are able to have dedicated quiet time with the children in small focus groups to discuss interests and assess learning needs.

We have a combination of age, stage and key group times. Key group time happens once a week, giving practitioners time to spend with their key children, gaining knowledge of their stage of development as well as getting ideas on how to forward plan for each of them as individuals.

It's during these sessions that the practitioners gain children's ideas for future planning (see below). We rotate the day each week that practitioners have key group time to ensure the part-time children are also involved in these planning sessions.

Planning activities

At an LEYF 'sounding' board, a selection of staff from across the organisation came together to share ideas and a new way of displaying our planning on display boards was discussed.

These are now entitled 'Interests Trees'. Children's interests and adult-led activities are displayed as leaves on the tree, which are then followed up with activity plans.

The EYFS principles and commitments are the roots of everything we do, so these are displayed along the bottom of the tree. The interests are changed each week following the children's planning meetings and key group time.

Some interests only last for a few days, but others may last over a 3-4 week period. Each practitioner is responsible for evaluating their plans and extending this learning in various ways.

Early years planning cycle

As we're a large, busy nursery it's very difficult to have weekly team planning meetings. Instead we have a formal planning meeting once a month where we get together to reflect and discuss our practice and the learning taking place in the nursery.

I always plan a team task for these meetings. These can include updating our SEF or our popular policy presentations, where one member of the team reviews an LEYF policy or new local authority guidelines. This ensures policies are not just pieces of paper in a folder but live documents and kept fresh in everyone's minds.

I feel strongly that our planning is not too prescriptive, meaning we can follow the children's interests and get them involved in planning and setting up the nursery environment.

However, I'm conscious that to ensure broad and balanced learning practitioners also need to plan adult-led targeted learning opportunities. I feel that we've created a system that helps us provide the best care and learning for all our children, in a way that can be implemented by staff and ensures we maintain high-quality practice.

How to invite children to shape their own learning

At Carlton Hill, preschool groups participate in planning meetings with the practitioners and discuss what they'd like to learn about over the next week.

The children get the opportunity to put forward ideas and, to aid their development in communication and language, and literacy, one child takes the minutes of the meeting, attempting to write the names of those present and form letters to make words that describe what's suggested.

Having these discussions with the younger age groups doesn't always work, so we're currently working on a more effective way to involve them in this process.

Each time a practitioner sets up an activity or the children create a learning area, eg construction, small world or communication-friendly space, we photograph it. We intend to use these photos as prompts for the younger children for their planning sessions.
Marion Breslin is former nursery manager of Carlton Hill Nursery and Pre-school, run by the London Early Years Foundation.
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Introduction

Theory: What is Reflection?

Understanding the origins of a theory can support our understanding of a programme of work or practice. There are many ideas and programmes of work being promoted - why would we choose to give this one our time and resource?

The work of Dewey provides the basis for the theory of Reflective Practice. He identified two types of action: 'routine action' and 'reflective action'. ded by issues including tradition, habit and clear requirements such as laws. These actions are stable and less likely to change in relation to current circumstances. In this way Routine Action is gui Reflective Action, however, differs in that it requires consta nt questioning and self‑appraisal: Why do we do it like that? Is it because we have always done it that way or is it because that is the way we get the best out of the opportunity, the childre n, or ourselves? Reflective Action demonstrates a willingness to be flexible, to analyse and to have social awareness.

In practice, this means that those practitioners whose practice is guided by , solving problems efficiently as they arise. Whilst practitioners who take Routine Action tend to accept the status quo in their settings and simply follow the plan for the day Reflective Action are much more concerned with understanding the reasons for issues arising, for challenging the 'way we have always done things', and to make changes to prevent recurring unintentional behaviours and outcomes.

Donald Schön's work builds upon the work of Dewey and the notion of Reflective Action. He reviewed the behaviours of many different professionals including doctors, lawyers and engineers. Through this review Schön identified what he termed 'professional artistry'. He used this term to describe the skills and expertise that all professionals have that inform their actions. In relation to Reflection, he identified that this professional artistry can be used in two distinct ways which help us to further break down the idea of Reflective Practice.

To reflect-on-action: to look back at what has happened and consider why things happened (as described in the example).

To reflect-in-action: to reflect and adapt as a situation unfolds.

So, what does Reflective Practice involve?

1. Reflective practice requires us to be concerned with both the aims and consequences of our actions. We must be aware of what we are doing and why. What are the external influences - political, social or otherwise?

2. Reflective practice is a cyclical or spiralling process, which requires us to monitor, evaluate and revise practice continuously. Reflective practitioners monitor, observe and collect data on their own, and the children's, intentions, actions and feelings. This evidence is then reviewed, critically analysed and evaluated so that it can be shared, judgements made and decisions taken. Finally, this may lead to changes in policies, plans and/or provision before beginning the process again. It is never complete; it is a way in which we approach the day.It is possible the focus of our reflections may change, but the process itself will be ongoing.

He described them as:

Open‑mindedness: an active desire to listen to more sides than one, to give heed to facts from whatever source, to give full attention to alternative possibilities, to recognize the possibility of error even in the beliefs which are dearest to us (1933: 29).

Responsibility: refers to the need for us to take responsibility for our actions and the impact they have on children, families, colleagues and society more broadly.

Wholeheartedness: refers to the consideration and energy we give to the process of reflection. If done half-heartedly the benefits of the practice are unlikely to be realised. It is not a tick-box exercise. It is a process of deep thought and willingness to embrace change.

Through discussion with colleagues you can share your knowledge, your experiences, and expertise. You can inform them of what you have learned through research and reading.

Through discussion you can help each other to shed light on unexpected behaviours or unintended outcomes.

Talking things through can in itself help us to clarify our thoughts and develop new ideas.

Summary

Next in this series

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Reflective Practice: What is Reflection, why should it inform our practice and what does it involve?

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Introduction High quality Early Years provision requires practitioners to constantly review their practice, the learning, behaviours and interactions in their setting. This requires a wide range of expertise, from understanding formal requirements such as the curriculum, to the more tacit or unsp...

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Switching off: Sweden says back-to-basics schooling works on paper

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Since young children went back to school across Sweden recently, many of their teachers have been putting a new emphasis on printed books, quiet reading time and handwriting practice, and devoting less time to tablets, independent online research and keyboarding skills.

The return to more traditional ways of learning is a response to politicians and experts questioning whether Sweden's hyper-digitalised approach to education, including the introduction of tablets in nursery schools, had led to a decline in basic skills.

Sweden's minister for schools, Lotta Edholm, who took office 11 months ago as part of a centre-right coalition government, was one of the biggest critics of the all-out embrace of technology.

"Sweden's students need more textbooks," Edholm said in March. "Physical books are important for student learning."

The minister announced in August that the government wanted to reverse the decision by the national agency for education to make digital devices mandatory in preschools. It plans to go further and to completely end digital learning for children under age six, the ministry has told the Associated Press.

Although Sweden's students score above the European average for reading ability, an international assessment of fourth-grade reading levels, the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS), highlighted a decline among Sweden's children between 2016 and 2021.

In 2021, Swedish fourth graders averaged 544 points, a drop from the 555 average in 2016. However, their performance still placed the country in a tie with Taiwan for the seventh-highest overall test score.

In comparison, Singapore - which topped the rankings - improved its PIRLS reading scores from 576 to 587 during the same period, and England's average reading achievement score fell only slightly, from 559 in 2016 to 558 in 2021.

Some learning deficits may have resulted from the coronavirus pandemic or reflect a growing number of immigrant students who don't speak Swedish as their first language, but an overuse of screens during school lessons may cause youngsters to fall behind in core subjects, education experts say.

"There's clear scientific evidence that digital tools impair rather than enhance student learning," Sweden's Karolinska Institute, a highly respected medical school focused on research, said in a statement in August on the country's national digitalisation strategy in education.

"We believe the focus should return to acquiring knowledge through printed textbooks and teacher expertise, rather than acquiring knowledge primarily from freely available digital sources that have not been vetted for accuracy."

The rapid adoption of digital learning tools also has drawn concern from the UN education and culture agency. In a report published in August, Unesco issued an "urgent call for appropriate use of technology in education". The report urges countries to speed up internet connections at schools, but at the same time warns that technology in education should be implemented in a way that never replaces in-person, teacher-led instruction and supports the shared objective of quality education for all.

In the Swedish capital, Stockholm, Liveon Palmer, nine, a third grader at Djurgardsskolan elementary school, expressed his approval of spending more school hours offline. "I like writing more in school, like on paper, because it just feels better, you know," he told the Associated Press.

His teacher, Catarina Branelius, said she was selective about asking students to use tablets during her lessons even before the national-level scrutiny.

"I use tablets in math and we are doing some apps, but I don't use tablets for writing text," Branelius said. Students under age 10 "need time and practice and exercise in handwriting ... before you introduce them to write on a tablet".

Online instruction is a hotly debated subject across Europe and other parts of the west. Poland, for instance, just launched a programme to give a government-funded laptop to each student starting in fourth grade in the hope of making the country more technologically competitive.

In the US, the coronavirus pandemic pushed public schools to provide millions of laptops bought with federal pandemic relief money to primary and secondary students. But there is still a digital divide, which is part of the reason why American schools tend to use both print and digital textbooks, said Sean Ryan, president of the US school division at textbook publisher McGraw Hill.

"In places where there is not connectivity at home, educators are loath to lean into digital because they're thinking about their most vulnerable [students] and making sure they have the same access to education as everyone else," Ryan said.

Germany, which is one of the wealthiest countries in Europe, has been famously slow in moving government programmes and information of all kinds online, including education. The state of digitalisation in schools also varies among its 16 states, which are in charge of their own curricula.

To counter Sweden's decline in fourth grade reading performance, the Swedish government announced an investment worth kr685m (£50m) in book purchases for schools this year. Another kr500m will be spent annually in 2024 and 2025 to speed up the return of textbooks.

Not all experts are convinced Sweden's back-to-basics push is exclusively about what's best for students.

Criticising the effects of technology is "a popular move with conservative politicians", Neil Selwyn, a professor of education at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, said. "It's a neat way of saying or signalling a commitment to traditional values.

"The Swedish government does have a valid point when saying that there is no evidence for technology improving learning, but I think that's because there is no straightforward evidence of what works with technology," Selwyn said. "Technology is just one part of a really complex network of factors in education."

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Switching off: Sweden says back-to-basics schooling works on paper

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Schools minister Lotta Edholm moves students off digital devices and on to books and handwriting, with teachers and experts debating the pros and cons

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Reading print improves comprehension far more than looking at digital text, say researchers

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Reading print texts improves comprehension more than reading digital materials does, according to a new study.

Researchers at the University of Valencia analysed more than two dozen studies on reading comprehension published between 2000 and 2022, which assessed nearly 470,000 participants. Their findings suggest that print reading over a long period of time could boost comprehension skills by six to eight times more than digital reading does.

"The association between frequency of digital reading for leisure and text comprehension abilities is close to 0," said Ladislao Salmerón, a professor at the University of Valencia who co-authored the paper. This may be because the "linguistic quality of digital texts tends to be lower than that traditionally found in printed texts", he added. Text on social media, for example, may be conversational and lack complex syntax and reasoning.

Salmerón said that the "reading mindset" for digital texts also tends to be more shallow than that for printed materials, with scanning being more common. This can mean the reader "doesn't fully get immersed in the narration, or doesn't fully capture the complex relations in an informative text".

The study, published in the Review of Educational Research, also found that while there is a negative relationship between digital reading and comprehension for primary school students, the relationship turns positive for secondary school and undergraduate students.

Salmerón suggests that this may be because young children are less able to navigate the distractions, such as incoming messages, that might come with reading on a digital device. "We know that our ability to regulate our cognition evolves during adolescence," he said. Young children "may not be fully equipped to self-regulate their activity during digital leisure reading".

The authors also said that young children engaging in frequent digital reading may learn less academic vocabulary "in a critical period when they are shifting from learning to read to reading to learn".

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The researchers are not "against digital reading", said Lidia Altamura, a PhD student who co-authored the paper. "It's just that, based on what we have found, digital reading habits do not pay off as much as print reading. That is why, when recommending reading activities, schools and school leaders should emphasise print reading more than digital reading, especially for younger readers."

Salmerón added that one surprising finding was that the relatively small association between digital reading for leisure and comprehension stands regardless of the type of reading people engage in, across both social media and educational websites such as Wikipedia. "We expected that the latter would be much more positively associated with text comprehension, but our data says that is not the case."

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Reading print improves comprehension far more than looking at digital text, say researchers

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A study from the University of Valencia found that print reading could boost skills by six to eight times more than digital reading

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Children suffering due to lack of outdoor play, UK charities warn

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Children and young people are suffering huge damage to their health and wellbeing from policymakers refusing to prioritise the need for outdoor play, charities have said.

As MPs begin an inquiry into how better planning could enhance the wellbeing of children, the charities said urgent change was needed.

Alice Ferguson, of Playing Out, said: "Compared to previous generations, children's lives have become incredibly restricted, indoors, isolated and inactive, largely due to changes in the outdoor environment. Government could reverse this trend and hugely improve children's health and wellbeing by making streets safer and neighbourhoods more child-friendly, enabling them to get outside and play every day"

Many other countries, including Germany, Norway, and Sweden, have relevant national policies or guidance on making sure cities are more child-friendly, say the organisations. At the municipal level, the cities of Barcelona, Freiburg, Ghent, Paris, Pontevedra, Rotterdam, and Tirana, among others, have taken forward ambitious programmes.

Clive Betts, the Labour MP who chairs the levelling up, housing and communities committee running the inquiry, said: "We want to find out more about how children and young people experience outdoor spaces in towns, cities and rural areas across England.

"What policy interventions from local and central government could help to deliver streets, estates, villages, neighbourhoods and parks that enable kids to enjoy active outdoor lifestyles and engage with others?"

The charities said evidence showed the physical and mental health of children and young people was in serious, long-term decline, something that was significantly exacerbated by poverty.

The coalition, which includes Playing Out, Save the Children UK and Wildlife and Countryside Link, said children wanted to be outside and be active, playing with friends and walking or cycling to school. But they faced barriers to being able to do so.

"Government policy has not addressed some of the root causes of this - and in some cases has added to the problem. A child-focused built environment policy could transform children's lives, health and wellbeing ... effective low cost policies could be enacted almost immediately," they said in a statement.

The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health said in a report last year that children's health in the most disadvantaged communities presented "a terrifying picture".

"Paediatricians cannot be any clearer on this point; child health is in crisis and rampant health inequalities can no longer be ignored," the RCP said.

The charities said: "For decades, public policy in England has failed to create places that support children's healthy development and wellbeing.

"Traffic-dominated neighbourhoods, low quality housing layouts, inadequate facilities, and poorly designed housing estates, along with a lack of parks and green spaces and other accessible high quality natural spaces, have harmed children's health, and undermined their quality of life.

"Economic deprivation and racial inequality are both significant additional factors compounding children's lack of access to outdoor play, physical activity and green space. There is also evidence to suggest girls spend less time outside playing than boys."

Policies such as "no ballgame areas" were further restricting children from accessing free play areas, they said.

"Children are also prevented or discouraged from using other 'doorstep space' - for example on housing estates - due to a lack of safe, accessible or suitable space and a lack of permission to use the space outside their homes.

"'No ballgames' signs and culture are still prevalent in social housing schemes across the UK."

The committee's inquiry will start hearing evidence on Wednesday.

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Children suffering due to lack of outdoor play, UK charities warn

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Charities call on government to prioritise outside spaces for play as MPs begin inquiry into planning and children's wellbeing

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Fathers have 'unique effect' on children's educational outcomes, study finds

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Children whose fathers read, play, sing and draw with them show a "small but significant" increase in their educational attainment at primary school, according to research that suggests just 10 minutes a day could make a difference.

While it has long been recognised that parental engagement is critical for a child's education and development, a study led by the University of Leeds claims fathers have "a unique and important effect" on children's educational outcomes.

It found that greater involvement by fathers before their child attends primary school gives an educational advantage to children in their first year, while greater involvement at the age of five helps increase attainment in key stage 1 assessments at seven. The effect is slightly more pronounced in maths.

The study, which was funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, drew a distinction between the impact of mothers and fathers. While fathers' involvement had an impact on educational attainment, mothers had more of an impact on emotional and social behaviours.

The study recommends that fathers should carve out as much time as they can to engage in playful and educational activities with their children each week. "Engaging in multiple types of structured activities several times a week - even if just for short periods of time - helps to enrich a child's cognitive and language development," the study concludes. "Just 10 minutes a day could have beneficial impacts."

It also recommends that schools and early years education providers should routinely take both parents' contact details where possible and develop positive strategies to engage fathers. It suggests that the schools inspectorate, Ofsted, should consider father engagement in inspections.

Dr Helen Norman, a research fellow at Leeds University business school, who led the research, said: "Mothers still tend to assume the primary carer role and therefore tend to do the most childcare, but if fathers actively engage in childcare too, it significantly increases the likelihood of children getting better grades in primary school. This is why encouraging and supporting fathers to share childcare with the mother, from an early stage in the child's life, is critical."

The study, published on Wednesday, is based on a representative sample of almost 5,000 mother-father households in England drawn from the Millennium Cohort Study (which collected data on children born 2000-02), which was linked to the official educational records of children from the early years foundation stage profile at age five, and the national pupil database at age seven.

Fathers' involvement had a positive effect on a child's attainment regardless of the child's gender, ethnicity, age in the school year or household income. The study acknowledged the significant detrimental effects of early poverty on educational attainment.

Helen Dodd, a professor of child psychology at Exeter Medical School, said: "This is a strong piece of research, showing the importance of parent involvement in children's development. It is particularly interesting that they found that fathers' and mothers' involvement might be linked to different outcomes for children, with fathers' involvement linked particularly to broad educational outcomes whereas mothers' involvement was more closely linked to overall wellbeing, attention, mental health and social skills.

"This may reflect the different ways that mothers and fathers might play with and interact with their children within traditional parenting roles in two-parent heterosexual families. It serves to highlight the important role that fathers have. It is important though to keep in mind that irrespective of the structure of a family, children benefit when their parents engage in these types of playful, creative activities with their child."

Andrew Gwynne, the chair of the all-party parliamentary group on fatherhood, said: "This study shows that even small changes in what fathers do, and in how schools and early years settings engage with parents, can have a lasting impact on children's learning. It's absolutely crucial that fathers aren't treated as an afterthought."

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Fathers have 'unique effect' on children's educational outcomes, study finds

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Research claims children whose fathers read and play with them see a 'small but significant' increase in their educational attainment

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Writing and reading starts with children's hands-on play

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Perhaps evolution's most wondrous manifestation is visible in the unparalleled elegance and versatility in the design of the human hand. The miracle of the hand-brain connection, a development that probably began about three or four million years ago, lies at the existential core of what it means to be human - that is, to have developed as tool makers and language users.

Yet writing, a phenomenon of only the past 5,000 years, was a latecomer in human development. It required representational capacity and the dawning idea that a tool in hand could preserve our thoughts and share them across time and space.

(Wikimedia)

The story of Helen Keller, rendered blind and deaf from a fever as a toddler, is a poignant testimony to the human capacity to find meaning through the hands and through language.

It was Anne Sullivan, her teacher, who stayed by her side as a lifelong sojourner and unlocked the world. She gave Helen her freedom through a constant flow of finger-spelling into her young pupil's hand.

Helen later wrote:

" That living word awakened my soul, gave it light, hope, joy, set it free! "

Hands-on learning

The hands attach humans intimately to the grand adventure of our Earthly existence. The child's first 2,000 days are full of adventure, discovery, making connections and learning the world - especially through the hands. In turn, the child is laying down the bundles of neuro-circuity in the cognitive, linguistic, motor domains that underpin literacy.

Language in these early moments of life, provided mostly by parents or primary caregivers, is what supports these processes. It is through back-and-forth, or " serve-and-return " kinds of conversations that such language grows. With attentive adults who take an interest in children's hands-on learning, children grow and gain capacities to be ready for school and to keep up with school.

There is no question that we live in the 21st century of digital devices that compete for a child's time and attention that open other possibilities for knowing and learning. But the digital world can wait.

There is no substitute for physical play, language, adult engagement and the crucial hand-brain connection that underpins all that is to come.

Motor skills and literacy

Gripping and pushing a pencil to convey meaning on the page is more than a simple motor skill. Rather, it requires marshalling a host of neuro-motor, cognitive and linguistic resources - whether children can retrieve the vocabulary they have and get it on the page. For our youngest learners it starts with nimble fingers.

(Hetty Roessingh)

Fine motor skills are those involving the small muscle groups in the hands, fingers and wrists that are needed for gripping and grasping. In turn these are used for handling pencils, erasers, scissors and cutlery, for example. Precision and co-ordination of these small muscles is so important to school readiness.

The Ages and Stages Instrument, a screening tool to detect children' developmental abilities, expects a five-year-old to be able to cut a straight line, copy shapes and draw a figure.

Many children not prepared

In Alberta, data from 2009 to 2013 found that almost a quarter (24 per cent) of all children entering kindergarten were not meeting benchmarks for physical health and well-being. This benchmark includes fine motor skills.

Similar results are corroborated in 2019 pan-Canadian data: 27 per cent of youngsters at age five aren't meeting readiness benchmarks upon their arrival in kindergarten. Among children raised in poverty, this figure increased to 36 per cent.

Schools collect this data through a screening tool that captures children's development in different areas: physical health; social competence; emotional maturity; language and cognitive development; communication skills and general knowledge.

When students get a slow start, they don't necessarily catch up. Our research findings from a study of Grade 2 students in Alberta indicate a lack of control over printing that impedes students' abilities to put words on the page. Another study we conducted of Grade 3 students similarly suggests room for improvement.

Hand to mouth

In grades 3 and 4, the transition to academic literacy development and vocabulary knowledge becomes increasingly important. But this can only be unlocked if handwriting is under control and students have a foundation of vocabulary, nurtured partly through hands-on learning.

The acclaimed psychologist Jean Piaget aptly described how children's sensory motor developmental stage requires " concrete operations." Children have a fundamental need to take in and learn their world through direct contact, principally with their hands, in real time. This matters for learning how to reconstruct the external world into internal representations - and to name these with language.

Such learning occurs through continuous, sensitive windows of opportunity that open and close as children become ready for more experiences. Visually mediated simulations on a screen are no substitute for this direct experience.

(Shutterstock)

Nature and nurture interact in a complex ecology. The Russian psychologist Lev Vygotsky taught the importance of the socio-cultural contexts in which children develop and learn with someone more experienced. With encouragement and talking together, children master budding skills when they receive just enough challenge to take the next step.

Vocabulary growth helps predict a child's success with reading. It is not only the quantity of words that matter, but also the range of words and the quality of the interactions that matter.

Internalized knowledge

The child's first 2,000 days are precious ones that teachers cannot "pay back" once lost.

A deep pool of internalized knowledge is necessary for children to become critical thinkers, problem solvers and savvy, literate users of language. The single biggest predictor of what children will learn next is what they already know. Access to Google doesn't count.

Inadequate literacy skills hurt individuals' potential for opportunity and a globally connected, complex, competitive knowledge economy demands high literacy outcomes. The critical skills of reading, writing, communicating, filtering and analyzing information are ever-important in our complex world.

It all starts with nimble fingers.

[ Deep knowledge, daily. Sign up for The Conversation's newsletter. ]

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Writing and reading starts with children's hands-on play

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Perhaps evolution's most wondrous manifestation is visible in the unparalleled elegance and versatility in the design of the human hand. The miracle of the hand-brain connection, a development that probably began about three or four million years ago, lies at the existential core of what it means to be human - that is, to have developed as tool makers and language users.

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Should your early years setting go meat-free?

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With a growing number of families cutting down on meat, or ditching it altogether, Under 5 magazine editor Rachel Lawler speaks to vegetarian settings to find out how they are making a vegetarian menu work. This article originally appeared in the February 2019 issue of Under 5. Find out more and sub…

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A set of free online tools to make your life a little easier.

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Early Years Alliance is the trading name of the Pre-school Learning Alliance. Registered as a limited company in England and Wales (no. 4539003) Registered as an educational charity with charity number 1096526 Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority VAT Registration Number: GB 830 472 251

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What makes an environment 'enabling'?

An enabling environment is a rich and varied space where risks are minimised and well managed, and children are protected from harm and abuse.

To help ensure your environment is enabling, follow this checklist:

Create an environment that is warm, welcoming and nurturing and facilitates a sense of belonging

Offer a range of resources, which are familiar to the children and babies, as well as activities that are new to them

Ensure that the activities and environment offer room for outdoor and indoor play, sufficient space for children to move and collaborate, and encourage exploration and risk-taking

Provide a range of activities which serve different purposes: inspire imagination and role play, exploration of personal relationships and feelings, problem solving, quiet time and reflection. Consider having a construction area, home corner, various toys and books, storytelling times, music and art

Ensure the activities and environment meet the needs of all the children who attend, from very young babies to older children

Consider how you can ensure all children feel welcomed and valued. Some ideas include fostering close collaboration with parents by including family photos on display boards, singing songs sung in the family home, and providing a comfortable welcoming area with places for a parent to sit with staff and their child

Pay close attention to individual children. Consider: What are they interested in and how you could incorporate this into your play environment? How can you help them communicate better? When are they ready to play and ready for rest? When are they intrinsically motivated to learn? How can they have choice and control? Is the environment meeting their individual needs?

Ensure staff understand the importance of building warm and supportive relationships and the importance of nurturing a child's development

Ensure activities and resources are at child height and accessible and use resources which can be moved and used in a variety of ways

Allow children the time and space to focus and reduce noise distractions

Involve children in making the setting's ground rules for behaviour, and creating the behavioural codes of practice, involving them as much as possible

Engage children in activities to build their emotional resilience and social skills

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What makes an environment 'enabling'? An enabling environment is a rich and varied space where risks are minimised and well managed, and children are protected from harm and abuse.

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Change can be a daunting prospect, so how do we ease the process of transition throughout a child's early years? Anjali Patel of the Centre for Literacy in Primary Education (CLPE) explains...
Stability is vital in a child's early years, yet change is unavoidable for many young children and they will inevitably undergo a number of emotional and environmental transitions before they even reach school age. So let's embrace the opportunity to help children develop patterns of behavior that they can draw on throughout life. By managing transition carefully, we can ease the process of adjustment, reassuring both children and their families.

Building relationships

Strong, respectful relationships between parents and practitioners lay the foundation for positive transition. For the practitioner, a genuine dialogue with parents provides information, affording opportunities to extend ideas and educational experiences within the setting. As importantly, parents draw comfort from relationships with those caring for their child, while easy, visible conversations between significant adults are deeply reassuring to children. Separation anxiety affects both parents and children, and warm exchanges between practitioners and family members are hugely significant in easing this process.

It's vital to plan handovers between practitioners to ensure that children's needs are met and new attachments are strengthened. Without this we run the risk of children losing confidence, which can lead to a regression in knowledge and understanding. Allowing for special time with a new key person will instil a greater sense of security. This is important for Reception-aged children and those moving into Year 1, as these children still require the reassurance and guidance of a responsive adult to make positive transitions, and a key person can tune in to a child's emotional response to change and act accordingly.

Enabling environments

Environments and routines that encourage shared endeavour, or special time in small groups, are invaluable for children building new friendships and developing a sense of security following a transition. As children progress from home to setting, room to room, join another setting or embark on their journey into school, it makes sense to provide them with familiar resources and experiences. They must feel safe and secure in order to continue to develop, and a homely, stable environment is central to this sense of belonging. If they need only make minor adjustments, children won't lose ground in their learning. They will be more receptive to new thinking and challenges if they have successfully adapted to the environment, expectations and routines.

Families need time to visit and interact with new surroundings, and opportunities to talk with children about what is recognisable and what is exciting. We send out a strong message to children when we make provision for their interests or strong schemas and when we personalise resources. We are telling them that they are special to us, that we are keeping them in mind even when they are not with us, thereby strengthening new bonds.

