Please read our open letter to Bridget Phillipson below and the response.
Dear Bridget Phillipson,
Re: The Urgent Need to Embed Play in the Primary Curriculum and Beyond
We are writing to you in advance of the proposed changes to the national curriculum and the ongoing curriculum review. We know this moment presents a crucial opportunity to reimagine our education system in a way that is more aligned with child development, research-informed pedagogy, and the needs of our children, their childhood and the skills they will need for the future.
We are writing with hope and urgency that you will ensure playful approaches are embedded within the statutory curriculum across all stages of primary education, not just within the Early Years Foundation Stage.
Although the value of play is well-evidenced in terms of outcomes for learning, well-being, and personal development, many schools feel constrained by the current accountability system and the prescriptive nature of the National Curriculum. This pressure is creating a disconnect between what professionals know works for children and what they feel allowed to do.
The UK consistently reports some of the lowest levels of childhood happiness in Europe, and we must address this urgently. The recent “Everything to Play For” report from the Centre of Young Lives presents a clear case for a National Play Strategy, recognising that the benefits of play are far-reaching and should be prioritised not only in public spaces but also in education policy.
Play is not a distraction from learning—it is how children learn best. It is how they develop the very attributes that the OECD and World Economic Forum (WEF) identify as critical for the future: creativity, communication, collaboration, problem-solving, resilience, and emotional regulation. These are cultivated most effectively through high-quality, child-led, and playful approaches—yet these are the experiences being pushed out of classrooms in pursuit of narrow data outcomes.
We stand alongside MP Tom Hayes, Play England, and countless educators, researchers, professionals and families in calling for childhood to be protected and play to be recognised as a foundation, not a footnote in education.
We ask that you:
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Ensure the curriculum review embeds play and experiential learning as valid and vital across all of primary education;
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Realign Ofsted and accountability frameworks to enable schools to prioritise what children truly need;
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Recognise play as a powerful and legitimate pedagogy, not something confined to break times;
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Support investment in professional development so educators feel confident and supported to use playful, child-centered approaches;
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Give school leaders the permission to lead with joy, not fear of inspection or performance tables.
We would welcome the opportunity to engage further with your department and share examples of schools leading this work with vision and courage.
Yours sincerely,
National Play in Education Group
Dear Mrs Gray,
Thank you for your letter to the Secretary of State for Education, dated 15 September, on the issue of embedding play in the curriculum. I have been asked to provide a response from the Curriculum, General Qualifications and Digital Strategy Directorate on behalf of the Department.
Your letter raises the important issue of play in childhood, and the positive outcomes that can come from using playful approaches. This government recognises that play is critical to children’s wellbeing and development.
The National Curriculum provides a broad framework which ensures schools have flexibility to organise the content and delivery of the curriculum to meet the needs of their pupils.
As you are aware, the curriculum is currently undergoing review by independent Curriculum and Assessment Review Group. This group is looking across the existing National Curriculum and statutory assessment systems, to ensure they meet the needs of young people across England. The Review’s final report and recommendations will be published in autumn, at which point the government will be in a position to consider any changes to the curriculum. The government will work with education experts, teachers, and parents to ensure the very best for children.
I hope that you will find it useful for me to share some of the ways that this government is supporting children and young people to lead enriched and active lives.
The Department is working to make sure that all children and young people have access to a variety of enrichment opportunities at school, as an important part of the mission to break down barriers to opportunity. For some schools, these opportunities may be used to encourage children and young people to play. To support schools to develop a high-quality enrichment offer the government has committed to publishing a new Enrichment Framework by the end of 2025. The framework will identify and reflect effective practice and provide advice on how to plan a high-quality enrichment offer more intentionally and strategically.
Further, this government recognises that the activity levels of children needs to increase. In June, the Prime Minister announced a new PE and School Sport Partnerships model, supported by the Enrichment Framework, to ensure all young people have equal access to high-quality PE school sport and other physical activities. The Department began formal market engagement events on 24 September to explore the proposed approach of procuring a national delivery partner to be responsible for designing, implementing, and managing the new PE and School Sport Partnerships Network from Summer 2026.
The Department is very supportive of schools having active lunch and break times. Schools have the freedom to be spend their PE and sport premium funding to benefit the children within their schools and there are no restrictions on a school’s ability to use PE and sport premium funding to provide sports and physical activities during break and lunch times.
I would like to thank you for writing in to the Department, and I hope that you find this information useful.
Yours sincerely,
The Department for Education
Curriculum, General Qualifications and Digital Strategy Directorate