The importance of play-based learning beyond EYFS

This article has been published as part of the Rethinking Curriculum project, kindly funded by The Helen Hamlyn Trust.

JO GRAY, HEAD OF EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, ONE EDUCATION, UK

JENNA CRITTENDEN, CURRICULUM DESIGN LEAD, CHARTERED COLLEGE OF TEACHING, UK

This review explores some of the benefits of play-based learning for children beyond EYFS and how teachers can overcome some of the perceived barriers to implementing a play-based approach in their classrooms. 

Where did the concept of play come from?

Evolutionary biologists believe that play evolved to provide a safe way in which to try out new behaviours and ideas (Bateson and Martin, 2023, cited in Krechevsky, 2024) and is a survival trait linked to life expectancy, supporting growth in the brain, heart, lungs and bones (Kingston-Hughes, 2022). When opportunities for play are limited, this is shown to have a long-term impact on cognitive development and mental health (Frost et al., 2012; Siviy, 2016; Hughes 2012).

The foundations of play are based on the classical childhood development theorists, including Vygotsky and Froebel (Macdonald, 2022). Fredriech Froebel (1782–1852) saw children as active, curious, creative learners who learn best through activity, play, talk and self-reflection. He created the first kindergarten school, rejecting the traditional roles of the teacher that viewed the children as passive learners. He advocated that activity, inquiry and play were central to the education and development of young children. Froebel said that ‘play is the highest level of child development’ (Tovey, 2020). Lev Vygotsky (1896–1934) attributed neurological development to play, through his belief that learning requires relationships and interaction, elements that can be found within play. In his 1967 work, he outlines how interactions build the brain pathways responsible for the development of socio-emotional and self-regulation skills. Vygotsky also connected creativity with the imagination element of play. 

What is play and how do we define play?

Play cannot be easily defined, and for many years academics, researchers, practitioners and parents have struggled to agree on a unified definition of play (Clements and Fiorentino, 2004; Yogman et al., 2018; Zosh et al., 2018, 2021; Macdonald, 2022; Paatsch et al., 2024). Macdonald reasons that this is because ‘play is individual, complex and means different things to different people’ (Macdonald, 2022, p. 4). This complexity has led to numerous definitions – some describe the characteristics of play, some highlight what play should be or what play can provide but none agree wholeheartedly on a universal definition. 

Below are just a few examples of the competing definitions of play:

• The NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (2017) says that play is ‘freely chosen, personally directed, intrinsically motivated without external goal or reward’. This is a definition rooted in the characteristics of play.

• Eberle (2014) says that, at its centre, play must be fun. This definition is rooted in what play should be.

• Botrill (2018, p. 26) says that ‘play is creativity, it is abandon… play should be open ended with limitless possibilities and endless interpretations’. This definition is rooted in what play should be.
• Zosh et al. (2018) explored the vast literature on play and learning and characterised play as something that ‘children experience joy and have agency in’, but note that this can take various forms and look different for individuals.
• Comments on Article 31 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child say that ‘Play is any behaviour, activity or process initiated, controlled and constructed by children themselves; it takes place whenever or wherever opportunities arise.’ (UN, 2013, p. 5)

Despite the numerous attempts at defining what constitutes play, the majority of definitions do agree that play is multifaceted and complex, and that it is an essential part of children’s learning and development (Paatsch et al., 2024). A summary of the types of play commonly used can be found here.

In 1989, the Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) was ratified by the United Nations (UN). Within this, play is a mandated right for all children under Article 31, saying that ‘it is the right of the child… to engage in play’. It defines the right of play as an essential element of childhood, integral to a child’s development. It recognises that a child having fun in the way in which they want to is a fundamental right that contributes to the holistic development of children – their physical, cognitive, social and emotional wellbeing. This recognition of the importance of play for children’s learning, however, has not been reflected in global education systems, accountability structures, assessment and pedagogical approaches or curricula design, even for the countries that developed the UNCRC (Baker et al., 2024). This fracture between the rights of the child, education policy and research findings is seen globally, and it is acknowledged that in the UK context, ‘play has been historically poorly researched in education, misrepresented in extreme forms such as “discover only learning” and generally bound to the early years of primary education’ (Rolls et al., 2024, p. 67). 

