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PLAY & EXPLORATION

At Brookside we believe ‘play is the work of childhood’. Play should not be viewed as a ‘relief from serious learning’ (Jean Piaget 1962). We recognise play and exploration as essential to children’s learning and development.  Play offers opportunity to gain and embed new skills, develop understanding and demonstrate competencies.  ‘How’ children learn comes before ‘what’ children learn, this means we value the process of learning over the end result.

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At pre-school, a large proportion of our day offers opportunities for free play.  Through our purposful interactions and planning, practitioners support children to develop the characteristics of effective learning within the EYFS.  This support not only helps children to learn now, it lays the foundations for a positive learning attitude for their future.    

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Brookside supports the theory of Schemas which is described as “a pattern of repeated clusters of actions . Clusters of schemas develop into later concepts” (Athey 2007) Children use schemas to guide them in their questioning, predicting, imagining, and speculating as they encounter new challenges, experiences, resources and materials.  We support schemas by setting up an enabling environment which supports different types of schema and the revisiting of play opportunities.

Play is not only an integral part of childrens learning and development, it contributes to childrens overall wellbeing.  We believe ‘children should be allowed to be children!’ Early childhood is such a special time in a persons life, there must be opportunities for fun, freedom, friendship and cherished memories to be made.

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