Our School and Nursery aspire to be play friendly.  We review and reflect upon our resources and facilities on a regular basis.

OUR PLAY STATEMENT (Please also see Play Policy)

Play is an essential part of every child’s life and vital to their development. It is the way children explore the world around them and develop and practise skills. It is essential for physical, emotional and spiritual growth, for intellectual and educational development, and for acquiring social and behavioural skills. Play is a generic term applied to a wide range of activities and behaviours that are satisfying to the child, creative for the child, and freely chosen by the child. Children play on their own and with others. Their play may be boisterous and energetic or quiet and contemplative, light-hearted or very serious.

Aims

• To recognise that all children have the right to play (as stated in the 1989 United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child).
• To promote the development of inclusion play opportunities which take into account and respond to children’s different abilities and needs, their age, gender, cultural and religious backgrounds, social, family, economic and environmental situations.
• To ensure that all children are respected and valued and have equal access to play so that they can play free from racial or other types of discrimination or abuse and have equal access to good quality play opportunities and services, both indoors and outdoors.
• To ensure that children are given opportunities for child-centred play, to develop opportunities which challenge and stimulate children’s abilities but not threaten their survival or well-being.

We believe that

• Play promotes children’s development, learning, creativity and independence it allows children to find out about themselves, their abilities and their interests.
• Play keeps children healthy and active – active children become active adults.
• Play fosters social inclusion. It helps children understand the people and places in their lives, learn about their environment and develop their sense of community
• Play is therapeutic. It helps children to deal with difficult or painful circumstances.
• It is important to differentiate self-organised play from adult-directed activities that might be playful. Both are important, but for play time the focus is on ‘free’ play that is not directed by adults.