Review

A DVD and accompanying booklet for training purposes or for self-evaluation exercises. DVD clips of babies and toddlers engaged in everyday play situations in various settings.

An excellent resource for settings to use for staff meetings and in-house training sessions, or for advisors and trainers. Lesley Abbott directed the Birth to Three Matters project for the DfES, and Ann Langston was a major contributor to the framework. Both firmly believe that “when children play they also learn: provided that those who care for them interact with them with genuine warmth and affection and that they provide appropriate experiences that interest and engage them”

Playing to Learn is based around eight DVD clips featuring babies and toddlers engaged in everyday activities at various settings. The accompanying booklet is organised into study topics, each related to a film clip. Suggestions for discussions, and issues to look out for encourage the viewer to analyse the clips and reflect on their own practice. Each topic includes three extracts from a wide variety of quality sources to develop practitioners’ knowledge and understanding of how babies and toddlers develop and learn through playful experiences within secure relationships.

I wish this had been available when Birth to Three Matters was introduced! Many practitioners at that time felt isolated and unable to absorb the new framework on their own, and training was criticised for being too vague and too late. This new resource is extremely welcome, and will be entirely relevant for the EYFS.