Benefits of play-based learning

Below, we will explore a range of benefits of the play approach, grounded in research. These include:

• improved cognitive development
• improved motivation
• improved speech, language and communication skills
• improved physical development and physical fitness
• supporting brain development and health, improving wellbeing and fostering emotional resilience
• supporting academic progress
• developing problem-solving skills, collaborative skills and creativity.

Play can improve cognitive development

Through play, children can explore new concepts and ideas, which enhances their cognitive development and helps to create lifelong independent and motivated learners. This process is not confined to the Early Years. One of the most long-standing child development theories, Piaget’s ‘The stages of the intellectual development of the child’ (1962), emphasises the importance of giving opportunities for play as the child grows. Piaget’s theory suggests how we learn and assimilate the bounds of the information that we receive from the earliest years, developing from understanding only concrete objects to the more complex understanding of abstract ideas. 

Crucially, Piaget does not suggest that play ends when children reach the age of four to five years old, as the preoperational stage, where children begin to use language and think symbolically, spans the ages of two to seven years. In the preoperational stage, children use symbols to represent words, images and ideas, which is why children in this stage engage in pretend play. A stick, for example, is symbolic in that it might be a sword, a broomstick or even a walking stick, and the play evolves as children have more opportunities to play. One example of how play evolves is ‘play with rules’. This may start towards the end of the preoperational stage, but it is common for children to develop this within the next stage, known as the concrete operational stage; this is where children begin to think logically and in an organised manner, performing operations on tangible objects and understanding concepts such as cause and effect (Nicolopoulou, 1993). Due to the nature of the play requiring the following of rules, the child needs to be able to self-regulate so that they can successfully follow the rules and control their own perspectives.

Play can motivate children

Children are often motivated by play, with 90 per cent expressing a desire to play (Little and Eager, 2010) and many demonstrating higher levels of motivation when they are playing (McInnes et al., 2013). This has been linked to ownership of the activity – play being led or ‘owned’ by the children gives the activity meaningfulness. This meaningfulness to the activity provides children with higher levels of positive emotions and, in turn, internal motivation (Janik-Blaskova and Kilgour, 2024).

Play can help to develop speech, language and communication skills

Pretend play and language acquisition have long been linked (Kizildere et al., 2020; Creaghe at al. 2021; Hirsh-Pasek et al., 2009; Lilliard et al., 2013), and many studies have demonstrated how both the complexity of pretend play and language skills develop concurrently (Bergen, 2002; Quinn et al., 2018; Paatsch et al., 2024). This is because ‘play, particularly pretend play, shares many conceptual similarities with language in that both are symbolic and rely on communication within social contexts’ (Paatsch et al., 2024, p. 25). Through play, children encounter new words and phrases and try these out for themselves, taking ‘opportunities to use language to tell their story and engage in pretence’ (Paatsch et al., 2024, p. 25). 

As children grow and mature, their social interactions should become more complex. Play-based learning environments provide older children with opportunities to develop these critical social skills in a natural, low-risk and engaging way. This play has been linked to the many components of language acquisition, such as form, content and correct use of language. A well-explored example of this is the links between play opportunities and syntax development that have been researched (Casby and Corte, 1987; Fekonja et al., 2005). Creaghe et al. (2021) demonstrated that ‘conversational turns in play positively correlated with infants’ gesture use and vocabulary comprehension and production’ (cited in Paatsch et al., 2024, p. 27). A further study by Han et al. (2010) found that children from low-income families who received language intervention in a play environment showed more growth in their receptive and expressive vocabulary compared to the children who were not in the play context.

Play can promote physical development and health

Physical play can support the development of coordination, gross and fine motor skills and balance, as well as improving overall physical health by promoting movement over sedentary activity (Durning et al.,2024; Burdette and Whittaker, 2005; Pellegrini et al., 2007). This is believed to be related to the low-risk nature of play when practising and improving these new skills (Ramachani, 2019).

