Play Based Learning Philosophy
At Lyneham Primary School, we understand that
- children grow and develop at different rates
- children have a range of skills and abilities
- a variety of activities need to be planned to cater for the individual needs of each child
Learning is an active process. PLAY is essential for its ability to stimulate and integrate a wide range of children’s intellectual, physical, social and creative abilities. Actively engaging children in their play extends and supports their learning. Using a developmental approach places the child at the centre of the teaching program and strategies.
Play and project based learning experiences (investigations) are a major pedagogical tool alongside explicit teacher scaffolding, direction and teaching. This approach stresses the importance of ensuring a balanced curriculum of authentic student interests and engagement whilst promoting creativity, imagination and scope for the child to invent and create. In addition, active engagement promotes opportunities for children to explore processes not just end products...our teachers celebrate each child's learning.
What are some key principles of play based philosophy?
- Open ended tasks, child centred, holistic
- Learning process and reflection are valued – not just the end result
- Scaffolded learning – teacher watching, listening, documenting, stepping in with suggestions
- Oral language emphasis, diverse and rich in thinking skills
- Child initiated tasks – motivated by ownership, engagement and intrinsic motivation
- Creative and active, hands-on experiences
- Learning by doing – catering for all learning styles, personalising the learning
- Literacy and numeracy teaching is integrated, authentic learning
From Preschool to Year 2 at Lyneham Primary School, the children spend an extended, uninterrupted part of their week working on their own personal projects and play, within different core centres (For eg. home corner, collage corner, construction zone, sensory centre, reading nook and writing centre). Teachers work as facilitators, recording detailed notes on focus children, observing individual developments, and providing scaffolding and support for children to challenge and extend themselves through their chosen projects. In different classrooms learning through play based activities can be also known as Investigation Time or Connect Time. During this time the children are;
- Planning
- Collaborating
- Exploring
- Talking, discussing, suggesting, listening
- Revising plans
- Questioning, investigating
- Sharing their learning with others
- Reflecting
- Extending and challenging their own learning
“Education is not a race to be won. It is a journey where every step, every day counts and the end point actually never arrives. Education is not measured by numbers on a page or a graph.”
(Kathy Walker 2008)
