Welcome to the August PLAYlist ☀️🥳
Click Here For Guide To The August PLAYlist! ☀️🎉
Hello August!
I cannot quite believe that is it The PLAYlist’s first birthday next month!
For our last edition before we get to eat birthday cake…we’ve got our usual mix of articles, resources and inspiration with something for everyone!
For All Subscribers
Aprons Off? - By Dr Alistair Bryce-Clegg - CLICK HERE
In this month’s article from me, I’m asking: do aprons actually support messy play, or do they sometimes get in the way? It's a gentle nudge to rethink those everyday routines that can interrupt play, break flow, and shift the focus away from children’s learning.
Niki Buchan - Guest Article on Risk in Play - CLICK HERE
This month’s guest article comes from the brilliant Niki Buchan, who brings decades of experience in nature-based and risk-rich play. She explores what real adventurous play looks like, why children need it, and how we can support it without over-controlling it.
GIVEAWAY - Win this month’s 50 Fantastic Ideas Set! - CLICK HERE
Thanks to Bloomsbury, we’ve got 3 full sets of all 10 books featured in this month’s paid subscriber free activity pack to give away. Look out for the posts on social media
For Paid Subscribers
Common Play Behaviours: Water - CLICK HERE
We’re adding Water to our Common Play Behaviours series this month. If you’ve ever watched children pour, stir, tip and splash for hours, this one's for you. It’ll help you recognise what skills they are rehearsing and how to support quality play and interaction through your continuous provision.
10 Free Activities from the 50 Fantastic Ideas Series - CLICK HERE
Bloomsbury have let us share 10 brilliant activities, each taken from a different book in the 50 Fantastic series. They’re all written by practitioners, easy to set up, low cost and high impact. Best of all? They’re yours to download and keep.
Niki Buchan - Guest Interview - CLICK HERE
I sat down with Niki to talk all things risky play from real tools and rough-and-tumble, to trust, confidence and the benefits of backing off! Our conversation is full of practical insight, tips and ideas.
Free Training Session - Risk and Challenge - CLICK HERE
Niki has also created a free training session exclusively for our paid subscribers all about risky play. It’s full of practical ideas based on first hand experience and ready to use at your next staff training session, or bank for the future.
Holiday Book List - CLICK HERE
Early Years practitioner Cath Evans has pulled together a brilliant round-up of every book written by our PLAYlist guests so far this year. It’s a goldmine of professional reading if you fancy a quiet moment with a cuppa and something thought-provoking for your summer holidays -have a look.
Online Training
We have created some new online training modules for your September INSET days (but useful all year round!).
They are available to pre-order and the content will drop on 20th August 2025.
• Raising Standards in Writing - 5 x 30 minute sessions (£66.67 +VAT)
Environments that Raise Standards and Wellbeing - 3 x 30 minute sessions (£50+VAT)
New to Early Years - 3 x 30 minute sessions (£50+VAT)
Senior Leaders Guide to Excellent Early Years Practice - 6 x 15 minute AUDIO sessions (£37.50 +VAT)
As with all our online courses, you can watch them as many times as you want and they are yours to keep for the life of the course.
If there is anything that you would like to see on The PLAYlist then drop me a comment.
Alistair
