Beyond Supervision: The Critical Role of Adults in Purposeful Play
Exploring the vital role adults play in guiding children through meaningful, play-based experiences.
If you are like me and happened to stumble upon EYFS, then you are a lucky bean. EYFS is the most incredible place to work, if you have the right team with you. We have all been there when your SLT believes that your year group is just playing, or worse, babysitting. I’ve had all of the above proclaimed to me – not by my current team, though. They are actually very knowledgeable and have a lot of trust and respect for EYFS – lucky lady I am!
Those of us who understand EYFS know that it is NOT the same as working within the national curriculum. Our pedagogical approach to helping children learn and grow is completely different, and there are many who forget this or are blissfully unaware of the disparities. Sending anyone down who does not understand EYFS or is not willing to learn about it can create a recipe for disaster and make life very difficult for the lead practitioner.
More Than Just Playtime Supervision…
Those of us who are experienced know that the most important part of our day is the continuous provision time – we call it exploring and learning! We’ve purposefully given this part of our day this title because it names exactly what our children are doing… EXPLORING AND LEARNING. During this time, many adults make the mistake of thinking that this time is not useful and that all they need to do is manage behaviour. I would argue that this is untrue and a complete misconception of what and how this time should be utilised.
Observer and Enhancer
Whilst behaviour management support is a key part of ensuring that practice is purposeful and safe for your children, this is only one part of what the role of an adult is. There are actually around 14 roles that an adult plays during this time, if done well, but if you're new to this world, I tend to keep it simple and start with only two of these. You are both an observer and an enhancer.
Quite often, adults make the mistake of taking control of children’s play because they do not understand what the children are actually doing. To prevent this overstep, it is essential that professionals observe, listen, and critically unpick what is happening. What looks like learning to children is very different from an adult’s perspective. By observing, we are then in a better position to decide how to enhance the learning. Enhancing can either mean adding something to the play or even taking something away. It could even be as simple as asking a question, repeating what the children have said to support language acquisition, or supporting critical thinking. What’s important is that the adult is present and reacts in the moment – there is no point waiting until tomorrow, as the play and the child’s interest will have moved on by then.
Be the Role Model
If you are the class teacher, it is essential that you are a good role model for your supporting staff during this time period. The best way to learn is by example. Put the marking and observation-taking away and get stuck in with the kids. I promise that you will become more and more natural in your interactions, and you will be surprised at how many ways you can support individual learning and growth during these moments.