The World Health Organization (WHO) have advocated for the importance of play as a way of being more active in childhood, developing healthy lifestyle patterns for longer-term health gains. Dr J Willumsen of WHO (2019) said that ‘what we really need to do is bring back play for children… making the shift from sedentary time to playtime’. The Australian government (2023) also cite play and linked movement as a key reason for their current approach to early childhood education – one where play is a central approach. 

Play can support brain development and health, improving wellbeing and fostering emotional resilience

Play has been associated with the positive physical development of the brain (Harvard, 2021). As Macdonald (2022, p. 8) states, ‘experiences and interactions through play build brain architecture, allowing children to make and strengthen connections between what they know and what they experience in the world around them.’ Play allows children to express their emotions, develop empathy and build resilience. By engaging in play, children learn to cope with stress and bounce back from setbacks, which is essential for their overall emotional wellbeing. In contrast, children who do not engage in social play are more likely to demonstrate a variety of later difficulties: mental health and wellbeing issues, problems with peer relationships and poor academic outcomes (Rubin et al., 2009). 

Dodd et al. (2024) outlined the importance of risky play – play that is ‘thrilling and exciting… involving a risk of injury’ (Sandester, 2007, p. 248). Play opportunities that have an element of risk and might be deemed adventurous have become substantially fewer, with school risk assessments, parental involvement in play and the increased use of screens being held responsible. Research has shown that children who play adventurously or in ‘risky play’ have ‘fewer symptoms of anxiety and depression’ (Dodd et al., 2023) and that children have an innate childhood desire for such risky play (Jerebine at al., 2022). Jerebine et al. (2022) researched children’s feelings towards risky play and found that children wanted to engage in this form of play but that schools often prevented them from doing so, removing their agency over their choices and limiting the benefits to wellbeing that risky play offers. 

Play can support academic progress

There is a growing body of research that relates play-based learning to academic success. Ybarra et al. (2008) found that the more socially engaged we are, regardless of age, the higher our cognitive performance will be. In other studies, play is also found to correlate with the social competence of a child (McAloney and Stagnitti, 2009; Uren and Stagnitti, 2009; Farmer Dougan and Kazuba, 1999) and could therefore also be associated with cognitive performance.

In 2015, Taylor et al. carried out a study of children in Wales who had been introduced to play-based learning until the age of seven, finding that they had better academic outcomes and wellbeing scores than children who did not have a play-based curriculum. Play is also linked to specific areas of academic development; for example, Stagnitti et al. (2016) carried out a longitudinal study of pretend play ability and the relationship with vocabulary and grammar awareness. They concluded that children who had more play-based curriculum access had significantly greater growth in narrative retelling and grammatical knowledge than children with a ‘traditional’ curriculum approach.

Play can develop problem-solving skills, collaborative skills and creativity

Play has been attributed to the development of many skills, such as problem-solving, creativity and collaboration (McAloney and Stagnitti, 2009; Whitebread and O’Sullivan, 2012; Weisberg et al., 2015; Yogman et al., 2018; Paatsch et al., 2024). It enables children to ‘engage in testing out theories, taking risks and problem solving in a safe space without the fear of failure’ (Macdonald, 2022, p. 9), a fear that can sometimes be observed in more formalised learning approaches. Whitebread and O’Sullivan (2012) observed that children playing in pairs or small groups showed higher levels of collaboration and talk. They also observed self-regulatory behaviours, such as turn-taking and responding to others’ requests, sooner in children who participated in play in comparison to those who did not. Haan et al. (2021) investigated metacognition skills during pretend play and found a positive relationship between children’s narrative in play and their use of metacommunication in negotiations and cooperation with peers.

