Focus on play: play and education

Focus on play

January 2019

Play and education This briefing for education officers within local authorities provides information about how education services influences children’s opportunities to play. Children and teenagers need and are entitled to quality places for play as part of their everyday life.

The duty aims to ‘make communities more play friendly by valuing and increasing quality opportunities for play throughout the community.

The intended outcome will be more children playing ... and so, enjoying the health, social, cognitive and emotional benefits that play provides’.1

The importance of play for health and well-being

As part of statutory Play Sufficiency Assessments (PSAs), local authorities must assess play within education and school policy (Matter I).

Playing is central to children’s physical, mental, social and emotional health and well-being.

Having welcoming places, enough time and the company of others to play with every day, is of great importance to all children and teenagers – we need to foster environments that support this.

For children themselves, playing is one of the most important aspects of their lives. They value time, freedom and quality places to play. When asked what is important to them, children and teenagers consistently say playing with their friends – outdoors.

National and international policy In 2010, Wales became the first country in the world to legislate for play through the Children and Families (Wales) Measure 2010, which places a duty on local authorities to assess and secure sufficient play opportunities for children in their area. Wales – a Play Friendly Country, statutory guidance to local authorities, sets out a wide range of Matters across several policy areas that need to be taken into account.

The statutory guidance notes that schools provide an important opportunity for children to play during the school day and for periods before and after classes. Schools can also provide valuable play space at weekends and during holidays.

The Welsh Government recommends that local authorities advise schools to provide high quality play space and sufficient time for children to play during the school day and give full consideration to opening this provision during out of teaching hours.

The Play Sufficiency Assessment should ‘assess the extent to which: •

children are provided with an interesting play environment for breaks during the school day.

•

schools provide play opportunities during out of school times, including before school, in the evenings, at weekends and during holiday periods, as well as open access to school grounds and use of premises for activities.

•

schools encourage children to walk or cycle to school.

•

children are provided morning, lunchtime and afternoon play breaks.’2

Internationally, the importance of play is recognised and protected in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC).

Article 31 of the UNCRC states that the child has the right to play and to join in other recreational activities. As an indication of the significance the United Nations places on children’s play it has published a General Comment on Article 31.3 This is an official statement that elaborates on the meaning of an aspect of the UNCRC that requires further interpretation or emphasis. The aim of the General Comment is to clarify the meaning and importance of Article 31.

The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child also emphasises that the rights under Article 31 are of positive benefit to children’s educational development, and should be facilitated during the course of every day throughout early childhood education, as well as in primary and secondary school.

The Committee identifies the pressure for educational attainment as potentially denying children of their right to play, highlighting: •

‘Early childhood education is increasingly focused on academic targets and formal learning at the expense of participation in play and attainment of broader development outcomes;

•

Extracurricular tuition and homework are intruding on children’s time for freely chosen activities;

•

The curriculum and daily schedule often lack recognition of the necessity of or provision for play, recreation and rest;

•

The use of formal or didactic educational methods in the classroom do not take advantage of opportunities for active playful learning;

•

Contact with nature is decreasing in many schools with children having to spend more time indoors;

•

Restrictions on the type of play in which children can engage in school serve to inhibit their opportunities for creativity, exploration and social development.’4

Potential local actions which can secure play sufficiency Education officers can consider: •

Developing guidance for schools to promote the protection of play time. Schools can be advised to consider the value to pupil wellbeing when making decisions on the planning and length of the school day including play times, lunch times and homework scheduling.

•

Sharing the Play Wales Resources for playing – providing loose parts to support children’s play5 toolkit to support schools to offer a range of resources for play.

•

Advising schools to develop a school play policy6.

•

Ensuring that school landscape design and playground design which supports play features in new school design from the outset.

•

Sharing the Play Wales Use of school grounds for playing out of teaching hours7 toolkit to support school communities to consider making school grounds available to local children out of teaching hours.

Valuing play Various studies8 have concluded that positive health benefits arise from playtime interventions in schools. These initiatives are amongst the most effective interventions for improving levels of physical activity. They are also linked to a range of improvements in academic skills, attitudes and behaviour, and to improved social skills, improved social relations between different ethnic groups, and better adjustment to school life.

Playing enhances children’s physical and emotional well-being. However, increasing demands on children’s free time means that for some the school day offers one of the few opportunities for play. It is important therefore that schools are supported to provide the best quality spaces and opportunities for play as possible.

Play also offers a range of potential benefits to the school and community such as pupil motivation, improvements in behaviour, improved perceptions of community safety and closer links between the school and community. School buildings, their contents and grounds also have the potential to satisfy many social and recreational needs of the community.

The demands on schools to achieve academic targets must not be put above the duty to protect the health and well-being of the children in their care. Time and space allocated to play is associated with pupil well-being and should therefore be considered as a positive element of school life.

The Resources for playing – providing loose parts to support children’s play toolkit has been developed to support adults in the play, early years and education sectors to provide loose parts play within their settings.

The Use of school grounds for playing out of teaching hours toolkit has been designed to help head teachers, governors and local organisations to work together to consider making school grounds available to local children out of teaching hours.

Both toolkits are available to download at: www.playwales.org.uk/eng/publications

Key statistics Time to play at school is seen as very important by both children and their parents: •

73 percent of children say that school is the main chance they have to play with their friends.

•

55 percent of children report that they sometimes rush their lunch at school so they have time to play.

• •

•

88 percent of parents and 80 percent of children think that children are happier in lessons if they are given freedom to play at playtime, and this figure rises to 99 percent for parents of five to six year olds.9

Teachers also note the benefits: •

84 percent of parents say they are against school playtimes being shortened.

97 percent of teachers say that outdoor play is critical for children to reach their full potential.

•

94 percent of parents assert that it is important to allocate time for play during school hours.

88 percent of teachers say that children are happier after playing outdoors.

•

86 percent of teachers say that playing outdoors gives children a better understanding of the environment.10

References Welsh Government (2014) Wales – a Play Friendly Country. Cardiff: Welsh Government Crown Copyright.

1

For an example, see: www.playwales.org.uk/eng/schoolplaypolicy

6

Play Wales (2015) Use of school grounds for playing out of teaching hours. Cardiff: Play Wales.

7

2

Ibid, page 30.

United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child (2013) General comment No. 17 on the right of the child to rest, leisure, play, recreational activities, cultural life and the arts (art. 31).

Geneva: Committee on the Rights of the Child.

3

4

Ibid, page 13.

9

Playday (2007) Playday: our streets too research.

Prisk and Cusworth (2018) From muddy hands and dirty faces... to higher grades and happy places Outdoor learning and play at schools around the world. Learning through Landscapes 10

Play Wales (2017) Resources for playing – providing loose parts to support children’s play.

Cardiff: Play Wales.

5

Gill, T. (2014) The Play Return: A review of the wider impact of play initiatives. UK Children’s Play Policy Forum.

8

www.playwales.org.uk Registered charity, no. 1068926 A company limited by guarantee, no. 3507258 Registered in Wales