13/08/2026
A brilliant morning yesterday at St Elizabeth’s Primary in Hamilton, delivering bespoke Play Scotland training on developing learning environments for play pedagogy.
The school staff team really threw themselves into the session, particularly when it came to exploring loose parts and open ended materials. We loved seeing what emerged from the same collection of resources, with towers, a camera, characters, imaginative creations and even Dracula making an appearance!
One of our favourites had to be the lighthouse, made using a cardboard tube and laundry liquid dispenser, then taken one step further by using a phone torch underneath to make the light actually work! Such a brilliant example of creativity, problem solving and making really good use of what you already have.
That was an important message from the session. Creating rich environments for play doesn’t need to mean buying lots of expensive new resources. Sometimes the simplest materials offer the most possibilities, because children can decide what they become and where their ideas take them.
Staff from across the school also had time to think together about what play pedagogy can look like from P1 right through to P7, how environments can support children’s independence and creativity, and how they can develop a shared approach across the school while recognising that every class and group of children will be different.
A huge thank you to Christine, Steven, Evan and the whole St Elizabeth’s team for such a warm welcome and for getting so involved.
St Elizabeth’s are also working towards their Play Pedagogy Award, so we’re really looking forward to continuing to support them and seeing how their thinking and environments develop over the year ahead.