The development of these skills has been considered to play a part in inclusionAn approach where a school aims to ensure that all children are educated together, with support for those who require it to access the full curriculum and contribute to and participate in all aspects of school life and future employability. Ramchandani (2019) writes, ‘Play gives children opportunity – to develop skills, to learn to solve problems and grow healthy relationships… Widening access to play, particularly in early life is one way of reducing the differences in life chances that we see in society.’ (cited in Jensen et al., p. 6) This decrease in the impact of societal inequalities has been attributed to the importance of creativity as a skill in particular: ‘Creative thinking is one the highest order thinking skills needed for 21st century success… it has been associated with problem solving, divergent thinking, wellbeing and employability.’ (p.58 Paatsch et al., 2024)

Overcoming the barriers to play implementation

Although there is a vast amount of research demonstrating the benefits of play, many teachers and school leaders face challenges in implementing play-based learning beyond EYFS in English schools. Below, we explore some of the barriers to adopting a play-based approach and offer suggestions as to how these might be overcome. We have also created an evaluation tool for play-based learning, and this should be considered to support your implementation in school. 

Barriers to implementation may include:

• pressure and expectations from the education system
• lack of knowledge around play in schools
• curriculum and timetable pressure
• lack of funding and resources
• lack of outdoor access.

Pressure and expectations from the education system

There is a perception of external pressure to deliver curriculum in schools in a certain manner. This includes an increased emphasis on being ‘school-ready’ and the expectation that play stops at the end of EYFS. This can come from families and parental expectations of what and how school teaches too (Bradbury, 2018).

However, there is increasing indication that traditional methods are not the only approach – for example, the removal of Key Stage 1 SATs and the statutory National Curriculum stating that ‘Schools are free to choose how they organise their school day’ (DfEDepartment for Education - a ministerial department responsible for children’s services and education in England, 2013, p. 5) indicate that schools have the opportunity to design what they deem as correct for their school community. 

Potential solutions

• The National Curriculum does not state that children shouldn’t play, nor do any of the expectation framework guidance documents. The research suggests the importance of play, and this should be considered in the whole-school pedagogical approach and shared as part of the curriculum intent and implementation strategy. As with all research, it should be used alongside the context of the school community to ensure that it is the right approach (Scutt, 2024).
• Be able to articulate your vision to all stakeholders. If play is deemed to be critical in your approach to teaching and learning, then it should also be central to the vision and values that drive your school/classroom. When making decisions about new content or approaches, they should be measured against these values to ensure alignment. This clarity and cohesion will help you to share your curriculum with external stakeholders, demonstrating your commitment to and understanding of the approach.
• Work in close partnership with parents, families and the wider community. This should be holistic in nature, looking at why the approach is important, how this will look in the classroom and how they can support at home. Mardell et al. (2023) explain that playful learning is universal yet is shaped by culture, and the need for this culture to permeate beyond the school classroom will be key to its success. 
• Consider the use of assessment within your school. The DfE states that evidence in Key Stage 1 could come from ‘written, practical and oral classwork’ (STA, 2023) rather than just the SATs. As such, you may wish to consider different methods of assessment, including play observations, to develop a holistic picture of the child.

Lack of understanding of play in schools

Play is widely accepted as ‘crucial to learning’ for our youngest children (Selezynov, 2024, p. 17) and is advocated again in higher education, with creativity and exploration of ideas encouraged. However, beyond Early Years in primary schooling, play is often seen as the realm of playtimes and non-learning times (Real Play Coalition, 2019). Whitebread & O’Sullivan (2012) attribute this in part to the belief that play is entirely child-directed and doesn’t take into consideration the variety of play and playful learning that he describes from anthropological research across thousands of years. This lack of practitioner expertise around child development, neuroscience and the pedagogy of play is another potential barrier.

Further barriers to high-quality play include seeing play as a method or activity leading to a predefined outcome, as traditionally seen in planning a lesson to achieve a learning objective. This approach limits the ability for children to have both the time and the exploration required in play but, on the opposite scale, by not having a planned outcome, child-led play can lead to unexpected outcomes that do not necessarily link to the learning that is intended. This is problematic for teachers, who need to ensure that learning covers a scheme of learning or a set of objectives (Rolls et al., 2024). This barrier usually happens when play is child-led only or unstructured in nature. As Weisberg et al. (2016) and Hirsh-Pasek et al. (2009) argue, for play to be impactful, a degree of ‘guided play’ is required. This spectrum of play needs to be understood by practitioners and school leaders and an agreed approach outlined, so that play is as valuable as possible in school.