Effective pedagogy

Play-based approaches used to extend thinking and develop ideas are fundamental to successful learning in the early years. Adults as co-thinkers and partners in play provide the support and challenge children need to initiate their own learning. However, as children progress through the Foundation Stage and into school, there can often be a move towards more adult-directed activity. Y1 teachers often say that independence is a skill they feel children need in order to cope best with transition. Sadly, for young children, less opportunity to initiate learning can result in a loss of opportunity for independence and choice as they move through school. Whilst developing effective transition in one Enfield school, the lead teacher observed that Foundation Stage children, who were competent in activities such as recording ideas and even baking cakes from scratch, found the same activities were predominantly adult-led higher up the school. Children were losing the independence they had developed in the early years - the very skills most desirable in a primary classroom.

At the CLPE we know that the creative, integrated approaches to learning that are best practice in the early years work for children of all ages. We put high-quality literature at the heart of all learning and when this literature-based approach is used from nursery upwards, there is little difference in pedagogy for those children making the transition into Reception and Year 1, other than appropriate challenge. Core skills are taught in fun ways, children are active and artwork and role play is recognised as fundamental to deeper understanding of the world and self. Role play, outdoors, small world play, sand and water are cited by children as aspects of the early years that they miss when they move through the school. Yet, if we use inspiring stimulus to help them to be active participants in leading their own learning, we don't have to dominate their experience with a desire for them to 'sit still and listen'.

Transition in practice

All children experience transitions throughout the day; we plan reassuring but flexible routines to help children cope, and rhymes and songs to inject a bit of fun. We can promote similarly positive experiences when guiding children through more significant transitions - try the following ideas...

● View transition as a process not an event; plan ahead and value the concerns of children and their families. Make transition and the wellbeing of children a priority.

● Request welcome packs from the schools your children will move on to, distributing key dates and information to parents.

● Visit new settings with the children; invite visits from new practitioners and ensure at least a phone call to hand over.

● Transfer assessments, progress reports and learning journeys in good time, and share vital information about a child's heritage, language and social skills.

● Ensure children develop independent self-care skills to manage in a setting with fewer adults.

● Role play experiences such as dressing up in school uniforms, busy playtimes and lunchtimes.

● Remember that lunchtime is a quiet time in most settings, but at school the rowdy nature of playtime can be overwhelming and a total shift in routine.

● Focus on core skills, such as reading for pleasure, early phonological awareness and number, that lay the foundations for lifelong learning.

● Ensure areas are made available for parents to meet and interact as they enter your setting.

● Gain all you can from home visits, small group play dates, liaison with the key person and relationships with parents; a baseline assessment will be more accurate if it relies less on the first few stressful weeks in a new setting.

● Ensure 'special books' are continuously available to families and new practitioners.

● Build in special time in which small groups can be with their key person on a daily basis.

● Encourage children and parents to express themselves throughout the transition process; value their concerns.

● Focus on the language of similarity, not difference - there's a fine line between exciting and overwhelming.

● Approach coverage of new curriculums with equal creativity; play is a child's work.

● Engage practitioners in shared moderation and overlap professional development between settings - bridge the divide and knowledge gaps.

Anjali Patel is an early years and primary advisory teacher at the CLPE - an independent UK charity with a global reputation for high-quality research into literacy and teaching.

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Supporting Transitions in the Early Years | A Unique Child | Teach Early Years

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Change can be a daunting prospect, so how do we ease the process of transition throughout a child's early years? Anjali Patel of the Centre for Literacy in Primary Education (CLPE) explains... Stability is vital in a child's early years, yet change is unavoidable for many young children and they will inevitably undergo a number of emotional and environmental transitions before they even reach school age.

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The Impact of Children’sPlay in Hospital

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The Impact of Children’sPlay in Hospital

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Meet Alanna Rudd, a Play Specialist at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH). She explains the importance of play in reducing patient anxieties and providing a positive, normalised environment for children when they are at hospital.

What does being a Play Specialist involve?

My role as a Health Play Specialist is to use play as a therapeutic tool to support children and their families while they are in the hospital. We use play to help prepare and distract children for procedures, provide age-appropriate information for diagnosis and treatments, and use different therapeutic play techniques to help children explore their feelings and create positive experiences.

What does a typical day as a Play Specialist look like?

My day could involve anything from preparing a child for surgery, distracting for a blood test, supporting through a scan, helping to explain a diagnosis in a child- friendly way, and helping a family to create memories.

We create daily plans and sticker charts to motivate the children during their treatment. We help to celebrate special occasions such as birthdays, when a child finishes their treatment, and decorate the wards for Christmas. Daily activities are provided in the playroom and at the bedside (ensuring the children aren't getting too bored), and we work closely with the child's healthcare team such as nurses, doctors, music therapy, pet therapy, physios, school, psychologists etc., as well as charities. My role is important for creating positive experiences in the hospital and to minimise what can be a traumatising time.

How common is it for patients to experience anxiety whilst at hospital?

It's very common for children to feel anxious or worried whilst at hospital. When a child comes to hospital for the first time they're in an unusual environment with lots of new people around them. On top of this they may feel really unwell and encounter painful procedures. They may feel like they have no control with what's happening to them and worry about what is going to happen next. Our aim is to try and reduce their fears and anxieties by building up trust, providing enjoyable moments and providing the child with information as appropriate.

How does play help to combat these anxieties?

Play helps to combat anxieties as it's something a child can relate to- it's not only fun, but it's how children learn and express themselves. Play helps to normalise the hospital environment and encourages their development throughout their stay, as well as helping to keep the children motivated.

We use real (and safe) medical equipment to help educate and prepare the children before a procedure. Using medical play in a safe environment where the child can act as the nurse or doctor provides them with an opportunity to be in control and familiarises them with what they will experience. They can use syringes to squirt paint or water play rather than just seeing it as something which causes pain for injections. We can make a personal plan for how they may want a procedure to be carried out and have different techniques to try and help make it more tolerable for them.

How are distraction techniques used?

We use distraction to try and take their mind off what's happening- this may be during a procedure, scan, or any other stressful situation. For distraction we could use an iPad to watch/ play games, books, stress balls, sensory toys, guided imagery/ using their imagination, conversation.

Some children like to see exactly what's happening during a procedure, eg watching their injection, while others prefer not to see and we would use a book or iPad to help block their view. For some children distraction can work extremely well and for others it doesn't work so well, but sometimes just having a Play Specialist present can help to reduce anxiety as it's someone the children may trust to advocate for them.

How did you get into your career as a Play Specialist?

I went to university in the USA which is where I first heard about the career and I completed a degree to qualify as a Child Life Specialist (the US equivalent of a Play Specialist.) I have always enjoyed working with children and find the healthcare aspect interesting as there's always new things to learn. I completed an internship in a children's hospital in Florida before returning to London where I worked at a private hospital before coming to GOSH.

Being in hospital is a difficult time no matter what age you are, and I feel very privileged to have the opportunity to help the children smile and provide positive memories throughout their hospital stay.

What do you enjoy about working at GOSH?

I enjoy working at GOSH because it's a very child-centered environment, wherever you go in the hospital there's animals which light up your way to theatre, colourful lights in the canteen and the different outdoor areas. As well as the daily routine of the hospital there's often exciting events, parties, and projects for the children to participate in. I enjoy working as part of a larger team and we all have the same goal which is to provide quality and compassionate care, with the overall outcome for the child to be as healthy and happy as possible.
Find out more about the Play Team at GOSH.

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Meet Alanna Rudd, a Play Specialist at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH). She explains the importance of play in reducing patient anxieties and providing a positive, normalised environment for children when they are at hospital. What does being a Play Specialist involve?

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EYFS Best Practice - All about... Persona Dolls

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The Silent Child | Oscar® Winning Short Film

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The crisis in the UK childcare sector has been laid bare by two major surveys, with campaigners saying young families and struggling providers are being ignored by ministers as the cost of living crisis spirals.

Both surveys suggest childcare fees are increasing to an unmanageable level, with two-thirds of 27,000 parents reporting rising childcare costs in the past six months, and a similar percentage of providers confirming increases.

Two-thirds of respondents to the survey published by the campaign groups Pregnant Then Screwed and Mumsnet, said they were paying as much or more for their childcare than for their rent or mortgage. Almost half (43%) of working mothers were considering leaving their jobs and 40% were working fewer hours than they wanted to because childcare fees were unaffordable.

A separate survey of 1,970 childcare providers by the Early Years Alliance found 72% of providers said government funding for two-year-olds did not cover costs, while 86% said funding for three- to four-year-olds was insufficient.

Only 57% of local authorities report there are sufficient places available for children under two.

Pressure has been mounting on the government to address the crippling costs. A petition calling for an independent review of funding and affordability gathered 113,713 signatures and triggered a debate in parliament. But on International Women's Day signatories were told the government had no plans to carry out a review.

The parent survey provides further evidence of the cost of living crisis. Low earners are being hit the hardest, with 16% of households with an income of less than £25,000 saying bills had doubled, compared with 7% of those with a household income of more than £150,000. One in four parents said they have had to cut down on necessities such as food, heating or clothing to afford childcare, a figure that increases to 48% of young parents and 53% of single parents.

Among childcare providers, 87% reported increases in electricity and gas bills, while just less than a third were operating at a loss and 75% said they expected to use financial reserves this year.

Joeli Brearley, founder of Pregnant Then Screwed, accused the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, of ignoring the plight of young families after he did not mention the cost of childcare in his spring statement. "The government says they want to support hardworking families, but families don't work without childcare," she said. "It is beyond frustrating that childcare is being ignored time and time again."

The group is encouraging mothers to use the hashtag #UnHappyMothersDay to raise awareness among politicians of the difficulties working parents face, in particular mothers.

The survey, which was self-selecting, found that 80% of parents expected the cost of childcare to increase in the next six months, with 99% saying it was exacerbating the cost of living crisis and 65% reporting high anxiety because of money worries.

The parents surveyed said they had reduced spending in other areas, with 69% cutting back on non-essentials, while 2% said they had resorted to using food banks, rising to 5% of black parents, 6% of young parents and 13% of single parents. In the childcare sector almost half of respondents (48%) said they were thinking about leaving; three-quarters had not had a pay increase in two years.

Justine Roberts, CEO of Mumsnet, said the survey was further proof that childcare in the UK was broken. "For many families, childcare is either expensive to the point of being unusable or unavailable at the times they need," she said.

A government spokesperson said: "The early years of a child's life are the most crucial, which is why we have invested more than £3.5bn in each of the last three years to deliver the free childcare offers, including the 30 hours per week for working parents. We are also investing millions in Family Hubs, where families can access important support services. To support working families more widely, we also recently announced the biggest ever increase in the national living wage since its introduction, from April 2022."

Romilly Cole - pictured with her fiance, Dom, and their children, Esmé-Lily and Primrose - has given up work due to childcare costs. Photograph: Handout

When Romilly Cole and her fiance calculated how much their childcare was going to cost while planning her return to work, she could not believe it. "To have [our daughter] in childcare full-time, we were looking at £1,200 a month, which after tax was £150 less than I was earning. If you factor in another £160 for after-school club for my eldest it just didn't add up. I'd be working full-time and have nothing to pay the rest of the bills," she said.

With a heavy heart she gave up her job at a local car dealership in the Isle of Wight, where her brother also works and where her father, too, had been employed before his death. "I didn't want to stop working but it just made no sense for me to carry on. It's madness, it's just absolute madness," she said.

Cole now worries about the effect on her pension and her family's financial situation as the cost of living crisis bites - as well as noting that the government has lost her tax revenue.

She added: "We have a lot of sleepless night but we try and be positive for the kids. I know loads of friends who can't work for the same reason - I just don't know how any normal family is meant to afford it."

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Childcare costs have spiralled for two-thirds of UK parents, survey shows

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The crisis in the UK childcare sector has been laid bare by two major surveys, with campaigners saying young families and struggling providers are being ignored by ministers as the cost of living crisis spirals.

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've been giving considerable thought recently to the way we teach science at school - and whether we have the balance right between catering for those children who will become the scientists and engineers of the future (and how would we be able to tell this anyway?), and those who don't think they have a natural aptitude for science, or are simply more interested in other subjects.

The issue goes beyond which science topics we should be teaching, and in what depth. I'm more concerned by the obsession with making children memorise scientific "facts", and whether this is what we should be focusing on so much. Perhaps spending more time learning how we "do" science - what's called the scientific method - is more valuable than simply "knowing" stuff.

After all, science isn't a collection of facts about the world. That's just called "knowledge". Rather, science is a process - a way of thinking and making sense of the world, which will then lead to new knowledge. This is a very important distinction. We've often heard it said that we should be teaching children not what to think but how to think. This is an admirable sentiment, but what would it mean in practice? Why spend so much of the school science curriculum loading up children's brains with facts about the world that they can just look up anyway? Wouldn't it be more useful teaching them how to find reliable scientific knowledge - which these days inevitably means online rather than in books - and how to assess and critically analyse and absorb that knowledge when needed?

I have no doubt that those who develop the school science curriculum, and probably a few teachers too, would balk at this idea. After all, I am not a professional educationist. They might argue that we still have to teach the scientific nuts and bolts - chemical formulas, the bones of the human body, Newton's law of gravitation, electricity and magnetism, and so on - particularly to those who will end up studying their subject in greater depth at university and go on to take science up as a profession.

And what about the rest of society? Surely, everyone needs a basic scientific understanding. Just as everyone should have some understanding of, say, history or literature, we all need to know some science: facts about the world to help us make informed decisions in our everyday lives, from what precautions to take during a pandemic and the importance of vaccines, to the risks of vaping, the benefits of flossing or why recycling our waste is good for the planet. A scientifically literate society is one that can see the world more clearly, and can make more informed decisions about important issues that face us all. Yet what seems to be missing today is an understanding of the way we gain this scientific understanding of the world. And yes, you may be thinking: so what?

Adopting the scientific method could help us all become more tolerant and less polarised in our views - to disagree without being disagreeable - particularly online. No one can, hand on heart, deny that the internet is a wondrous invention, utterly transforming our lives over the past three decades. Even social media, that easiest of scapegoats for all of society's ills, has played a vital role in disseminating and democratising information. That said, far too many people use it not as a useful tool, but as a medium for ill-informed, often toxic opinions, and for spreading disinformation. But the internet and social media have only really amplified societal problems that have always been with us. On top of this, our attention spans are inevitably getting shorter, and we don't take the time to question our biases, or ask whether the information we are getting is reliable and trustworthy.

This is where thinking scientifically can help. I don't mean being able to manipulate equations or interpret complex statistics, but rather adopting some of the ways that good science is practised, such as critically assessing what we believe and examining the trustworthiness of evidence; questioning our own biases before we attack views we don't like; and being prepared to admit our mistakes and change our minds in the light of new evidence.

This is what we should be teaching more of in schools: better critical thinking skills, better information literacy (an understanding of data), how to cope with complexity, and how to assess uncertainty - to keep an open mind about information we only have partial knowledge about. All these skills are part of the scientific approach. This remarkable way of seeing, thinking and knowing, is one of humankind's great riches and the birthright of everyone. And, most wonderfully, it only grows in quality and value the more widely it is shared.

To expect any kind of radical review or reassessment of what children are taught at school - given how disruptive and time-consuming even minor tinkering with the syllabus can be for many teachers - let alone asking wider society to adopt a more rational way of thinking, is probably too much to ask; but surely we have to do something. Humankind came up with the scientific method to make sense of a confusing physical universe. But even in our exceedingly more complex and confusing universe of human affairs, adopting some of the lessons from the way we progress in science can be empowering and liberating. Thinking scientifically is much more than just knowing stuff. It gives us a way to see the world beyond our limited senses, beyond our prejudices and biases, beyond our fears, insecurities, ignorance and weaknesses.

Jim Al-Khalili is a theoretical physicist, author and broadcaster. His new book, The Joy of Science,is out now

The subheading of this article was amended on 5 May 2022 to remove an incorrect reference, introduced during editing, to the "UK's curriculum".

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Instead of obsessing over learning facts, let's teach children how to think | Jim Al-Khalili

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've been giving considerable thought recently to the way we teach science at school - and whether we have the balance right between catering for those children who will become the scientists and engineers of the future (and how would we be able to tell this anyway?), and those who don't think they have a natural aptitude for science, or are simply more interested in other subjects.

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Keeping children in touch with their global roots

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Keeping children in touch with their global roots

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rowing up, every Saturday morning while my school friends were out shopping, going to drama school or learning to dive at the local swimming pool, I would put on my shalwar kameez and head to my mosque's weekend school. There, I would sit cross-legged on prayer mats with other young girls, our heads covered with soft chiffon scarves, listening intently to stories from Islamic history, before catching up on school gossip and that week's Top of the Pops.

I was seven when I started going to the school in Bradford, and 15 when I left. It was the 1980s, and there were about 20 of us. Our parents all knew each other, most of the congregation was of Pakistani heritage, and most of the children second generation. We learned the basics of the Islamic faith, how to offer prayer in Arabic with English translation, how to read the Qur'an, and what being a Muslim required of us. We had sports days and speech competitions, went swimming and learned to cook. We navigated two cultures, and languages, weaving together English and Urdu.

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It made a change from my Catholic girls' school, where the syllabus was gospel, sacraments, and Christ through the eyes of Christianity. The supplementary school helped me find answers to some of the questions my friends asked about being Muslim. Growing up with two faiths gave me clarity. While Islam respects all prophets, little is taught about Jesus in the mosque. My secondary school gave me insight into the foundations of British holidays and traditions, in a way that connected with Islam.

During the year, we'd have regional competitions where girls and young women would come together to give speeches on topics such as "cleanliness is next to godliness" and "Islam and the rights of women", recite the Qur'an in Arabic, sing religious songs and take part in quizzes. We'd pack into a coach and travel down the M1 to London for a two-day event where we'd compete against girls from similar backgrounds from other parts of the country. We all spoke Urdu, but it was our English accents that revealed where we were really from - Bradford, Glasgow, Gillingham or Manchester. The women making the announcements were always Pakistani aunties, and even now place names such as Walthamstow and Redbridge are converted to a particular pronunciation in my head.

Supplementary schools are common to a variety of cultures. Photographer Craig Easton has spent several months travelling across the UK, documenting students at Saturday and Sunday schools, ranging from a Japanese school in Livingston to a school in Buckinghamshire for children of African heritage. "There are hundreds of these schools, full of British kids who want to celebrate their family heritage and culture," he says. "Some of the schools are faith schools, and others are about 'this is the country you came from, and this is the political background to the place'."

Easton, an award-winning photographer, has a thread running through his work: the idea that it is possible to be British and still hold on to one's heritage. He is keen for his images to be an antidote to the rise of rightwing nationalism. "Photography and journalism are so good at shining light into dark corners, but I wanted to turn that around and say how brilliant some things are across the country. These are kids with thick Mancunian or Scottish accents celebrating their Japanese culture or their Polish culture. They are all deeply connected to the culture or faith, while also being deeply British."

Easton said he was received well by all the schools. "The children had enormous pride in their cultural identity, and it was celebratory. That's what I loved about it." One of the groups he visited was a Polish school in Aylesbury. After Poland joined the EU in 2004, the community in the UK began to grow. Four years later, the Aylesbury Saturday school was set up by the local Polish community as a means of holding on to their traditions and language. "There was a real sense of longing," Michalina Skierkowska, head of the school, tells me. "People missed their family, the culture, the food and the reality of being in Poland." Since then, hundreds of children, from reception age to GCSE, have passed through the school, which is funded by the Polish government and membership fees, supplemented by fundraising activities.

Polish Saturday School, Aylesbury. Top: Marcel, six. Above: Rosie, seven, who was born in London

"Education through the Polish school isn't just about broadening your horizons and learning the language and culture and everything else - it gives you that sense of security that, any time you want to go back, the door is always open," Skierkowska says. The children learn about Polish culture, food and history, as well as about the Catholic faith. They have the opportunity to learn to read and speak Polish. Many of the children take a GCSE in the language, but the skills they gain also help them stay connected with family back home.

"Having to grow up facing harsh realities, postwar, I remember my sisters had to queue in the shops because there was no food available, and we had to learn to grow produce and cook from scratch," Skierkowska says. "It gave us a strong work ethic. We want to make sure our children have the same resilience, and they are patriotic about the country."

Teachers at other supplementary schools are similarly passionate about their mission. Yuko Hirono is on the committee of the Scotland Japanese school. Children have been coming to the Saturday school in Livingston from Glasgow, Edinburgh and other parts of the country for 40 years. There are currently 95 students, aged five to 15, who spend three hours every Saturday morning studying Japanese literature. Hirono found out about the school when she moved to Scotland 10 years ago with her five-year-old daughter. "The programme was for the Japanese expat community, initially, but at the moment there are more children from mixed marriages."

They learn how to write and read in Japanese, although, Hirono says: "The level of learning isn't quite the same as it is in Japan. They learn to write Chinese characters and Japanese characters, and read and discuss Japanese novels. We also have calligraphy classes, sports days and a graduation ceremony done in the way it is in Japan."

The school has an impressive library of about 4,000 Japanese books, many of which were donated by parents of former students who have since returned to Japan. It is funded by Scottish Development International, a subsidy from the foreign ministry of Japan, and grant money from Japanese companies in Scotland; it has recently applied for charity status. "Funding has been a crucial issue," Hirono says. "Running the school is quite a hard job for parents. But they all greatly appreciate the Japanese school. It's like a 'little Japan', a small community where you speak your own language, even swap homemade Japanese foods. There is a great spirit of mutual aid."

On the other side of the UK, in High Wycombe, is Further south, in High Wycombe, is the Akacia complementary school. The idea of an African school was revived 25 years ago by Kojo Asare Bonsu. "As an African parent, I was concerned. Every year I read that our so-called Black Caribbean children, especially our boys, weren't functioning and benefiting from the British education system. So five of us decided that we would restart the Saturday school. The original school was started here in the UK among Africans who came out of the British colonies in the 1960s. Grandparents, parents, mothers and fathers were concerned about the narrative and the biases that were connected to the whole issue of us, as African people, being able to comprehend and embrace high culture."

Hundreds of primary school-aged children have passed through Akacia's doors. They are taught maths and English, the history of Africa and its people, alongside "self-respect, self-esteem and self-worth", says Bonsu. "We have inspirational speakers. In March, we had a visit from Paul Obinna, the creator of the African timeline, a poster that presents 8,000 years of history. In May we're going to have African board games, and in June we're going to have African storytelling and then, just before the close of term, African drumming."

Bonsu is passionate about the work his school is doing, and my own experiences tell me he is right to be. It's been more than 30 years since I left my Saturday school, and while I didn't always appreciate being torn away from the telly on a weekend, the experience did give me a strong sense of identity. Being around young women who matched all my cultural, social and religious intersections meant I didn't feel like an anomaly. At times when Islamophobia or racism have raised their head, I've been equipped to deal with it, and able to differentiate between religion and culture.

The girls from the mosque school have remained a constant in my life. It was a place of shared experiences, strong friendships and figuring out what we wanted, as much as what we didn't.

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'I feel very at home': the UK schools keeping children in touch with their global roots

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rowing up, every Saturday morning while my school friends were out shopping, going to drama school or learning to dive at the local swimming pool, I would put on my shalwar kameez and head to my mosque's weekend school.

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Observational learning describes the process of learning by watching others, retaining the information, and then later replicating the behaviors that were observed.

There are a number of learning theories, such as classical conditioning and operant conditioning, that emphasize how direct experience, reinforcement, or punishment can lead to learning. However, a great deal of learning happens indirectly.

For example, think about how a child may watch adults waving at one another and then imitates these actions later on. A tremendous amount of learning happens through this process. In psychology, this is referred to as observational learning.

Observational learning is sometimes called shaping, modeling, and vicarious reinforcement. While it can take place at any point in life, it tends to be the most common during childhood.

It also plays an important role in the socialization process. Children learn how to behave and respond to others by observing how their parent(s) and/or caregivers interact with other people.

History of Observational Learning

Psychologist Albert Bandura is the researcher most often associated with learning through observation. He and others have demonstrated that we are naturally inclined to engage in observational learning.

Studies suggest that imitation with social understanding tends to begin around 2 years old, but will vary depending on the specific child. In the past, research has claimed that newborns are capable of imitation, but this likely isn't true, as newborns often react to stimuli in a way that may seem like imitation, but isn't.

If you've ever made faces at a toddler and watched them try to mimic your movements, then you may have witnessed how observational learning can be such an influential force. Bandura's social learning theory stresses the power of observational learning.

Bobo Doll Experiment

Bandura's Bobo doll experiment is one of the most famous examples of observational learning. In the Bobo doll experiment, Bandura demonstrated that young children may imitate the aggressive actions of an adult model. Children observed a film where an adult repeatedly hit a large, inflatable balloon doll and then had the opportunity to play with the same doll later on.

Children were more likely to imitate the adult's violent actions when the adult either received no consequences or when the adult was rewarded. Children who saw the adult being punished for this aggressive behavior were less likely to imitate them.

Observational Learning Examples

The following are instances that demonstrate observational learning has occurred.

A child watches their parent folding the laundry. They later pick up some clothing and imitate folding the clothes.

A young couple goes on a date to an Asian restaurant. They watch other diners in the restaurant eating with chopsticks and copy their actions to learn how to use these utensils.

A child watches a classmate get in trouble for hitting another child. They learn from observing this interaction that they should not hit others.

A group of children play hide-and-seek. One child joins the group and is not sure what to do. After observing the other children play, they quickly learn the basic rules and join in.

Stages of Observational Learning

There are four stages of observational learning that need to occur for meaningful learning to take place. Keep in mind, this is different than simply copying someone else's behavior. Instead, observational learning may incorporate a social and/or motivational component that influences whether the observer will choose to engage in or avoid a certain behavior.

For an observer to learn, they must be in the right mindset to do so. This means having the energy to learn, remaining focused on what the model is engaging in, and being able to observe the model for enough time to grasp what they are doing.

How the model is perceived can impact the observer's level of attention. Models who are seen being rewarded for their behavior, models who are attractive, and models who are viewed as similar to the observer tend to command more focus from the observer.

If the observer was able to focus on the model's behavior, the next step is being able to remember what was viewed. If the observer is not able to recall the model's behavior, they may need to go back to the first stage again.

Reproduction

If the observer is able to focus and retains the information, the next stage in observational learning is trying to replicate it. It's important to note that every individual will have their own unique capacity when it comes to imitating certain behaviors, meaning that even with perfect focus and recall, some behaviors may not be easily copied.

Motivation

In order for the observer to engage in this new behavior, they will need some sort of motivation. Even if the observer is able to imitate the model, if they lack the drive to do so, they will likely not follow through with this new learned behavior.

Motivation may increase if the observer watched the model receive a reward for engaging in a certain behavior and the observer believes they will also receive some reward if they imitate said behavior. Motivation may decrease if the observer had knowledge of or witnessed the model being punished for a certain behavior.

Influences on Observational Learning

According to Bandura's research, there are a number of factors that increase the likelihood that a behavior will be imitated. We are more likely to imitate:

People we perceive as warm and nurturing

People who receive rewards for their behavior

People who are in an authoritative position in our lives

People who are similar to us in age, sex, and interests

People we admire or who are of a higher social status

When we have been rewarded for imitating the behavior in the past

When we lack confidence in our own knowledge or abilities

When the situation is confusing, ambiguous, or unfamiliar

Pros and Cons of Observational Learning

Observational learning has the potential to teach and reinforce or decrease certain behaviors based on a variety of factors. Particularly prevalent in childhood, observational learning can be a key part of how we learn new skills and learn to avoid consequences.

However, there has also been concern about how this type of learning can lead to negative outcomes and behaviors. Some studies, inspired by Bandura's research, focused on the effects observational learning may have on children and teenagers.

