InformationSheet_MTOP-Practices – Play, leisure and intentionality

Play, leisure and intentionality MY TIME, OUR PLACE — Framework for School Age Care in Australia – V2.0, 2022 | 1 Information sheet MY TIME, OUR PLACE When children and young people interact with others, they create social groups, test out ideas, challenge each other’s thinking and build new understandings. Play provides both, a context (a place or space) and a process (ways of being and learning), where children and young people can ask questions, solve problems, engage in critical thinking and create relationships and friendships. Educators are intentional in all aspects of the curriculum and act deliberately, thoughtfully and purposefully to support children and young person’s learning through play and leisure. This information sheet highlights the changes to the My Time, Our Place: Framework for School Age Care in Australia V2.0, 2022 (MTOP V2.0) Practice, Play, leisure and intentionality, it provides you with reflective questions as you consider your practice, service philosophy and program in relation to this practice. Links to the National Quality Standard (NQS) The NQS recognises the potential of the educational program and practices to enhance each child’s learning and development. The MTOP V2.0 Principle, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives is reflected in several quality areas of the NQS, with a particular focus in: QA1 : Educational program and practice Standard 1.2 : Practice – Educators facilitate and extend each child’s learning and development. QA2 : Children’s health and safety Standard 2.1: Health – Each child’s health and physical activity is supported and promoted QA3 : Physical environment Standard 3.2: Use – The service environment is inclusive, promotes competence and supports exploration and play-based learning. Element 3.2.1 : Inclusive environment – Outdoor and indoor spaces are organised and adapted to support every child's participation and to engage every child in quality experiences in both built and natural environments. Element 3.2.2 : Resources support play-based learning – Resources, materials and equipment allow for multiple uses, are sufficient in number, and enable every child to engage in play-based learning. QA5 : Relationships with children Element 5.2.1: Collaborative learning – Children are supported to collaborate, learn from and help each other. QA7 : Governance and Leadership Element 7.1.1 : Service philosophy and purpose – A statement of philosophy guides all aspects of the service’s operations.

2 Information sheet | Last updated June 2023 © 2023 Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority What is the change? • The Practice has been renamed Play , leisure and intentionality. Intentionality has been described in play and leisure. • The practices of Learning through play and Intentionality have been combined to strengthen the connection between play, leisure and intentionality, promoting reflection on educator and child or young person’s intentionality. • Examples of educators acting with intentionality in play and leisure expanded including the integration of popular culture, media and digital technologies adding to children and young people’s multimodal play. • The idea of multimodal play and the integration of popular culture, media and digital technologies has been described. • The practices of Learning through play and leisure, and Intentionality have been combined to strengthen the connection intentionality of opportunities for play and active and passive leisure. Rationale for the change • Renaming the practice from Learning through play to Play, leisure and intentionality and combining the practices of Learning through play and leisure and Intentionality reflects contemporary understandings of both child, young person and educator intentionality and their roles in play and leisure. Intentionality is described for both adult and child or young person. • The updated practice clarifies the expectation that educators are intentional in all aspects of their professional practice. The description of play and leisure as pedagogical approaches and practices has been added in ways to create a shared understanding amongst educators. • The updated practice draws on contemporary research to outline the intentional role of the educator with strategies they may use to engage, support and expand children’s participation in play and passive and active leisure experiences. What will this change look like in practice? • Educators are deliberate, purposeful, thoughtful and intentional in the responsibilities and roles they take in children and young people’s play and leisure and use a range of strategies to enrich wellbeing, learning and development. • Educators actively support the inclusion of all children and young people in play and leisure activities. • Educators listen with intent to the conversations of children and young people and use strategies such as modelling and demonstrating, open questioning, speculating, explaining, engaging in shared thinking and problem solving to extend children and young people’s enjoyment in play, thinking and learning. • Children and young people are helped to recognise when play is unfair and work in partnership with educators to build a caring, fair and inclusive community. • Educators also recognise spontaneous ‘learning opportunities’ that occur during play and leisure and use them to build on children and young people’s experiences. • Educators recognise that learning occurs in social contexts and that interactions, conversations and shared sustained thinking are vitally important for learning. What might this look like for school age children? • Children and young peoples’ right to play and leisure are key elements of the service philosophy. • Educators believe leisure is intrinsically valuable and does not have to be productive. • Children and young people have a right to both passive and active leisure. • Resources provided reflect the breadth of age groups and interests, curiosities and capabilities of the children and young people sharing the environment and are accessible to children and young people so they can choose and be responsible for their actions. • Children and young people are fully engaged in their play as they make plans, create characters, solve problems, develop self-awareness and learn how to socialise, negotiate and think with others. Reflective questions and provocations • Hughes (2002) identified at least 16 types of play – Communication play, Creative play, Deep play, Dramatic play, Exploratory play, Fantasy and Imaginary play, Locomotor play, Mastery play, Object play, Recapitulative play, Role play, Rough and Tumble play, Social play, Socio-Dramatic play, and Symbolic play. How does your OSHC vision statement and educator daily practice support children and young people’s right to many types of play and leisure? How does the program support children and young people’s imagination? ? » Early Childhood Australia – The Spoke blog – Children’s right to play • How has the environment been made safe, inclusive and respect the rights of children to play and leisure? » Australian Human Rights Commission – Child Safe Organisations - National Principles Video • What can we learn from children and young people about the importance of play and leisure from their point of view? How can this inform practice? » IPA Scotland – Children’s right to play Play and leisure experiences provide opportunities for children and young people to learn as they discover, problem solve, create, improvise, imagine and act with confidence. It provides for both educators and children and young people to be intentional in learning through play, leisure and recreational opportunities.