Article 31 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child states that ‘A child has the right to rest and leisure, to engage in play and recreational activities appropriate to the age of the child and to participate freely in cultural life and the arts.

At Crawford’s Primary School, we recognise that play is an integral part of a happy and healthy childhood. 

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Our playground may look a little different to a lot of schools (and a bit messy!) but everything we offer is considered so that the children - of all ages - have a rich choice of accessible play experiences.

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Children do not stop needing play at the end of reception.  Children need play for health, happiness, well-being and learning. It creates children who are independent, confident, imaginative, adaptable, social and able to assess risks.

 

These skills link closely to our Crawford’s Cog Learning Behaviours: ‘Kind Communicators’, ‘Resilient’, ‘Courageous’, ‘Inquisitive’, ‘Aspirational’, and ‘Reflective’, which were developed to encourage and teach essential life skills across the whole school day.

 

Better-quality play leads to happier children and happier staff. With better-quality play opportunities, there are fewer behaviour problems, a more positive attitude to school and improved skills development and learning. As the children improve their quality of play and have more enriching play times, there are fewer accidents and classroom learning is enhanced as the children come in from play happy and ready to learn.

 

Our children have access to a wide range of materials, which they can use in their play. These include tyres, crates, wood, fabric, mud, wheeled toys and much more. Through regular play assemblies, they are taught about dynamic risk assessments and playing co-operatively with others.

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We follow advice from the Health and Safety Executive, who supports active play in schools: