Reviewed by Janice McKinley, area SENCO, Bradford Early Years and Childcare Service
At last, a book that champions the child's right to play and highlights that by providing inclusive play we are giving children the very best play experiences.
I am passionate about inclusive play and this book engaged me from the first page.
Each chapter explores one aspect of inclusion with interesting case studies that bring the text to life, and ends with a useful list of further reading.
The book starts by defining inclusion and play and then looks at inclusive play. There are some useful discussion points and descriptions of the challenges facing inclusive practitioners, before moving on to the value of inclusive play.
'Creating and sustaining an inclusive play environment' includes a useful play audit for practitioners and some wonderful multi sensory ideas. I enjoyed reading chapter 4 as it provides sound advice for practitioners on how to support and facilitate play experiences for children with additional needs. A wealth of interesting ideas on how to improve and develop the outdoors play environment so that it is truly inclusive are provided in the next chapter.
I will be recommending this book to colleagues, early years practitioners and play workers and it should be essential reading for all students.
