How Creative Play Equipment Supports Early Learning Goals
The power of play is priceless when it comes to early years learning. It’s the building block for a child’s development, shaping social skills while forming a core part of any early years education plan. Creative play doesn’t just support learning – it sparks it.
From birth to the age of five, children learn faster than any other time in their life. Their natural curiosity and imagination helps them grow and make sense of the world around them. That’s why it’s so important to choose the right creative play equipment – it nurtures the skills outlined in Early Learning Goals by encouraging children to learn in a fun and engaging way.
What is Creative Play in Early Years?
Creative play covers any activity that encourages children to use their imagination. In early years learning, this isn’t just limited to imaginative role play games or pretend-play scenarios. It includes any creative activity that allows them to express themselves – from drawing, painting and model-making to sensory play and storytelling.
Children love being creative. It fuels their imagination and feeds their curiosity, which is why it’s so important to encourage creative play in early years education. It gives them the freedom to explore, build confidence and develop essential social skills such as communication and problem‑solving.
Early Years Play Equipment and Enrichment Ideas
The more creative you can be with your early years resources, the better. There’s no need to limit playtime to structured games with set rules all the time. Unstructured free play is every bit as important, allowing children’s imaginations to run wild. Here are some of our most popular early years play equipment ideas guaranteed to spark a child’s creativity.
Playhouses and Dens
Children love having the enclosed space of a playhouse to play in. Having their own child-sized home creates a sense of ownership, nurturing a feeling of ownership and responsibility.
Outdoor playhouses are perfect for encouraging role playing and activities in the fresh air, while smaller dens create cosy hideaways indoors when the weather isn’t so good. They all help children to imagine their own little worlds, encouraging imaginative play as well as storytelling, communication and turn-taking – all key skills outlined in the Early Learning Goals.
Why We Love Them
- Fuels imagination – helps children create and role play their own scenarios
- Develops social skills – encourages sharing, communication and turn-taking
- Encourages independence – offers space to make decisions away from adults
Role Play Sets
Help children develop their social and communication skills by introducing role play sets into weekly activities. These freestanding props bring everyday scenarios to life through storytelling and creative thinking.
With a little imagination, children can transform the nursery or pre-school classroom into anything from a grocery shop or market stall to a play kitchen or restaurant. By role-playing ‘real life’ experiences, children develop a better understanding of their day-to-day surroundings.
Why We Love Them
- Encourages creativity – allows children to invent stories and use objects as props
- Develops language – introduces new vocabulary and boosts conversational skills
- Helps social understanding – familiarisation with real-life situations and professions
Arts & Crafts
Combining colourful creativity with the chance to make a bit of a mess, what’s not to love about a good arts and crafts activity session? It’s a mainstay of early years learning, allowing children to express themselves through drawing, painting or design.
Simple activities like holding paint brushes, gripping crayons or ripping paper strengthens the hand muscles that are crucial for learning to write. Art encourages creativity and also develops communication skills, encouraging pupils to use descriptive language when talking about their creations.
Why We Love Them
- Promotes self-expression – gives children other non-verbal ways to express themselves
- Physical development – strengthens hand muscles by gripping crayons or tearing paper
- Expands vocabulary – encourages children to talk about their creations and be descriptive
Play Mats
Babies and toddlers always begin their learning on the floor, and that’s why play mats are so important in early years. These colourful mats and carpets provide a safe space for youngsters to crawl and roll, strengthening core muscles.
Play mats stimulate the senses with an array of textures and colours, while being used as a prop to encourage early learning. Activities such as identifying letters, numbers or animals helps children learn new vocabulary and improves hand-eye coordination.
Why We Love Them
- Encourages physical movement – enables comfortable tummy time, crawling or rolling
- Stimulates the senses – incorporates interesting textures, vibrant colours and sounds
- Provides a safe space – protects infants from hard floors and limits exposure to dirt
Reading Corners
Get children interested in books at an early age by creating a cosy reading corner in the nursery or classroom. These comfortable hideaways often double up as a calm, quiet space where pupils can relax.
Even before reading age, these corners provide essential support. Early exposure to books teaches children how to handle them and encourages curiosity, while listening to stories being read helps to fuel imagination and visualisation.
Why We Love Them
- Introduces early literacy skills – fosters curiosity for learning language and vocabulary
- Encourages free choice – lets children select their own books to increase confidence
- Aids social skills – teaches the importance of tidying up and putting books back on the shelf
Outdoor Learning Equipment
Using nature as an extension of the classroom opens up so many new outdoor learning possibilities. Even everyday activities like story time gain a whole new dynamic when you use natural props or local wildlife to fuel imagination and exploration.
The outdoors can also be used to encourage more creative role play and develop an early love of nature. Equipment such as a garden planter helps children to discover the joys of growing plants or produce, developing a sense of responsibility and encouraging patience.
Why We Love Them
- Develops social skills – being outdoors helps children make friends and play together
- Stimulates imagination – nature encourages curiosity and supports storytelling
- Hands-on responsibility – planters teach children to dig, plant, water and weed
What are the Early Learning Goals?
Early Learning Goals are statutory standards set out in the Government’s Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework. Also known as ELGs, they cover 17 different educational aspects within seven key areas:
- Communication and Language
- Personal, Social and Emotional Development
- Physical Development
- Literacy
- Mathematics
- Understanding the World
- Expressive Arts and Design
These goals aren’t the curriculum, but act as a developmental target for what children are expected to achieve by the end of their reception year. Early Learning Goals prioritise well-rounded growth over academic achievement, helping prepare pupils for primary school.
EYFS Statutory Framework for Group and School-Based Providers
Read more about the EYFS Early Learning Goals in the Government’s guidance above, or check out the answers to some of our most frequently asked questions for more information.
Early Learning FAQs
Early years education covers learning and development from birth to age five, focusing on creative play activities that build essential early skills.
Play helps children learn naturally while having fun. It encourages communication, social skills and problem‑solving to meet Early Learning Goals through hands‑on exploration.
The curiosity approach is a child‑led learning style giving children the freedom to use open‑ended resources and real‑world objects to spark exploration, independence and creativity.
Adult‑led play involves planned activities guided by early years practitioners to teach specific skills, introduce new concepts and support Early Learning Goals outcomes.
Imaginative play is when children act out ideas, stories or roles. It helps to develop language, creativity, social skills and emotional understanding.
In Summary
Creative play equipment is crucial for early childhood development. It brings learning and play together, putting the essential foundations in place to meet Early Learning Goals and prepare children for school life. It doesn’t matter if it takes place in an outdoor playhouse or a cosy reading corner – creative play is always fun and engaging, encouraging curiosity and imagination while developing key social skills.
Invest in the Power of Play
Browse our extensive collection to find inspiration for creative play ideas that spark imagination and support Early Learning Goals
