According to mental health professionals, when children return to full-time education in September, schools should prioritise play and socialising over learning. After months of lockdown and with little opportunity for face to face interactions, experts say many children will be suffering from loneliness and isolation. Social play will help them overcome their loneliness and make it easier to overcome anxiety about being in an educational setting whose ‘new-normal’ seems alien. In this post, we’ll look at how the playground can be used to encourage and facilitate socialising and to support children on their transition back into education.

The value of social play

While children get plenty of opportunities to interact in the classroom, the activities they participate in and the topics of discussion are directed by the teacher. Only during free time, away from the teacher and the classroom rules, do they get the chance to engage with each other freely. This makes the playground an ideal place to facilitate and encourage social play. Doing so not only helps them readjust to life after lockdown; it aids their development, helping them acquire the valuable communication and social skills that they will depend upon throughout their lives.

Play is crucial for social and emotional development. It helps children to make friends and build relationships and it develops empathy, trust and an understanding of social norms. Indeed, play gives children the chance to learn from their mistakes: through falling out and making up, they learn how to manage emotions, resolve conflicts and develop resilience. It also provides opportunities to share their thoughts and feelings and to support one and other, something which will be crucial post-lockdown.

Communication skills are essential for social development and outdoor play provides a myriad of opportunities for verbal interaction. Interaction between children is needed to make choices about the activities they want to do and then to take part in them. They’ll need to negotiate, discuss, explain, take turns, ask and answer questions, listen and respond; learning as they do from interactions that went well and those which didn’t. It’s not just speaking and listening skills that they develop either, the playground is an ideal place to learn about non-verbal communication. They’ll discover how to read and respond to facial expressions, gestures and body language and hone their skills in using them.

Equipping your playground for social play

As all children are different, facilitating social play requires a range of playground equipment, this way you’ll be able to encourage every child to take part in activities where they can interact with others. Thankfully, there is equipment for all kinds of activity and something to suit everyone.

Social sports

Team sports are excellent for encouraging social interactions. It develops camaraderie, the sense of fair play and requires plenty of communication. Playground sports markings are the ideal way to encourage the participation of larger groups of children and with sports such as netball, football, basketball and rounders catered for, there’s something that will appeal to most children. There’s also a variety of nets, hoops, ball walls and targets that can be added to make the sports more fun.

Fun and games

Kids love playing games together and there is a multitude of equipment that will encourage them to socialise. These include fun and games playground markings for chess, hopscotch and even a mini roadway; outdoor tabletop games like snakes and ladders, Connect 4 and Ludo as well as battleship boards. There’s also table football, table tennis and skipping rope games.

Creative interactions

Another great way to get children playing together is through being creative. They can do this by drawing, chalking and painting together using a variety of outdoor drawing and chalkboards, making music with fun outdoor musical instruments, like xylophones, chimes and drainpipe drums or by singing together on a playground stage. They can also get creatively messy with a mud kitchen, sandpit or with water and sand play equipment.

Roleplay

Younger children love to get involved in roleplay activities and it is important for their social and emotional development that they get the opportunity. There is some fantastic outdoor roleplay equipment to inspire their imaginations, this includes under-over bridges, trains, storytelling chairs, shop/kiosk panels, carriages, playboats, wigwam posts, play huts and more.

Thrill-seeking play

Thrill-seeking play is excellent for getting children to interact and be sociable. It encourages them to collaborate to overcome challenges and to support each other; it gives opportunities for roleplay and discussion and lets children who have been cooped up over lockdown have a great deal of physical fun. ESP Play has a comprehensive range of climbing equipment, including Trim Trails obstacle courses, play towers, climbing walls, Tangled rope play equipment and FreeFlow modular climbing frame systems.

Conclusion

Social play has always been essential for children’s development and now, following the lockdown, it is also needed to address the isolation, loneliness and anxiety of children returning to school. If you are looking for playground equipment to provide better social play opportunities, hopefully, the ideas mentioned here will have given you some inspiration.

For more information about our products, visit our Products Page.