For example, previous research drew a direct connection between playing certain violent video games and an increase in aggression in the short term. However, later research that focused on the short- and long-term impact video games may have on players has shown no direct connections between video game playing and violent behavior.

Similarly, research looking at sexual media exposure and teenagers' sexual behavior found that, in general, there wasn't a connection between watching explicit content and having sex within the following year.

Another study indicated that if teenagers age 14 and 15 of the same sex consumed sexual media together and/or if parents restricted the amount of sexual content watched, the likelihood of having sex was lower. The likelihood of sexual intercourse increased when opposite-sex peers consumed sexual content together.

Research indicates that when it comes to observational learning, individuals don't just imitate what they see and that context matters. This may include who the model is, who the observer is with, and parental involvement.

Uses for Observational Learning

Observational learning can be used in the real world in a number of different ways. Some examples include:

Learning new behaviors: Observational learning is often used as a real-world tool for teaching people new skills. This can include children watching their parents perform a task or students observing a teacher engage in a demonstration.

Strengthening skills: Observational learning is also a key way to reinforce and strengthen behaviors. For example, if a study sees another student getting a reward for raising their hand in class, they will be more likely to also raise their hand the next time they want to ask a question.

Minimizing negative behaviors: Observational learning also plays an important role in reducing undesirable or negative behaviors. For example, if you see a coworker get reprimanded for failing to finish a task on time, it means that you may be more likely to finish your work more quickly.

A Word From Verywell

Observational learning can be a powerful learning tool. When we think about the concept of learning, we often talk about direct instruction or methods that rely on reinforcement and punishment. But, a great deal of learning takes place much more subtly and relies on watching the people around us and modeling their actions. This learning method can be applied in a wide range of settings including job training, education, counseling, and psychotherapy.

Additional Reading

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How Observational Learning Affects Behavior

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Observational learning can be a powerful way to learn in many situations. See observational learning examples and learn the four stages of this type of learning.

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Have you ever wondered why some people lash out? Is that tendency for aggression something they're born with, or could it be influenced by observing others? It's a question that's long been on the minds of both parents and researchers. It's particularly relevant when it comes to understanding how exposure to violence in TV, movies, and video games might shape behavior.

In the 1960s, psychologist Albert Bandura and his colleagues conducted what is now known as the Bobo doll experiment. In it, they demonstrated that children may learn aggression through observation.

Aggression lies at the root of many social ills ranging from interpersonal violence to war. It is little wonder, then, that the subject is one of the most studied topics within psychology.

Understanding The Bobo Doll Experiment

In order to understand the experiment, let's start by taking a closer look at the participants, methods, and research aims.

The Participants

The participants for the experiment were 36 boys and 36 girls enrolled at the Stanford University Nursery School. The children ranged in age between 3 and almost 6 years.

The experiment involved exposing one group of 24 children to an adult modeling aggressive behavior and another group of 24 children to an adult modeling non-aggressive behavior. The final group of 24 children acted as the control group, which was not exposed to adult models.

These groups were divided again into groups of boys and girls. Each of these subgroups was then divided so that half of the participants would be exposed to a same-sex adult model and the other half would be exposed to an opposite-sex adult model.

Each child was tested individually to ensure that their behavior would not be influenced by other children. The child was first brought into a playroom where there were a number of different activities to explore. The experimenter then invited the adult model into the playroom.

Modeling Aggressive Behavior

In the non-aggressive condition, the adult model simply played with the toys and ignored the Bobo doll for the entire period. In the aggressive model condition, however, the adult models would violently attack the Bobo doll.

The models also added two non-aggressive phrases: "He sure is a tough fella" and "He keeps coming back for more."

Building Frustration

After the ten-minute exposure to the adult model, each child was then taken to another room that contained a number of appealing toys including a doll set, fire engine, and toy airplane.

The children were permitted to play for a brief two minutes, then told they were no longer allowed to play with any of these tempting toys. The purpose of this was to build up frustration levels among the young participants.

Observing Behavior

Finally, each child was taken to the last experimental room. This room contained a number of "aggressive" toys including a mallet, a tether ball with a face painted on it, dart guns, and, of course, a Bobo doll. The room also included several "non-aggressive" toys including crayons, paper, dolls, plastic animals, and trucks.

Each child was then allowed to play in this room for a period of 20 minutes. During this time, researchers observed the child's behavior from behind a one-way mirror and judged each child's levels of aggression.

Predictions

Bandura made several key predictions about what would occur during the Bobo doll experiment.

Boys would behave more aggressively than girls.

Children who observed an adult acting aggressively would be likely to act aggressively, even when the adult model was not present.

Children would be more likely to imitate models of the same sex rather than models of the opposite sex.

The children who observed the non-aggressive adult model would be less aggressive than the children who observed the aggressive model; the non-aggressive exposure group would also be less aggressive than the control group.

The results of the experiment supported some of the original predictions, but also included some unexpected findings:

Bandura and his colleagues had predicted that children in the non-aggressive group would behave less aggressively than those in the control group. The results indicated that while children of both genders in the non-aggressive group did tend to exhibit less aggression than the control group, boys who had observed a non-aggressive, opposite-sex model were more likely than those in the control group to engage in violence.

Children exposed to the violent model tended to imitate the exact behavior they had observed when the adult model was no longer present.

Researchers were correct in their prediction that boys would behave more aggressively than girls. Boys engaged in more than twice as many acts of physical aggression than the girls.

There were important gender differences when it came to whether a same-sex or opposite-sex model was observed. Boys who observed adult males behaving violently were more influenced than those who had observed female models behaving aggressively.

Interestingly, the experimenters found in same-sex aggressive groups, boys were more likely to imitate physical acts of violence while girls were more likely to imitate verbal aggression.

Impact of the Bobo Doll Experiment

The Bobo doll experiment didn't just influence our understanding of aggression-it also helped spark changes in parenting practices as well as intense debates over the influence of violence in media.

The experiment's results also supported Bandura's social learning theory, which suggested that learning occurs through observations and interactions with other people. Essentially, people learn by watching others and then imitating these actions. Later, Bandura's theory evolved to focus on cognitive elements that also influence behavior, including self-efficacy, self-regulation, and expectations.

Bandura and his colleagues believed the Bobo doll experiment demonstrated how specific behaviors can be learned through observation and imitation.

Bandura also suggested that as a result, children may be more inclined to respond to frustration with aggression in the future.

The good news was that while kids are prone to reenacting the behaviors they witnessed, they were also able to learn from the consequences of those actions.

In a follow-up study conducted in 1965, Bandura found that while children were more likely to imitate aggressive behavior if the adult model was rewarded for his or her actions, they were far less likely to imitate if they saw the adult model being punished or reprimanded for their hostile behavior.

The conclusions drawn from the Bobo doll experiment may help explain human behavior in many areas of life. For instance, the idea that children will imitate the abusive behavior that they witness may provide insight into domestic violence.

Adolescents who grow up witnessing abuse in their homes may be more likely to display violent behavior themselves, and view aggression as an appropriate response to solve interpersonal problems.

Therefore, it's important that aggressive or violent behavior is not tolerated by those with power-whether it's at the workplace, in schools, or at home-or else the aggression is likely to continue and may influence young people who witness it.

Criticism of the Bobo Doll Experiment

While the Bobo doll experiment has been celebrated for influencing our understanding of aggression, it's not without criticism. Some have questions about its real-world applicability, experimental methods, and relevance.

Critics point out that acting violently toward a doll in a lab setting is a whole lot different than displaying aggression or violence against another human being in an actual real-world setting.

Because the experiment took place in a lab setting, some critics suggest that results observed in this type of location may not be indicative of what takes place in the real world.

It has also been suggested that children were not actually motivated to display aggression when they hit the Bobo doll; instead, they may have simply been trying to please the adults. It's worth noting that the children didn't actually hurt the Bobo doll, nor did they think they were hurting it.

In addition, by intentionally frustrating the children, some argue that the experimenters were essentially teaching the children to be aggressive.

It's also not known whether the children were actually aggressive or simply imitating the behavior without aggressive intent (most children will imitate behavior right after they see it, but they don't necessarily continue it in the long term).

Additional criticisms note the biases of the researchers. Since they knew that the children were already frustrated, they may have been more likely to interpret the children's actions as aggressive.

The study may also suffer from selection bias. All participants were drawn from a narrow pool of students who share the same racial and socioeconomic background. This makes it difficult to generalize the results to a larger, more diverse population.

Bandura's experiment remains one of the most well-known studies in psychology. Social psychologists continue to study the impact of observed violence on children's behavior. In the decades since the Bobo doll experiment, there have been hundreds of studies on how observing violence impacts children's behavior.

Today, researchers continue to ponder the question of whether the violence children witness on television, in the movies, or through video games translates to aggressive or violent behavior in the real world.

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What the Bobo Doll Experiment Reveals About Kids and Aggression

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The Bobo doll experiment, led by Albert Bandura, found that children learn aggression through observation. But, there are many criticisms of the study. Learn more.

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Play therapy is a form of psychological treatment that can involve playing with toys, role-playing, and games. Therapists observe someone during play to gain insights about their behavior.

Play therapy can be useful for treating mental health conditions or behavioral disorders. It can also be a support tool for those with developmental differences, such as autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Although play therapists primarily work with children, they sometimes use this treatment to engage with adolescents and adults as well.

A variety of licensed professionals practice play therapy. These may include social workers, counselors, and psychologists. Keep reading to learn more about the benefits of play therapy for children and adults.

Play therapy is a tool that originally comes from the field of psychotherapy, or talk therapy. It involves a trained therapist observing a client while they play and following their lead as they do.

The approach is based on the idea that children communicate unconsciously through play. This means they reveal things about themselves without realizing they are doing it.

It is through play that children learn how to interact with the world and develop skills. As such, it is a natural means of self-expression for them.

During play, a child may either directly or symbolically act out their feelings, allowing a therapist to gain insight into their emotional state. Playing together provides a safe environment for this to happen, allowing people to express things they might otherwise find difficult.

Participating in a shared activity also fosters trust between the therapist and the client, creating a therapeutic relationship. This can be especially useful for children, who may feel distrustful of strangers.

Play Therapy International (PTI) reports that up to 71% of children who undergo play therapy show a benefit. Sessions usually last 30-45 minutes.

Therapists most often use play therapy for children, but it may help adults in some circumstances too. The Association for Play Therapy (APT) states that mental health practitioners may use it to help treat a range of conditions, such as:

depression

behavioral disorders, such as conduct disorder or oppositional defiant disorder (ODD)

It may also help with new behavioral problems that occur due to life events, such as bereavement, divorce, or a traumatic experience.

Play therapy can also be a supportive intervention for people with neurodevelopmental differences. This could include those with:

Play therapy does not "cure" these conditions but instead provides emotional support and teaches skills that help children learn and socialize.

Research indicates that play therapy may:

Help autistic children learn skills

A small explored the effects of play therapy in 20 autistic children. After 2 years, the children experienced a significant improvement in their behavioral and developmental skills.

The authors suggest that play therapy may help autistic children with social interactions. However, research in a larger group of children is necessary to confirm whether play therapy is effective.

Reduce disruptions to learning in ADHD

A small 2017 study of three first-grade school students found that child-centered play therapy helped to reduce the symptoms of ADHD, including difficulty concentrating, intrusive behavior, and oppositional behavior.

The children participated in three sessions per week over the course of 6 weeks. The therapy appeared to help to varying degrees, ranging from small to large improvements.

However, this was a very small study focusing on three specific cases. It may not reflect how effective play therapy is in a larger population.

Reduce ODD symptoms

ODD is a condition in which a child is persistently hostile and uncooperative toward peers and authority figures. A 2019 clinical trial involving 45 children with ODD found that, in comparison to no treatment, both individual and group play therapy improved ODD symptoms.

Children receiving play therapy had one session per week for 8 weeks. At the end of the study, parents, caregivers, and teachers reported reductions in ODD-related behavior. These improvements lasted for at least 2 months, suggesting play therapy may create long-lasting changes. However, more research is necessary to confirm this.

There is not as much research into the benefits of play therapy for adults. Older research suggests it may:

Boost mental health in older age

An experiment in 2001 observed how play therapy affected a small group of older adults in a nursing home. They underwent play therapy involving creative writing, music, art, games, and sand tray therapy. After engaging in one to two sessions per week for 6-10 weeks, the participants:

socialized more with others

appeared to have better self-esteem

appeared to have lower rates of depression

showed interest in solving problems, such as feeling lonely

However, this is based on observations rather than data.

Facilitate coping with trauma

Play therapy cuts through adult guardedness and provides a relaxed environment, explains an older 2010 American Counseling Association article. This enables adults to safely examine their feelings and approach threatening topics.

For example, the article mentions an exercise that helped survivors of domestic violence express how they felt about their abusive relationship.

Foster communication in developmental disabilities

Adults with developmental disabilities may have few opportunities for validation and emotional expression, notes an older 2003 journal article. The authors cited two case studies that indicated play therapy may offer a positive effect on various aspects of psychological health, including emotional well-being.

Below are play therapy techniques with examples of their use.

General play with toys

The older 2010 review article shows that play therapy may involve allowing the child to play with toys in one of three categories:

Real-life toys: These break the ice and target withdrawn or introverted children. They include items such as:

Aggressive toys: These foster the release of anger and hostility. They include items such as:

Creative toys: These offer a way to express a wide range of emotions. They include items such as:

As the child plays, the therapist tries to interpret how they feel. These interpretations guide the play, allowing the therapist to test whether their theory is correct. The child's reaction will either reinforce or reject their interpretation.

Once the therapist understands what the play means, they will guide it to help the child in various ways. For example, they may help them learn to solve a problem or work through an emotion.

Game playing

Game playing is a technique that therapists may use with older children, adolescents, and adults. An older 2008 review article reports that following the rules can help a distractible person focus attention. Games are also a socialization tool, teaching people how to take turns and be a gracious loser or winner.

Role-playing

Playing a role in a drama may help a child who has experienced a traumatic event, notes the older 2008 review article. Instead of reliving the event, a child symbolically deals with it through characters in an enacted narrative. This play acting can help them move toward an inner resolution.

Stories

Hearing or reading a story allows children to see how others have overcome problems similar to their own. An older 1999 journal case study suggests they may then apply what they have learned to their own real-life situation.

Sand tray

In sand tray play, a therapist provides a child with a tray, sand, and miniature toys to create a scene or play world. A involving seven children between the ages of 7 and 10 indicated that the technique may help people who experience sexual abuse.

In the study, the children's play had a theme of violence, and it expressed the need for protection. It also encouraged the creation of situations with positive outcomes.

A play therapist may have a master's degree or higher, as well as a license in a mental health field, such as:

Once someone is qualified, they register as a play therapist. This indicates they have completed additional coursework and clinical supervision in play therapy. The APT offers a training program that gives people "Registered Play Therapist" status.

Play therapy is a form of psychological treatment that uses play to allow people to express unconscious feelings, or things they find hard to express through words. According to PTI, 71% of children who receive it experience a positive change.

The potential benefits include a reduction of behavioral problems that stem from anger, grief, or trauma. Play therapy may also help people with developmental differences to work through problems or learn skills that help in daily life.

If someone wants to try play therapy, they can looked for a registered play therapist. In the United States, the APT issues these qualifications.

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What is play therapy? Benefits for children and adults

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Play therapy is a form of psychological treatment that can involve playing with toys, role-playing, and games. Therapists observe someone during play to gain insights about their behavior. Play therapy can be useful for treating mental health conditions or behavioral disorders.

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BMC Public Health 22, Article number: 636 (2022) Cite this article

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Abstract

Background

From a public health perspective there is growing interest in children's play, including play involving risk and adventure, in relation to children's physical and mental health. Regarding mental health, it is theorised that adventurous play, where children experience thrilling, exciting emotions, offers important learning opportunities that prepare children for dealing with uncertainty and help prevent anxiety. Despite these benefits, adventurous play has decreased substantially within a generation. Parents have a key role in facilitating or limiting children's opportunities for adventurous play, but research identifying the barriers and facilitators parents perceive in relation to adventurous play is scarce. The present study therefore examined the barriers to and facilitators of adventurous play as perceived by parents of school-aged children in Britain.

Methods

This study analysed data from a subsample of parents in Britain ( n  = 377) who participated in the nationally representative British Children's Play Survey. Parents responded to two open-ended questions pertaining to the barriers to and facilitators of children's adventurous play. Responses were analysed using a qualitative Framework Analysis, an approach suitable for managing large datasets with specific research questions.

Results

Four framework categories were identified: Social Environment; Physical Environment; Risk of Injury; Child Factors. Social Environment included barriers and facilitators related to parents, family and peers, as well as community and society. Dominant themes within the Social Environment related to perceptions about the certainty of child safety, such as supervision and the safety of society. Beliefs about the benefits of adventurous play for development and well-being were also important in the Social Environment. Physical Environment factors focused on safety and practical issues. Risk of Injury captured concerns about children being injured during play. Child Factors included child attributes, such as play preference, developmental ability and trait-like characteristics.

Conclusions

Improved understanding of what influences parent perceptions of adventurous play can inform public health interventions designed to improve children's opportunities for and engagement in adventurous play, with a view to promote children's physical and mental health.

Peer Review reports

Background

Children's play, including play involving risk challenge and adventure, is increasingly recognised from a public health perspective as important for children's physical and mental health [ 1]. Adventurous play, synonymous with risky play, is defined as "child-led play where children experience subjective feelings of excitement, thrill and fear; often this occurs in the context of age-appropriate risk-taking" ([ 2] p.1). It includes activities such as climbing, jumping or running at great speed [ 3] and tends to occur more during outdoor than indoor play [ 2, 4].

Research has shown that adventurous, outdoor play has positive effects on children's physical and mental health [ 5]. For example, a systematic review exploring risky play in children aged 3-13 years concluded there were several benefits for children's health, including increased physical activity, reduced sedentary behaviours, increased social competence and improved creativity and resilience [ 5]. Adventurous play has also been theorised as protective against the development of fears [ 6] and anxiety [ 2], by providing natural exposures and corresponding learning opportunities where children can learn about uncertainty, coping and arousal. Importantly, research shows that children enjoy the emotions that they experience during adventurous play. Common feelings elicited are a sense of thrill and exhilaration which borders on fear, and feelings of pride and achievement after the play [ 4, 7, 8].

Research examining the benefits of adventurous play for children's development indicates that this type of play may support children's mental well-being and development [ 9]. For example, in Lavrysen and colleagues, [ 10], two school classes of children aged 4-6 years were given opportunities to engage in risky play over three months, including play at great height and speed. Post-intervention, significant improvements were observed in teacher ratings of children's self-esteem, conflict sensitivity and concentration.

Despite the recognised benefits of adventurous play and the knowledge that children enjoy playing in this way, there is convincing evidence that engagement in adventurous play across westernised countries has declined significantly in recent decades [ 9, 11]. For example, in a survey of mothers in the USA, 60% reported that they played in adventurous ways as children, but only 22% of their children played in this way [ 12]. Large surveys conducted in Australia [ 13] and New Zealand [ 14] provide further support for this decline in adventurous play. For example, Jelleyman and colleagues [ 14] found that less than half of the parents surveyed reported that their children engage in risky play activities on a regular basis. Given the evidence that adventurous play has benefits for health, the declines seen may therefore have considerable implications for children's physical and mental health [ 2, 5].

When considering children's declining opportunities for adventurous play, a range of influences are likely to be important, as highlighted by socio-ecological and psychological models [ 15, 16]. Parents in particular have a core role in providing or restricting children's opportunities for adventurous play [ 17, 18]. The role of parents is highlighted by the British Children's Play Survey [ 19], where parents' tolerance of risk and attitudes to child risk-taking were positively associated with children's time spent playing adventurously. There has also been some emerging evidence for the role of parenting styles, in particular overprotective styles, in predicting whether children take risks in their play or not [ 20]. Parent sex may also be important, with fathers, on average, more comfortable with child risk-taking than mothers [ 21] (see also [ 22]).

Research regarding what parents perceive to be the barriers and facilitators of children's adventurous play is scarce. Some inferences can be drawn from small scale studies exploring parent perceived barriers to risky play in young children [ 25, 26] and large surveys that have explored unsupervised outdoor play in nature [ 11], as well as children's independent mobility, defined as the freedom children have to travel and play around their local neighbourhood [ 27, 28]. Though outdoor nature play and independent mobility are not synonymous with adventurous play, both afford increased opportunities for it [ 2]. Frequently identified barriers across these studies include concerns about road safety [ 25] and "stranger danger" [ 11, 29, 30]. Concern about the risk of physical injury involved in adventurous play has also been identified as a key barrier for parents [ 25, 26, 31].

Other previously cited barriers in relation to children's safety when playing are the absence of adult supervision [ 32, 33], the potential for bullying [ 27] and perceptions of low social cohesion in neighbourhoods, leading to an expectation that neighbours will not look out for each other's children [ 17]. Practical barriers have also been acknowledged, such as having the time to facilitate adventurous play [ 25], poor weather conditions [ 14] and poor accessibility to play spaces or activities [ 32, 34].

Some parents have also identified barriers related to themselves, such as concerns about other parents' judgements of them [ 35] and their own anxieties [ 24]. Children's attributes and preferences have been highlighted in some studies, with some parents citing difficulties encouraging their children to play outdoors, unsupervised or adventurously because they do not enjoy it, or because they prefer to play indoors using technology [ 12, 33]. Together, the barriers ascertained by parents across several countries demonstrates the multifaceted nature of parents' perceptions in relation to their children's play. This highlights the challenge of supporting parents to overcome these barriers and the difficulty in translating this into increased play opportunities.

In previous research, findings related to barriers and facilitators have typically been obtained using multiple choice questions where a set of predefined options are provided or via agreement ratings against predetermined statements. An example is the New Zealand State of Play Survey, where parents rated their level of agreement with statements about the barriers of risky play from 'strongly disagree' to 'strongly agree', such as 'unsupervised activities increase the chance of injury' [ 14]. Whilst this provides an efficient way of collecting quantitative data, it has limited utility when inferring what is most pertinent or important to parents and necessarily restricts responses to options the researchers have considered. A further limitation is that evidence has been gathered almost exclusively on barriers, rather than also gathering information on the perceived facilitators. This information is required to improve understanding of what might support parents to encourage their child to play in an adventurous way. Asking parents to respond to open-ended questions regarding both barriers and facilitators of children's adventurous play would have greater utility for the design of future public health interventions.

The aim of the present study was to explore and identify the barriers and facilitators for parents in Britain with regards to encouraging their children to play adventurously. Data was collected as part of the British Children's Play Survey (BCPS) [ 19], a nationally representative survey of parents and caregivers with primary school-aged children. Two open-ended questions asked parents to identify the barriers and facilitators they perceive when encouraging their children to engage in adventurous play. Responses were analysed using Framework Analysis [ 36].

Method

This paper analysed data collected as part of the BCPS. For full details of the survey and the recruitment of participants, see Dodd and colleagues [ 19].

Design

This paper describes the analysis of a subset of written responses to two open-ended questions included in the BCPS. To explore parents' responses to the open-ended questions asking about barriers to and facilitators of adventurous play, a qualitative approach to sampling and data analysis was adopted.

Participants and procedure

The BCPS centred around play in primary school-aged children. Participants were a nationally representative sample of 1919 parents and caregivers of children aged 5-11 years old, living in Britain. Participants were recruited via YouGov, a UK public opinion research company. Participants completed the survey online and anonymously, ensuring confidentiality. Any identifying information, such as individual names or names of places, included in participants' responses were removed before analysis to further ensure confidentiality. The methods and procedure were approved by the University of Reading School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences Ethics Committee (2020-003-HD). This study analysed data from a subsample of 377 parents and caregivers. 22 parents and caregivers did not provide any answers to the questions analysed and 9 expressed that they were unsure how to answer. For simplicity, we refer to participants as parents.

Sampling

Measures

As part of the survey, parents were given a definition of adventurous play and were asked two open-ended questions, which were designed by the authors of the BCPS [ 19]. The first question asked, 'Which factors, if any, allow you to let / encourage your child aged 5-11 to play in an adventurous way?'. The second question asked, 'Which factors, if any, make it difficult for you to let / encourage your child aged 5-11 to play in an adventurous way?'. Parents were encouraged to provide as much detail as possible in their answers. Answers aimed to elicit responses to the barriers to and facilitators of adventurous play. The data is available here: https://doi.org/10.5255/UKDA-SN-8793-1. The wider survey included detailed demographic questions.

Data analysis

Responses to the two open-ended questions were analysed using Framework Analysis, a qualitative analysis technique that involves a systematic yet flexible process of organising, charting and arranging data in line with key themes and issues [ 36]. Framework Analysis includes five stages, which are discrete but highly connected. The process involves familiarisation with the dataset, identification of a thematic framework, indexing or applying the thematic framework to the data, charting the indexed data into charts of themes and mapping and interpretation of the dataset as whole [ 36]. This method was chosen due to its suitability for analysing large samples and its position as an approach which is not bound by a particular philosophical perspective [ 36]. It is also suited to research with specific research questions and a priori ideas, while equally encouraging an inductive, data-driven approach [ 38].

The five stages of Framework Analysis were flexibly applied, to ensure the analysis was data-driven. NVivo 12 (QSR) and pen-to-paper methods facilitated the analysis. The analysis was led by the lead author BO, who began with familiarisation of the data and then coded the data using the research aim as a guide. Reflective notes were taken during the analysis to stimulate reflection at each stage, as recommended by Ritchie and Spencer [ 36]. An initial overarching framework of 'barriers' and 'facilitators' was applied during the initial stages of analysis but was later withdrawn. We chose to withdraw this framework on reflection that being able to identify the overall factors that affect parent decisions may have greater utility in terms of interpretation and recommendations for policy and intervention. A preliminary thematic framework was then identified using an inductive approach and thematic coding. The framework went through several iterations, following discussions and reflections with co-authors. The framework was derived inductively, with the aim of building a novel framework and to ensure a true reflection of parents' responses.

A framework capturing parent perceived barriers to and facilitators of adventurous play. Note. ⁺Themes identified as facilitators only. △ Themes identified as barriers only. Numbers in brackets highlight the results section in which the framework categories and themes are discussed

During the first stages of analysis, it was noted that parents often recorded "safety" or "safe environment" in response to both questions. Whilst this highlighted the dominance of safety considerations underlying parents' thoughts about adventurous play, it was difficult to determine whether such answers were specific to the type of play or play in relation to the physical or social environment. Due to this difficulty, and to ensure responses were not forced into the framework, responses here were coded into a separate, safety theme. This theme was not included in the final framework but greatly supported the final stages of analysis when interpreting the data by emphasising the dominance of underlying safety considerations.

Charting of the framework was completed but proved challenging due to the number of parents sampled. To support the deeper exploration of differences in responses amongst parents with different socio-demographic characteristics, matrix coding queries were executed. These differences are highlighted throughout the Results section. This supported the final stages of analysis, where the research team explored the meaning underlying parents' responses in more depth.

Results

During analysis, it became apparent that adventurous play may have different meanings for parents. For some, it appeared primarily related to the perception of risk in the play. For others, it appeared synonymous with play in natural spaces (e.g. forests, woodlands, near water) or autonomous play, including independent mobility. The remainder appeared to perceive adventurous play as a combination of some or all of these elements. Parents' views were captured in four framework categories (see Fig. 1); Social Environment, Physical Environment, Risk of Injury and Child Factors.

1. Social environment

The Social Environment category involved the most themes. The Social Environment included factors pertaining to Parents, Community and Society, Family and Peers. Themes within each are discussed below.

1.1 Parents

Parent factors were one of the most commonly referenced factors within the Social Environment, particularly in terms of facilitators. Themes identified within parent factors were: Supervision, Parent Attitudes, Parent Assessment of Risk, Teaching the Child about Risk, Parent Attributes and Parent's Social Environment (Fig. 1). Factors which increased or decreased perceptions about the certainty of child safety coupled with beliefs about the benefits of adventurous play appeared to underlie this theme. These insights were captured predominantly in the themes Supervision and Parent Attitudes.

