Take part in the National Week of Play from 21-27 June

Settings can sign up for a free Play Week resource pack which contains a poster; play activities to share with families; guidance and support materials to help plan an event and template letters to send to local MPs and the media. 

Early years experts Helen Moylett, Professor Cathy Nutbrown, Nancy Stewart and Anni McTavish, will be talking about the importance of play in a pre-recorded panel discussion which will be available for all early years professionals to download.

Everyone taking part will receive an Alliance Play Week certificate, which the Alliance will share at the end of Play Week, which runs from Monday 21 June to Sunday 27 June.

Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Alliance, said,' Today we are launching our National Week of Play, and a series of fantastic resources, as a timely reminder that play is at the heart of everything we in the early years do as educators.
‘The early years workforce is deeply concerned about the impact that lockdowns and social distancing measures have had on children’s development. Play should be central to young children’s lives, bringing with it so many benefits, and we must make it that way once again.

‘For a young child, March 2020 is a lifetime ago and will shape their experiences for a long time to come. As we think about how to support children’s recovery from this hugely challenging period, we must never forget that facilitating children’s learning through play – and helping parents and care givers to do the same – will be the key mechanism for doing that.’

Early years settings, practitioners, volunteers and parents are all invited to take part in National Week of Play.

Settings can download the resource pack at and show their support via social media using the hashtag #PlayWeek2021.