Implementation and assessment of play-based pedagogy in Scottish schools: FOI release

Information requested

The implementation and assessment of play-based pedagogy in Scottish schools”. You specifically requested the following information:

1. Whether risk assessments are required to be undertaken prior to implementing play based pedagogy in schools, and if so, what guidance or criteria are used.

2. Whether behavioural indicators (including exclusion rates, recorded incidents of disruptive or violent behaviour, and attendance levels) are required to be considered before a school is permitted to adopt this model. If there is a data related issue preventing a full and accurate assessment, please explain what processes or policies are followed in those cases. I am aware of one authority not holding some of this data centrally for example.

3. Whether any schools have failed to meet required thresholds or criteria for adopting play based pedagogy, and if so, which thresholds were not met and what actions were taken as a result.

4. Whether schools with high levels of Additional Support Needs (ASN) are subject to additional assessment prior to adopting play based pedagogy, and whether the suitability of this model for such schools has been formally assessed by the Scottish Government. 

5. Is there any evidence of this approach being better than traditional learning methods.

Response

Under section 17(1) of FOISA the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested.

The reason for this is that this information is not collected and held by the Scottish Government.

However, please note I have engaged with Education Scotland to provide you responses to each of your questions below. Please note this is out with the official FOI response. I have attached a word document which includes the  references for the answer to question five. As stated at the end of this response, if you have any further questions on play based pedagogy and the advice and support provided nationally, please do contact Education Scotland as necessary.

Question 1 - Whether risk assessments are required to be undertaken prior to implementing play based pedagogy in schools, and if so, what guidance or criteria are used.

There are no prescribed national requirements set by government or the national education agency Education Scotland on what assessments need to be undertaken before making decisions on the specific pedagogical approaches taken in schools.

Schools ‘have the freedom and responsibility to meet the needs of children and young people in their local communities’ (‘Building the Curriculum 3: A framework for learning and teaching’, Scottish Government, 2008). Schools are therefore responsible for determining whether, and in what ways they want to develop child-centred play pedagogy.

Schools can however, access a range of guidance and advice if and when they are considering adopting or developing play pedagogy including ‘Realising the Ambition - Being Me: National Practice Guidance for Early Years in Scotland’ (Education Scotland and the Scottish Government, 2020), the ‘Early Level Play Pedagogy Toolkit’ (Education Scotland, online) and ‘Scotland’s Curriculum for Excellence’ (online). Several Scottish local authorities also provide online support for ELC settings and schools to use child-centred play pedagogy.

While not related to child-centred play pedagogy specifically, schools are expected to take account of health and safety regulations and advice at all times. For example, this includes the use of a risk/benefit approach to outdoor learning (‘Managing Risk in Schools, Outdoor Learning and Play: a shared approach’, Learning Through  Landscapes (online) and ‘Curriculum for Excellence Through Outdoor Learning’, Learning and Teaching Scotland, 2010). More general advice on managing risk in schools is also available. For example ‘Children’s Play and Leisure’ and ‘Schools and Education’, Health and Safety Executive (online); ‘Managing Risk’, and ‘Managing Risk in Play Provision: implementation guide’, Play Scotland (online).

Question 2 - Whether behavioural indicators (including exclusion rates, recorded incidents of disruptive or violent behaviour, and attendance levels) are required to be considered before a school is permitted to adopt this model. If there is a data related issue preventing a full and accurate assessment, please explain what processes or policies are followed in those cases. I am aware of one authority not holding some of this data centrally for example

Schools, under the oversight of their local authority, are responsible for determining whether and in what ways they want to develop play pedagogy.

Similar to the response to question 1, there are no prescribed national requirements set by government or the national education agency Education Scotland on whether behavioural indicators (including exclusion rates, recorded incidents of disruptive or violent behaviour, and attendance levels) are required to be considered before a school makes a decision to develop or adopt play pedagogy.

Neither the Scottish Government nor Education Scotland have a role in permitting schools to adopt particular pedagogical approaches, including play pedagogy. However local authorities have a statutory responsibility in relation to provision of education in their local authority areas, and therefore you may wish to contact individual local authorities to ascertain if any of them require this or any other criteria to be met in order for schools in their area to develop particular pedagogical approaches.

Question 3 - Whether any schools have failed to meet required thresholds or criteria for adopting play based pedagogy, and if so, which thresholds were not met and what actions were taken as a result.

As per responses to questions 1 and 2, neither government nor the national education agency Education Scotland apply specific criteria to what schools are allowed to adopt. This is because individual schools determine the pedagogical approaches that are appropriate in their context and the needs of the children and young people attending.

As described in response to question 1, schools can access a range of guidance and advice if and when they are considering adopting or developing play pedagogy.

Local authorities have a statutory responsibility in relation to provision of education in their local authority areas, and therefore you may wish to contact individual local authorities to ascertain if they apply any particular requirements or issue their own local guidance.