1.1.1 Supervision

Supervision was regularly cited as both a barrier and facilitator, with lack of adult supervision forming a key barrier for parents with regards to adventurous play. Parents' views on inadequate supervision ranged from lack of direct supervision, to not knowing where their child is playing. Similarly, as a facilitator, presence of supervision was commonly identified but varied in terms of the degree of supervision, from direct adult supervision, to playing in close proximity to the home, to being able to contact their child via a mobile phone. Adult supervision as a facilitator for adventurous play tended to be more of a consideration for parents with younger children in this sample.

1.1.2 Parent attitudes

Beliefs about the benefits of adventurous play for children's learning and development, health and well-being were often referred to as facilitators. These factors were grouped under the theme of Parent Attitudes. Most parents with positive attitudes acknowledged the benefits of adventurous play for learning and development, including the ability to assess risk and problem solve. Also present but appearing to be less readily acknowledged by parents was the benefits for physical and psychological health and well-being, such as confidence and resilience. Some parents attributed their attitudes to their occupation or their own play experiences as a child. These attitudes aligned with some who identified their self-attributes as parents who were focused more on following the child's interests and who did not want to be overprotective. Only one parent appeared to hold a negative attitude about adventurous play, suggesting it is a "bad idea" that represents "irresponsible parenting".

1.1.3 Parent assessment of risk; teaching the child about risk

Whilst two separate themes were identified, these were less frequently identified than the themes aforementioned and are therefore presented together for ease. The two themes were parents' own assessment of the level of risk in the adventurous play activity and teaching children about assessing and managing risk. These were identified as facilitators only.

1.1.4 Parent attributes

A barrier occasionally identified was parent attributes. These included self-attributes as a "worrier" or "anxious", or attributes of their child's other parent. Only male parents cited their child's other parent when describing attributes as a barrier. Acknowledgement of parenting styles were also described within this theme, with responses pertaining to overprotective or controlling parenting, which bears similarity to and appears coherent with the attributes cited above.

1.1.5 Parent's social environment

Present for a small minority of parents, and primarily a barrier, were perceptions of their social environment. Specifically, some parents identified the judgements others may make of them as parents as a barrier. One parent explicitly recognised that if they perceived less judgement from others, this would help them encourage more adventurous play. One parent appeared to seek support from their social environment, commenting that the presence of parents who were less risk averse than them helps them encourage their child to play adventurously.

1.2 Community and society

Perceptions of the Community and Society was a further identified factor within the Social Environment. Five themes were identified.

1.2.1 Safety of society; neighbourhood safety; the media; other children; and sense of community

Key themes within the Community and Society were: Safety of Society, Neighbourhood Safety, The Media, Other Children and Sense of Community (Fig. 1). Given that they all relate to children's safety, these five themes are described together but they are considered separate themes within the framework.

Overall, more barriers than facilitators were suggested across these five themes. A considerable number of parents cited the safety of society as a barrier. These concerns tended to be more of a consideration for parents with older children. The Safety of Society theme included concerns about "stranger danger", antisocial behaviour or crime and perceptions of general neighbourhood safety. This aligned with parents who cited an absence of community as a barrier, believing that neighbours do not look out for each others' children like they used to. Linked to these themes was the role of the media. Some parents suggested the reporting of accidents and incidents in the news makes it difficult for them to encourage their children to play adventurously. A small number of parents also considered other children's involvement in the play in their responses, with one parent citing concerns about "young other children" being present and two parents citing concerns about the presence of "older kids".

When the Community and Society were cited as facilitators, it tended to be by parents who perceived a strong sense of community, a generic perception of living in a safe neighbourhood and a sense of certainty that neighbours will look out for each others' children. Collectively, the themes within the Community and Society appeared to operate to increase or decrease perceptions of child safety during adventurous play.

1.3 The family

Family life considerations were another factor of the Social Environment, but were cited less often than Parent and Community factors. When the family was identified, this was generally to acknowledge the barriers. Key themes within The Family were: Time, Younger Siblings, Cost and Older Siblings (Fig. 1).

1.3.1 Time; younger siblings; cost

Whilst these themes are separate and distinct from one another, most responses within these themes related to practical considerations about adventurous play, and so are presented together. Time was identified as both a barrier and facilitator. Having a lack of time was cited as a barrier and in contrast, having more time was cited as a facilitator. Having another, younger child was identified only as a barrier in this sample, due to the practicalities of considering activities that are appropriate for all siblings or due to safety concerns that they may want to try the same activity as their older sibling. Although not present in the majority of parents' responses, the cost of adventure play spaces and having the energy to facilitate adventurous play were barriers for some.

1.3.2 Older siblings

In this sample, older siblings were identified as facilitators of adventurous play only. Here, the presence of older siblings for the child to play with was identified as a facilitator; underlying this theme may be increased perceptions of child safety during adventurous play.

1.4 Peers

Peers were more readily cited as facilitators than barriers for adventurous play. Key themes were: Presence or Absence of Peers and Bullying (Fig. 1). As these themes were less frequently identified than other themes within the framework, they are presented together for ease.

1.4.1 Presence/absence of peers; bullying

The presence of known, trusted peers was considered a facilitator of adventurous play. Safety considerations were thought to underlie these responses, possibly by increasing certainty about safety or certainty that someone can help in case of an emergency. Unknown or untrusted peers, and the possibility of bullying were sometimes listed as barriers, as well as the practical considerations of not having or knowing any peers to play with, though this did not emerge to be a general consensus across parents.

2. Physical environment

Although less commonly identified than the Social Environment, the Physical Environment also represented a consideration for many parents. Barriers in the Physical Environment were more regularly cited than facilitators, suggesting parents had more ideas about how the perceived physical environment hinders their encouragement of adventurous play. Key themes were: Busy Roads, Local Area, Adventurous Play Areas, Time of Day, Quality and Safety of Play Equipment, Weather and Accessibility (Fig. 1).

2.1 Busy roads; local area; time of day; quality and safety of play equipment

These themes within the Physical Environment, whilst they are stand-alone themes, all related to safety and so will be presented together. In particular, busy roads, the perceived safety of the local area lived in and the play setting were most commonly identified as barriers. Concerns about the busyness of roads tended to be more of a consideration for parents with older children. Though uncommon, some parents also considered the time of day, particularly dark nights as a barrier.

"Location of our home, dangerous trunk road outside house, very rural setting."1 (P156; Mother of younger boy, higher education level, White British).

1 A trunk road is a major road built for travelling long distances, for example a dual carriageway.

Aspects of the Physical Environment that increased perceptions of child safety were also facilitators for parents, but were less often explicitly stated. Safe play equipment, well-regulated and monitored play areas, perceptions of living in a safe home area with little traffic and safe access to adventurous play opportunities were considered as facilitators.

2.2 Weather; accessibility; adventurous play areas and activities

The themes included here are also separate, distinct themes but all related to practical considerations about adventurous play, and so are presented together. These themes were identified as both barriers and facilitators. As expected, poor weather conditions and poor access to adventurous play facilities characterised barriers, whereas good weather conditions and easy access to places that afford adventurous play characterised facilitators. The places and activities that parents perceived to facilitate adventurous play varied considerably, with some parents citing "forests" or "beaches" pertaining to natural spaces, others citing "trampolines", "climbing frame in garden" and some citing organised team sports, "game of cricket".

3. Risk of injury

3.1 Risk of injury from adventurous play

Central to many parent's responses about the barriers of adventurous play were concerns about the risk of injury that accompanies it (Fig. 1). This framework category captured both parent's perceptions of how likely it is that the child will hurt themselves during the play and also worries and fears about the child getting hurt from the play.

4. Child factors

Perceptions of the child also featured in parents' responses. Key themes were: Child Attributes and Child Preferences (Fig. 1).

Child attributes

Child Attributes captured a variety of barriers and facilitators related to the child. This included considerations related to typical and atypical developmental and physical abilities, age and sex, as well as perceptions of trait-like characteristics. For parents who viewed child attributes as a barrier, the considerations that were most present were those related to developmental and physical abilities. Although we didn't explicitly sample for parents who had children with additional needs, some parents identified barriers relating to their child's additional needs, citing that because of this, adventurous play was not possible or was more difficult to facilitate.

For parents of typically developing children, barriers included both perceptions of capabilities relating to the adventurous play itself, such as not yet being able to assess and manage risks, or perceptions of the child as "clumsy" or "accident prone". Others focused on trait-like characteristics, such as shyness or lack of confidence. Some barriers were noted in relation to playing independently, such as being too trusting of strangers.

Age of the child was considered a barrier by some parents, but the nature of this varied. Some parents reported their child is too young to play adventurously and others reported concerns in relation to playing unsupervised. Child sex was reported by one parent as a barrier, with a father reporting that he finds it harder to let his daughter play unsupervised. No other parents explicitly identified child sex as a barrier or facilitator.

When regarded as a facilitator, perceptions of child attributes almost exclusively focused on views of the child as needing or having a sense of responsibility and maturity to manage risks and keep themselves safe. Some parents considered the developmental capabilities of the child as a facilitator, such as assessing how ready the child is to play adventurously or ensuring the child plays appropriately for their age and developmental level.

4.2 Child preferences

Views of the child's play preferences were also identified by some parents as barriers and facilitators. With regards to barriers, responses tended to focus on perceptions that their child does not enjoy adventurous play. Regarding facilitators, responses were focused on perceptions that their child enjoys playing adventurously, with some parents specifying the types of activity their child enjoys, such as climbing or swimming.

Discussion

This is the first study to explore the barriers to and facilitators of adventurous play for parents of school-aged children in Britain. The findings highlight that parents perceive a multitude of barriers and facilitators. Key barriers included concerns about the safety of society, concerns about the risk of injury from play and concerns regarding child attributes, including developmental capabilities and traits. Key facilitators included positive attitudes and beliefs about the benefits of adventurous play. This discussion focuses on the factors that appeared to stand out as being most important to parents and those that have particular relevance for policy and public health intervention design.

A common facilitator of children's adventurous play was parents' positive beliefs and attitudes towards its benefits, which they identify as offering children learning and development opportunities. Specifically, many parents cited improved risk assessment and problem-solving skills as positive outcomes. It was uncommon for parents to state that adventurous play was not worthwhile. Although less readily identified, parents also considered adventurous play as beneficial for children's well-being, including their confidence and resilience. These findings are in keeping with several studies which report that parents hold positive attitudes towards adventurous play [ 14, 24].

These positive attitudes towards adventurous play compete with a range of perceived barriers. The most cited barriers related to concerns for child safety, specifically, the absence of supervision, concerns regarding the safety of society, including "stranger danger" and concerns regarding the risk of injury. Some consistencies are seen with studies such as McFarland and Laird [ 25, 31], where parents identified concerns about the risk of injury as a barrier to risky play and concerns about "stranger danger" as a barrier to unsupervised, risky play. Interestingly, in the definition of adventurous play given to parents, we did not state that it was necessarily unsupervised, but the responses indicate that some parents interpreted adventurous play to involve play without supervision.

In general, it appeared that parents held similar views on adventurous play despite different socio-demographic characteristics. Some barriers however, such as concerns about busy roads and societal safety appeared to be more frequently perceived by parents of older children. This could infer that, although independent play or mobility and adventurous play are not considered theoretically synonymous, parents may perceive them as synonymous with increasing child age.

Some of the parents reported that their child's additional needs were barriers to adventurous play. This aligns with findings from the BCPS that children with additional needs spent significantly less time playing adventurously than their typically developing peers [ 19]. Additionally, Beetham and colleagues [ 43] found parents of children with additional needs had a lower tolerance of risk in relation to their children's play than parents of typically developing children. When asked to select activities that caused them discomfort, these parents selected activities that involved a lower risk of injury than those selected by parents of typically developing children, such as swimming underwater compared to climbing trees. Parents in the current study sometimes referred to their child's specific diagnosis in their responses, such as autism or learning difficulties, whereas others wrote about their child's 'disability' more broadly. It seems likely that the barriers and facilitators will differ depending on the nature of the child's additional needs, however the details of these differences and why could not be elucidated in parents' responses in this study. Equal access to play opportunities for children with disabilities is an under-researched area and so, future research could work more closely with parents and children to inform how we can better provide for their needs.

Embedding the findings in psychological theory and evidence

Although the current study approached data analysis in an inductive way, the findings can be situated and contextualised within psychological theory and evidence related to child development. Particularly relevant for contextualising our findings is Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory of development [ 15]. Bronfenbrenner's model considers development as being influenced by interactions operating between the child and their characteristics, influences in the child's immediate environment such as parents and peers, as well as those in the wider social and cultural environment. This model has also been applied to help understand children's play opportunities [ 31].

The child

Child individual differences, such as the temperamental trait behavioural inhibition and individual differences in sensation seeking, are relevant to the current findings. Behavioural inhibition is a temperament trait, first defined by Kagan and colleagues [ 44], as the tendency to be cautious, withdrawn and shy in unfamiliar situations. Given these characteristics, it is likely that children with this trait will be less inclined to play adventurously than their uninhibited counterparts. These findings align with the current findings, with child individual differences featuring in many parents' responses. When identified as a barrier, parents cited traits related to shyness as well as the child's dislike for adventurous play, which bears similarities to the characteristics of behavioural inhibition.

Individual differences in the propensity to seek out novel, complex and intense experiences, known as sensation seeking [ 45], have also been found in relation to children's inclination to take risks. Children who are high sensation seekers have been shown to take significantly more risks in their play than low sensation seekers [ 46], which means these children may be more inclined to seek adventurous play opportunities. The current study found that when parents identified child individual differences as facilitators, they often focused on the child's enjoyment of adventurous play or their trait as a natural risk-taker. These resemble the characteristics of sensation seeking and suggests that these children may therefore need less encouragement to engage in adventurous play.

Parents

Parent factors are recognised as a central influence within the child's immediate environment [ 15]. Research into individual differences may have relevance to the current findings, particularly differences in Intolerance of Uncertainty, which refers to trait-like differences in responses to uncertainty [ 47] and research showing that overprotective or overinvolved parenting styles are associated with parent anxiety [ 48]. It seems likely that parents who are high in Intolerance of Uncertainty and who have an overinvolved parenting style may place restrictions on their children's activities, including their play. This would limit children's opportunities for exposure to uncertainty and the opportunity to develop skills on how to cope with and manage uncertainty [ 49, 50, 51]. Parents who have difficulty coping with uncertainty or managing their own anxiety may therefore have more barriers to overcome in relation to their children's adventurous play than those who have less difficulty coping with uncertainty.

These differences align with the current findings, where it appeared that an overriding consideration for many parents was the importance of feeling certainty about their child's safety. Many of the barriers identified inferred feelings of uncertainty, with concerns about child safety exacerbated by factors that increased uncertainty, such as the absence of supervision. For parents who described themselves as anxious or a "worrier", as well as parents who described their parenting style as overprotective, the uncertainty related to child safety appeared particularly difficult to overcome.

Peers and siblings

Also situated closely within the child's environment are siblings and peers [ 15]. The benefits of playing with siblings and peers have been seen for various aspects of development, including social competence [ 52]. Interestingly, evidence also relates the presence of peers and siblings to increased engagement in injury-risk behaviours. Several studies have documented that the presence of siblings and peers significantly increases children's risk-taking decisions that carry a greater chance of injury [ 53, 54]. This could be partially explained by the influence of positive sibling relationships or peer group social norms [ 55, 56], with some evidence showing that children reported their risk-taking was influenced by peer group expectations and a desire to 'fit in' [ 57]. Given this evidence, it may be surprising that parents in the current study reported the presence of peers or older siblings as facilitators of adventurous play. This highlights that for some parents, the mere presence of a peer or sibling may operate to increase perceptions of safety due to there being another person to help the child if required. This may override concerns about the possibility of increased risk-taking. A sense of safety in numbers has been described by both parents [ 58] and young people [ 59] when considering independent and outdoor play and therefore may apply similarly to adventurous play.

The built environment

The built environment represents a more distal influence from the child in the context of Bronfenbrenner's model [ 15]. Nonetheless, it has been shown to affect children's play opportunities as well as parents' perceptions of safety in relation to children's play [ 60, 61]. Urbanisation is one aspect of the built environment that has relevance here. In Britain urbanisation is high, with 81.5% of people living in England and Wales in 2011 estimated to live in urban areas [ 62]. Increased traffic, fewer green spaces and reduced neighbourhood communal areas due to urbanisation [ 63] can impact perceptions of neighbourhood connectedness [ 64]. There can also be consequences for children's access to nature and limitations to their free play opportunities, by reducing the space to play and making safe access to play spaces more challenging [ 65, 66]. It therefore also influences parents' perceptions of safety in their local area, which adds further limitations to children's play opportunities [ 60].

This influence was evident in some parent's responses in the current study in relation to both the physical and social environment. An absence of community, poor accessibility to play spaces as well as the challenges of busy roads and increased car usage were sometimes cited as barriers. Our findings highlight the importance of responsibility being placed not only on parents, but also on higher-level agents, including urban and transport planners, to improve children's adventurous play opportunities [ 60, 61]. The design and planning of spaces, including play spaces and neighbourhoods, has the potential to 'nudge' parents towards encouraging more adventurous play opportunities [ 67]; when parents perceive the environment as safer, it is likely they will grant their children more freedoms [ 60].

Cultural factors

Cultural attitudes and ideologies are distally related to children and their parents [ 15] and it is unsurprising that parents' responses in this study rarely related to cultural influences. Certain westernised societies, such as Britain, are recognised as risk-averse cultures, with a stance of surplus safety in relation to child risk-taking [ 9, 61]. Media agents can reinforce cultural ideologies and attitudes by reporting on and therefore highlighting the rare consequences of taking risks, such as severe physical injury or stories involving child abduction. Such reporting influences perceptions of risk and the safety of society [ 61, 68].

In this study, we found a dominating positive attitude towards adventurous play that perhaps may be unexpected given the culture of risk-averseness. It could be that the influence of cultural attitudes and ideologies on parents affects behaviour but positive beliefs about adventurous play remain. In this study, themes related to the safety of society, the risk of "stranger danger" and judgement from others as barriers could to some extent be implicitly related to the overall attitudes and ideologies of the culture. There were also some explicit mentions of the media as a barrier, which causes parents to question whether they should allow their children to take risks in their play or not.

Implications for policy and intervention

Recommendations for policy and interventions

Strengths and limitations

Using open-ended questions allowed us to analyse data from a large, diverse sample of parents, which is a key strength. The limitation of this approach is that there was a lack of depth to responses and it was not possible for us to establish a shared understanding with the participants. Employing alternative qualitative methods, for example one-to-one semi-structured interviews would likely have generated richer data. However, it would have restricted the sample to fewer participants, and given the under-representation of specific population sub-groups in research, we would have failed to capture the same breadth and diversity of perspectives [ 72].

Another important strength is the use of Framework Analysis, which yielded findings that captured the breadth of factors parents perceived as barriers and facilitators to adventurous play. Because of this detail, we chose to focus the discussion on barriers and facilitators that have particular relevance for intervention but this means that some, such as practical considerations (time, weather, younger siblings), were not discussed in-depth. Nevertheless, they are important for some parents, and we would recommend they are not overlooked in the development of policy and intervention.

A final strength is that the identified framework has utility for future research, providing a potential structure for quantitative research to explore the barriers and facilitators most commonly perceived by parents and therefore identify the most important targets for intervention. Applying the framework structure quantitatively to the wider 1919 sample of parents in the BCPS could be considered.

Conclusions

Given that adventurous play has been associated with children's development, physical and mental health, the current study aimed to identify the barriers and facilitators of adventurous play perceived by parents of primary school-aged children in Britain. The findings highlight the breadth of factors operating to influence parents' encouragement or restriction of adventurous play. Interventions and campaigns that respond to parents' concerns, capitalise on existing positive attitudes and support parents with tolerating risk and uncertainty may be important to target, with a view to ultimately improve children's adventurous play opportunities, as well as their health.

Availability of data and materials

The data obtained and analysed in the current study are available via the following link:

https://doi.org/10.5255/UKDA-SN-8793-1.

Abbreviations

BCPS:

British Children's Play Survey

References

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Funding

BO is supported by an Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) PhD studentship ES/P00072X/1. HD and RN are supported by a UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship MR/S017909/1. The funder had no input or influence over the research or the content of this manuscript.

Author information

Affiliations

1. School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading, Reading, UK

Brooke E. Oliver, Rachel McCloy, Kate Harvey & Helen F. Dodd

2. Children and Young People's Mental Health (ChYMe), College of Medicine and Health, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK

Rachel J. Nesbit & Helen F. Dodd

Contributions

HD and BO conceptualised and designed the study. HD, RN and RMcC provided supervision to BO. HD, KH and BO supported the design and development of the methodology. BO led the data analysis and all authors supported with interpretation and validation of the data. BO drafted the manuscript. All authors reviewed and revised the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final version of the manuscript to be published.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Helen F. Dodd.

Ethics declarations

Ethics approval and consent to participate

The study was conducted according to the guidelines of the Declaration of Helsinki and the procedures of the study were approved by the University of Reading School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences Ethics Committee (2020-003-HD). Informed consent was obtained from all participants involved in the study.

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Competing interests

HD is funded by a UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship which also funds RN's salary. Play England, Play Wales, PlayBoardNI, HAGS and the Association of Play Industries are partners on this fellowship. Outdoor Play and Learning and Learning through Landscapes are collaborating organisations. No direct funding is received from any of these organisations. All other authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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Oliver, B.E., Nesbit, R.J., McCloy, R. et al. Parent perceived barriers and facilitators of children's adventurous play in Britain: a framework analysis. BMC Public Health 22, 636 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-13019-w
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Keywords

Adventurous play

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Parent perceived barriers and facilitators of children's adventurous play in Britain: a framework analysis - BMC Public Health

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Background From a public health perspective there is growing interest in children's play, including play involving risk and adventure, in relation to children's physical and mental health. Regarding mental health, it is theorised that adventurous play, where children experience thrilling, exciting emotions, offers important learning opportunities that prepare children for dealing with uncertainty and help prevent anxiety.

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Academics from the University of Leeds found the time fathers spent playing with their children was significant for children's progress at school (Photo: Dominic Lipinski/PA)

Young children perform better at school if their fathers feel they spend enough time playing with them, research suggests.

However, the study from academics from the University of Leeds did not find a similar effect for mothers and their feelings about playtime.

Researchers from the Leeds University Business School looked at data on children born in 2000-01 in 4,966 two-parent households in England.

The project was run in collaboration with the Fatherhood Institute - a charity and think-tank which aspires to give "all children a strong and positive relationship with their father and any father-figures".

The analysis found that the time fathers spent drawing, painting, playing games or reading with their children was significant for children's progress at school.

According to the study, the odds of children reaching a good level of emotional and intellectual development at age five were reduced by 18 per cent if the father said he spent "nowhere near enough time" with them.

This was based on their achievement in the "early years foundation profile" - an assessment across 13 areas including "disposition and attitudes", "emotional development", reading, writing, and "knowledge and understanding about the world".

The survey data found that 18 per cent of fathers felt the time they spent with their five-year-old was "nowhere near enough", while another 41 per cent felt their time together was "not quite enough".

The study did not find a link between children's progress and mothers' opinions about whether they spent enough play time with them.

However, the researchers said this was likely to reflect the fact that mothers spent more time caring for their children generally on average.

Presenting the findings at the British Sociological Association's annual conference on Wednesday, Dr Helen Norman, the co-author of the research, will say: "We found that a higher proportion of children reached a good level of overall achievement in the early years foundation stage profile when fathers engaged regularly in childcare activities such as drawing and painting, playing games and reading with their children.

"Mothers are more likely to say that the time they spend with their children is enough or more than enough, which reflects the fact that mothers tend to be the ones spending the most time doing childcare so not having enough time with children is less likely to be an issue.

This is reflected in our sample where only 5 per cent of mothers said they had 'nowhere near enough time' with their five-year old compared to 18 per cent of fathers."

The link between children's development and the time fathers' said they spent with them was the case even when the data was controlled for other factors that might affect the child's attainment, such as their gender, ethnicity, household income and parents' employment status.

Overall, the study found that 62 per cent of girls reached a good level of achievement, and 47 per cents of boys did so, while 39 per cent of children from poorer households reached the threshold, compared with 58 per cent of children from wealthier households.

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Young children do better at school if their dads play with them regularly, study finds

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Young children perform better at school if their fathers feel they spend enough time playing with them, research suggests. However, the study from academics from the University of Leeds did not find a similar effect for mothers and their feelings about playtime.

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Tens of thousands of working parents say the government is failing them with inadequate childcare policies that leave them financially crippled, stymied in their careers and desperate for radical change, according to a major survey.

The survey of more than 20,000 working parents, which was shared with the Guardian and involved more than a dozen organisations, found that 96% believed ministers were not doing enough to support parents with the cost and availability of childcare while 97% said childcare in the UK was too expensive.

One-third of parents said they paid more for childcare than their rent or mortgage. This proportion rose to 38% for both those in full-time work or were single parents, and to 47% of respondents from a black ethnic background.

The survey comes before a debate on childcare in parliament on Monday that was triggered after more than 100,000 parents signed a petition calling for an independent review of childcare funding and affordability.

OECD childcare comparison graphic

According to data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the UK has the third most expensive childcare system in the world, behind only Slovakia and Switzerland; a full-time place costs £12,376 a year on average.

Research by the Trades Union Congress (TUC) found that between 2008 and 2016 the cost of a one-year-old child's nursery provision grew four times faster than wages in England. In London, it was more than seven times faster.

Childcare costs rose four times faster than wages graphic

Warnings that the early years sector is at risk of collapse have been largely ignored and morale is low: research by Nursery World found that one in 10 childcare workers is living in poverty.

Justine Roberts, the chief executive of the online forum Mumsnet, said: "This is a problem that's been hiding in plain sight for years, and parents know exactly how badly they're being failed. The government must not ignore the misery and stress this issue causes for parents across the whole country."

The survey found that people who were struggling the most were on the lowest incomes, on universal credit, were single parents, had disabilities or had a black ethnic background. One in three parents with a household income of less than £20,000 has had to cut back on essential food or housing as a direct result of childcare bills, while four in 10 single parents have had to use credit cards to pay for essential items.

Ninety-two per cent of parents said the cost of childcare had affected their standard of living, while 50% said the cost was completely unaffordable or had resulted in a substantial impact. Ninety-four per cent of parents who changed their working patterns after having children said childcare costs were a factor in the decision.

The survey also revealed how heavily parents relied on family for childcare - while 75% used private nurseries for childcare, 56% of parents said they relied on grandparents for help. Overall, the survey found 99% of all respondents agreed that childcare should be recognised as a vital part of the UK's economic and social infrastructure.

Joeli Brearley, the founder of the charity Pregnant Then Screwed, said: "All we want from the government is transparency. The cost of childcare continues to increase, forcing more parents out of their jobs, and the quality of our early years settings decrease, which will have serious long-term consequences for all of us. We don't believe the government has a grasp of how big the issue is and the impact it is having on families and the economy."

The survey was produced and distributed by Mumsnet, Pregnant Then Screwed, the TUC, the Fawcett Society, the Women's Budget Group, Gingerbread, Working Families, the Fatherhood Institute, Maternity Action, Music Football Fatherhood, Mother Pukka, Tova Leigh, Black Mums Upfront, the Young Women's Trust and Cathy Reay (That Single Mum).

The data, which was not weighted, was collected from 20,046 parents in the UK with at least one child aged 18 or under, carried out between 20 July and 31 August 2021 - with 97% of respondents being women.

