Developing a continuous provision and play-based curriculum across Key Stage 1

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

Gillian Jones, Holmer Green First School and Pre-School, UK

Introduction 

We are a small infant school and pre-school, based in a village in Buckinghamshire. Ensuring our children are happy and settled at school is important to us which is why we have always prioritised transition. Bottrill (2018) writes that ‘once children lose joy, it is incredibly difficult to bring back’.

In 2018, a member of staff suggested a more play-based approach in Year 1 to support the children as they moved up from Reception. This was music to my ears and knowing that staff were on board meant that it was more likely that the change would be successful (EEF, 2024).

Curriculum/Pedagogical approach 

We proceeded to implement continuous provision in a very basic form in Year 1 baskets of toys dotted around the room only during the autumn term. Looking back, it wasn’t really continuous provision, it was our attempt at doing something different for our children. It felt like we hadn’t quite got it right, but at the time we weren’t brave enough to take the leap and completely overhaul our pedagogy.

Then, as a result of lockdown, we began to reflect on our school’s  pedagogical approach. Our Early Years department was completely play-based and the children thrived. Now seemed to be the right time to drive this change in Year 1, especially as the children who were currently in Reception had missed so much play-based learning.

We met regularly to discuss research, consider what it would look like in our school and what adjustments we would need to make. We took advantage of online whole-school training, tailored to our vision, which allowed us to ask questions and check our understanding.  

We then looked at the top ten skills which employers will be looking for in the future (The World Economic Forum, 2020) with critical thinking, active learning and problem solving skills being the most important. We knew that a play based curriculum could give our children opportunities to rehearse and consolidate these skills.   

After the pandemic, we completely overhauled Year 1. We used our new knowledge to redesign the classrooms, reflecting on what the children had missed and what they needed. We removed all of the formal furniture and set up the classroom with discrete areas, weaving in the children’s interests and using open-ended resources to target specific areas of development. 

The success of this was phenomenal. The atmosphere in Year 1 completely changed, the children thrived and the staff loved this new style of pedagogy. We found that children who would usually refuse to write, were laying on the floor writing on clipboards. Children were painting, creating and learning through their play. 

By 2021, continuous provision was well established in Year 1. It was very successful; the children were happy, they were making great progress and they loved coming to school! We were proud of what we had achieved for our children. 

Instead of stopping there, we stood back and reflected once again. We now had continuous provision running very effectively across three-quarters of our school. The LEGO Foundation (2018) research states that between the ages of six to eight years ‘play-based learning continues to be critical yet is often neglected in favour of academic focused education approaches’. It made sense to take our pedagogy into Year 2. 

Once again, we read and researched what this pedagogy could look like in Year 2. We strongly believed in a well-rounded curriculum with open-ended, play-based learning. We wanted to ensure that the children had access to all areas of the curriculum every day, but we also wanted to ensure that they were challenged and had the opportunity to continue developing their interpersonal skills.

Continuous provision was implemented in Year 2 in September 2021. We began by setting the room up with the current furniture, creating zones and areas for the children to explore. As the months went on, we adapted and refined the pedagogy in Year 2, ensuring that the provision built upon Early Years and Year 1 and that the children were challenged. During the 2022 Easter holidays, we stripped the Year 2 classrooms and transformed the environments, bringing them in line with the rest of the school. When the children returned to school, we were amazed at how differently they accessed the resources after it had been set up specifically for continuous provision.

By September 2023, we were once again reflecting on how successful the continuous provision was at our school. All of our children were now benefitting from this style of teaching – you could walk into any classroom, at any point of the day, and witness the most magical pupil-led learning taking place. We were also offering free tours, showing approximately 63 professionals a year around our school, from both local and national educational settings. 

But, we did not feel like the continuous provision was quite right – something was missing. 

In early September, I was talking to a Year 1 pupil as they settled into their new classroom and they asked me ‘How do we get to our outside area?’.  Although we had adapted our playground, adding resources such as a sand pit and deconstructed role play, Year 1 and 2 did not have their own outside area as part of their continuous provision. This was the missing piece! 

Throughout the autumn term, we worked together to determine what an outside area would look like in Year 1 and 2. Quirk and Pettett (2021) write that children display high levels of engagement and involvement and are happy when they are outside. That was our focus. 

During the Christmas break, fencing was erected to create a defined outdoor space for Year 1 and 2 and the INSET day was spent creating irresistible spaces to play. We then dropped the morning break time which extended the children’s time in the provision. The outside areas were an immediate hit, especially for those children who enjoy learning on a larger scale or outdoors.

Over the years, we have always taken our continuous provision back to the EYFS principles, using them as a golden thread throughout our school. Bryce-Clegg (2015) states that the characteristics of effective learning underpin a play-based curriculum.  As a result, initiatives which would be considered as Early Years focused have been woven across our school, for example Parents Stay and Play sessions, Helicopter Stories and the use of Tapestry. This has greatly improved our parental engagement.

Implications

As a school, we are very reflective. As soon as we implemented something, we observed and waited, ensuring that the initiative had the impact we wanted. If it didn’t, we would tweak and adjust it to get it right for our pupils.

For example, during the first year of continuous provision, we observed that there were children who were not deeply engaged in an activity. We addressed the problem through staff training and by carrying out pupil observations. As we embedded our practice, this was no longer an issue as the children were familiar with our style of pedagogy and could engage in purposeful play for sustained periods. Bryce-Clegg (2015) states that a play-based curriculum produces higher levels of pupil engagement, exploration, independence and wellbeing, due to the fact that children are following their own interests which then results in higher levels of pupil attainment.

Impact

Five years on, continuous provision is well established across our whole school. We continue to show professionals around our school and have a very active social media account. Our children continue to be wonderful and their behaviour is fantastic as they are so engaged in their learning. Our academic results remain high, but the biggest impact we have witnessed is the development of the children’s interpersonal skills. Their ability to work with other children, problem solve and collaborate astounds me. The solid relationships which our children have with our staff is a result of the time which they have to talk, enabling them to build these strong relationships. 

Transition across the school is seamless. Children move into their new year groups with their new teachers and settle almost instantly.

The impact on staff well-being and workload has been enormous. Staff feel like they have a greater impact on the children’s progress. They give children verbal feedback at the point of learning and teachers can address misconceptions through the continuous provision.

Recommendations

My advice for those of you wishing to follow this style of pedagogy, is to read, read and then read some more.  Carefully plan what your pedagogy will look like and ensure that it reflects your children’s interests, any academic gaps and your school’s culture.  

When you are ready, liaise with like-minded schools, go and see what they are doing before you begin your journey. Remember that it is a journey, it took us years to get the provision exactly how we wanted it, your journey will take time too.  

Be brave and take a leap of faith, you know what is best for your children. 

References

Bryce-Clegg A (2015) Continuous Provision – The Skills. London: Featherstone Education. 

Bottrill G (2018) Can I Go and Play Now? Rethinking the Early Years. London: SAGE Publications Ltd.  

Education Endowment Foundation (2024) A school’s guide to implementation. Available at:  at https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/education-evidence/guidance-reports/implementation (accessed on 6th June 2025)

Quirk S and Pettett V (2021) Let Me Be Five. London: David Fulton.

The Lego Foundation (2018) Learning through play. Available at: https://www.unicef.org/sites/default/files/2018-12/UNICEF-Lego-Foundation-Learning-through-Play.pdf  (accessed on 6th June 2025)

World Economic Forum (2020) These are the top 10 job skills of tomorrow – and how long it takes to learn them. Available at: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/10/top-10-work-skills-of-tomorrow-how-long-it-takes-to-learn-them/ (accessed on 7th June 2025)