Early Years staff share the value of play

Non-directive play was the focus when the Bishop Bewick Catholic Education Trust organised a series of workshops for Early Years staff across its member schools.

BBCET Speech and Language Therapist Gemma East has been delivering the Narrating Play programme, with the support of Writer-Facilitators Susan Mulholland and Danielle Slade. They have been gratefully supported by three host schools Cuthbert’s Catholic High School, St. Stephen’s Catholic Primary School and St. Robert’s Catholic First School.

“The Narrating Play workshops are a series of four continuing professional development workshops on offer to any members of staff working with Early Years pupils across our trust.” she explained.

“The original idea behind the project came through collaboration between the Trust’s Specialist SENCOs [Special Educational Needs Coordinators], Early Years Lead, and the Speech and Language Therapy Team.

“The workshops offer training to Early Years staff that builds up their knowledge and skills over the four sessions. The focus is on making the most of non-directive play opportunities, and to increase practitioners’ confidence to support and narrate play with continuous provision.

“The participants are encouraged to record their reflections and learning in a creative journal, then take their knowledge back to the classroom, with chances to feedback their thoughts and experiences at subsequent workshops.”

Attendees of the first workshops, which were held in May, reported that ‘the practical activities and advice for classroom practice are really helpful’, and that they had gained ‘greater understanding of the building blocks of languages and when to step into play’, along with strategies ‘to help develop children’s understanding and communication’.

Mrs East continued: “We know that increasing numbers of children are entering Early Years settings with more limited social communication skills than in the past, and we wanted to find a way of ensuring that the language environment we provide is as strong as it can be.

“We know that children learn best through play and interaction, and, with this in mind, we are keen to equip staff with the skills and knowledge to enhance learning opportunities during non-directive play.

“Children’s communication and language skills are fundamental to their learning, and, if we can focus on developing these skills from a young age, we know that children in our schools are being provided with the best start possible.”

The initiative is in line with Department of Education findings published in Development Matters, which states: ‘Children need opportunities to develop their own play and independent exploration.’

Mrs East added: “Research evidence suggests that the quality of conversations matters most, not just the quantity.”

“A large focus of the project is emphasising the power of adult-child interactions, and encouraging staff to lean into their own creativity to enhance the play within our settings, thus making the most of every minute.

“We are expecting to see children in Early Years benefiting through the participation, hard work, expertise, and dedication of the staff.”