It presented compelling evidence that lack of access to childcare was preventing progress on gender equality. Only 16% of women said childcare had not affected their seniority or income at work, compared with 42% of men. Of the female respondents, 83% said childcare costs and availability affected mothers more than fathers; 41% of male respondents said it affected parents equally. Two-thirds of female respondents reduced their hours after having a baby, compared with 26% of men.

Felicia Willow, the chief executive of the Fawcett Society, said: "Our government cannot drop the ball on this - it's clear that a lack of access to childcare is stopping women both going to work and progressing at work."

The survey also suggested the government's flagship shared parental leave policy was a particular failure; only 17% of respondents said it was useful for their family.

Ros Bragg, the director of Maternity Action, said: "The deeply flawed shared parental leave has been about as helpful to working parents as a chocolate teapot. Take-up rate among eligible families is now less than 4% in its fifth year of operation. It's clear that we need to start again."

Elliott Rae, the founder of Music Football Fatherhood, said: "Extortionate childcare costs reinforce traditional gendered parenting roles and make it difficult for dads to have flexibility in their work and be fully active and engaged fathers."

The survey suggested that respondents wanted to see a radical overhaul of the childcare system: 90% of all parents supported at least three months of "use-it-or-lose-it" parental leave for fathers, paid at at least minimum wage level, while 94% believed subsidised childcare should start from the end of paid maternity leave.

Frances O'Grady, the TUC secretary general, said: "We don't want tinkering around the edges. Our broken parental leave system is in need of complete overhaul."

The Department for Education said parents' ability to claim 30 "free" hours a week during term time for three- and four-year-olds could save them up to £5,000 a year and the number of childcare places offered by providers was stable.

A spokesperson said early years providers had been given financial support during the pandemic, and the government had invested £3.5bn yearly in childcare since 2018, adding: "We're making millions more available through our recovery fund to level up children's early outcomes, raising the quality of early education even further."

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UK failing on childcare, finds survey of over 20,000 working parents

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Tens of thousands of working parents say the government is failing them with inadequate childcare policies that leave them financially crippled, stymied in their careers and desperate for radical change, according to a major survey.

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Manslaughter conviction for mother of seven-year-old who died ‘gasping for air’

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Birmingham heroin addict Laura Heath repurposed son’s asthma inhaler as a crack pipe

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elson Mandela famously declared that "the true character of society is revealed in how it treats its children". If this is true, then our country's soul is in a parlous state indeed. Rishi Sunak's do-nothing spring statement is set to plunge 150,000 more children into poverty. And despite promising to help families, the chancellor made precisely zero mention of something all families know is in deep crisis: childcare.

Almost everyone involved in caring for young children is at breaking point - physically, emotionally, financially. One recent study documented "a strong sense of fatigue and exhaustion" after two years of pandemic disruption: as one parent said, "you start to feel kind of buried under it". In a survey of mothers by the campaign group Pregnant then Screwed, almost half of respondents had considered quitting their jobs because of childcare issues.

The average price of a full-time nursery place for a one-year-old is £14,030 a year - among the most expensive in the world. Small wonder that one in three parents spend more than a third of their entire income on childcare. Indeed, for many it is their single biggest expense - outstripping even the notoriously high cost of housing. One in four respondents to the Pregnant then Screwed survey were even skipping meals or heating to pay for it.

Wherever these high costs are going, it's not into the pockets of childcare workers. The average wage for these essential and highly skilled professionals is £7.42 an hour. Researchers at the University of Leeds tracked their experiences through the pandemic - and their findings make for desperate reading. Dr Kate Hardy, who led the project, tells me it was partly motivated by her own experience as a parent of two preschoolers: her monthly nursery fees amount to £1,600. "To think that the staff are being paid poverty wages while we pay more on childcare than our mortgage is really upsetting."

Working on the frontlines of exposure to the virus, often lacking sick pay or basic protection, and picking up ever-wider responsibilities for the children in their care, staff felt devalued and ignored. Shockingly, more than one in five childminders had resorted to selling personal belongings to make ends meet. Childcare now faces a severe recruitment crisis, with demoralised staff leaving the profession in droves. As one told the researchers: "Whether it's a school cleaner, dinner lady, Tesco's, I'm willing to go anywhere now."

The principal culprit for this disaster is government itself. Childcare has been not just neglected, but deliberately starved of funding. Documents released under freedom of information reveal that in England ministers knowingly gave providers of state-funded "free" childcare less than two-thirds of what it actually cost to deliver the service. Never mind that investing in care delivers more than twice as many jobs and more tax revenue than investing in construction. Those in charge knew the shortfall would be met by higher fees and fewer staff - hurting parents, children and childcare workers alike.

The documents prove what any parents of toddlers already know. When my son turned three, I naively expected my childcare costs to disappear, since the government promised to fund 30 free hours a week in England - conveniently, exactly how many we needed. But it transpires that, unlike people's actual jobs, this entitlement only covers term time. Stretched across a year, it shrinks to 22 hours a week. Making up the difference costs £22 a day. And since even those hours aren't properly funded, the nursery has to find other ways to cover its costs - like charging £16 a day for lunch and snacks. (Call me crazy, but I just don't think my toddler's appetite is that gargantuan.) As Hardy says, this segregates and holds back children from low-income families, whose parents simply can't afford these top-up fees. "We had a woman who can't use the 'free' childcare, because she can't afford the bus to the nearest nursery that doesn't charge extra."

Even with extra fees, many settings are struggling to stay afloat. Always the poor cousin of schools, the early years sector was largely abandoned to cope with the demands of Covid as best it could. One in 20 registered providers shut their doors for good in the first year of the pandemic. Most were small independent businesses whose physical or financial reserves had been exhausted. This has left some parents - disproportionately in deprived areas - unable to find childcare at all. Those providers left standing are hiking fees even further in order to survive. Rising costs will undoubtedly push even more over the edge.

While this state of affairs has been a catastrophe for some, for others it is a lucrative investment opportunity. Big profit-driven chains - often backed by private equity investors and laden with debt - have snapped up struggling nurseries. Undeterred by the scandalous collapse of care home chains such as Southern Cross, we are now about to repeat the same failed experiment with our children. Yet again, vulnerable children will suffer most - not least those with special educational needs and disabilities, who for investors are not human beings to be nurtured but costs to be minimised. In what universe is this acceptable? By what twisted logic should vulture capitalists be allowed anywhere near babies and toddlers?

The solutions to the childcare emergency are not rocket science. Government needs to invest properly in the system and its workers. It should use this investment to ensure high-quality childcare and early years education is available everywhere and to everyone, as essential public infrastructure - just like schools. Instead, it continues to toss inadequate subsidies at parents, let the market decide where and how childcare will be provided, and wash its hands of the consequences.

Even when campaigners finally succeeded in forcing childcare costs on to the agenda, ministers' only response was to suggest cutting regulations - allowing more children to be looked after by fewer staff. This is an idea so mindbogglingly out of touch with reality, it would be laughable if the stakes were not so high. Yet it is somehow grimly predictable that the only solution these people can conceive is to demand even more of workers who are already stretched to their limits. They seem unable to comprehend that the answer is to value care work more, not less.

Writing about all this, I struggle to contain my rage. This government has made crystal clear that it does not give a damn about my son's welfare, let alone the children they have consigned to poverty and isolation. The amazing staff who help us care for him deserve the earth, yet they are paid a pittance while extractive owners are allowed to treat nurseries as cash cows. Mandela was right. The government's stance on childcare does indeed reveal its character - and it's ugly as hell.

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The government's stance on childcare reveals its character - and it's ugly as hell | Christine Berry

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elson Mandela famously declared that "the true character of society is revealed in how it treats its children". If this is true, then our country's soul is in a parlous state indeed. Rishi Sunak's do-nothing spring statement is set to plunge 150,000 more children into poverty.

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Women are being treated as "sacrificial lambs" as the UK economy contracts, with half of working mothers unable to access the childcare they need to return to work, according to a survey exposing the scale of the UK's childcare crisis.

As the government was accused by MPs from both sides of the political divide of ignoring and sidelining women in its response to the coronavirus pandemic, the survey revealed a lack of childcare played a role in the job losses of almost half of the women made redundant since the pandemic hit.

It also reveals that, in the last four months, 67% of key workers were forced to reduce their hours because of a lack of access to childcare, 60% struggled with childcare provision, and 45% did not have the childcare in place they needed over the summer. Of the 1,756 pregnant key workers who responded to the survey, 30.5% had been suspended on incorrect terms, such as being told to take sick leave or to start maternity leave early.

The failure to put access to childcare at the heart of government policy risked sending women back to the 1970s, said Caroline Nokes, the Conservative MP who chairs the women and equalities select committee. She called the lack of a single reference to childcare in the summer mini-budget "shocking".

"The specific needs of women are not on anyone's agenda right now," she said. "In order to even stand still on gender equality at this moment you would need real drive and ambition, but we are not seeing anyone grasp that."

That lack of focus could have dire consequences for women's future earning power, said Tulip Siddiq, the shadow minister for children and early years. "It's like a throwback to the dark ages," she said. "It feels like I'm banging my head against a brick wall. This is not a cabinet that listens to women."

The questionnaire - which gathered detailed responses from almost 20,000 working women in 48 hours - was a "cry for help", said Joeli Brearley, the founder of the campaign group Pregnant Then Screwed, which carried out the work. Half of the women questioned said a lack of childcare had had a negative impact on how they were perceived or treated at work.

Childcare poll - graphic

"The needs of working mothers have been completely ignored during this pandemic and, as many others have warned, we are now seeing that they are the first to go when jobs are cut - mothers are the sacrificial lambs for the economy contracting," she said.

"The crisis in the childcare sector has been growing for years, but now it is at breaking point - and without this vital social infrastructure in place we will revert back to the 1950s very, very quickly."

A report from the Office for National Statistics this week showed that parents were nearly twice as likely to be furloughed (13.6%) as those without children (7.2%), while women spent an average of an hour longer each day on childcare duties than men during lockdown.

According to the Pregnant Then Screwed survey, which questioned working mothers:

72% worked fewer hours due to lack of childcare.

15% had been made redundant or were facing redundancy, with 46% of those citing a lack of childcare as the reason.

81% needed childcare to be able to do their paid work, but only 49% had the childcare they required.

11% of pregnant women were made redundant or expected to be - of these, 57% were pregnant black women.

74% of self-employed women had their earning potential reduced because of a lack of access to childcare.

With experts warning that millions of female workers could be shut out of the coronavirus recovery because of a crisis in childcare, a group of campaigners, unions, thinktanks and providers have formed the Coalition for Better Childcare in an attempt to force the government to produce a major rescue package for the industry.

The struggles in the sector even before the pandemic struck are well documented. According to the Early Years Alliance, one in four early years providers fear closure within the year, a figure that increases to one in three in the most disadvantaged areas. While early years childcare at first appeared to be included in the government's £1bn "catch-up fund" for the education sector - it was removed from a revised press release.

The new survey also reveals a downward spiral - 33% of employed mothers had forfeited a childcare space because of costs since March, while the number for self-employed mothers was 44%. That put childcare workers, the vast majority of whom are women, at risk of dropping out of the workforce, said Neil Leitch, the chief executive of the EYA.

"This is a manmade crisis which has a huge disproportionate effect on women," he said, adding that "97% of the early years workforce are women and it is their livelihoods and futures at risk because of the government's failure to take leadership and provide the transitional and long-term funding the sector needs to survive."

The threat to nurseries came as parents faced a shortage of summer clubs, wraparound care and informal care from grandparents, said Mubeen Bhutta, the head of policy at Working Families.

"There are 13 million working parents in the UK, and they need affordable childcare they can rely on to play their part in the recovery," she said. "Quite simply, childcare needs to be considered as economic infrastructure, with the investment to match."

The government's furlough scheme - which was widened to allow companies to furlough workers for childcare reasons - will end in October. However, employers will be expected to pay a greater share of workers' wages from August, which will leave female workers particularly vulnerable to the axe this summer, said Sian Elliott, the women's equality policy officer at the Trades Union Congress.

"We are looking at the reversal of decades of progress in women's equality in the workplace, a widening of the gender pay gap and the gender pension gap - we are just storing up huge problems for the future," she said.

A Department for Education spokesperson said the government was providing security to nurseries and childminders by "block buying" childcare places for the rest of the year at the level funded before coronavirus, regardless of how many children attended. "This will provide financial security to nurseries and childminders, meaning they can continue to provide the high quality childcare needed by parents as they return to work," the spokesperson said.
Topics

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UK working mothers are 'sacrificial lambs' in coronavirus childcare crisis

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Women are being treated as "sacrificial lambs" as the UK economy contracts, with half of working mothers unable to access the childcare they need to return to work, according to a survey exposing the scale of the UK's childcare crisis.

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Logan Mwangi’s murder: major review of Welsh social care needed, says expert

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Senior social worker calls for action in the only country of the UK that has not had a recent review

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'Pop quiz' Ofsted tests are downgrading schools unfairly, say heads

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Schools are being downgraded by Ofsted if children questioned by inspectors cannot recall the names of rivers in geography or struggle to explain key concepts in history, according to headteachers.

Under a new inspection framework, schools risk being marked down if pupils fail to adequately recall or articulate what they have been taught, sometimes years before, when given an impromptu "pop quiz" by inspectors. At one flagship secondary school, an outstanding rating was lowered to good when 11- and 12-year-olds were unable to explain clearly "the principle of the rule of law".

Ofsted inspections in England were resumed at the end of last year after a suspension during the pandemic. Schools are being judged under a new framework introduced in 2019, which focuses more on teaching and the curriculum. Outstanding schools that were, up until recently, exempt from routine inspection are now being visited.

Amanda Spielman, Ofsted's chief inspector of education, has said that she expects the number of outstanding schools, currently one in five, to be cut by half under the new regime.

As part of the framework, inspectors conduct "deep dives" in four to six subjects to explore planning, teaching and the impact on pupils' learning. This involves inspectors asking randomly chosen pupils about what they have learned to test what they know and have retained.

Headteacher organisations are increasingly concerned that schools are being marked down on the strength of the responses given by nervous children, some of them infants, questioned without prior warning by adults they do not know.

Inspection reports refer to "gaps in pupils' knowledge and understanding" and cite instances of pupils not able to remember or articulate taught content or who display "shallow" or "disjointed" understanding. Schools say too much weight is being given to these responses. The Ofsted handbook says inspectors must take "a rounded view" of the quality of education and use a variety of types of evidence in their judgments.

Despite having the best GCSE results in its borough in 2019, and achieving outcomes for disadvantaged pupils that are higher than the national average for non-disadvantaged students, Ursuline High School, a Catholic girls school in Wimbledon, has just been demoted from outstanding to good.

The school, deemed a flagship secondary by Merton council, has challenged the judgment. It believes the downgrade is due, in large part, to the lead inspector's concern about responses by Year 8 pupils to questions he posed about "the principle of the rule of law" which they had covered in Year 7. According to the school, this incident has been given too much significance and wrongly used as evidence of a more systemic issue in the quality of education. In the 2019 GCSE results, 85% of history students at the school were awarded grades 9-5, with half achieving the top grades of 7-9.

Ursuline High's submission to Ofsted said: "The school does not dispute the finding that the topic of the rule of law was not sufficiently explicit in the schemes of learning. The school is, however, disputing the disproportionate weight placed upon that fact to support the overall assessment that its quality of education is not therefore outstanding.

Amanda Spielman, chief inspector of Ofsted, expects the number of outstanding schools to be cut by half. Photograph: Ofsted/PA

"That would be to place an undue ... weight on that one piece of evidence and inconsistent with the overarching thesis that an accurate judgment on quality must be reached only after taking all evidence into account."

In another instance, inspectors who downgraded Coalway Community Infant School, in the Forest of Dean, from "outstanding" to "requires improvement", cited an instance where pupils, who are aged up to seven, could not "order important events in history as they have gaps in their knowledge".

Headteacher organisations said last night that other schools have had similar experiences.

"School leaders are increasingly worried about the conclusions some inspectors draw in response to pupils saying the 'wrong' thing or giving the 'wrong' answer or not understanding a question," said Ian Hartwright, senior policy adviser at the National Association of Head Teachers. "It is really problematic to try to gauge how much children know by asking them 'pop quiz' questions and seeing if they remember things and can articulate [them] adequately. This kind of approach is subjective and variable. Neither of these is a good thing in an inspection system where you need consistency."

He cited an example of a school that felt it had been marked down because pupils in a geography class could not remember the name of a river they had covered in a lesson.

"I've just had another example come across my desk last week where a school is absolutely convinced that they meet the criteria for outstanding but they were tripped up because children were asked about something they learnt in a previous year in design technology and they weren't able to remember. According to the inspector, that showed that their knowledge wasn't consolidated," Hartwright added. "But there simply isn't time for inspectors to accurately interrogate the curriculum in this way in a two-day inspection.

An Ofsted spokeswoman said: "Talking to pupils is an important part of the inspection process, to help assess whether the school's intentions around teaching are matched by what pupils actually know and understand. But it is never the case that pupils' answers to questions would be the sole reason for a change in a school's grade."

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'Pop quiz' Ofsted tests are downgrading schools unfairly, say heads

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Schools are being downgraded by Ofsted if children questioned by inspectors cannot recall the names of rivers in geography or struggle to explain key concepts in history, according to headteachers. Under a new inspection framework, schools risk being marked down if pupils fail to adequately recall or articulate what they have been taught, sometimes years before, when given an impromptu "pop quiz" by inspectors.

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'Empathy isn't there': the pandemic effects on children's social skills

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f children have siblings and they've mixed with others, they tend to be on the same level socially as before the pandemic. But the ones who are only children and have just been in the household with mum and dad don't know how to interact.

They have issues with sharing, being very overexcited and turn-taking. They're quite advanced in numbers and letters for their age because they've been at home with adults, or they've been playing a lot on tablets, but they are very behind socially, the empathy isn't there.

Where I work it is a fairly affluent area, there aren't a great deal of social problems. It seems to be the slightly more middle-class children who're socially behind. They're more likely to be only children, have older parents, and their parents are mostly office workers so they worked from home and were more isolated. A lot of children were put on tablets.

It's not a criticism of the parents because they were forced into that situation, but you can see it in the children's social skills. Under five, social skills are everything, it's the marker of how they will develop more than whether they can say the alphabet or count to 10. Children with good social skills and interaction, even if they're not the quickest at learning to read or write, often have the best educational outcomes.

Parents are presenting with a higher level of anxiety about how their kids are developing. They ask "is my child normal?" Lots of parents are saying "my child is autistic" and the child clearly isn't. They're just presenting schematic behaviour, they line things up and do things continually, which is just how toddlers develop. We have to assure them this behaviour is normal, it's normal for a toddler to snatch. Parents haven't had the opportunity to talk to other parents, so they're at home and Google something and it opens a can of worms.

The parents are definitely making it worse for their children socially and for themselves. We've got one particular little boy, he's four and he's not ever mixed with children at all. The mum is extremely nervous about Covid and so over-anxious that as soon as he cries, she'll keep him off because she thinks he's been traumatised. He's a completely normal boy but he's not being given a chance because her anxiety is transferring on to him.

There's a whole bunch of children who no matter what preschool does they won't be ready for school. In a preschool with 30 children you'll have four or five adults; in a school you'll have one teacher. They don't have the time to take a child to the toilet or to make them sit still, the child has to be ready.

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'Empathy isn't there': the pandemic effects on children's social skills

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f children have siblings and they've mixed with others, they tend to be on the same level socially as before the pandemic. But the ones who are only children and have just been in the household with mum and dad don't know how to interact. They have issues with sharing, being very overexcited and turn-taking.

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All the latest BBC Bitesize content about cvs.

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8 Tips to Improve Your Resume or CV | SkillsYouNeed

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A professional resume writer offers 8 tips to help you improve your CV, showcase your achievements and qualifications, and secure your next career move.

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Your CV is designed to demonstrate why you'd be a good fit for the role you're applying for, whether it's a full-time job, an apprenticeship or an internship, to name a few. It includes any professional experience and your education too. But it's also designed to showcase your personality and how you might be a good fit for the company.

How to write a CV

While there is no 'one way' to write a CV, there are a couple of elements that most CVs always have:

Length: no longer than two sides of A4 paper, typed (not including your cover letter).

Font: keep it black, between size 10-12, and a common type such as Calibri, Arial or Times New Roman.

Layout: simple and clear, using headings, formatting (bolding, italics, underlining), and spacing to structure the information and make it easy to read.

Keep in mind that the simpler the layout, the more likely it'll look the same across different devices. If you're applying for a creative or design role, you might want to play with the layout to help show your practical skills.

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How do you write a CV? What is the key information to include? Top tips on writing a CV from UCAS.

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Effective Practice

What is Effective Practice?

Effective Practice is about ensuring that all children get optimum benefit from their experiences in the EYFS. This apparently simple outcome can only be achieved when adults work together to get to know the children so that they can support their play, development and learning.

Principles in Practice

In the Revised EYFS Effective Practice is based around putting the themes and principles of the EYFS into practice so that children get the very best experiences while they are being cared for outside of their own homes.

Parents and Professionals

The role of parents is of prime importance because these are the people who know most about their children and have their best interests at heart. Practitioners working in partnership across services can provide professional support and guidance to one another and to parents either by signposting information or by being more directly involved - everybody's contribution will make a difference to children's learning and development.

Child, Relationships, Environment, Learning & Development

The four themes of the Revised EYFS are; A Unique Child, Positive Relationships, Enabling Environments and Learning and Development. The themes and principles describe the features of practice on which the EYFS is based. They emphasise that the child is of first importance and that all relationships, experiences and the environment together influence how the child will develop, play and learn.

A Unique Child

Every child is a unique child who is constantly learning and can be resilient, capable, confident and self-assured.
Practitioners

understand and observe each child's development and learning, assess progress, plan for next steps

support babies and children to develop a positive sense of their own identity and culture

identify any need for additional support

keep children safe

value and respect all children and families equally

Positive Relationships

Children learn to be strong and independent through positive relationships.
Positive Relationships are:

warm and loving, and foster a sense of belonging

sensitive and responsive to the child's needs, feelings and interests

supportive of the child's own efforts and independence

consistent in setting clear boundaries

stimulating

built on key person relationships in early years settings

Enabling Environments

Children learn and develop well in enabling environments, in which their experiences respond to their individual needs and there is a strong partnership between practitioners and parents and carers.
Enabling Environments They offer

stimulating resources, relevant to all the children's cultures and communities

rich learning opportunities through play and playful teaching

support for children to take risks and explore

Learning and Development

Children develop and learn in different ways. The framework covers the education and care of all children in early years provision, including children with special educational needs and disabilities.

Practitioners teach children by ensuring challenging, playful opportunities across the prime and specific areas of learning and development.
They foster the characteristics of effective early learning

Playing and exploring

Active learning

Creating and thinking critically

From Development Matters in the EYFS
Further Information about Effective Practice
Including all Children
In the Early Years Foundation Stage the diversity of individuals and communities is valued and respected. No child or family is discriminated against. In practice this means that children should be treated fairly regardless of race, religion or their abilities. It is based on the premise that all children are entitled to enjoy a full life in conditions which will help them take part in society and develop as an individual, with their own cultural and spiritual beliefs. This encourages children to recognise their own unique qualities and the characteristics they share with other children and actively promotes equal opportunities and anti-discriminatory practice, so that all children and families feel included, safe and valued. This includes listening to families and taking part in sensitive two-way exchanges of information. Where appropriate, it is knowing when and how to call in specialist help as early as possible.

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Effective Practice - Early Years Matters

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Effective Practice What is Effective Practice? Effective Practice is about ensuring that all children get optimum benefit from their experiences in the EYFS. This apparently simple outcome can only be achieved when adults work together to get to know the children so that they can support their play, development and learning.

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Our opinion is influenced by our attitudes, regardless of the fact if they are either positive or negative.

Caiff ein barn ei ddylanwadu gan ein hagweddau, boed rheini'n gadarnhaol neu'n negyddol.

Gall agwedd bositif gan gweithwyr gofal plant arwain at blant a theuluoedd/gofalwyr yn teimlo'n dda am eu hunain ac am y lleoliad. Ar y llaw arall gall agwedd negyddol arwain at deimlad fod plant a'u teuluoedd/gofalwyr yn cael eu gwrthod ac nad ydynt yn werthfawr. Felly gall y ffordd mae'r ymarferwr yn ymateb i ofynion plant a'u teuluoedd/gofalwyr gael dylanwad positif neu negyddol arnynt.

Mae plant a phobl ifanc yn datblygu os yw'r amgylchedd yn un positif. Gellir sicrhau fod yr amgylchedd yn un cadarnhaol a chynhwysol wrth barchu gwerthoedd a ffordd pawb o fyw.

Dylai blant ystyried yr gweithwyr gofal plant yn bobl sy'n rhyngweithio a chydweithredu gyda phawb. Trwy berchen ar feddwl agored bydd plant yn gweld yr ymarferwr fel person sy'n eu trin a pharch ac sy'n dangos diddordeb ynddynt hwy a'r byd o'u hamgylch.

Arfer da

rhoi cyfleodd i blant gymryd rhan trwy wneud dewisiadau a fydd yn cael effaith ar eu hamgylchedd gan ganiatáu iddynt gael perchnogaeth o'u man chwarae ac i deimlo'n gyffyrddus

gwneud popeth sy'n bosib er mwyn sicrhau bod pob plentyn yn cael eu trin yn deg

rhoi cyfleoedd i'r plant ddatblygu a chyflawni yn ôl eu gallu

peidio creu delweddau negyddol o blant/pobl ifanc a'u teuluoedd/gofalwyr gan gymryd amser i siarad â hwy a dod i'w hadnabod

mae yna ddulliau gwahanol o fagu plant ac fe fydd gan deuluoedd/gofalwyr gwahanol farn a chred ar sut i wneud hyn. Dylid parchu hyn, beth bynnag yw barn bersonol yr ymarferwr

mae angen ystyried disgwyliadau ymddygiad gan hyrwyddo ymddygiad cadarnhaol ymysg staff, plant, pobl ifanc a'u teuluoedd/gofalwyr

rhaid parchu dewis iaith plant a'u teuluoedd/gofalwyr ac ni fydd plentyn yn teimlo'n hyderus os caiff ei orfodi i ddefnyddio iaith wahanol. Gellid cyflwyno arwyddion croeso mewn sawl iaith

wrth arddangos agweddau positif bydd plant a theuluoedd/gofalwyr yn teimlo eu bod yn cael eu gwerthfawrogi gan osgoi gwahaniaethu ac annog teimladau o hunanwerth

bydd arddangos agwedd negyddol tuag at blant a'u teuluoedd/gofalwyr yn gwneud iddynt deimlo'n ddiwerth ac yn lleihau eu hunan-barch.

ni ddylid gwneud rhagdybiaethau am blant a'u teuluoedd/gofalwyr drwy stereoteipio. Gall hyn effeithio ar allu plant i gyflawni'n llawn a gwneud teuluoedd/gofalwyr i deimlo'n anfodlon gyda'r lleoliad

mae angen rhoi cyfleoedd i blant ymgymryd ag amrywiaeth o weithgareddau heriol heb danseilio eu gallu i gyflawni

mae angen i'r gweithwyr gofal plant gynyddu eu gwybodaeth a'u dealltwriaeth o ddiwylliannau gwahanol a strwythurau teuluoedd/gofalwyr er mwyn gallu darparu ar gyfer anghenion pawb.

A positive attitude from childcare workers can make children and families/carers feel good about themselves and the setting. On the other hand, a negative attitude can lead to a feeling that children and their families/carers are rejected and not valued. Therefore, the way that the childcare worker responds to children and families/carers' requirements can influence them positively or negatively.

Children and young people develop if the environment is positive. You can ensure that the environment is positive and inclusive by respecting everyone's values and lifestyle.

Children should see the childcare workers as people who interact and cooperate with everyone. By keeping an open mind, children will see the childcare worker as a person who treats them with respect and shows an interest in them and the world around them.

