Transforming learning with play
What is Continuous Provision?
Continuous provision refers to carefully planned resources that are available to children every day and all year round – hence the term ‘continuous’. Areas of provision must be carefully planned to meet the age and stage of the children in the class.
Common provision areas include:
- sand and water
- construction
- junk modelling
- wood workshop
- maths, reading
- writing, small world and
- role-play.
While the resourcing of your continuous provision should be purposeful and carefully considered so that it challenges pupils, the play itself should be child-led and free from specific objectives. This allows pupils to build skills in problem solving, creativity, independence and resilience, while feeling ownership over their play and projects.
What is Enhanced Provision?
The Role of Play-Based Learning in Education
Play is a cornerstone of effective teaching in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework in England. The Education Endowment Foundation(EEF) highlights that learning through play can have a positive impact on cognitive development, particularly for disadvantaged pupils. By fostering creativity, problem-solving and collaboration, play helps children build the foundations for lifelong learning.
The Early Excellence Centre a leading organisation supporting continuous provision and learning through play, emphasises that play-based learning creates rich opportunities for exploration and sustained shared thinking – key predictors of educational success.
The theories of Lev Vygotskyalso support the importance of play, particularly in the context of social interaction and language development. Vygotsky argued that play provides a critical platform for children to work within their Zone of Proximal Development, where they can achieve more with the support of peers and adults than they could independently.
The Evidence: Why Continuous Provision and Play-Based Learning Work
1. Cognitive Development
The EEF’s Early Years Toolkit identifies self-regulation and metacognition as crucial for school readiness. Play-based environments support these skills by giving children the freedom to explore and solve problems independently. Research by Siraj-Blatchford et al. (2002) found that environments promoting sustained shared thinking, evident as part of good-quality play, are linked to improved cognitive outcomes. In order to support this, teachers must be present in the play, or observing the play, in order to scaffold learning and provide a language-rich environment, rather than engaged in group work with other children.
2. Biological Development
We are hard-wired to learn through play, as our ancestors have been doing for thousands of years. Children of all ages (and adults too) learn much through their hands and playful interactions alone or with peers. Roessingh and Bence (2018) state that hands are the primary channel through which the young brain tunes into the world. They argue that children cannot bypass or shortcut evolutionary development.
Research conducted by The LEGO Foundation states that “Children are natural scientists – they come into the world ready to experiment and learn through play. And they use what they discover to not only adapt the structure of their brains, but also strengthen the skills they need to continue being engaged, flexible learners for their whole lives.”
3. Language and Literacy
Play enhances language development through social interactions, role-play and storytelling. The EPPE Project (Effective Provision of Pre-School Education), a large-scale UK study, demonstrated that high-quality early years settings significantly enhance pupils’ communication and literacy skills, while increasing their confidence.
4. Social and Emotional Skills
Play and high-quality continuous provision allow children to practise collaboration, negotiation and conflict resolution. These social-emotional skills are essential for success in both education and life. The EEF notes that approaches integrating social and emotional learning can improve academic performance and behaviour.
5. Deeper Engagement and Independent Thinking
The EEF’s research into active learning and pupil-led enquiry highlights that play encourages sustained engagement, promoting critical thinking and problem-solving. This aligns with findings from **Early Excellence**, which show that pupils who engage in continuous provision exhibit greater independence and deeper levels of learning.
6. Mathematics and Problem-Solving
Open-ended resources, such as blocks and counters, support the development of mathematical reasoning and spatial awareness. The EEF reports that high-quality early years maths activities can significantly improve pupils’ number skills and readiness for Key Stage 1.
Supporting Progress in Maths
Continuous provision creates opportunities for children to engage with maths in meaningful and enjoyable ways. Open-ended materials like building blocks, shapes and counters allow pupils to explore concepts such as symmetry, measurement and spatial reasoning through hands-on activities. The time they are given to explore these freely results in concepts becoming embedded and to a greater depth than through traditional teaching methods.
The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) highlights that embedding maths within play contexts enhances understanding and retention. For example, role-play areas can include tills and play money, encouraging pupils to practise addition and subtraction. Sand and water play support concepts of volume and capacity, while puzzles and pattern-making build early problem-solving skills.
Research by Ramani and Siegler (2008) found that playful number games improved numerical understanding, particularly for children from disadvantaged backgrounds. Continuous provision ensures that maths is not isolated to adult-led sessions but becomes a natural part of everyday exploration.
Enhancing Literacy Through Play
Play is an effective tool for fostering literacy skills. Role-play areas, for instance, provide opportunities for pupils to develop storytelling, vocabulary, and communication. By creating a ‘post office’ or ‘doctor’s surgery’ (although these must be related to children’s interests), pupils are encouraged to read, write and engage in meaningful conversations. Having a wood workshop or junk modelling area is another catalyst for fantastic conversation, as children will often tell stories around the models they create.
The EPPE Project found that high-quality early years environments that integrate play, significantly improve literacy outcomes. Continuous provision can include activities like letter recognition games, mark-making with sensory materials, or storytelling prompts in small-world play.
Further to this, the EEF’s research shows that embedding phonics within playful contexts supports the development of early reading skills. For example, treasure hunts with phoneme clues or sound-matching games engage pupils in a way that formal instruction alone cannot. These activities not only build foundational literacy but also instil a love of reading and writing. High-levels of phonemic awareness are also achieved through free play, as children learn to improve their ability to distinguish between sounds, experiment with rhyme, rhythm and word play.
