Play as a pedagogy for all children

This chapter will discuss the role of play as a propeller for children's wellbeing, learning and development, during their early years inearly learning and care (ELC), primary and special school settings. It will be suggested that all children can engage in and benefit from all types of play. It will be argued that it is the responsibility of educators to provide oppor tunities to enable all children's participation in high quality play through considering the challenges and aftbrdances of different play types. The significance of clearly articulating what playful learning looks like, in practice, will be addressed, as will the contribution of play to children's wellbeing, self-regulation and social competence. Strategies for promoting inclusive play and for using Aistear: The Early Childhood Curriculum Framework (National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA 2009) as a tool to support the development of inclusive play provision, will be discussed. It will be recommended that developing a playful pedagogical approach can support all children to learn in a child-centred way that builds on individual interests and celebrates diverse ways of exploring, meaning making and knowing.