Good practice

Giving children opportunities to participate by making decisions that will impact their environment, allowing them to have ownership of their play area and feel comfortable.

Do everything possible to ensure that all children are treated fairly.

Give the children opportunities to develop and achieve according to their ability.

Don't create negative images of children/young people and their families/carers; take time to talk to them and get to know them.

There are different methods of raising children and different families/carers will have different opinions and beliefs about how to do this. This should be respected, whatever the personal opinion of the childcare worker.

Behavioural expectations need to be considered, promoting positive behaviour amongst staff, children, young people and their families/carers.

Children and their families/carers' language preference must be respected, and a child will not feel confident if forced to use a different language. Welcome signs in multiple languages could be introduced.

By displaying positive attitudes children and families/carers will feel appreciated and this will avoid discrimination and encourage feelings of self-worth.

Displaying a negative attitude towards children and their families/carers will make them feel worthless and reduce their self-esteem.

You should not make presumptions about children and their families/carers by stereotyping. This can affect children's ability to fully achieve and make families/carers feel dissatisfied with the setting.

Children need to be given opportunities to do a variety of challenging activities without undermining their ability to achieve.

Childcare workers need to increase their knowledge and understanding of different cultures and family/carers structures in order to be able to provide for the needs of all.

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Principles and Values of Children's Care, Play, Learning and Development (0-19 years of age) Egwyddorion a Gwerthoedd Gofal, Chwarae, Dysgu a Datblygiad Plant ( 0-19 oed) How own beliefs, values and life experiences can affect attitude and behaviour towards children and their families/carers Sut mae ei gredoau, ei werthoedd, a'i brofiadau ei hun mewn bywyd yn gallu effeithio ar agweddau ac ymddygiad tuag at blant a'u teuluoedd/gofalwyr

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Our opinion is influenced by our attitudes, regardless of the fact if they are either positive or negative. Caiff ein barn ei ddylanwadu gan ein hagweddau, boed rheini'n gadarnhaol neu'n negyddol. Gall agwedd bositif gan gweithwyr gofal plant arwain at blant a theuluoedd/gofalwyr yn teimlo'n dda am eu hunain ac am y lleoliad.

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2.3 - Explain how holistic development is facilitated through Forest School - Forest School Portfolio

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Each child is unique and it is highly unlikely all children will need support with the same need at any particular time. When planning sessions though it is important to consider how activities will provide opportunities for development of each of these areas. Sessions should be planned to ensure th…

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Child Development Education Learning & Development

We worry about academic skills but how many of us check if our kids are preparing for life? In this piece, we see how play can help towards a wholesome learning experience.

Early Years is one of the most critical stages of life when holistic child development skills can be easily inculcated through play. This is so that the child begins to enjoy the learning process.

Let us look at 3 important varieties of skills that are good to develop between 2 and 5 years and what kind of toys can be used to hone these skills.

3 Key skills for holistic child development

1. Fine Motor Skills

The ability to co-ordinate the small muscles of the hand and use it in harmony with the eyes resulting in better eye-hand co-ordination. The ability to use fingers effectively is one of the most important skills to develop early in life for 2 reasons.

It is critical for daily life functions. Starting from simple things like opening a bottle to something complex like sewing, we have to use our fine motor skills in every part of our life. Self-help skills like buttoning, tying laces are critical for the holistic development of a child. These skills prepare them for life.

Fine motor skills are also the foundation for other "academic" or "intellectual" learning. When fingers are ready, children automatically begin to think or learn better, because learning can now be channelized through fingers.

This is what we call activity based learning, where the child experiences learning through the fingers. The advantage of this is that the child retains more information because anything that is learnt using muscles, obviously is more likely to be remembered easily and for a longer time than something that is learnt visually, or by listening.

Toy Suggestions

Toys that start simple like stacking, nesting moving on to toys that involve complex actions like using 2 hand simultaneously

Every toy that the child uses must be an opportunity to use fine motor skills

Involve the child in all areas of daily life like washing vegetables, sieving, sweeping, independently wearing simple clothes and buttoning.

2. Specific Learning Objective Skills

This refers to specific "academic" learning related to the areas of numbers, language, sensorial development and more. For this it is critical that the learning be sequential, with every learning connected to something they already know in the same area.

For instance, multiplication should be introduced only after the child is very familiar with addition or complex word formation would start when the child knows how to form 3 letter CVC words easily.

Toy Suggestions

Self-correcting toys that allow children to practice with the toy over and over again, for it is in this area that it is best to learn through making mistakes. The more errors the child makes, and the toy indicates to the child what is the right way, the better the learning will get. When the toy corrects the child with minimal adult intervention, the child becomes a more independent and happier learner.

Toys that involve a good amount of fine motor skill. Learning to count would need to be through moving one object for each count, or learning about dinosaurs would need to be perhaps assembling different dinosaur types.

Check out 13 Shops for wooden toys in Bangalore!

3. Cognitive Skills

The ability to concentrate, remember, logically analyse, infer and deduce are all included in the area of skills. This is not related to subject knowledge directly, but without cognitive ability, children would struggle to learn in various subjects later in life, hence this defines largely the learning ability of a child.

The critical cognitive abilities that can be developed in early years are short term memory and the ability to focus.

Toy Suggestions

Toys with a single objective help build focus

Toys that are enjoyable so that children play with them longer, thus increasing attention span.

Toys that have memory games associated with them. All pairing toys can be used to enhance the memory function, where one part of the toy is in front of the child and the corresponding pair is at a distance or another room. Children love finding the right pairs and it is an excellent way to build cognitive ability.

These 10 sensory toys for neuro-diverse kids are excellent!

All these put together have a great impact on socio-emotional development as well. Avoiding toys which are unreal/ fantasy/ cartoon based at this time is a good idea. At this stage in life children need to build a positive self-image by playing with toys that they can relate to and see real life applications to. They are more likely to absorb real information when toys have a clear purpose. The better the learner the child is, the higher the confidence level. Happier children are also more likely to think about others and hence will be more empathetic as well.

All in all, learning through play with specific type of toys is ideal for intellectual, physical, social, emotional and cognitive development in early years.

has over 15 years of experience in the Early Education space, starting from Montessori and preschool products, sales and marketing, curriculum research, to preschool consulting and running her own Early Education Centre. She is the creator of Kreedo Early Childhood Solutions, a curriculum that has been so far implemented in over 900 preschools. Her experience of working with preschools across India, combined with her deep understanding of how young children learn through play, led to the creation of Skola Toys. Mridula handles the research and design aspects of the toys. She is responsible for the overall flow of learning through the Skola journeys, ensuring that every Skola Toy meets its objective of learning and fun.
More articles by Mridula Shridhar →

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Holistic child development: The relevance of play in the early years

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Child Development Education Learning & Development We worry about academic skills but how many of us check if our kids are preparing for life? In this piece, we see how play can help towards a wholesome learning experience. Early Years is one of the most critical stages of life when holistic child development skills can be easily inculcated through play.

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Playing is a natural and enjoyable way for children to keep active, stay well and be happy. Freely chosen play helps children and young people's healthy development. To have good physical and mental health and to learn life skills, they need various unstructured play opportunities from birth until they're teenagers.

Freely chosen play

Freely chosen play is when a child decides and controls their play following their own instincts, imagination and interests. They play without being led by adults.

There's no right or wrong way to play. Freely chosen play improves children's health, well-being and development.

Why play is important

Play improves the cognitive, physical, social, and emotional well-being of children and young people.

Through play, children learn about the world and themselves.

They also learn skills they need for study, work and relationships such as:

confidence

self-esteem

resilience

interaction

social skills

independence

curiosity

coping with challenging situations

Developing physical health through play

Physical play such as running, skipping and riding a bicycle helps children develop:

good physical fitness

agility

stamina

co-ordination

balance

Developing social skills through play

Playing can help children develop their social skills with others. By listening, paying attention and sharing play experiences, this helps a child:

explore their feelings

develop self-discipline

learn how to express themselves

work out emotional aspects of life

Playful parenting

Through play, parents can connect fully with their children and have fun.

A parent or carer can support and take part in their child's play activities but they shouldn't direct what happens.

It's important they give their children time, freedom and choice to play. If an adult makes all the decisions about how, what and when their child plays, the child won't enjoy their play experiences.

Play and challenge

Children often want to create challenge and uncertainty in their play. Through risky, challenging play, children test themselves and find out their own limits. They learn how to deal with risk through play and can use these same skills later in life.

Parents should encourage their children from birth to extend themselves. Teach them basic skills including:

riding a bicycle

swimming

road safety

Explain that it's important to learn from mistakes, to try again and to believe in themselves. Help them understand their limits and their boundaries. Allow them to have fun in their play.

Play and digital technology

To make sure children have time for unstructured, freely chosen play every day, parents should limit screen time. The younger the child, the less time they should be using digital devices.

Keep certain times and areas in the home technology-free zones such as:

Don't use digital devices to distract your children or keep them quiet. Talk to your children, play games or look at a book together. Join in your children's screen time and talk about their online activity.

Show your children good example by limiting your own screen time.

More useful links

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Playing is a natural and enjoyable way for children to keep active, stay well and be happy. Freely chosen play helps children and young people's healthy development. To have good physical and mental health and to learn life skills, they need various unstructured play opportunities from birth until they're teenagers.

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One of the Government's core features for children and young people that's based on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the children, is that they aim to ensure that all children and young people 'have access to play, leisure, sporting and cultural activities. https://bit.ly/2VAlHLR

Un o nodweddion craidd y Llywodraeth ar gyfer plant a phobl ifanc sy'n seiliedig ar Confensiwn y Cenhedloedd Unedig a'r Hawliau'r plentyn yw, ei fod yn anelu at sicrhau bod pob plentyn a pherson ifanc yn 'cael ei fanteisio ar amrediad o weithgareddau chwarae, hamdden, chwaraeon a gweithgareddau diwyllianol. https://bit.ly/2NUQ2lD

Mae chwarae yn llawer o sbri ac yn werthfawr iawn i blant. Mae'n cyfrannu tuag at ddatblygiad cyflawn y plentyn. Er mwyn sicrhau bod y chwarae'n llwyddiannus mae angen cynllunio'n ofalus.

Wrth chwarae bydd plant yn elwa'n:

Gorfforol - bydd sgiliau echddygol manwl a chydsymud llaw a llygad yn datblygu wrth chwarae gyda theganau bach ac offer megis blociau; gleiniau; bwrdd pegiau. Sgiliau echddygol bras; cydbwysedd a symudiad yn datblygu drwy weithgareddau chwarae egnïol.

Ddeallusol - bydd plant yn datblygu sgiliau meddwl drwy gyffwrdd ac archwilio'r byd o'u cwmpas. Bydd cysyniadau megis maint, gofod, cyfaint, gwead a lliw yn datblygu drwy weithgareddau chwarae megis peintio, chwarae gyda dŵr a gweithgareddau crefft. Byddant yn dod ar draws achos ac effaith; a sut mae cysyniadau yn medru newid e.e. sut mae tywod yn newid os arllwysir dŵr arno.

Ieithyddol - mae plant yn datblygu sgiliau cyfathrebu drwy siarad â'i gilydd, ac â phobl o'u cwmpas, ac wrth wrando ar ei gilydd ac ar eraill. Mae chwarae dychmygu yn rhoi'r cyfle i blant roi cynnig ar iaith; geiriau ac ymadroddion nad ydynt yn deall ond y maent yn eu defnyddio yn ystod gweithgareddau chwarae.

Emosiynol - mae chwarae yn rhoi cyfle i blant roi cynnig ar bethau newydd heb ofni bod yn anghywir a methu, felly maent yn datblygu hyder a hunan-barch - teimlo'n dda am eu hunain. Mae chwarae dychmygu yn rhoi cyfle i blant archwilio eu hemosiynau, mynegi ac actio sut maent yn teimlo.

Gymdeithasol - bydd plant yn dysgu gweithio mewn tîm gan ddatrys problemau wrth chwarae. Bydd sgiliau megis rhannu, cymryd tro a gwrando ar syniadau eraill yn cael eu meistroli. Trwy weithio mewn grwpiau bach a mawr bydd y plentyn yn dysgu bod angen gweithio gyda'i gilydd i gyflawni tasgau. Wrth i blant fynd yn hŷn, maent yn defnyddio chwarae fel ffordd o gymdeithasu; maent yn gallu dianc o bwysau bywyd ac mae'n ffordd o ymlacio. Efallai bydd plant yn ffafrio chwarae ar eu pen eu hunain neu gydag eraill.

Ddiwylliannol - trwy chwarae bydd plant yn medru dysgu am y byd. Gallant wisgo i fyny yn yr ardal chwarae rôl, neu chwarae offerynnau o wahanol wledydd .Trwy hyn byddant yn ystyried sut mae plant eraill yn chwarae gan godi eu hymwybyddiaeth o ddiwylliannau eraill.

Ymddygiadol - mae angen i blant gael mynediad at weithgareddau heriol a fydd yn eu hannog i ganolbwyntio a chwarae yn annibynnol. Ar y llaw arall mae'n hanfodol nad yw'r gweithgaredd yn rhy heriol gan y gallai wneud y plentyn yn rhwystredig. Os fydd y plentyn yn mwynhau bydd yn dysgu. Mae ymddygiad drwg yn aml yn digwydd oherwydd eu bod wedi diflasu neu eu bod yn rhwystredig. Felly, mae'n bwysig gofalu bod y gweithgareddau yn ddifyr ac yn amrywiol.

Wrth chwarae bydd plant yn derbyn amrywiaeth o gyfleoedd i ddatblygu'r canlynol:

gwneud synnwyr o'r byd o'u cwmpas

datblygu sgiliau

datblygu cysyniadau

gwneud dewisiadau

archwilio ac arbrofi

dilyn eu diddordebau

mwynhau

cael rhyddid

dilyn rheolau

gwneud penderfyniadau

rheoli her a risg

datrys problemau

mynegi teimladau

rheoli teimladau

cydweithiogwneud ffrindiau

datblygu sgiliau meddwl

datblygu'r gallu i ganolbwyntio

gweithio gyda'i gilydd

datblygu annibyniaeth

hunanhydercreadigrwydd

iechyd a lles

ymateb i eraill.

Play is full of fun and is extremely valuable to children. It contributes towards the whole development of the child. In order to ensure successful play, careful planning work is needed.

When playing, children will benefit in the following ways:

Physically - Fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination will develop by playing with small toys and resources such as blocks, beads and peg boards. Children's gross motor skills, balance and movement will develop through energetic play activities.

Intellectually - Children will develop thinking skills by touching and exploring the world around them. Concepts such as size, space, volume, texture and colour will develop through play activities such as painting, playing with water and craft activities. They will encounter cause and effect and how concepts can change e.g. how sand changes if water is poured onto it.

Linguistically - Children develop communication skills by speaking to each other, and to people around them, and by listening to each other and to others. Imaginative play gives the children an opportunity to use language, such words and phrases that they do not understand but that they use during play activities.

Emotionally - Play gives children an opportunity to attempt new things without the fear of being wrong and failing, so they develop confidence and self-respect - and feel good about themselves. Imaginative play gives children an opportunity to explore their emotions, and to express and act out how they feel.

Socially - Children will learn to work as a team by solving problems when playing. Skills such as sharing, taking turns and listening to others' ideas will be mastered. By working in small and large groups, children will learn that they need to cooperate in order to accomplish tasks. As children get older, they use play as a means of socialising; they can escape the pressures of life and it is a way of relaxing. Children may prefer to play on their own or with others.

Culturally - By playing, children will be able to learn about the world. They will be able to dress up in the role play area, or play different instruments from different countries. By doing so, they will consider how other children play and will raise their awareness of other cultures.

Behaviourally - Children need access to challenging activities that will encourage them to concentrate and to play independently. On the other hand, it is essential that the activity is not too challenging as this may frustrate the child. If the child is enjoying himself/herself, they will learn. Bad behaviour often stems from boredom or frustration. Therefore, it is important to ensure that the activities are entertaining and varied.

When playing, children will be given a variety of opportunities to develop the following:

making sense of the world around them

developing skills

developing concepts

making choices

exploring and experimenting

following their interests

enjoying

having freedom

following rules

making decisions

managing challenge and risk

problem solving

expressing feelings

managing feelings

cooperating

making friends

developing thinking skills

developing the ability to concentrate

working together

developing independence

self-confidence

creativity

health and well-being

responding to others.

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Health, Well-being, Learning and Development Iechyd, Llesiant, Dysgu a Datblygu The importance of play and how to support holistic development Pwysigrwydd chwarae a sut i gefnogi datblygiad cyfannol

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One of the Government's core features for children and young people that's based on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the children, is that they aim to ensure that all children and young people 'have access to play, leisure, sporting and cultural activities.

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Keeping it fun

It's important that learning is fun at this age. It needs to be about doing things with them that they like. They might find unusual ways of doing things - for a toddler, building blocks aren't just for making towers, and paint can be used without a brush! Show them how things work, but if they want to experiment, let them.

Children learn through all their senses through taste, touch, vision, hearing and smelling. They will watch those around them and copy language and behaviour.

Don't push your child too hard. Children develop in their own ways and in their own time. Try not to compare them to other children. You can also encourage reading, by reading to and with them. Look at the pictures together; this will help younger children make sense of the words.

It's also good to talk to them a lot, about everyday things while you are cooking or cleaning. This will give you a chance to teach them how things work and they will be able to ask you questions. Get ready for lots of "why's?"

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It's important that learning is fun at this age. It needs to be about doing things with them that they like. They might find unusual ways of doing things - for a toddler, building blocks aren't just for making towers, and paint can be used without a brush!

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Planning for learning is an ongoing process subject to continuous review, through pre-school, school and beyond into lifelong learning. Almost all children and young people who have additional support needs will have their learning and wellbeing met by day-to-day nursery or classroom practice. This practice is subject to normal planning processes such as curriculum planning and monitoring, self-evaluation, quality assurance and external professional monitoring.

Planning for individual learners is not just about writing a document. It offers opportunities for everyone involved to develop increased knowledge and understanding of the child or young person, by learning about how they cope across contexts. It encourages parents, professionals and the child or young person to develop joint commitments to achieving shared and agreed aims and targets. It enables parents to develop their understanding of how staff in school are working with their child. It enables children and young people to have a better understanding of the purposes and outcomes of the activities they do in school. It ensures that members of the school team identify and own their responsibilities to the child or young person.

The key partners involved in planning are school staff, the parents, any other professionals involved and - wherever possible - the child or young person. All should be involved in identifying and agreeing the targets and in implementing, monitoring and reviewing the plan. It is essential that everybody involved in contributing to and/or reviewing a plan has access to a shared information and knowledge base. Designated time for education staff to meet and share information with other professionals and with families also is key to achieving this.

Every plan should build on the outcomes of targets/goals identified previously. Have targets been achieved? If not, why not? Are the targets previously identified still relevant and/or appropriate? Are there other targets that have a greater priority/relevance? What assessment is required to support the identification of new targets?

Monitoring and evaluation of the achievement of targets should be 'built in' and ongoing. A child or young person's 'failure' to achieve targets is primarily the responsibility of the adults involved in identifying targets and in carrying out the intervention aimed at helping them achieve the targets agreed. It is important that all those involved have ownership of the plan and evaluate, on an ongoing basis, the appropriateness of targets agreed and adapt/change strategies and resources identified as necessary.

Where a child or young person is likely to have significant lifelong additional support needs the plan should be a document which coordinates action inside and outside school to develop the child or young person's social, life and independence skills. For these children and young people some targets may be set for longer than one year (i.e. continue throughout their time in school education) and may need to be broken down into targets achievable within the school year.

The Child's Plan

The Child's Plan is a key document where the 'team around the child' records the interventions and outcomes to improve a child's wellbeing, including meeting their additional support needs. Using the wellbeing indicators, it should outline the agreed actions that professionals will take to meet the additional support needs and/or improve the child's wellbeing. The complexity and detail in the plan will be proportionate to the level of need and support identified. Please see our Child's Planning Framework Guidance 2017 for more details.

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Planning for learning is an ongoing process subject to continuous review, through pre-school, school and beyond into lifelong learning. Almost all children and young people who have additional support needs will have their learning and wellbeing met by day-to-day nursery or classroom practice.

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Previously I've discussed a number of different types of observations, and how these can be used to tune in to your children. This really helps you to understand children's interests and developmental stages.

Now I want to explain how to transform your observations into relevant, interesting and developmentally appropriate 'next steps' for children.

Often the next steps planned for children only have tenuous links with the observations we've made - and there's rarely a connection made to child development or the individual child.

It's important that these links are made so that we can support children effectively and understand the cyclical nature of observations, assessment and planning.

One way to do this is to consider four categories of 'next step' that may result from observations and assessment.

These can be a useful framework to help you to choose suitable next steps from your observations and assessments.

Category 1: Child development

This is probably the most straightforward of the next steps because it is well supported by the EYFS and other development programmes, such as Letters and Sounds (DCSF, 2008).

Once the child's current developmental stage has been determined from observations, you can form the next step using your knowledge of child development, supported by the next steps in the EYFS.

However, you need to be aware that the steps may be too large or small for your child. This will be especially true for children who have special educational needs or who are gifted and talented.

Category 2: Extending an interest

If you've identified a clear interest from your observations you can scaffold and extend this.

This may be through further, similar activities such as extending an interest in fire engines into other transport vehicles or into people who help us.

This is a good next step for a child who has a really strong interest, such as a schema.

You may use activities that link to the child's interest to encourage them to access different areas of the curriculum.

For example, an interest in fire engines could be extended to water play by introducing hoses outdoors, or extended to numbers by introducing the idea of phoning 999.

Category 3: Embed a learning point

It is important to embed learning that may only just be emerging. This could be as simple as re-reading a story or repeating activities again.

Once you feel that the learning is embedded, you can change the activity slightly to move the learning on.

For example, your child may be investigating conservation of number using coins. Once embedded, you can extend this by including objects like teddies or cars.

Or you may want to take the learning in a different direction, for example, by looking at conservation of mass.

This form of next step may seem very small, but don't be afraid to have activities that reinforce learning.

If children are moved on too quickly, especially in mathematical development, the learning doesn't become embedded.

Category 4: Personal social and emotional development

Children who are secure and have a mastery disposition have a good base from which to learn.

Developing children's personal, social and emotional skills allows many other sorts of learning to take place.

This next step is most suited for whole group work (eg key group) as well as individual children.

With all next steps, do consider 'more of the same'. Generally, children respond well to repetition and enjoy the security of knowing what is happening next.

Skilled practitioners know when a child is ready to move on. It's important for you to remember that children's learning is not a linear set of achievements and that they learn across all areas simultaneously, at different rates.

Don't try to rush children on to the next level. A creative and experienced practitioner will be able to see the links between different areas of learning and development and how these can support each other.

In practice

Consider the following example:

Observation: Nathan was stamping his feet and watching the lights in his shoes flash. "Look, the lights come on when I do this."

Assessment: Nathan is exploring cause and effect. He has realised his actions cause the lights in his shoes to flash. He has calculated how hard to stamp his feet to set the lights off.

Here are some next steps that might arise from this observation using the four categories above:

1. EYFS, Development Matters (Early Education, 2012) 30-50 months, Understanding the World, Technology - 'Shows skill in making toys work by pressing parts or lifting flaps to achieve effects such as sound, movements or new images.'

You can 'Support and extend the skills children develop as they become familiar with simple equipment, such as twisting or turning a knob.' (p. 42)

The next step may be looking at other simple equipment in the setting, such as the different types of door handles or opening the fridge door to see the light come on.

2. Nathan's interest may be the lights or the fact that they are flashing. This knowledge will come from knowing Nathan and understanding his interests.

The next step in this case may be to extend his fascination with light and dark - for example, using the pop-up tent and taking him in with a torch to see the difference between dark and light.

3. This could be further cause-and-effect activities. For example, if you push the button on the CD player music comes on then goes off. What other buttons are there in the setting?

4. The next step may be to support Nathan's mastery disposition, showing his friends his flashing shoes at circle time to support his self-esteem at being able to do this.

This may be appropriate if Nathan is generally shy or hesitant to speak at circle time.

It is vital to use your observations and assessments to inform the next steps and planning for your children.

This will support the children's learning, tune into their interests and make your role much more enjoyable

Making choices

Choosing next steps should not be a random action; it should be considered, and the reasons why a choice has been made should be clear to you and preferably recorded somewhere - for example, on planning or in the child's personal records.

The choice of next step must be part of a bigger picture to support the child's holistic development.

Sometimes you might have an unintentional bias because you may view children's development through the lens of your own experience and knowledge. You may also avoid or favour some next steps for the same reason.

For example, one particular area of learning that is often avoided is mathematical development - perhaps because we're less secure in our own mathematical knowledge or because mathematical links are not as obvious as some of the other areas of learning and development.

You should review your observations and assessments to ensure that all areas of the EYFS, including the characteristics of effective learning (Development Matters), have been covered.

A critical friend could help by reviewing your next steps on a regular basis to ensure that appropriate weighting has been given to all areas of learning and development.
Kathy Brodie is an EYP and trainer based in East Cheshire. Visit kathybrodie.com
You may also be interested in...

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EYFS next steps examples - Identifying next steps for assessment and planning | Early Years Management | Teach Early Years

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Teach Early Years magazine is the leading B2B title for early years teachers, practitioners and providers, offering expert advice on educating the 0-5s and operating a sustainable childcare business.

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Planning, many settings do a handwritten plan a week in advance, often as a chart to show what activities will be presented at different times of the day. These are generally around a theme. Activities are then presented to the children. Staff supervise and record what they see as the children do and achieve. Some settings make the planning relevant to children either as a Key Group or for a specific individual, as it is known they are moving house or expecting a new sibling, for example.

Planning with sparkPRO begins with the child, based upon where they are 'AT' now, and guides the adult. What are their Next Steps? Answer: the software suggests what could be incorporated within the child's interests. This is based upon the unique Observational Journey embedded within sparkPRO, designed to help staff to assist the children to achieve appropriately and to accomplish their Development Matters Statements. There may be a topic, but there will always be Next Steps and ways to record each child's interests. Engaging children through what they are interested in supports greater involvement; a higher level of learning. This can be achieved, using sparkPRO, as practitioners incorporate exciting activities and scenarios, in tune with each child's needs. There may be a topic, but there will always be Next Steps and ways to record each child's interests. Engaging children through what they are interested in supports greater involvement; a higher level of learning.

Using the settings own continual provision, teams can organise their enhanced provision and activities. Then map where children are likely to play and add what they hope the child will learn (their own personal plan) when the child chooses that play and activity.

As the adult is keenly aware of their own expectations, the observations are instantly recorded, backed up with a photograph if desired and the observation immediately linked to the Areas of Learning, Characteristics of Effective Learning and the Six Thinking Streams linked to Sustained Shared Thinking, producing instant graphs and charts to show child's outcomes.

Planning can be continually appropriate for the group and each child as modifications can be made from where the child is currently 'AT' and as interests change. Every plan can be printed out, just like the old written plans for display. As appropriate they can be electronically sent to parents to gain their participation and saved to prove how your team sensitively meets the holistic needs of the group and specific needs of each individual. More importantly, sparkPRO will support practitioners and educators to 'get it right' for every child who attends and therefore, optimum progress in learning and development is, as desired, the outcome.

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EYFS PLANNING - Can it all be relevant to meet each child's needs?

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Planning, many settings do a handwritten plan a week in advance, often as a chart to show what activities will be presented at different times of the day. These are generally around a theme. Activities are then presented to the children. Staff supervise and record what they see as the children do and achieve.