Providing ongoing professional development that focuses on the principles and practices of play-based learning can help to build teachers’ knowledge. Siraj-Blatchford et al. (2002) and Sylva et al. (2014) all outline the importance of professional knowledge and understanding of how to develop and extend play, as well as the facilitation of play from adults. This role of the adult within play, however, is ‘multifaceted and complex’ (Bilton and Crook, 2016, cited in Waters-Davies, 2022, p. 10), and individuals will have different background knowledge, perceptions and understanding of play, requiring careful consideration when designing support in schools (Khan O’Neill and Stjerne Thomsen, 2024).

Potential solutions

• As the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF, 2021) has found, promoting effective continuous professional development (CPD) plays a crucial role in improving classroom practice and pupil outcomes. This is not different for play. For play to be an effective approach for teachers and staff at all levels, they must undertake professional development to understand play and the approach of play. Consider how you access networks supporting play, use case studies of settings and use mentoring/coaching to address individual needs.
• Consider how the quality of play will be measured in the school. For this to hold merit and enable further development, those observing play must fully understand the concept of play and how to make judgements about the quality of play (Fisher, 2020). Parker at al. (2022) have developed a framework to support teachers in reviewing the quality of play through four elements of experience, design, outcomes and facilitation. Developing a shared framework like this to use within your school will develop transparency of expectations.
• Spend time building an implementation plan and link this to the CPD requirements. Consider whether you would like to begin using the approach in one subject or in a specific year group. This will help you to identify what needs to be known and then build a CPD schedule to support this knowledge development. Ensure that this includes an iterative cycle of review so that the process is ongoing.
• Work together to outline the spectrum of play and agree expectations for adult intervention, both in the planning of the activity and during the activity. This is also important to consider when thinking about behaviour expectations: ‘play can be chaotic, messy and noisy, whereas schools are expected to be places of order’ Krechevsky, 2024, p. 172), and understanding this change will be key to successful implementation.

Curriculum and timetable pressure

Play development requires time, but school timetabling often does not allow for this. There is a perceived pressure to prioritise academic outcomes in subject-specific time (Krechevsky, 2024). ‘Play and school are often seen as contradictions. Play originates from individual exploration, freedom and imagination, whereas school tends to represent a societal obligation to equip students with already defined knowledge and understanding.’ (Khan O’Neill and Stjerne Thomsen, 2024, p. 134) Timetables in primary school can be a significant barrier to implementing any new pedagogical approach, but if play is taken as ‘unstructured’ or ‘free play’, the time to not necessarily have learning linked to the required objectives is exceptionally challenging. 

Possible solutions

• The statutory guidance of the National Curriculum states that ‘schools are free to choose how they organise the school day’ (DfE, 2013, p. 6).​ If play is an approach that the school deems as most appropriate for delivering the curriculum, then the way in which lessons are delivered should be (re)visited. Cross-curricular opportunities and guided play may offer opportunities to build ‘additional’ time into the timetable.
• Review schemes of work against statutory guidance to ensure that additional content is not being added. This reduction will enable less to be done in more depth and give time for play-based exploration. This review should be carried out regularly.
• Agree on types of play that you would like to include. If you want free/uninterrupted play, how will this fit into the curriculum time? What will you remove? How will you know whether the play is having a positive impact on outcomes? If you have decided upon guided play, then how can this be used to deliver content of the schemes of work?

​

Final thoughts

The researched benefits of a play-based approach within the schooling system, beyond EYFS, are vast and widely evidenced – for example, the long-term language outcomes and wellbeing levels of children who are exposed to play. However, the complexity of play and the huge variation in play types that sit under the banner of play-based learning emphasise the need to consider the unique characteristics of the school setting and, in turn, the type of play that is best for the curriculum delivery in that setting. By understanding what you wish to achieve with the approach, the type of play that needs to be developed will be linked, and this will ensure that the implementation can be focused on developing a specific area, while also ensuring that the purpose of this approach is clear to all stakeholders. 

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