Let’s Reclaim Play as Learning

In her recent commentary for The Guardian, Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett asks a provocative question: “Do we really expect five-year-olds to sit at desks?” She highlights the stark transition in England’s schools from a reception class rich in play, creativity and movement, to a Year 1 classroom that looks almost ‘Victorian’ in structure and expectation.

She writes of the lost opportunity when children move from self-guided, imaginative activity to rigid, desk-based learning:

• “The moment a child finishes reception…the English education system essentially dictates that playtime is over.”

• And she argues that research shows play underpins everything from social skills, language and motor development to critical-thinking and problem-solving. 

As Ruth Lue-Quee says in the article, “Childhood doesn’t end the day you turn five. Playing is what children are born to do. It’s innate in them. It is how they learn.”

This resonates deeply with everything we do at Tagtiv8.

Tagtiv8’s Mission: Move and Learn

Our mission from Day One (2012) has been simple yet bold: challenge the notion that education must always be sedentary, and instead embed movement across the curriculum. 

• “We created Tagtiv8 … because we love to learn but we hate sitting down for long periods of time. Sadly, many schools focus only on sedentary learning with subjects taught in boxes - we believe that this is not how we learn best.”

• “Our mission is simple - to create educational resources and training that develop confidence in key areas of the curriculum through physical activity.”

We also emphasise:

• Creativity & fun (we believe movement + play strengthens engagement)

• Community (co-creating with schools and organisations)

• Sustainability (thinking about impact beyond the classroom)

In our TEDx Talk, “Physically Active Learning - Improving Performance” with Professor Andy Daly-Smith, we explore how shifting behaviour and structuring active-learning moments makes a tangible difference in children’s engagement, retention and wellbeing.

Accidental learning: a case study

Working with 30 plus EYFS children in an outdoor setting, we spread the number tags 0 - 10 on the ground and asked the children to move in different ways between the red even numbers and the yellow odd numbers. Needless to say, the children ended up jumping/hopping over them, turning them over, curling them up etc. Then began a moment of pure joy.

Us: "Can you pick up a tag and take it for a walk?"

One child picked up her tag and walked it like you would walk a dog on a lead. Suddenly, everyone else copied her. 

Us: "What could you say to each other as you walk your dog/tag?"

Children's responses included:

• "My dog's the same colour as your dog."
• "My dog's yellow and your dog's red."
• "My dog's bigger/smaller than your dog."
• "My dog's older/younger than your dog."
• "Your dog is the same number as the one on my front door."
• "Your dog's the same age as my Mum!"

Moving and learning at its very best in an outdoor EYFS setting.

Why play matters now

Cosslett’s critique of the English education system is timely:

• Children are being expected to sit still, focus, complete desk tasks when their natural learning instinct is play, movement, exploration.

• We know from decades of research (and from the experiences of teachers) that movement supports cognition, self-regulation, emotional-wellbeing, and that these foundations matter before formal academic instruction accelerates.

• If the school system tells children that “learning = stillness at your desk”, we risk disengagement, behavioural issues, and missed potential.

At Tagtiv8 we believe that movement is not a ‘nice extra’ - it is a core part of how children learn. It’s a question of when, how and why we integrate active-learning, so that movement supports rather than interrupts the curriculum.

What this looks like in practice

Here are some practical ways schools (and educators) can bridge the gap between the static model and an active-learning model:

1. Embed movement in lessons

Instead of “sit down and listen”, create structured game-based moments where children physically move to demonstrate understanding (for example: stepping to zones to show whether a statement is true/false, hopping through a learning board on the floor, acting out vocabulary).

2. Rethink the transitions

Too often the “switch” from play to formal learning is abrupt. Reception lessons often feel alive with chatter, movement and creative materials; Year 1 often feels like a mini lecture theatre. Cosslett observes this dramatic shift. By re-thinking classroom layout, teacher talk time and children’s movement during lessons, we can avoid that jarring change.

3. Build curricula that value interactivity and physical engagement

Tagtiv8 resources are designed to develop confidence in key areas of the curriculum through physical activity. For example, maths circuits and movement-based literacy games help children feel the concept, move through the concept, own the concept - rather than passively absorbing it.

4. Prioritise wellbeing, not just attainment

The link between movement, physical health and emotional regulation is strong. Cosslett points to the fact that play helps children self-regulate, manage stress, and develops social skills. In an era of increasing pressures on children’s mental health, educational systems that prioritise “quiet stillness” alone are missing the bigger picture.

A call to action for educators and school leaders

If we accept that play is learning, then we must challenge the inertia of “sit still at your desk” teaching models. As Cosslett puts it:

“Are young children really failing - or is the system failing them?”

At Tagtiv8 we invite schools, teachers and policy-makers to join us in a movement-rich re-imagining of how children learn. Let’s:

• audit how much time children spend seated vs moving in a typical day.

• redesign lessons with motion, interaction and physicality built-in (not bolted-on).

• push for leadership and policy that recognise that learning is a whole-body experience, not just a brain at a desk.

• empower children to learn by doing, by moving, by exploring.

Because when children ask “Can we play again?” we should not dismiss that as a distraction. We should recognise that they are learning. And we should make sure that our school systems recognise and value that truth.

Looking ahead

The Guardian article by Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett gives a compelling indictment of how much schooling in England still defaults to archaic models of sitting at desks, silent instruction and early formalisation. Meanwhile, the mission of Tagtiv8 is to flip that model: to celebrate movement, play, physicality and active-learning as core ingredients of effective education.

If we truly value every child’s development - cognitive, physical, emotional, social - then we must align our schooling practices with how children are wired to learn: through movement, interaction and play.

Let’s move and learn - together.

Watch our TEDx Talk here.

Explore Tagtiv8’s mission and resources here.

Read the full Guardian article here.

Sign the petition here.