The Role of Play in Helping Children with Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties Access the Curriculum in a Mainstream Secondary School

Abstract

In this discussion I aim to explore the use of ‘play’ with pupils with perceived emotional and behavioural difficulties in mainstream secondary schools and to provide practical examples of how this could be achieved. This will involve references to viewpoints regarding the value of play for its own sake, for therapeutic purposes, within child development, and within Primary education, and then the linking of these with discussions regarding the needs of children with perceived emotional and behavioural difficulties. The part on practice will focus on the use of play, in the sense of the provision of practical and concrete materials, as a means of accessing the curriculum in a mainstream secondary classroom, rather than on its use for emotional or social development, although the three can be shown to be interchangeable. This discussion is in no way meant to be considered as comparable to a piece of research or containing any empirical evidence as to the validity of the arguments within it. It is meant to present considerations, prompted by and deriving from personal perspectives and experiences.