Talking Early Years: In conversation with Greg Bottrill

Are children deprived of the opportunity to play?…

…is not a new question, but one that continues to be tackled on many levels. Greg Bottrill’s book ‘Can I Go and Play Now?’ remains a catalyst for the conversation and highlights the importance of adults as loving companions, advocating for children’s right to a childhood.

The government has big plans to get two-year-olds into schools and in their hurry to hit their policy target, they are drowning out the voices of the Early Years. They argue that going to school is the best place for children, but where is that evidence? We suspect it is more an economic and political decision than one grounded in the rights of the child and it is both frustrating and fury inducing in equal measure!

Play is in the DNA of children and should be a driving force throughout a child’s educational experience. We reflect how the play world has been squeezed into smaller and smaller spaces, and children seem very silent. The overuse of screens is beginning to rewire the child’s brain in a certain way, providing immediate gratification; an instant dopamine knowledge rush before they quickly become disconnected. Greg has also seen two-year-olds swiping books and trying to tap things to work. He wonders if lack of play is directly related to poor resilience and immature self-regulation.

Greg talks about his fascinating action research project called The Quest, exploring who children are when they play in partnership with up to 900 teachers. 9 categories of children in the play moment are emerging:

1. Dreamers

2. Map makers

3. Architects

4. Explorers

5. Discoverers

6. Inventors

7. Hunters

8. Collectors

9. Melody makers

He also wants to understand how men and women play differently and how young staff brought up with technology play – he wants to help them examine their inner ‘wonder child’. He is concerned that children are more at risk from a generation of play-starved adults coming to work in Early Years settings and schools, then getting sucked into the school readiness and neo liberal agenda.

If this whets you appetite for more debate, listen to Greg!