Creating Excellence In Primary School Playtimes

School playtimes account for 20% of a child's school life, but how can schools ensure that this time is as beneficial as possible for primary school pupils? Emphasising the importance of play in child development, this book identifies the key challenges facing schools during break times and sets out a complete strategy for effectively managing playtimes that are fun-filled and offer children greater long-term benefits. With before and after case studies showing how school playtimes have been transformed through the author's OPAL Primary Programme, this book demonstrates how to improve common issues such as behaviour, staffing, space and facilities in a sustainable way that capitalises on investments in equipment and training. Promoting wellbeing and healthy child development, this book provides inspiring reading for primary school staff and play workers, and creative ideas and ready-to-use solutions that will help schools to meet Ofsted criteria for excellent play.

This highly accessible and much-needed resource sets out practical advice on positive behaviour management in primary schools, exploring how to support children effectively with their personal, social and emotional development. With an emphasis on implementable strategies, this book will give primary school teachers and staff an understanding as to why children may behave as they do, and what steps can be taken by the school to support a child's development. Considering a variety of factors that influence positive behaviour, such as environment, mental health, parents, and the importance of planning, this book is full of ideas that can be dipped in and out of for support in the classroom. Bite-sized and practical, this is a perfect book for busy teachers.

Foreword by Dr Andy Daly-Smith. We already know that increased physical activity and a reduction in the sedentary time spent sitting at desks have wide-ranging benefits (including to brain function), so what if there were also evidence that using movement in the learning process improves outcomes for children? What if we could then map out ways to support teachers in adapting their practice to make this a reality? In How to Move & Learn Bryn Llewellyn, Ian Holmes and Richard Allman do just that - sharing the latest research from around the world and providing teachers with the means and motivation to identify opportunities to integrate movement purposefully into the teaching and learning process. The links between health and education are paramount, and this book explores these connections and presents a wealth of ideas, activities and resources to help teachers unlock the potential of the school and outdoor environments for learning across all curriculum subjects. Suitable for all primary school teachers and leaders.

101 Playground Games is a collection of active and engaging school playground games that will encourage active learning and social development among children at playtime, this second edition has been updated to include a wealth of new games from around the world. The school playground plays a crucial role in developing all aspects of children’s behaviour and interpersonal learning, and yet there is a growing awareness that children today do not play in the same sociable ways as previous generations. Encouraging children to play games can be hugely beneficial not only for their physical health but also for their social, emotional and mental health. This brilliant resource includes a practical toolkit of photocopiable and downloadable materials along with clear instructions for adults on how to organise a range of different types of games, including: • traditional games • chasing and catching games • singing and dancing games • skipping games and rhymes • parachute games • quiet games • co-operative games Ideal for teachers, lunchtime supervisors, breakfast and after school club leaders as well as group leaders for organisations such as scouts or guides to promote lively and enjoyable games, this book is particularly suited to children aged 5–11 years but can easily be adapted for older children. 101 Playground Games is a book that will make any playtime a richer experience for all.

Full of practical guidance and easy-to-implement strategies on how to provoke learning and creativity in early years settings, allowing children to freely explore their environment and develop their ability to critically think.

Play is critical to children’s well-being and development. All students should have access to and adequate time for positive play experiences every day. Learning and Connecting in School Playgrounds invites parents, teachers, principals and education administrators to take another look at their school playgrounds as spaces crucial to learning, well-being and development. This book combines research findings, commentary and the authors’ personal experiences and observations together with the views of teachers, principals, parents and students related to play and play spaces. Key content includes consideration of the role of adults in the school playground, the influence of technology on play, the challenges experienced by children transitioning to new school environments and consideration of strategies to support students’ access and participation in the playground. Cases are presented to illustrate the use of an audit tool to enhance school playgrounds. The future of school playgrounds is also considered through the reported hopes and dreams of adults and students and a range of recommendations are made for the review and development of schools’ outdoor play spaces. Learning and Connecting in School Playgrounds is written with a sense of urgency, calling for the recognition of positive play experiences as invaluable to children’s education. It includes important and challenging insights to inform and guide decision-making and will be an essential resource for all stakeholders who share responsibility for children’s participation and learning during school break-times.

This accessible and much-needed resource sets out advice on how to develop character and encourage wellbeing in pupils aged 5-11. Schools are increasingly aware of how beneficial positive character skills can be, but resources on how to develop them are scarce. This book gives teachers the means to promote gratitude, positive emotions, character strengths, and positive relationships through 100+ easy-to-implement activities such as student diaries, classroom displays and letter writing campaigns. It also includes tools and strategies that go beyond the classroom, helping to embed character education into the culture and ethos of the entire school. Each chapter will include a short introduction to the relevant theoretical background, and all activities are based on validated character education and positive psychology interventions. Bite-sized and practical, and full of ideas that can be dipped in and out of in the classroom, this is an ideal book for busy teachers.

Viewing children as 'experts in their own lives', the Mosaic approach offers a creative framework for understanding young children's perspectives through talking, walking, making and reviewing material with an adult. This book demonstrates how children's views and experiences can stay in focus in early childhood provision. The multi-method approach brings together digital tools with interviewing and observation to enable adults to review current practice and implement change with children. Combining the authors' successful books Listening to Young Children and Spaces to Play into an expanded and fully updated third edition, this book builds on the authors' original ground-breaking work by commenting on the development and adaptation of the Mosaic approach, along with case studies of the Mosaic approach in action in four countries: England, Denmark, Norway and Australia. Alongside guidance on using and adapting the framework with young children, older children and adults, there is new material on the ethical and methodological issues involved.