Successful Foundations is a project which supports the positive transition to school of Kindergarten children and their families through a system wide implementation of the Early Learning Policy for Catholic schools in the Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle. As Kindergarten classrooms come to life over the next few weeks, Early Learning Experts Bridie Stanger and Taylor Stokes share their insights into this innovative project and how it supports our youngest learners as they take their first steps in school.
Play is fundamental to the Early Learning Policy (ELP, 2017) for Catholic Schools in the Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle and is identified in the NSW Syllabus Documents for the Australian Curriculum as one important method of teaching and learning. Play is sometimes contrasted with ‘work’ and characterised as essentially unimportant, trivial and lacking in any serious purpose. As such, it is often viewed as something that children do because they are immature, and as something they will grow out of as they become adults. However, this view is mistaken and ill-informed.
Play in all its rich variety is one of the highest achievements of the human species, alongside language, culture and technology (Dr David Whitebeard, University of Cambridge, 2017). The value of play is increasingly recognised, by researchers and within the policy arena, as the evidence mounts of its relationship with intellectual achievement and wellbeing.
Research on brain development supports the understanding that play shapes the structural design of the brain. We know that secure attachments and stimulation are significant aspects of brain development; and that play provides active exploration that assists in building and strengthening brain pathways.
Play creates a brain that has increased ‘flexibility and improved potential for learning later in life’ (Lester & Russell., 2008). Play allows the Early Learner (birth to 8 years) to explore, identify, negotiate, take risks and create meaning. Children who engage in quality play experiences are more likely to have well-developed memory skills, language development, and are able to regulate their behaviour, leading to enhanced school adjustment and academic learning (Bodrova & Leong, 2005).
Play is a right of the child (United Nations, 1989) and an important part of the child’s learning and experiences at school. Play is typically available to the child during recess and lunch breaks on the school playground. This highlights the significance of the school playground as an engaging outdoor space that provides opportunity and accessibility for different constructs of play (ELP, 2017).
Additional time for play during the school day has also been found to be beneficial (Waite, 2017) and is essential to Successful Foundations. Play is therefore a critical and intrinsic part of healthy human life and development and a child’s ability to exercise the right to play should not be dependent on environmental conditions such as where a child lives or his/her family. Play can be compromised by the actions or inaction of adults. Wherever children’s right to play is negatively impacted there are consequences for children’s health, development and well-being. Play is the work of childhood and Early Learners reveal their strengths, interests and needs as they engage in play.
Play is a state of intense, wholehearted mental activity; characterised by sustained concentration and intrinsic motivation. Step back and take time to truly observe your child in play. Look for literacy, numeracy, creativity, curiosity, self-regulation, cooperation, problem solving and most importantly JOY! During play, highly involved children operate at the limit of their capacities which lead to changes in ways of responding and understanding and this in turn leads to a deep learning and meaningful understanding.
Thank you for your ongoing support of Successful Foundations.