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The EYFS Profile summarises and describes children's attainment at the end of the EYFS. It is based on on-going observation and assessment in the three prime and four specific areas of learning, and the three learning characteristics, set out below:

The prime areas of learning:

* communication and language

* physical development

* personal, social and emotional development

The specific areas of learning:

* literacy

* mathematics

* understanding the world

* expressive arts and design

The learning characteristics:

* playing and exploring

* active learning

* creating and thinking critically

A completed EYFS Profile consists of 20 items of information: the attainment of each child is assessed in relation to each of the 17 Early Learning Goals descriptors, (ELGs) together with a short narrative describing the child's ways of learning expressed in terms of the three characteristics of learning. For each ELG, practitioners will judge whether a child is meeting the level of development expected at the end of the Reception Year (expected), exceeding this level (exceeding), or not yet reaching this level (emerging).

'The EYFS Profile is not intended to be used for on-going assessment or for entry level assessment for Early Years settings or Reception classes'.

The primary purpose of the EYFS Profile is to provide a reliable, valid and accurate assessment of individual children at the end of the EYFS.

The primary uses of EYFS Profile data which have informed the development of the Profile are as follows.

* To inform parents about their child's development against the ELGs and the characteristics of their learning.

* To support a smooth transition to Key Stage 1 by informing the professional dialogue between EYFS and Key Stage 1 teachers.

* To help Year 1 teachers plan an effective, responsive and appropriate curriculum that will meet the needs of all children.

In addition, the Department considers that a secondary purpose of the assessment is to provide an accurate national data set relating to levels of child development at the end of the EYFS which can be used to monitor changes in levels of children's development and their readiness for the next phase of their education both nationally and locally (school level results are not to be be published in the Performance Tables).

Source STA EYFSP Handbook.

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Observation, Assessment and Planning - Early Years Matters

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Observation, Assessment and Planning EYFS Statutory Assessment The Early Years Profile is to remain statutory for the time being. However, following the decision to abandon on-entry assessment of children entering reception classes last year there has now been a consultation: Primary Assessment in England which invited views about the perceived need for a form of baseline assessment.

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Action early years providers should take to identify and support all children's individual needs including those with SEN and Disabilities

All children should be provided with an education that enables them to achieve the best educational outcomes. It is important that early years providers have arrangements in place to support all children's individual needs including those with SEN or disabilities. The manager must embed a clear approach to identifying and supporting children's needs; this method must be consistent across the early years setting. Early identification is crucial in helping children achieve their outcomes.

Early years providers need to be aware that under the Equality Act 2010, nurseries must not discriminate against, harass or victimise disabled children. Providers must make reasonable adjustments to help support children with SEN and disabilities. Inclusive practice should be demonstrated throughout the setting, allowing all children to access the same learning opportunities as their peers.

It is fundamental that practitioners working with children are fully way of their role in identifying and supporting all children's individual needs including those with SEN and disabilities. They should be confident in addressing parents and listening to concerns . Working in partnership with parents creates a strong relationship, allowing parents to feel confident in approaching the nursery for advice and support.

Supporting children's individual needs in the early years provision

According to the EYFS it is early years providers responsibility to ensure children learn and develop well. Early Years Providers must make sure ongoing assessments of children's progress are in place and that all practitioners are following the settings approach to monitoring the progress of children's development.

To help monitor children's progress, it is advised to use the early years outcomes guidance; this tool helps practitioners to look at the expected levels for the children age. The early years outcome guidance cover the seven areas of learning and can be a useful tool when observing children.

It is the key person responsibility to review the children's progress regularly and share this with the parents. According to the EYFS framework, there are two written assessments that should be completed;

1. When the child is aged two - Two-year integrated review ( 2 year progress check)

2. End of reception year.

The two-year integrated review is a joint review carried out by a health visitor and a written summary from the child's key person outlining the child's progress focusing on communication and language, physical development and Personal, Social and Emotional development. It is the key person's responsibility to share this progress check with the parent. If areas of concern are highlighted practitioner should first approach parents, then SENCO and together create an individual support plan for the child. A child's individual support plan should include targets following the SMART approach and be reviewed regarding following the approach Asses, plan do and review. It is advised to categorise the Individual support plan into the following areas of need

* communication and interaction

* cognition and learning

* social, emotional and mental health

* sensory and physical needs

These helps give an overview of the range of needs that providers should plan for, also you may find that children's needs may cut across others.

Monitoring and identifying children's individual needs in the early years

All early years providers should monitor and assess children's individual needs regularly. Not only should practitioners be carrying out formal assessments on children's development but there should be evidence that children's learning and development is being monitored and reviewed regularly. Including children's individual learning within the planning is an ideal way of showing that practitioners have observed children's learning and are planning for their next steps.

When a practitioner is concerned about a child's progress, they must collate information such as observations, detailed assessments, and parents views. It is important that all this information is brought together to look at how best to support the child. Early intervention can help children get the right level of support, enabling them to go onto achieving their educational outcomes.

Following the Assess, Plan, do and review approach

It is imperative that as soon as a practitioner identifies a concern they must approach parents to talk about these concerns further. It is important not to frighten parents, it is about explaining that the child may need some further support. It is the settings responsibility to adopt a graduate approach consisting of the following four stages

The key person should work closely with the settings SENCO and the child's parent to look at the child's individual needs. Together an individual Support plan should be created, setting achievable targets. It should be reviewed, and if no improvement in the child's progress is made then further support from other professional should be sought, this should be done with the parents consent. It is important the settings graduate approach is led and coordinated by the settings SENCO, as it is their duty and responsibility to support individual practitioners and parents in this process.

It is important to ensure all documentation including observations, individual support plans, and reviews are kept in the settings SEN folder. Any additional information sent from other professionals should also be added to this folder.

It is an early years practitioners duty to take action when they have a concern if this is left then the setting is failing both the child and their family.

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Identifying And Supporting All Children's Individual Needs - Early Years Careers

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Action early years providers should take to identify and support all children's individual needs including those with SEN and disabilities

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Reflections of an early childhood teacher.

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The role of play in children’s learning: View as single page

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From an early age, play is important to a child’s development and learning. It isn’t just physical. It can involve cognitive, imaginative, creative, emotional and social aspects. It is the main way most children express their impulse to explore, experiment and understand. Children of all ages play.

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There are many different play theories in the Early Years and beyond. This page covers theories put forward by Piaget, Vygotsky, Montessori and more. These help us understand how play can benefit children, and how play can affect their development in a wide range of skills.

Download FREE teacher-made resources covering 'Play Theories in Early Years'

What is a Theory of Play?

A theory of play is a set of ideas surrounding how play relates to and affects cognitive development through childhood and beyond. This may be put forward by psychologists who have been studying the way in which children's brains develop and how this affects us as adults. Each one may be slightly different, choosing to prioritise different experiences over another. They have been used to inform Different Types of Play In Early Years, and to help practitioners choose which ones to use in their settings.

Many of these theories are not to be considered right or wrong, but looking at several different ideas and approaches can help practitioners and parents make informed decisions about what kind of play environment they create for their children. These theories have developed a lot over time, but all are focused on doing the best thing to help support young children as they are developing.

What Play Theories are there?

Piaget

Jean Piaget's Theory of Play suggested that children's play and intellectual development are keenly intertwined. As children grow and develop, their play environment should too. This is based on Piaget's four stages of cognitive development:

1. Sensorimotor Stage (0-2 years) - Babies and toddlers live in the present, and experience the world through exploration using their five senses.

2. Preoperational Stage (2-7 years) - Young children will look at the world from their point of view. They can think about things that are not in front of them with pictures or words, but are not very skilled in problem-solving yet.

3. Concrete Operational Stage (7-11 years) - Children become more empathetic, and can think about the world from other's points of view. They are developing logic skills and can now work things out in their heads rather than using physical representations.

4. Formal Operational Stage (12+ years) - Older children can now talk more about abstract ideas and form arguments. Their logic skills are more developed and children can now think more independently and offer their own ideas.

Piaget suggests that all children will go through these stages in this order, but will do so at their own pace. Some children may take longer to move to the next stage than others, and this is to be expected.

From research in the 1920s, Piaget concluded that children's intelligence and logical thinking works differently than adult's. It's not that children are less intelligent, it's that they have a different kind of intelligence. It was also one of the first theories to suggest that children's development stops and starts in stages, rather than progressing more fluidly.

Piaget's theory of cognitive development suggests that early years children learn most effectively when exploring the world around them and making use of all of their senses. This supported the popularity of discovery learning and sensory play. These enable children to explore their environments and provide practitioners with ideas and suggestions for activities that stimulate the senses to help keep children engaged, involved and learning.

Vygotsky

Lev Vygotsky disagreed with Piaget's four stages of development, instead suggesting that children learn continuously and independently of specific stages. He believed that everyone is born with four elementary mental functions:

Through social interactions and cultural enrichments, we then gain higher mental functions by engaging with others. Vygotsky proposed the importance of the 'zone of proximal development', which is the development of skills with help you can only get from an adult or friend, which Vygotsky termed 'the more knowledgable other'.

Vygotsky gave a more narrow definition of play than some theories, limiting it to pretend, make-believe or imaginary play. His theory suggests that this imaginary play is vital to children's cognitive, social, and emotional development and should be the main focus of helping children. This play, to be effective, should create an imaginary situation for children to take on and act out roles while following specific rules which are determined by those roles. Imaginary play lets children think about and work through ideas and concepts which they cannot see in front of them. The social nature is critical to helping children develop internal language and the ability to think for themselves.

Froebel

Froebel's play theory for early years focuses on child-led play, believing this to be the basis for physical, intellectual, social, emotional and spiritual development. His belief that "play is the highest form of human expression in childhood" informed much of this theory, and still much of teaching in nurseries.

He developed many key principles for his theory:

Childhood should be valued as its own stage, not just a stepping stone to adulthood.

Play is vital to helping children learn how things work and about the world around them.

Children will all develop at different rates, and this should be respected.

Education should focus on what children can do, not what they cannot do.

Children's emotional, mental and physical states are all of vital importance.

Children are heavily influenced by those around them, both adults and other children.

Froebel also proposed a set of gifts and occupations, which highlighted the importance of child-led learning in block play and sensory play. Each of these activities and provisions should be planned and chosen by the practitioner to be relevant while focussing on children being given the space to choose their own specific activity.

Check out our Teaching Wiki page dedicated to Froebel's Play Theory for more information.

Montessori

Dr Maria Montessori started a school in Rome for young and disadvantaged children. Through her work here, she developed a style of teaching which focussed on child-led play, supported by age-appropriate activities and provisions. A Montessori school provides various activities with simple rules and structure, inside which the children have the freedom to direct their own learning and play.

Dr Montessori believed that "play is the work of the child". She proposed that play was key for helping children make active choices and practise and perfect actions or tasks. Through observing the children in her school, she theorised that children responded best to play based in reality and play that used real-life objects.

Montessori's play theory for early years also focuses on the importance of sensory play for children. This input helps them to take in and enjoy their environment and get stuck in the reality of it.

Learn more about Montessori Nurseries and her development of play in our Teaching Wiki page.

Issacs

Susan Issacs' approach to play can also still be seen in many approaches today. A prominent psychoanalyst in the 1900s, she built on Froebel and Montessori's prior work to support the importance of play for young children. She suggested that play lets children best engage in active learning and lets them feel comfortable with their own skills. By feeling at ease with their own abilities, children can learn better through play.

In her theory of play for early years children, Issacs also believed that play gave children a safe space for emotional development. Play can be a very emotional activity, whether it's getting into character during role-play or playing a super competitive game. These activities give children a safe and familiar environment to work through some of these feelings. By practising and expressing them in their early years setting, they can experience new feelings and learn how to navigate them.

This is enhanced by the social nature of play. Children bond with each other through play, learning how social interactions work. This helps them as they learn to manage social situations, either in real conflicts or by playing pretend.

Read our Susan Issacs Wiki Page to learn more about her theories on childhood development.

Learn More about Play Theories in Early Years

There are lots of handy resources to help you understand these play theories for early years and more. You might use them to expand your own knowledge, or find them helpful for passing this information on to your colleagues in your setting.

There's a wonderful PowerPoint for working through play theories in early years step by step. Click the link below to take a look at this easy to use slide show that's ideal for keeping your team informed.

You can also find some lovely Early Years Educational Theorists Staff Training Information Sheets that are ready to print off. Keep them in an easy to reference folder for some light reading, or make a beautiful display in your staff area for quick and easy referencing.

There's a brilliant Early Years Educational Theorists Staff Training Information PowerPoint to go along with these sheets too if you're having a full training day. It's quick and easy to use, so you can make sure all your staff are on the same page as one another. These make great inspirations for new ideas you can use in your setting, while providing a great basis of knowledge, so everyone understands why certain choices are made.

The importance of play in children's development is one of the ideas behind National Playday. You can read more about it on the Twinkl Teaching Calendar.

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Play Theories in Early Years | Twinkl Teaching Wiki - Twinkl

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There are many different play theories in the Early Years and beyond. This page covers theories put forward by Piaget, Vygotsky, Montessori and more. These help us understand how play can benefit children, and how play can affect their development in a wide range of skills.

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Children's play tells family members and early childhood teachers so much about development. In fact, we often determine where children are developmentally by watching them play. During toddlerhood, children are exploring the world around them, learning about themselves and others, building language and literacy skills, and learning to regulate their behaviour. And, they do it all through play.

The amount of time children spend in uninterrupted self-directed play - when no one is teaching them, when they are free to decide what and how to play - has declined tremendously in educational settings and in the home lives of children. This decline worries early childhood teachers, as play is often seen as integrative - offering children opportunities to try on new behaviours to see how they fit and then to add these behaviours to their skill repertoires. Self-directed play can be active (running round the playground on a bike path), quiet (looking at a book or cradling a doll), or a combination (trying on Dad's shoes and trying to walk in them).

Three theorists of children's play

There are three theorists who are especially important to our understanding of play - Jean Piaget, Mildred Parten, and Lev Vygotsky. They describe play in different ways, but each one is useful for understanding the play behaviour you see in your classroom.

Jean Piaget

Piaget divided play into three types of "play behaviour" - practice play, symbolic play, and play-with-rules. Practice play, the most common type of play during the first years of life, is composed of repetitions of the same movements and actions, both with and without objects. When a baby plays peek-a-boo, hiding his face behind a blanket, over and over again, this is practice play. When children move on to symbolic play, they begin to recreate in their play the things they see in the world around them. They develop a sense of themselves as independent from their parents and caregivers and use play to explore being like these important people, as well as to experiment with being very different from them.

Mildred Parten

Mildred Parten's stage theory describes the ways children interact with each other. During solitary independent play, children play alone with objects without interacting with others even when they are near. Parallel activity emerges next, with children playing side by side with similar toys - next to each other, but not with each other. In associative play, children play with each other, but there is no particular goal or organisation to their play. Cooperative play is the final, and most sophisticated, form of play. In this stage, children cooperate with others to create play situations, with each child in the group playing an assigned role. Parents and early childhood teachers see mostly parallel and associative play with their toddlers although cooperative play emerges for most children by the end of this period.

Lev Vygotsky

Vygotsky's sociocultural theory says that children socially construct what they know by using language. He is known for the idea of the zone of proximal development (ZPD), which is the range of tasks a child can do with help but cannot do on their own. Play, particularly make believe play, creates a ZPD as the child plays.

Applying theories of play to everyday life

What do these ideas mean to those of us who work with toddlers? First of all, it helps us understand that toddler play is different. Toddlers are very capable of playing with intensity and creativity but the way they play is different from older children. They play in the moment, with the ideas that come to them from their experience or the environment. This play isn't as recognisable as the socio-dramatic play of preschoolers. They may use one object to serve as another, get distracted from what they are playing when they discover a new prop or toy, or stop to watch others in mid-play. They pick up on others' play ideas to make them uniquely their own. Although older toddlers are very interested in what other children are doing, much of toddler play is done alone, even if the classroom is full of children. And toddler play is highly repetitive. In fact, it is repetition that helps children understand and remember what they learned and recall and use it later. Toddler play can be remarkably sophisticated and provides us with insight into their thinking.

Toddlers are fascinated by other children and find watching their activities highly engaging and entertaining. Yet the ability to play with other children is just emerging - and needs support and encouragement from the trusted adults in their lives. When toddlers play, they subtly adjust the way they play to the play of their friends to keep the play going - an early indicator that they understand how others are feeling.

Toddlers love to role-play. They actually become the mommy or daddy or the growling bear, rather than acting like them, as they make use of the play props provided. Toys that are real items from the child's world (purses, wallets, pots, pans, clothes, shoes, hats) are intriguing and support beginning role-play efforts. Toddler play needs these props - they invite children to play and give them ideas about where to start. Carefully plan the classroom to take maximum advantage of toddlers' natural desire to explore and learn. Create a play environment that offers children interesting places to play, both alone and with their friends. Watch out for both over-stimulation and under-stimulation. Over-stimulation can occur from too much noise, light, colour, and activity. Under-stimulation can occur from too few options or too little support for play by caring adults.

The supporting role of the adult in toddlers play

Play cues can come from many sources. The best source of play cues is you. When you pick up a toy and play with it or sit down at the table to see if you can fit a puzzle piece into the puzzle, the toy or puzzle becomes very interesting to toddlers. This strategy for inviting play is an excellent way to interest toddlers in new materials or props. But most toddlers are readily able to turn one toy into another (a banana into a telephone or a block into a car) with little difficulty. The way in which toys are displayed also provides play cues. Place toys on low shelves, in clear plastic containers, in baskets, and in tubs so children can see what is available. Separating toys on shelves helps children consider each specific item. Too much clutter can distract from being able to focus on one item long enough to figure out what to do with it or how to use it.

When you participate in toddlers' play - particularly when there are peers involved - you help them play successfully and learn to be a friend. Participating keeps you close enough to problem solve when the inevitable conflicts occur. Toddlers have many social difficulties as they learn to play together successfully. They have limited skills in controlling impulses, delaying gratification, using expressive language, entering play, reading social cues, and regulating emotions. These difficulties show up in various ways, but are most often seen in interactions that don't work out so well. They need you to help and being close by insures that you can help when you are needed.

When you are close by, you can extend it by what you say. Open-ended questions such as, "Where are you taking the baby for a walk?" and "How will you build the house?" give toddlers opportunities to add to and elaborate on the play experiences they are having.

Of course children don't just have positive play experiences, particularly during the toddler years. They often have disagreements over whether others can play, what they can play with, and the possible roles they can play. How children handle negative play experiences is just as important as how they handle positive ones. If they are able to find another way to play (such as being the puppy when they can't be the mommy), join in the play as an onlooker (when their favourite role is filled by someone else), find another place to play, or call to the teacher for help, the play experience can still be a positive one.

Play is a staple of childhood. For toddlers, play serves as an important proving ground for the more complicated social world to come. When toddlers play, they build an understanding of how they can impact and interact with objects and others. This understanding is foundational - it will serve as the basis for a lifetime of successful relationships and learning. Spend time creating the right interactive and physical environment to nurture toddlers' play. With your support, their play can be engaging, enlightening, and sustained.

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Children's play tells family members and early childhood teachers so much about development. In fact, we often determine where children are developmentally by watching them play. During toddlerhood, children are exploring the world around them, learning about themselves and others, building language and literacy skills, and learning to regulate their behaviour.

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LibGuides: Reflective Practice Toolkit: Models of reflection

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LibGuides: Reflective Practice Toolkit: Models of reflection

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I did have to ask myself - What is this? and What do I know and understand about it?

I understand and have come to realise that this is something that we, as Early Years Practitioners, do every day without realising that we are doing it. Yet we have no proof to support these important daily reflections. Johns (2000) shares this opinion and resonates that it has 'become an automatic thought process even when you are in the middle of experiencing an event'. I fully understand the way I reflect and I can set my personal values and beliefs aside, however, not every practitioner is able to. I can be open, honest and can accept criticism when it is delivered in a supportive manner. Essentially, I feel this is a skill that I have practiced, polished and established over time and did not occur naturally to me.

What is Critical & Reflective Practice?

* Broadly speaking it is defined as purposeful, meta-cognitive thinking in which we engage in to improve our practice. In terms of early years it encompasses 'reflective thinking', 'reflective learning', and 'reflective practice'.

* The practitioners ability to demonstrate self-direction, self-awareness and be able to reflect and scaffold our unique progress as a learner.

* Understanding and developing new skills to a higher level. Thinking about what you do well, what you need to improve upon and setting yourself some priorities.

'Reflection' means different things to different people and being able to reflect plays a crucial role in your learning and self-development. Being actively aware of, and to develop, and practice the habit of reflection, until it becomes almost second nature is not an easy action within early years. Successful practitioners actively engage in reflective thinking, reflective learning and reflective practice in their everyday activities. Our experiences in life can often act as catalyst for reflection, but how often do you actively engage in reflection for learning and what are the risks versus the benefits?

According to the early work of Dewey (1933) it was suggested that reflection is a cognitive process - 'the active, persistent and careful consideration of any belief or supposed form of knowledge' and this largely underpins current theories on reflection models that have since been challenged in a variety of ways. In contrast, Schon (1983, 1987, 1991) emphasises the complexity of our role and suggested two levels of reflection: (i) reflection-in-action and (ii) reflection-on-action. This is the model I tend to use within my role as a Nursery Owner, although, only after researching more around the subject of reflective practice.

Ongoing reflection of practice allows us to become more skilful in making informed judgements and make professional decisions and is empowering according to Robins et al., (2003). Although, reflection in Early Years is still yet to become fully embedded according to Paige-Smith & Craft (2008). Stenhouse (1980a, 1980b, 1985) highlighted 'teachers as researchers' in considering and reflecting on our practice and I believe this to be true as life never stops teaching us lessons.

Key Theorists in Reflective Practice

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Reflective Practice - How does that happen in Early Years?

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As I begin a Masters Degree in Education with Early Childhood the first module I embark upon is: 'Critical & Reflective Practice' I did have to ask myself - What is this? and What do I know and understand about it?

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Introduction

Theory: What is Reflection?

Understanding the origins of a theory can support our understanding of a programme of work or practice. There are many ideas and programmes of work being promoted - why would we choose to give this one our time and resource?

The work of Dewey provides the basis for the theory of Reflective Practice. He identified two types of action: 'routine action' and 'reflective action'. ded by issues including tradition, habit and clear requirements such as laws. These actions are stable and less likely to change in relation to current circumstances. In this way Routine Action is gui Reflective Action, however, differs in that it requires consta nt questioning and self‑appraisal: Why do we do it like that? Is it because we have always done it that way or is it because that is the way we get the best out of the opportunity, the childre n, or ourselves? Reflective Action demonstrates a willingness to be flexible, to analyse and to have social awareness.

In practice, this means that those practitioners whose practice is guided by , solving problems efficiently as they arise. Whilst practitioners who take Routine Action tend to accept the status quo in their settings and simply follow the plan for the day Reflective Action are much more concerned with understanding the reasons for issues arising, for challenging the 'way we have always done things', and to make changes to prevent recurring unintentional behaviours and outcomes.

Donald Schön's work builds upon the work of Dewey and the notion of Reflective Action. He reviewed the behaviours of many different professionals including doctors, lawyers and engineers. Through this review Schön identified what he termed 'professional artistry'. He used this term to describe the skills and expertise that all professionals have that inform their actions. In relation to Reflection, he identified that this professional artistry can be used in two distinct ways which help us to further break down the idea of Reflective Practice.

To reflect-on-action: to look back at what has happened and consider why things happened (as described in the example).

To reflect-in-action: to reflect and adapt as a situation unfolds.

So, what does Reflective Practice involve?

1. Reflective practice requires us to be concerned with both the aims and consequences of our actions. We must be aware of what we are doing and why. What are the external influences - political, social or otherwise?

2. Reflective practice is a cyclical or spiralling process, which requires us to monitor, evaluate and revise practice continuously. Reflective practitioners monitor, observe and collect data on their own, and the children's, intentions, actions and feelings. This evidence is then reviewed, critically analysed and evaluated so that it can be shared, judgements made and decisions taken. Finally, this may lead to changes in policies, plans and/or provision before beginning the process again. It is never complete; it is a way in which we approach the day.It is possible the focus of our reflections may change, but the process itself will be ongoing.

He described them as:

Open‑mindedness: an active desire to listen to more sides than one, to give heed to facts from whatever source, to give full attention to alternative possibilities, to recognize the possibility of error even in the beliefs which are dearest to us (1933: 29).

Responsibility: refers to the need for us to take responsibility for our actions and the impact they have on children, families, colleagues and society more broadly.

Wholeheartedness: refers to the consideration and energy we give to the process of reflection. If done half-heartedly the benefits of the practice are unlikely to be realised. It is not a tick-box exercise. It is a process of deep thought and willingness to embrace change.

Through discussion with colleagues you can share your knowledge, your experiences, and expertise. You can inform them of what you have learned through research and reading.

Through discussion you can help each other to shed light on unexpected behaviours or unintended outcomes.

Talking things through can in itself help us to clarify our thoughts and develop new ideas.

Summary

Next in this series

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Reflective Practice: What is Reflection, why should it inform our practice and what does it involve?

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Introduction High quality Early Years provision requires practitioners to constantly review their practice, the learning, behaviours and interactions in their setting. This requires a wide range of expertise, from understanding formal requirements such as the curriculum, to the more tacit or unsp...

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Cambridge International Education Teaching and Learning Team

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Getting started with Reflective Practice

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Cambridge International Education Teaching and Learning Team

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In this article, we will look at nine amazing benefits of play in child development. We will also review research results that highlight the importance of children play.

Importance of Play in Early Childhood

Why is play important for children?

Many parents intuitively know the importance of play in child development, but despite its many benefits, we rarely associate play with learning.

For most people, learning involves acquiring a specific new skill, such as memorizing alphabets, counting, writing, etc. They often believe that playing is only for fun and involves no actual learning.

However, according to studies, playing is learning. Children learn through play experiences.

The importance of play in early childhood education cannot be underestimated because learning through play is essential to a child's growth.

For more help on calming tantrums, check out this step-by-step guide

9 Benefits of Play

1. Stimulate Early Brain Development

Child play can promote brain development in many ways, including providing the child with a better understanding of the world and setting the groundwork for later brain growth.

At birth, infants' brains are equipped with an overabundance of brain cell connections (synapses). Synapse overproduction allows information captured from the early years to build a foundation for the brain.

An environment enriched with play, sensory play, and play toys provide the perfect life experiences as building blocks. Lack of play will cause the neuron connections related to play to be lost.

Neuroscientists discovered that enrichment such as toys, games, and playing can alter a brain's chemistry and the child's development. The brain area associated with higher cognitive processing (the cerebral cortex) can benefit from environmental enrichment and children's play more than other parts of the brain.

2. Improve Intelligence

Early playing also has an important role in a child's intellectual development.

One study by the University of Arkansas shows that regularly offering toys to infants to play with leads to higher IQ by age three. Later, psychologist Edward Fisher analyzed 46 studies done on playing. He found that playing could enhance a child's cognitive, linguistic, and social development.

3. Spark Creative Thinking

Perhaps the most obvious benefit of playing is that it increases a child's creativity.

Creativity is closely tied to divergent thinking, which is the thought process that explores many possible solutions and generates new ideas. Many studies have found that playing is highly associated with divergent thinking.

To test this association in a study, researchers randomly assigned 52 children, aged six to seven, to two activities. In the first activity, the children copied text from a chalkboard. In the second, the children played with salt-dough.

Later, all the children were asked to perform a creative project. A panel of ten judges found that the projects created by the children in the salt-dough group had higher creative qualities than those in the other group.

Other studies have also associated free play, especially imaginative play, with significant improvement in divergent thinking.

Free play or independent play is an unstructured form of play that encourages children to design their own play. Pretend play requires a child to imagine scenarios and then act them out. The freedom of these types of play allows children to be creative.

Imagination fuels creativity and some studies have also found that creative adolescents tend to have had imaginary friends in childhood.

4. Improve Communication, Vocabulary, and Language

The link between early play and later communication skills is evident in research, too.

