The
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Collective
ABOUT THE PLAY PHASE
The Play Phase is the FA’s latest addition to its player pathway and is an approach dedicated to giving children aged 4, 5 and 6 years of age the best and most memorable start to being active and sampling football as a sport. Children of this young age who are trying football for the first time are usually seen as the players for an U7 team in the very near future.
However, although this may happen, the adults involved MUST see the Play Phase as a skill development approach in its broadest sense so that the children are challenged to develop skills in all areas in a fun and engaging way. The football "bit" is important but not as important as giving the children the belief in what their body is capable of doing that comes from having great physical literacy and a growing confidence in their social and emotional intelligence.
The “football” will come in the form of lots of time spent on and with the ball as well as lots of 2v2 games.
The 2v2 format is seen as the most appropriate for children of this age and even though larger formats will be played in the future the returns from 2v2 prioritise fun, enjoyment and involvement: things that are so important at the very beginning of a child’s involvement in football.
To develop the Play Phase approach the expertise of CREC (The Centre for Research in Early Childhood) was enlisted to give the approach both credibility and academic rigour as they are leading experts in the field of early years education. Together with CREC we have developed an approach that not only places the child right at the centre of everything that happens but one that aims to add both value and lasting development in all areas for all of our children.
Some children will continue to play football for the long term but the game may not be for everyone. However, the Play Phase approach ensures that all children benefit and develop in the time spent together because it aims to meet the needs of the children in the stage of growth and development they are in rather than just focus purely on football and preparing them to be in an U7 team.
A very important feature of the Play Phase, and one that we want all adults involved in supporting this approach to acknowledge and prioritise, is the Play Framework. CREC have done a brilliant job simplifying a very complex approach into one that can be followed with ease. It is flexible and easy to understand and all of the games and activities will fit into one or more of the categories. Overtime we will be able to ensure we have given the children experiences across the whole of the Play Framework and this is when the "magic" begins to happen.
It is aptly named the Play Framework as PLAY is such an important vehicle of development for this age group.
In the three diagrams that follow you will see the three vital components of PLAY;
FEATURES, FORMS and the important OUTCOMES of PLAY.
If the activities that the children do vary across the different types of play (Physical, Imaginative, Object and Social) then the children will be developing all of their skills in the broadest sense and this is what we are after. In the diagram you will also see how I have linked each of the components to how it will help our children become better at playing football so I can assure you that the football part is not compromised.
