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Importance Of Play

Why Play Matters – Learning Through Play

Children learn and develop through play. A child is able to develop their self esteem and self worth as they realise their own abilities. It is fun to do, so children often become all absorbed in it. It is an integral part of their learning journey and helps lay the foundations for their future. Through the power of play children can develop language, emotional, creativity and social skills, as well as developing their imagination and provide a sense of adventure. Essential skills such as problem solving, working with others and sharing and more are also learned.


It is important that learning is fun, and that the child takes the lead and does it the way they want to. The often find different ways of doing things. To a young child building blocks aren’t just for building towers, paint can be used without a paint brush – its important to let a child experiment! They learn through the senses of taste, touch, smelling, seeing and hearing and so they must be allowed to use these senses. The role of the adult is to make the time, space and resources available, and create play ideas and use the cues from the child to help develop and support extended learning and development.


Outdoor Play

The benefits of learning outside the classroom are endless. Unlike indoors there are no space constraints meaning children can jump, shout, and explore as much as they want. It is good for their health and wellbeing and helps develop their social skills, confidence, emotional resilience, independence, and cognitive development, allows them to experience risk taking as well as having a positive impact on educational attainment. Research from around the world has shown the huge benefits of playing outdoors. Not only is it fun, but if we look back on our own childhood memories many will be from outdoor play, climbing trees, days on the beach, building a den or planting a seed and watching it grow for the first time. Stepping Stones endeavours to maximise the space it has outdoors, providing both a covered outdoor play area as well as access to a secure, safe outdoor space, as well as accessing other outdoor experiences within the local area.

There is no such thing as bad weather, only bad choice of clothing!


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