The Government’s Initial Response: Why Play Still Isn’t Being Taken Seriously
When the Play is Learning petition passed 10,000 signatures, the Government was required to respond. For thousands of parents, educators and professionals who had signed to make play and continuous provision statutory in England’s Key Stage 1 curriculum, this felt like a key moment: would decision-makers finally recognise that play is not a “nice extra”, but the way young children actually learn?
Sadly, the response fell far short of what children, families and teachers need.
Here is what the Department for Education said:
"The Department is working to make sure that all children and young people have access to a variety of enrichment opportunities at school, as an important part of our mission to break down barriers to opportunity. For some schools, these opportunities may be used to encourage children and young people to play.
We recognise that play is critical to children’s wellbeing and development, as highlighted in the Centre for Young Lives’ Everything to Play For report. This is reflected in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) statutory framework, which is clear that play is essential for children’s learning and development. The EYFS emphasises the importance of creating opportunities for indoor and outdoor play, and enabling environments and cultures for high-quality play.
Our expectation is for schools to organise the school day and school week in the best interests of their pupil cohort, to both provide them with a full time education suitable to their age, aptitude and ability, and to provide opportunities for schools to incorporate time for play and other activities.
We recognise the current key stage 1 curriculum requires reform. This is why the Government established an independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, to look into issues, such as this, and make recommendations to improve the curriculum for children. The Review Group is currently looking across the existing national curriculum and statutory assessment system, to ensure they meet the needs of young people in your area and across England.
The Review’s final report and recommendations will be published in autumn, at which point the Government will be in a position to consider any changes to the curriculum. The Government will consult with education experts, teachers, and parents to ensure the very best for children in England."
Department for Education
On the surface, it sounds positive: an acknowledgment that play matters, a nod to the Early Years Foundation Stage, and a promise that a review is underway. But when you look more closely, it misses the heart of what the petition is asking for.
Play is not “enrichment”, it is education
The response repeatedly frames play as an “enrichment opportunity” or something that might be slotted into breaks, clubs or occasional activities. But the Play is Learning campaign is clear: play is not a reward after the “real work” is done. It is the real work of early childhood.
Research from the UN, UNICEF and UNESCO recognises play as a fundamental right and a critical foundation for learning, wellbeing and equity. Particularly up to at least age eight, which covers the whole of Key Stage 1
Treating play as optional enrichment ignores this evidence and keeps it vulnerable to being squeezed out whenever test pressure or staffing pressures rise.
England is being left behind
Another key point missing from the Government’s response is how far England is lagging behind our neighbours. In Wales, the Curriculum for Wales makes play-based learning a statutory part of the curriculum in the early years and lower primary. In Scotland, the Curriculum for Excellence embeds play-based approaches in the early level, and guidance explicitly supports play-based learning into Primary 1 and 2.
England is now the only UK nation where play-based pedagogy is not statutory in early primary. That means English five, six and seven year-olds are more likely to be pushed into formal, desk-based learning before they are developmentally ready, placing them at a disadvantage compared to their peers elsewhere in the UK.
The system is failing too many children
The Government’s response does acknowledge that the Key Stage 1 curriculum “requires reform”, but it stops short of recognising the scale and urgency of the problem.
Right now:
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Only around 62% of pupils reach the expected standard in Key Stage 2 reading, writing and maths, meaning nearly 4 in 10 children are not meeting those benchmarks.
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An estimated 15.2% of 7–10-year-olds have a probable mental health condition, according to NHS data.
Decades of research show that play-based learning supports language, literacy, maths, problem-solving, self-regulation and social skills, while also protecting children’s mental health and wellbeing.
Yet, over the past 25 years, schools have reduced playtime, shortened breaks and shifted towards earlier testing and more formal instruction. It’s no surprise that we see growing stress, anxiety and disengagement among young learners.
If 40% of children are not thriving in this system, it is not the children who are failing the system, it is the system failing the children.
“We’ll review it later” is not enough
The Curriculum and Assessment Review is presented as the main solution. Of course, careful review matters. But children in Key Stage 1 need change now, not at some vague point after yet another report is published and pondered over.
Crucially, the petition does not ask for a minor tweak or another round of guidance that schools may or may not follow. It calls for play and continuous provision to be made statutory in Key Stage 1 - a clear requirement that protects children’s right to learn in ways that match their development, not just the expectations of an accountability system.
Where we go from here
The Government’s first response may not have hit the mark, but it has done one important thing: it shows that ministers are having to talk about play, curriculum and children’s wellbeing in public. The more we keep this conversation going, the harder it becomes to dismiss play as a “nice extra” or something that belongs only in nursery and reception.
Parents, educators and campaigners are continuing to:
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Share the evidence that play-based learning boosts both attainment and wellbeing.
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Highlight that England is out of step with the rest of the UK.
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Call for statutory protection of play in Key Stage 1, so that it cannot simply be squeezed out by test preparation or budget cuts.
The Government’s words recognise that play matters. The next step is to ensure that this belief is reflected in law, in curriculum, and in every Year 1 and Year 2 classroom across England. Until that happens, we will keep saying it clearly: play is not an optional extra, play is learning.
Addressing Government Misconceptions
Recent government responses have suggested that play “belongs in break times or enrichment,” rather than in lessons. This is a misconception. Play is not just recreation. It is a recognised pedagogical approach, backed by decades of research and already embedded in the Early Years Foundation Stage. This highlights a misunderstanding that there are many types of play, teacher roles and methods of implementation that go far beyond unstructured free play. Importantly, play-based pedagogy is already statutory in Wales and Scotland.
· In Wales, the Curriculum for Wales 2022 makes play a statutory part of learning, with a strong emphasis on child-led exploration in the early years and lower primary.
· In Scotland, the Curriculum for Excellence embeds play-based learning in the early level, which includes the first years of primary school. The Scottish Government has also issued clear guidance for schools to extend play-based approaches into Primary 1 and 2.
England is now falling behind the other nations. This creates inconsistency and disadvantages English children compared to their peers elsewhere in the UK.
Treating play as “break time” inevitably reduces provision, as schools under pressure to raise test scores push play aside in favour of formal instruction. In fact, many authors have documented a decline in play-based approaches in the UK (and US) in recent decades (Jarvis 2009; Stokes 2019; Bassok et al., 2016). This reduction has coincided with an increase in stress, behavioural issues, and disengagement among young learners.
If we want to give children the best possible start in life, we must not relegate play to the playground. We must recognise it as a core pedagogy in the early years of school, as our neighbours in Wales and Scotland already do.