Play
Intent
The Play curriculum is developed around The Play Project.
Play is established in various ways across the school and is a particular focus in our Communication and First Steps pathways. In our Connecting with the Social World classes they work on play through messy and exploratory play (social world), in our early Connecting with Learning classes they work on play through communication and engagement and in our First Steps pathway they focus on learning through play. Across the rest of the school the main focus is turn-taking and social aspects of play. We are working to develop all aspects of play across the school to allow it to work together seamlessly (basic and structure).
We believe that all children can benefit from play across the whole of the school.
Why is it important that children have access to a Play curriculum?
It allows children to learn about the social world through play (exploring, communication, etc.)
It allows progression in communication skills.
It is the foundation and basis for learning – play provides the skills needed for life long learning and understanding of the world around them.
Implementation
Our children will have opportunities to explore play in multiple contexts and environments to generalise their play skills. The children will be exposed and encouraged to move through the stages of play by engaging in messy play, turn taking games, imaginative play and social engagement.
At Hawthorns we follow ‘The Play Project’ framework focusing on developing a child’s play skills in each of the functional developmental levels (FDLs 1-6); this ranges from early interaction to imaginative play.
The play framework links to different skills used in various elements of the curriculum across each pathway; early sensory exploration, social interactions, or working together.
The Play Project Functional Development Levels:
FDL 1 ‐ Self‐Regulation & Shared Attention:
This level is characterized by the child's ability to enter and sustain a state of shared attention with another person, while remaining focused, organized, and calm. These skills are first learned between birth and 3 months.
The 7 goals within this stage range from sustaining attention with a special adult in sensorimotor interactive play to sustaining shared attention independently across contexts.
FDL 2 ‐ Engagement and Relating:
This level is characterized by the child's ability to form relationships and attachment and to engage another person with warmth and pleasure. Engagement is sometimes referred to as intimacy or the ability to bond with and relate to others. This skill is first learned between 2 and 7 months.
The 8 goals within this stage range from forming relationships with special adults through pleasurable and enjoyable interactions to sustaining engagement within a group interaction.
FDL 3 ‐ Engagement and Relating:
This level is characterized by the child's ability to participate in back-and-forth affective signalling and communication to convey intentions, interests and needs. These skills are first learned between 3 and 10 months.
The 11 goals within this stage range from interacting in a back‐and‐forth rhythm in animated exchanges using facial expressions, sounds, and other gestures to sustaining purposeful interactions within group interactions.
FDL 4 ‐ Social Problem‐Solving, Mood Regulation, & Formation of Sense of Self:
This level is characterized by the child's ability to use complex circles of communication by stringing together a series of gestures, actions and words into an elaborate problem-solving sequence of interactions which helps child develop a sense of self. These skills are first learned between 9 and 18 months.
The 3 goals within this stage range from expressing communicative intent through gestures or words to get what they want to they will sequence (motor plan) in order to execute a desire; for example, in order to play with Dad, who is reading the paper on the couch, the child will climb up, bounce on Dad, and pull him onto the floor to play.
FDL 5 ‐ Creating Symbols and Using Words and Ideas:
This level is characterized by the child's ability to create ideas (symbols) observed in pretend play and words (phrases and sentences) to convey some emotional intention These skills begin between 24 and 30 months.
The 13 goals within this stage range from initiating the use of realistic ideas in interactive imaginative play, such as by hugging the dolls to expanding ideas to include a wide range of themes and feelings.
FDL 6 ‐ Emotional Thinking, Logic, and a Sense of Reality:
This level is characterized by the child's ability to build logical bridges or make connections between different emotional ideas. Reflection and the ability to understand another person's perspective also begin to emerge during this level. You may also notice children creating their own games, rules, and possibly toys. These skills begin between 36 and 48 months.
The 21 goals within this stage range from closing all symbolic circles in both pretend play and reality‐based dialogues to recognising strengths and weaknesses in self and others.
Impact
Children across the school will have lots of learning through their development of play.
Children will explore a wide range of experiences to develop new ideas, skills to interact with others and show creativity through their play. Children will develop their social skills to engage with others and develop an understanding of social cues to promote turn taking.