One study sought to understand whether communication could benefit from play. Researchers observed what happened when an infant began playing with a toy. They found that if the mother responded by manipulating and naming the toys, the baby - when tested three months later - would have better language skills.

Another study, conducted by the University of Georgia, observed sixty-five kindergartners in their classrooms over four weeks. The presence of play, especially dramatic play, was found to predict performance in pre-reading, language, and writing.

Pretend-play is especially beneficial because it allows young children to practice new vocabulary when they speak and try to understand others. During social play, they often reciprocate each other's words and actions to reach agreements.

Self-regulation is one of the most important skills for school readiness. Well-regulated children can wait for a turn, resist the temptation to grab objects from other children, control negative emotions, and persist through challenging activities.

In a New Zealand study, psychologists examined how children handled negative events during pretend plays. They found that children who had more pretend plays with their caregivers were better at regulating their emotions to continue playing.

Emotion regulation is not only essential for academic success but also for the psychosocial aspects of child development. It is a strong predictor of a child's social success. In preschool, children who exhibit better emotional control are more likable and socially competent.

6. Grow Social Competence and Empathy

Playing is crucial in enhancing social development in children. Unstructured active play with others - including parents, siblings, and peers - is a significant opportunity to cultivate social skills. While playing, the act of pretending as well as negotiating with peers enhances children's social skills.

Playing also provides opportunities for children to learn social interaction. Wehile playing together, children learn to cooperate, follow the rules, develop self-control, and generally get along with other people.

Psychologists found that the amount and complexity of fantasy play by preschoolers significantly predicted their social skills and popularity, as well as their positive social activity.

Playful children tend to be happier, better adjusted, more co-operative, and more popular with their peers than those who play less.

Children who play more also develop more empathy, another essential element that advances social skills. Such children grow to have a better understanding of other people's feelings and beliefs.

7. Better Physical and Mental Health

We already know that play promotes a child's emotional development. Emotional intelligence is vital for a child's resilience and mental health.

Playing that involves physical activities also promotes gross motor skills, strength, endurance, and physical health.

8. Teach Life Lessons

Play helps children develop problem solving skills.

When children act out life's problems in pretend-playing, it helps them cope with the struggles in their own ways. It also provides a safe opportunity for children to rehearse skills and future social roles.

When children try out various roles, they learn to take on different perspectives, which will further assist them in abstract thinking.
Also See: Parten's 6 Social Stages of Play and Why They Are Important

9. Strengthen Relationship with Caretakers and Peers

Parents who play with their children form a stronger bond with them. Even simple games like scavenger hunts can become a special bonding moment for both parents and children. These interactions provide positive life experiences that stimulate children's brain development.

Last but not least, happy, playful moments are some of the most precious gifts we can give our children.
Final Thoughts on Play
Because play is imperative in a child's development, play-based preschools may provide a better learning environment than other alternatives. When choosing a preschool, parents should pay attention to how classes are conducted, whether the "play to learn" approach is used, and how much free-play is allowed. Creating a Montessori home is also a good alternative.

References

1. Bergen D. The Role of Pretend Play in Children's Cognitive Development. Early Childhood Research & Practice. 2002;4(1).

2. Fisher EP. The impact of play on development: A meta-analysis. Play & Culture. 1992;5(2):159-181.

3. Russ SW, Wallace CE. Pretend play and creative processes. American Journal of Play. 2013;6(1):136-148.

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Importance of Play in Early Childhood (9 Benefits & Infographic)

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Find out the nine amazing benefits of playing for kids and why it plays an important role in child development.

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Living, playing and learning are almost one and the same thing for babies and young children for much of the time. For young babies play begins in their first encounter in the womb with their mother's hand touching the place where they have just kicked her stomach or when she sings or talks to them. A mother's voice before the baby's birth and her face, touch and gestures when the baby is born all play a part in creating emotional warmth and interaction which lead to play and learning for babies.
The first months
New babies are drawn to look at the human face and they begin to learn how to 'read' the face of their mother or another caregiver. They carefully watch her eyes and mouth - finding out all about her and they enjoy hearing her singing and seeing the different movements of muscles in her face. Playfulness begins in earnest - smiles become broader as the baby expresses delight at seeing special people like dad, or mum, big brother and grandparents. The movement of a mobile or seeing and hearing a black and white squeaky toy soon begins to interest young babies because they are finding out about the world through whatever they can see, hear, touch, smell and taste. By the time babies are reaching out and grasping small toys another phase has begun where baby may be able to shake a rattle or raise an object to the mouth to find out more about it by placing it in the mouth to explore it more thoroughly.
Movement leads to new possibilities for babies' play and learning - rolling and reaching allows them to make things happen and by the time they are able to sit unaided they find out what they can do with a wooden block or a ball or a shaker. Physical dexterity then allows fuller exploration of scrunchy material, paper or anything within reach. As babies continue to explore the world in this way their understanding and enjoyment are enhanced by warm caregivers who know how to be partners in their play helping them to hold something the right way or showing them how to push or pull something; always watching over them yet allowing them 'space' so that they can enjoy some independence whilst keeping safe.

Babies and young children love to play with anything from their fingers and toes, to their toys, as well as with sounds and with adults and children. When young children play they learn at the same time, so play is a very important way for children to learn. If you watch very young children playing you will notice that they don't always need other children or adults because they are quite happy playing alone, provided they can see and hear others near by. When babies play, their whole bodies are involved in reaching, grasping, rolling and touching things. As they become more mobile and they gain control over their bodies babies enjoy putting things together such as piling blocks on top of one another or banging balls together, or filling and emptying containers. Two year olds love to pretend, basing their play on imitating things they have seen you, or other people do, like vacuuming, talking on the telephone or playing a trumpet. When they play like this they don't always need the real thing, as they will make do with anything that they can adapt to their pretend play. By the time they are moving towards their third birthday children begin to play with others more, and increasingly enjoy playing with other children. Babies and young children also enjoy looking at books, listening to stories and rhymes and joining in with songs. As they hear and join in with stories, songs and rhymes and look at books, young children become familiar with different sounds and words, and they begin to anticipate events. Babies and young children are learning all the time. They learn through looking, listening, touching, tasting, investigating, exploring, experimenting and through playing and talking. This means that young children need to have opportunities to

look at interesting things such as birds, animals, plants, trees, mobiles, shells, stones, boxes, tubes, mirrors

listen to a range of sounds such as songs, rhymes, jingles, stories, music

touch a variety of objects - hard, soft, bumpy, smooth, rough, cold, warm

taste a range of flavours such as those in fruit, milk, vegetables, bread

investigate things that open, close, float, sink, twist, turn

explore objects such as large boxes, things that make noises, things that move

experiment with water, sand, clay, dough, paint, glue, felt pens

play for uninterrupted periods of time, alone or alongside others, with help from adults, and in their own way

talk to other children and adults and to have their efforts rewarded

Play and learning can not be divided during the earliest years because as children are finding out about what things do when they touch them and what they can do when sitting, crawling, cruising, clambering, climbing, standing, reaching, pulling, pushing and so on they are also gaining mastery and control of their bodies - so play is learning. At the same time the sounds and words and gestures that they have experienced in interactions with others help babies to understand ways of relating to others and whilst they will have had great fun blowing raspberries or squealing with delight when somebody has played peek-a-boo with them they have also begun to learn social and emotional skills which will help their development as people. Young children soak up the atmosphere around them and are affected and can be upset if others are depressed or sad so it would be fair to say that they are learning about emotions right from the start. And by the time a child is a year old their understanding of language is growing rapidly.

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The Importance of Play Play underpins the EYFS. It also underpins learning and all aspects of children's development. Through play, children develop language skills, their emotions and creativity, social and intellectual skills. For most children their play is natural and spontaneous although some children may need extra help from adults.

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Play is very important to a child's development, it is an integral part of a child's Early Years Foundation Stage and supports their learning journey too. Young children can develop many skills through the power of play. They may develop their language skills, emotions, creativity and social skills. Play helps to nurture imagination and give a child a sense of adventure. Through this, they can learn essential skills such as problem solving, working with others, sharing and much more.

In turn, this helps them develop the ability to concentrate. Providing children with a range of playthings will help them learn in a number of ways:

Sand and water play can be an early introduction to science and maths, eg learning that water is fluid, not solid, and that it can be measured in different sized containers.

Playing with dough or clay, drawing and painting pictures, dressing up, playing with dolls can encourage creativity, imagination and expression of feelings.

Building blocks, jigsaws and shape sorters can help with recognising different shapes and sizes, putting things in order and developing logic.

Playing ball games, dancing, running, climbing all help to develop body movement, strength, flexibility and co-ordination skills.

Games help with turn taking, sharing and mixing with others.

Singing, playing simple music instruments help to develop rhythm, listening and hearing.

It's important that learning is fun at this age. It needs to be about doing things with them that they like. They might find unusual ways of doing things - for a toddler, building blocks aren't just for making towers, and paint can be used without a brush! Show them how things work, but if they want to experiment, let them.

Children learn through all their senses through taste, touch, vision, hearing and smelling. They will watch those around them and copy language and behaviour.

Don't push your child too hard. Children develop in their own ways and in their own time. Try not to compare them to other children. You can also encourage reading, by reading to and with them. Look at the pictures together; this will help younger children make sense of the words.

It's also good to talk to them a lot, about everyday things while you are cooking or cleaning. This will give you a chance to teach them how things work and they will be able to ask you questions. Get ready for lots of "why's?"

Setting the scene

Anyone who spends any amount of time with young children understands that providing them with opportunities for play provides so much more than a few minutes or hours of 'fun'. Play also allows children to relax, let off steam, develop social skills such as concentration and co-operation, encourages the development of the imagination, develops motor skills and teaches self expression.

Sarah Owen, founder of 'Pyjama Drama' - drama, music, movement and play for pre-school children says, 'Many children seem to be born with a natural ability to play, but some children find it more difficult and need to 'learn' how to play well and this is where parents can make a big difference. Whilst it is very important that children play with their peers and are given opportunities for unstructured play, children who also play with a loved adult can benefit greatly - the benefits of having fun together cannot be underestimated!'

Adults have a role within the play by making time and space available with the relevant resources. Think about creating play ideas that help support and extend learning and development.

Dramatic play aka role play

Dramatic play is essential to a child's social (or emotional) development and can play a large part in their physical development too. Children make sense of the world in which they live by acting out situations before they happen and by copying what they see around them. Pretend (or dramatic) play contributes to a child's emotional development as they learn to see life from a different viewpoint and allows them to 'trial' situations before they happen.

Most children are naturally imaginative and will happily talk away to someone on their toy phone or drive the sofa to the shops, and this creativity should be actively encouraged! This type of play also develops children's imaginations which are closely linked to intellectual development.

Outdoor play and exploration

Encouraging your young child to explore outdoor play is extremely beneficial and necessary for their development. Outdoor play helps them to learn lots about the everchanging environment and gives them the opportunity to use their whole body and develop their gross motor skills. It can meet their multi-sensory needs and can give them a love for the outdoors. Whether it is messy play, creative or role play, it is an essential part of learning.

Froebel Trust have produced an inormative pamphlet talking about outdoor play with lots of ideas and advice. Click here to download this.

Further resources

It may help to chat to other parents on our forums to explore their ideas on learning with their young children. The Froebel Trust have some great play resources that you may find helpful that helps children get back to nature and develop their creativity. If you do need some advice or support you can talk to us online via our live chat service, email us at askus@familylives.org.uk or call us on our helpline on 0808 800 2222 to speak to trained family support worker. Alternatively, you can speak to your Health Visitor for some guidance.
This page was updated on July 2021.

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Play is very important to a child's development, it is an integral part of a child's Early Years Foundation Stage and supports their learning journey too. Young children can develop many skills through the power of play. They may develop their language skills, emotions, creativity and social skills.

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Educators at your child's early childhood education and care service might have told you that they use a 'play based' approach for children's learning and development.

Play is an activity where children show their remarkable ability for exploration, imagination and decision making. While play is often described as 'children's work', it is intensely enjoyable for them. The type of play children engage in and its purposes change over the course of childhood from infancy to adolescence.

You may have realised that as a parent, you don't generally have to make children play or provide incentives to play. This is because children seem to have a natural urge to play and playing brings a level of pleasure and interest which means it can be maintained without external rewards.

How does play support your child's development and learning?

Physical development - active play using large and small muscles such as climbing, running, ball games, digging, jumping, and dancing. This supports children's overall health and sense of wellbeing, physical growth, appreciation for the benefits of active lifestyles and skills for independence in self-help such as dressing or feeding.

Social and emotional development - dramatic and imaginative play which includes dressing up and role play can develop positive social and emotional skills and values. This provides opportunities for children to:

practise how to work with other children, negotiate ideas, and make choices and decisions

develop self-confidence by experiencing success and challenges

learn to control their emotions, reduce impulsive behaviour, or reduce stress as they act out feelings and events that might be worrying them

develop empathy and fairness as they learn to play alongside and with other children.

Cognitive development - when your child plays individually and with others their cognitive skills, such as thinking, remembering, learning and paying attention are all being developed. Children develop the following cognitive skills through play:

problem solving

the power of imagination and creativity

concepts such as shapes, colours, measurement, counting and letter recognition

strengths such as concentration, persistence and resilience.

Literacy and numeracy development - play requires thinking, language, interactions, curiosity and exploration. Through play children develop skills and understandings including:

an increased understanding of words and their use

listening and speaking skills

writing skills through scribbling, painting and drawing

learning how stories work (plot, characters, structure, purpose and format of words on a page)

learning that objects can stand for something else (a block can be a symbol for a telephone) which is foundation learning for formal reading, spelling and numeracy because letters, words or numerals are part of symbol systems

learning that letters, words, symbols, numerals and signs have a purpose and are meaningful to others.

What does a play based approach to learning look like?

Educators at early childhood education and care services use a wide range of play based experiences for children's learning and development rather than using structured 'lessons' or formal teaching experiences. They set up games indoors and outdoors that are age appropriate, which can be played safely and enjoyably by every child.

Educators encourage children's learning through play by:

providing resources that reflect children's ages, interests, knowledge, strengths, abilities and culture to stimulate and support play. Resources which allow open ended use of items like blocks or cardboards boxes foster creativity and the ability to manipulate concepts mentally as children. For example, turn a box into a car.

planning play experiences based on the assessment of children's individual differences, interests, developmental needs and ability. For example, as a child learns to hold a pencil to draw and write, educators will give children different sized objects to grasp, and to build strength in the child's fingers.

observing children as they play so that they can understand how they play with other children, what skills and understanding they demonstrate in play and what activities can strengthen their skills in play.

joining in children's play to extend the child's learning and to model skills such as reasoning, appropriate language, and positive behaviours.

providing large blocks of unhurried and uninterrupted time for play for children's ideas and games to develop.

How can you contribute to your child's learning through play?

Children's success as learners depends on strong foundations developed from infancy. Play based learning fosters critical skills, understanding and dispositions which are essential for your child's lifelong learning and wellbeing. You can encourage your child's learning through by:

sharing information about your child's interests and abilities with their educators so that they can plan play experiences for your child based on their interests and abilities

playing with your child

discussing your child's program with the educators at your child's service, and the activities your child enjoys playing and taking part in

advocating for safe and interesting play spaces in your local community.

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The importance of play in children's learning and development

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Educators at your child's early childhood education and care service might have told you that they use a 'play based' approach for children's learning and development. Play is an activity where children show their remarkable ability for exploration, imagination and decision making. While play is often described as 'children's work', it is intensely enjoyable for them.

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Playing is a natural and enjoyable way for children to keep active, stay well and be happy. Freely chosen play helps children and young people's healthy development. To have good physical and mental health and to learn life skills, they need various unstructured play opportunities from birth until they're teenagers.

Freely chosen play

Freely chosen play is when a child decides and controls their play following their own instincts, imagination and interests. They play without being led by adults.

There's no right or wrong way to play. Freely chosen play improves children's health, well-being and development.

Why play is important

Play improves the cognitive, physical, social, and emotional well-being of children and young people.

Through play, children learn about the world and themselves.

They also learn skills they need for study, work and relationships such as:

confidence

self-esteem

resilience

interaction

social skills

independence

curiosity

coping with challenging situations

Developing physical health through play

Physical play such as running, skipping and riding a bicycle helps children develop:

good physical fitness

agility

stamina

co-ordination

balance

Developing social skills through play

Playing can help children develop their social skills with others. By listening, paying attention and sharing play experiences, this helps a child:

explore their feelings

develop self-discipline

learn how to express themselves

work out emotional aspects of life

Playful parenting

Through play, parents can connect fully with their children and have fun.

A parent or carer can support and take part in their child's play activities but they shouldn't direct what happens.

It's important they give their children time, freedom and choice to play. If an adult makes all the decisions about how, what and when their child plays, the child won't enjoy their play experiences.

Play and challenge

Children often want to create challenge and uncertainty in their play. Through risky, challenging play, children test themselves and find out their own limits. They learn how to deal with risk through play and can use these same skills later in life.

Parents should encourage their children from birth to extend themselves. Teach them basic skills including:

riding a bicycle

swimming

road safety

Explain that it's important to learn from mistakes, to try again and to believe in themselves. Help them understand their limits and their boundaries. Allow them to have fun in their play.

Play and digital technology

To make sure children have time for unstructured, freely chosen play every day, parents should limit screen time. The younger the child, the less time they should be using digital devices.

Keep certain times and areas in the home technology-free zones such as:

Don't use digital devices to distract your children or keep them quiet. Talk to your children, play games or look at a book together. Join in your children's screen time and talk about their online activity.

Show your children good example by limiting your own screen time.

More useful links

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Playing is a natural and enjoyable way for children to keep active, stay well and be happy. Freely chosen play helps children and young people's healthy development. To have good physical and mental health and to learn life skills, they need various unstructured play opportunities from birth until they're teenagers.

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Learning through ‘guided’ play can be as effective as adult-led instruction up to at least age eight

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Teaching younger children through ‘guided’ play can support key aspects of their learning and development at least as well, and sometimes better, than traditional, direct instruction, according to a new analysis.

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Find out more about the importance of supporting every child to achieve their best outcomes including children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

As stated in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework, "providers must have arrangements in place to support children with SEN or disabilities".

Your role in supporting children is especially important as this will likely be the child's first experience of education outside of the home. You should make this a positive, safe and inclusive experience for every child.

Supporting children to build strong foundations

All children are entitled to a high-quality education that promotes high standards, is appropriate to their needs, and helps them to achieve their best possible outcomes and fulfil their potential.

By getting to know your children well, you will notice that children learn at different rates, some may struggle to do some of the things that other children may already be capable of. This is part of normal childhood development and may just indicate that, with minor adjustments to the teaching methods, or the provision of small amounts of support, encouragement and additional help, good progress can be made. It is therefore important that early delays or difficulties lead to the right sort of help and are not necessarily regarded as an indication of a long-term special educational need or disability.

Not all needs will be long term, but it is important that where you might have some concerns, you plan their activities and curriculum in a way that supports those children early on. One example would be a child who has grown up in a home where the adults are not in the habit of engaging their child in conversation regularly. This could mean the child has not learnt turn-taking or eye contact and so on for conversations. The child may also not know as many words as other children of the same age. This does not necessarily mean they have SEND but they will need help, support and encouragement to develop their early language skills and vocabulary. You can support them to improve their communication and language by modelling turn taking in conversation with other children or adults and by reading to them frequently, so that they experience new words daily. Development Matters provides many examples of how to support babies' and children's communication and language development. They will quite quickly return to making good progress again with sensitive support and close working partnerships with parents and carers.

This early support can make all the difference to a child's learning and development and can help a child overcome an additional need altogether. It is crucial that settings spend time with their children to really get to know them - how they learn, what they enjoy, what they might struggle with, where they may need more support in to secure their learning. This all helps to build strong and solid foundations for their future growth development.

Some needs may be greater and there may be concerns that further support or interventions are needed to help meet that child's needs. As set out in the EYFS, all early years providers are required to have arrangements in place to identify and support children with SEND and to promote equality of opportunity for children in their care. It is equally important that children who do not have SEND or require additional support understand that some children may have different needs to them and how to respond appropriately to them

Teaching, curriculums and care should be adaptive, responding to the needs of children which may include providing targeted support to children who are at risk of falling behind. Providers should ensure environments are inclusive, by aiming high, being ambitious and be willing to find different ways to engage with children, changing approaches or removing barriers to enable them to reach their potential. Some things may be differentiated to help facilitate learning in a way that supports a child that might have difficulties communicating through speech or understanding written words. For example, using a visual timetable to help some children to understand a routine or incorporating Makaton into songs and stories.

Working together

To build a whole picture of the child, it is important that you work in partnership with other adults in the setting such as the SENCO (if relevant to your setting), teaching and nursery assistants and any relevant local agencies to gather their views and observations. These views and observations should feed into your assessments of a child and help you to make your own strong and informed professional judgments about that child. You can make all the difference to a child's experience and development.

You need to build strong relationships with children's parents or carers and involve them in supporting their children and meeting their needs throughout their time in your care. Parents or carers know their children best and may have important insights into their development that could help identify needs early and help build the right support package for their child. You are also required to review children's progress at age 2 and share a summary with parents, more information can be found in the EYFS framework, page 13, paragraphs 2.5-2.9, childminder EYFS, pages 19-20, paragraphs 2.6-2.10, group and school-based EYFS. Health care officials such as health visitors are also important in helping to build a full picture of a child and any potential concerns about their development. Parents should be involved in the planning support and, where appropriate, there may be things you can do to support the child's learning at home.

Where a child is subject to a referral or requires the use of a specific service, there are often opportunities to seek advice from professionals in order to provide a joined-up approach for the child and to inform how you can best support the child. For example, services such as Occupational Health can provide specialised equipment to support children to access your setting and take part in activities.

Supporting and identifying SEND

Needs should be identified accurately and support put in place quickly in order to give all children the best opportunities to achieve their potential. Identifying a need but not acting on it can be detrimental in the long term.

Children with complex developmental and sensory needs are likely to be identified at birth through health assessments whilst other children may have needs identified following the 2-year progress check. In addition to the formal checks, early years practitioners play a crucial role in monitoring and reviewing the progress and development of all children. Observations and professional judgements may identify that a child has special educational needs.

Identifying children who are presenting with less complex or hidden needs can sometimes be more challenging than identifying more apparent special educational needs and disabilities. As outlined above, there are many reasons why children might not make the progress expected over a period of time. It is important that you identify any gaps in a timely way and work with the child to help them overcome and bridge those gaps.

As a starting point, Development Matters provides some observational checkpoints to help you to consider potential areas of need, but this guidance is not designed to be used as a tracker or tick list that generates lots of paperwork. Some examples of the checkpoints to consider include:

Communication and Language For children age birth to 3, "watch out for children whose speech is not easily understood by unfamiliar adults. Monitor their progress and consider whether a hearing test might be needed."

Person, Social and Emotional Development For children age 3-4, "watch out for children who seem worried, sad or angry for much of the time, children who seem to flit from one thing to the next or children who seem to stay for over-long periods doing the same thing, and become distressed if they are encouraged to do something different. You will need to work closely with parents and other agencies to find out more about these developmental difficulties.

Whilst one of the aims of the EYFS reforms (2021) are to reduce unnecessary paperwork and tracking, appropriate records should be kept if it benefits the child to do so, this can be particularly helpful information for the receiving school when a child transitions to reception or Year 1. Where routine observation raises a potential concern for a child's development, you should liaise with your SENCO (if relevant to your setting) and the child's parents or carers early on.

Resources to help support your children and identify their needs

Providers should develop a curriculum that aims to meet the needs of all children, including those with SEND. Guidance is available to support curriculum planning and help providers to keep in mind those children who may need additional support.

Where a practitioner assessment suggests more formal support is required practitioners should work closely with parents and other practitioners and follow the 'graduated approach' in the special educational needs and disability (SEND) code of practice. This covers the support process for children with identified SEND, covering 4 areas of need: cognition, learning, communication and interaction. Practitioner and parent observations are key in informing decisions to instate more formal support requirements such as the Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP).

Practitioners can use toolkits to help them assess children's ongoing needs and ensure that the right support is in place from as early as possible. Various toolkits are available and you can work together with your local authority to help develop a pathway for getting further support, we've included some examples below:

NASEN provides a SEND Gateway that enables access to a broad range of materials and support services across the range of SEN (www.sendgateway.org.uk).

Early Support provides a range of information materials to families and professionals www.ncb.org.uk/earlysupport.

Early Years Measures database discusses a range of diagnostic assessment tools to use in the early years.

Pen Green Centre for Children and their Families have created another useful guidance document on taking a celebratory approach to working with children with SEND. It offers a practical toolkit with examples of how to support them and potential frameworks you could use to identify, support and assess children with SEND.

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Find out more about the importance of supporting every child to achieve their best outcomes including children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). As stated in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework, "providers must have arrangements in place to support children with SEN or disabilities".

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https://www.uhi.ac.uk/en/t4-media/one-web/university/library/how-to/UHI-mini-Student-referencing-guide-en-N_A.PDF

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https://www.yorksj.ac.uk/media/content-assets/ile/documents/Harvard.pdf

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The EYFS Profile summarises and describes children's attainment at the end of the EYFS. It is based on on-going observation and assessment in the three prime and four specific areas of learning, and the three learning characteristics, set out below:

The prime areas of learning:

* communication and language

* physical development

* personal, social and emotional development

The specific areas of learning:

* literacy

* mathematics

* understanding the world

* expressive arts and design

The learning characteristics:

* playing and exploring

* active learning

* creating and thinking critically

A completed EYFS Profile consists of 20 items of information: the attainment of each child is assessed in relation to each of the 17 Early Learning Goals descriptors, (ELGs) together with a short narrative describing the child's ways of learning expressed in terms of the three characteristics of learning. For each ELG, practitioners will judge whether a child is meeting the level of development expected at the end of the Reception Year (expected), exceeding this level (exceeding), or not yet reaching this level (emerging).

'The EYFS Profile is not intended to be used for on-going assessment or for entry level assessment for Early Years settings or Reception classes'.

The primary purpose of the EYFS Profile is to provide a reliable, valid and accurate assessment of individual children at the end of the EYFS.

The primary uses of EYFS Profile data which have informed the development of the Profile are as follows.

* To inform parents about their child's development against the ELGs and the characteristics of their learning.

* To support a smooth transition to Key Stage 1 by informing the professional dialogue between EYFS and Key Stage 1 teachers.

* To help Year 1 teachers plan an effective, responsive and appropriate curriculum that will meet the needs of all children.

In addition, the Department considers that a secondary purpose of the assessment is to provide an accurate national data set relating to levels of child development at the end of the EYFS which can be used to monitor changes in levels of children's development and their readiness for the next phase of their education both nationally and locally (school level results are not to be be published in the Performance Tables).

Source STA EYFSP Handbook.

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Observation, Assessment and Planning - Early Years Matters

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Observation, Assessment and Planning EYFS Statutory Assessment The Early Years Profile is to remain statutory for the time being. However, following the decision to abandon on-entry assessment of children entering reception classes last year there has now been a consultation: Primary Assessment in England which invited views about the perceived need for a form of baseline assessment.

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Observation, Assessment and Planning in the EYFS: Part 1

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Thank you for visiting Nursery World and making use of our archive of more than 35,000 expert features, subject guides, case studies and policy updates.

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Assorted infographics about the importance of physical activity.

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Guidance from the Chief Medical Officers in the UK on the amount and type of physical activity people should be doing to improve their health.

UK Chief Medical Officers' report

Guidance to help health professionals, policymakers and others working to promote physical activity, sport and exercise for health benefits.

Communications

Guidance for government administrations, public health agencies and partners to develop messaging for the CMOs' physical activity guidelines.

Infographics

Infographics explaining the physical activity needed for general health benefits at different life stages.

Research and analysis

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Guidance from the Chief Medical Officers in the UK on the amount and type of physical activity people should be doing to improve their health.