| Summary: |
Sue is the Chair of Upstart Scotland.
Over the last few decades, evidence has been steadily growing on the importance of play in child development. Simultaneously, opportunities for children to engage in active, creative, outdoor play have declined and, in many cases, have disappeared from young children’s lives. Since we now know that this sort of ‘real play’ (especially in early childhood) is extremely important for children’s long-term physical and mental health, it is becoming a matter of urgency to find ways of reinstating it into children’s lives.
In this seminar, Sue Palmer argues that the most effective way to reinstate play at the heart of early childhood is to introduce a Nordic-style kindergarten stage for 3-7 year-olds, with particular emphasis on outdoor play. As well as the undoubted health benefits of such a culture change, the evidence suggests it would also bring educational benefits, including a narrowing of the current ‘attainment gap’ between rich and poor. |
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