Question 4 - Whether schools with high levels of Additional Support Needs (ASN) are subject to additional assessment prior to adopting play based pedagogy, and whether the suitability of this model for such schools has been formally assessed by the Scottish Government.

As per responses to questions 1, 2 and 3, the Scottish Government and the national education agency Education Scotland do not determine nor have locale over, the specific pedagogical approaches taken in individual schools. There is no specific reference to play pedagogy in Additional Support Needs legislation or ASN national guidance.

As previously stated schools can access a range of guidance and advice if and when they are considering adopting or developing play pedagogy.

Local authorities have a statutory responsibility in relation to provision of education in their local authority areas, and therefore you may wish to contact individual local authorities to ascertain if they apply any particular requirements or issue their own local guidance.

Question 5 - Is there any evidence of this approach being better than traditional learning methods.

The national guidance ‘Realising the Ambition - Being Me: National Practice Guidance for Early Years in Scotland’ (Education Scotland and the Scottish Government, 2020) promotes the use of child-centred play pedagogy in early years education. The guidance describes how, as the complexity of children’s play develops, learning should be facilitated through a cyclical process of responsive and intentional planning, which includes observations, interpretation and documentation of learning, and facilitation. This child-centred play pedagogy approach requires skilled practitioners and teachers who can use children’s play as part of the learning, teaching and assessment cycle and ensure the right balance between child-initiated, adultinitiated and adult-directed experiences.

The Scottish definition of ‘child-centred play pedagogy’ is therefore, not a single approach, but a carefully considered combination of “supported free play” together with what might be regarded as more traditional learning methods.

My colleagues at Education Scotland provided the following short summary of the available evidence base:

“The essential role of play in the learning, development and wellbeing of children in their early years is well documented. There is substantial evidence demonstrating the value of play for young children’s literacy skills (including communication and language), emotional and social development, physical and cognitive development, including numeracy and mathematical learning. (Dewey, 1910), (Vygotsky, 1978), (Whitebread et al., 2012), (Mardell et al., 2016), (Hamilton, 2019) and (Zosh at al., 2022). There is also a substantial body of evidence the role of play in promoting child health and wellbeing (Ginsberg, 2007; Parker and Thomsen, 2019; Play Wales, 2025; Sahlberg, 2020; Whitehead, 2017)

Play is also highly influential on the development of self-awareness and self-regulation (Bredikyte, 2023; Elias & Berk, 2002; Vygotsky, 1978) with children displaying higher levels of self-regulation in child-led rather than in teacher-led activities (Ebert et al, 2024 p 1004). A meta-analysis of the literature on self-regulation in childhood (Robson et. al., 2020) showed that self-regulation predicts achievement, behaviour and mental health.

Researchers also highlight the effectiveness of play on developing holistic skills, such as creativity and problem solving, and the importance of these skills both now and in the future and the need to ‘re-imagine the kinds of learning opportunities we offer to children as they grow, so they can weave their academic and holistic skills together as they develop (Zosh et al, 2022, p 19).

Allee-Herndon and Roberts (2021, p 59) also report that play can mitigate against some impacts of poverty on developing minds by reducing stress, building critical social-emotional skills, and better supporting learners from disadvantaged communities academically. Conversely, play deprivation is reported to negatively affect brain development and problem-solving skills (Pellis et al., 2014) and increase anti-social behaviour (Mardell et al., 2023).

Mardell et al., (2023) report that children who participate in play oriented early childhood classrooms show long-term academic gains and that there are links between play and the acquisition of academic skills, deepening content knowledge in the domains of mathematics, literacy, science, and computer technology. They further report that enjoyment of school in the early years leads to academic achievement in high school regardless of socio-economic status or other demographic characteristics. Research with children demonstrates that enjoyment at school is the result of play and play-related activities (Morris et al., 2021, in Mardel et al., 2023, p 40).

A literature review across creativity, play and the science of learning (Parker and Thomsen, 2019), found that playful experiences lead to deeper learning when they are joyful, actively engaging, meaningful, iterative, and socially interactive. They suggest that playful pedagogies can be more effective in fostering social, emotional, physical, cognitive and creative skills than “traditional” or more “highly guided” pedagogical approaches used in the primary school classroom.

Marbina et al. (2011) highlights that the greatest impact is achieved where children’s self‑initiated and selfdirected play is part of an approach which also includes guided and adult-directed activity. This is in line with the Scottish approach to child-centred play pedagogy promoted in ‘Realising the Ambition’ (Education Scotland and the Scottish Government, 2020).”

If you require further information you can contact Sian Neil, Senior Education Officer, Early Learning and Childcare, Education Scotland at Sian.Neil@educationscotland.gov.scot 

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at https://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.

FOI 202600507425 - Information released - Annex

File type

PDF

File size

131.5 kB