Play and Learning in Children's Education

In this assignment I will be looking at three different topics. These will be; the importance of play and learning, the importance of observation and assessment, and the importance of planning. Throughout these three different topics I will be further discussing other outcomes such as theoretical perspectives; assessments of children through observations; planning and the many different approaches to it; and how they all link into each other throughout it all.

The Importance of Play and Learning.
A current influence on play is ‘Forest Schools’. Initially, the Forest School projects originate from their own environmental grounds/playing fields, only where this is appropriate, allowing the children to get used to and become comfortable with an outdoor approach to their education and play whilst they are in familiar surroundings. When the children and practitioners/staff are ready, they plan and familiarise themselves with the route to the environment which they will be learning. This initiative shows that children can learn from the environments around them, as long as the projects come from the child’s own thoughts and ideas. This has influenced settings by changing the way that the children are educated and how they play. This initiative contributes to an enabling environment by letting the children learn in the way that they feel most comfortable. As the children’s learning commences outside it is easier for all of the learning outcomes from the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) to be met. One specific learning outcome is ‘Knowledge and Understanding of the World’. This then branches off to separate outcomes such as ‘People and Communities’. This developmental outcome will come naturally easier to the children as they will have a chance to be aware of what is going on around them, new people, and also the environment and how it grows and changes just in the same way as humans. This also affects the planning as the school will be unable to follow another...