About Active Play in Early Years

The Active Play in Early Years project provides training to support the increase of active play opportunities within early years settings.

The programme has developed an evidence base, which demonstrates the need to embed physically active play in Children's Centre services, as well as a training package, designed to enhance knowledge, skills and attitudes in relation to the benefits and delivery of active play.
 

About the training

The training has been successfully piloted with early years practitioners, Children's Centre management, parents and carers in three Children's Centres in the North East region and is currently being rolled-out nationwide.

We can now offer a tried and tested training package, in the form of an inspiring one day (six hour) workshop for all those working or caring for children under five years of age. By the end of the day, participants will have achieved a number of objectives and learning outcomes. Through a range of theoretical and practical exercises, they will be able to:

- Provide more and better physically active play opportunities for children in
  their care
- Understand and recognise the benefits and importance of play and
  physically active play
- Understand the consequences of active play deprivation
- Explore and overcome the barriers to providing active play opportunities
- Assess the play environment of the children in their care
- Develop practical ideas for how to play in more active ways with the children
  in their care. 

 

Play England is represented on the National Advisory Group for Physical Activity in Early Years. The recommendations of this group formed the basis of the guidance for children in the early years in the report Start Active, Stay Active, by the UK's four Chief Medical Officers.