Aligning with the National Curriculum
Continuous provision complements the National Curriculum by embedding key skills into purposeful activities. For example:
- Science: Pupils explore natural phenomena through hands-on investigation.
- Maths: Manipulatives and construction areas reinforce spatial reasoning and problem-solving.
- English: Role-play and storytelling inspire creativity and develop communication skills.
By integrating continuous provision throughout Key Stage 1 and beyond, schools can ensure pupils meet curriculum objectives while enjoying meaningful, engaging experiences that will result in higher levels of progress and understanding, notwithstanding better wellbeing and emotional security.
Addressing Common Concerns
1. Will a play-based approach hinder progression?
The EEF highlights that play-based approaches do not compromise academic attainment. In fact, they enhance progress by embedding learning in memorable, real-world contexts. Research by Marcon (2002) supports this, showing that pupils in play-based settings often outperform those in more traditional models.
2. Is play suitable for Key Stage 1?
Although often associated with EYFS, continuous provision can and should be integrated into Key Stage 1. Early Excellence advocates for extending play-based approaches into Years 1 and 2 to support the eventual transition to more formal learning, ensuring progression and continuity.
3. How does play promote progression?
Children make better progress when they have high levels of involvement (Laevers & Heylen, 2003) . When at play and engaging in child-led pursuits, children will naturally be more invested and involved than when taking part in pre-planned lessons or activities.. Teachers can guide pupils and scaffold learning, introducing new vocabulary and challenges that encourage deeper thinking and help consolidate understanding.
Practical Steps for Implementing a Play-based Approach
To adopt continuous provision effectively:
- Take an audit of what you already have and plan purposeful areas of provision and consider how these fit within your classroom space (both indoors and outdoors).
- Provide high-quality resources: Use open-ended resources and loose parts to inspire creativity and critical thinking. Think about how these can be differentiated to aid progress e.g., measuring jugs with units rather than cups or scoops.
- Train staff: Ensure teachers and teaching assistants understand how to observe, interact, and extend learning within a play-based framework.
- Support parents so that they understand why you are following this approach and how it will benefit their child.
- Monitor progress: Use formative observations and assessments to track how continuous provision supports curriculum goals.
Conclusion
Continuous provision and play-based learning are evidence-based practices that significantly enhance educational outcomes. Grounded in research by educational psychologists and the EEF, Early Excellence, and other leading organisations, these approaches empower pupils to develop independence, resilience and a love of learning. For teachers seeking to provide a foundation for lifelong success, adopting these strategies is a forward-thinking and impactful choice that will pay dividends not just in academic progress but in children’s wellbeing, resilience and life chances.
Get Help Implementing a Play-based Approach in Your School
We are specialists in play-based learning and continuous provision training.
Our mission is to share our passion for play-based learning and its benefits for children in EYFS and KS1. We believe hands-on, child-led experiences and continuous provision are key to helping children build confidence, creativity, and essential skills. Our training focuses on giving teachers practical ideas and strategies to create engaging, play-focused environments where young learners can thrive.
"High-quality professional development that improves teachers’ knowledge, practice and confidence can have a positive impact on pupils’ outcomes. Teachers also feel more satisfied in their roles and are more likely to stay in their jobs when they regularly access high-quality training. Given current recruitment and retention issues and the short- and long-term consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is more important than ever that teachers have access to high-quality professional development."
What do we provide?
We offer high-quality training designed to help EYFS and KS1 teachers embed play-based learning into their practice. Our services include:
- Bespoke training tailored to meet the unique needs of your school or setting
- Practical strategies and room planning assistance for creating effective continuous provision and hands-on learning opportunities
- Expert guidance on planning and delivering engaging, child-led activities
- Resources and support to help you implement play-based approaches with confidence
Whether you’re looking to enhance your current provision or take a fresh approach, we provide the tools and expertise to help your pupils thrive.
Play-based Learning and Continuous Provision INSET Training
We have a team of subject-specialists ready to deliver training in your school – either in-person or online – to suit your needs. Pricing starts from £400 per half a day.
INSET training topics include:
- Making Effective Observations in the Early Years
- Extending Continuous Provision into Year 1
- Providing Evidence for Inspections in a Child-led Environment
- Moving Away from Forward Planning – How to Transition to a Child-led Classroom
- Maths Mastery in your Early Years Setting
- Developing Language through Play
- How to Implement Phase 1 Phonics into Your EYFS Setting
- Understanding Phonics, from Phonemes to Schwas.
- Harnessing Mud Kitchen Play to Enhance Wellbeing and Improve Outcomes
We offer bespoke continuous professional development according to your school’s priorities. Get in touch to find out more via the form below.
References
- Education Endowment Foundation (EEF). (2018). Early Years Toolkit.
- Early Excellence Centre. (2021). Continuous Provision Guidance.
- Laevers, F. & Heylen, L. (2003) Involvement of Children and Teacher Style: Insights from an international study on experiential education
- Liu, C., Lynneth Solis, S., et al. (2017) Neuroscience and learning through play: A review of the evidence [The LEGO Foundation]
- Marcon, R. A. (2002). Moving up the grades: Relationship between preschool model and later school success.
- Ramani, G. B., & Siegler, R. S. (2008). Promoting Broad and Stable Improvements in Low-Income Children’s Numerical Knowledge Through Playing Number Board Games.
- Siraj-Blatchford, I., Sylva, K., et al. (2002). Effective Pedagogy in the Early Years Project (EPPE).
- Whitebread, D., et al. (2012). The Importance of Play. Toy Industries of Europe.
