Focus on play
March 2018
childcare providers and practitioners This briefing for childcare providers includes information about how to support better opportunities for children to play in their settings. Children and young people need and are entitled to quality places and time for play as part of their everyday life.
and roles they take within their play and create worlds they can master. Unscheduled free time for children should not be seen as nonessential. It is vital to children for their fun and relaxation as well as for their health and wellbeing. It is part of their ‘work/life balance’.
Childcare providers and practitioners in Wales are well placed to be play champions for the communities in which they work. They often have strong roots in the community and they are well trusted and respected by parents, often with strong links to schools and other settings. Where childcare practitioners have accessed playwork training, they have fed back that knowledge of a playwork approach has a significant impact on the play opportunities they offer.
Childcare practitioners are able to operate in a world where playing takes precedence. One of the best ways we can work to support children to access their right to play is to enjoy the play process. Enjoying play for what it is, to play with enthusiasm when invited to play, and to be a passionate advocate for play, are the best ways to ensure an environment and atmosphere where children’s needs and right to play are met.
Play for play’s sake Parents choose childcare settings to enable them to work, train, or because they feel that it is important for their children’s development. More and more parents report that they seek child centred settings which enable children to play for prolonged periods of time in rich play environments. Although the benefits of play for children are substantial and wide ranging and its effects are felt far into adulthood, play is an integral part of childhood and children place great value on having plenty of places and time to play. When children’s time is highly scheduled by others it can hardly be seen as their time. When children personally direct their play, they decide the rules
The importance of play Playing is central to children’s physical, mental, social and emotional health and wellbeing. Through play, children develop resilience and flexibility, contributing to physical and emotional wellbeing. For children themselves, playing is one of the most important aspects of their lives. They value time, freedom and quality places to play. Playing contributes to the wellbeing and resilience of human beings – particularly children. Having welcoming places, enough time and the company of others to play with every day, is of great consequence to all children and young people – as adults we need to foster environments that support this.