Play and learning can not be divided during the earliest years because as children are finding out about what things do when they touch them and what they can do when sitting crawling cruising clambering climbing standing reaching pulling pushing and so on they are also gaining mastery and control of their bodies so play is learning at the same time the sounds and words and gestures that they have experienced in interactions with others help babies to understand ways of relating . Play in the early years we all know from the early years foundation stage that play is essential for childrens development and learning those teachers who experienced units of study on areas of child development and the science of play in their training will not be concerned about how this will look and why this is essential. Play in the early years the early years learning framework is a key component of the australian governments national quality framework for early childhood education and care play based learning is an important focus in both the framework and in early childhood education degrees in australian universities. Her majestys inspectors visited a sample of the most successful early years providers to observe the interplay between teaching and play and evaluate the difference chosen approaches were making. The second edition of play in the early years provides a comprehensive introduction to pedagogy and play in early years education settings drawing on classical and contemporary theories this text examines social cultural and institutional approaches to play and explores a range of strategies for successfully integrating play into classrooms