EPISODE NOTES
In this episode, Claire talks with Greg Bottrill: a specialist in early years education, consultant, author, and strong advocate for play in teaching.
Greg begins by talking about how he had always wanted to be a teacher and, initially, was more drawn to working in key stage 2. However, after working in early years, he quickly realised that this was where he belonged.
For just over a year, Greg has travelled around schools offering consultancy services and training and development sessions promoting the importance of play as a part of our education system and children being at the centre of their own learning.
Alongside working with schools and teachers, Greg is also an author of ‘School and the magic of children’ and ‘Can I go and play now?’ which explores the imaginative world children live in and how to bring joy and adventure into learning.
Greg discusses his passion for bringing excitement and wonder into learning, and how he believes that every child has magic within them which can be shared with us all.
 
KEY TAKEAWAYS

Play is essential.Adult co-play with children can incredibly valuable for learning. Co-play involves playing alongside the children, valuing what they are doing, and modelling different ways of play: showing rather than telling. There are moments of direct teaching within co-play but, where these feature, they are done in a really joyful way.
The three Ms.These key areas - mark making, mathematics and making conversation – are three important skills every school wants their children to develop. They can be woven into anything we do with children and are an important foundation on which all learning can be built.
Children don’t see ability.Children simply ‘see’ each other rather than considering their peers in terms of ability. Some children will, naturally, be more confident than others and these children can be incredibly beneficial with teaching and supporting other less confident children.Traditional teaching generally has the teacher in control, mostly at the front, and the children grouped, usually by ability, and listening. This means that the children who are on the tables designated as the ‘most able’ will rarely get to work with those who are put on the ‘less able’ tables. This, unfortunately, can channel and ‘cap’ children’s ability. In mixed-ability groups, though, children will listen to each other and will support each other.
Children’s seventh sense.Children have a special seventh sense to see the imaginative potential in everything. A cardboard box, for example, is usually seen by adults as just a cardboard box. Children, though, will see the infinite possibilities of that box which could be anything: a tower, a ship or a magical portal.Something as ordinary (to an adult) as a puddle, can, to a child, be something extraordinary in terms of the sensory experiences it can offer and the wonder and imagination that can follow.

BEST MOMENTS
“I wanted to be key stage two teacher originally. And I ended up in early years. And it's just a really beautiful place to work. We played very, very hard. We kind of created like a pedagogy that came from the soul. I'm a great believer in teaching from the soul, teaching what you believe in rather than a scheme.”
“That's what it's about. It's almost trying to show schools that there is this magic world. And it's the magic world of childhood. When you go adventuring in it, then just amazing things can happen.”
“My belief is that your childhood is your identity. So play is not anything frivolous. It's not something you do after work. It's not what you do at playtime. It is you. It's in your DNA.”
“There are many, many, many wonderful teachers doing amazing things with children working within a system; and it's the system that's at fault.”
“I think if you ask any teacher they would say to you 'the education system needs to change'. And it does. What we need to do is embrace childhood because you only have it once. And you have this magic about y