SEN Inclusive Play Project

Everyone Plays

Everyone Plays is a new, one-of-a-kind project which supports educational settings across Northern Ireland to work in partnership with parents, children and young people, to ensure that all children have equal access to empowering play spaces where they are meaningfully included and can develop a sense of belonging.

  • Everyone Plays is a collaborative project working with educational staff, SEN specialists, parents and carers, while keeping the voice of the child at the forefront to ensure meaningful inclusion.

  • The project works with SEN schools, primary schools and early years settings across Northern Ireland, selected by the Department of Education, as well as providing online support materials and training.

  • Funded by the Department of Education as part of SEN Reform Delivery, which has been funded by the Public Sector Transformation Fund (PSTF).

Outcomes

  • Schools and settings will improve their approaches to inclusive play, embedding it as a natural part of everyday routines.
  • Children and young people will gain improvements in health and well-being. 
  • Children and young people will show improved attentiveness during learning following engagement in more active and enhanced play opportunities.
  • Development of increased social confidence and connectivity across age groups during play, with older pupils supporting younger pupils. 
  • More active participation of pupils within the life of the school, including contributing to the development of play activities. 
  • Children with SEN will feel more involved and valued through positive interactions with their peers and opportunities to express themselves. 
  • Children will recognise and appreciate differences in others, celebrating curiosity and embracing diversity as something to be celebrated. 
  • Staff and parents will be supported with training and practical ways to support children's individual needs through play, helping to build confidence and a stronger sense of belonging in everyday settings.  
  • Parents and staff will be better able to meet each child's individual needs in a way that feels natural and supportive.
  • Parents and staff will be supported to develop their awareness of differences that can be observed during free play and codevelop strategies for support, participation and readiness to learn.

Everyone Plays

Everyone Plays focuses on ensuring that all children have not only the right to play, but also the right to equal access to play opportunities. Hearing the voice of the child is at the core of the project, ensuring that children can develop an emotional connection with their setting and foster a true sense of belonging. The project champions the inclusive principle that adults should adapt environments to meet the needs of all children, rather than expecting children to adapt children to adapt to fit their environment.

Children who feel valued are more likely to overcome adversity, poor mental health, and school avoidance. They are more likely to develop resilience, empathy, and positive relationships, and extend themselves academically. Play is the safest, most natural and self-driven form of learning that children do.

Everyone Plays aims to use play as a vehicle for gaining insight into the developmental, social and emotional needs of our children and young people through their experiences and perspectives. A truly play–rich environment cannot be achieved without consulting children and young people. Everyone Plays helps parents and staff to explore forms of communication that go beyond spoken language.

By building connections between settings, schools and specialist provision units, the Inclusive Play team offers expertise in play differences including how to identify, support and extend these, and how play can sit alongside the curriculum to extend meaningful skill development and learning.

Everyone Plays Participants Include:

  • Children up to age 11 in a range of settings.

  • Full staff teams within settings.

  • Parents/carers of children attending participating settings.

  • Parents/carers and teachers reached through wider online mediums and resources.

Training

Practitioners’ Training

  • Session 1 – CPD for full staff team.
    Topics covered will include: project aims, rationale, and the Northern Ireland context; the role of play within the curriculum and its future development; brain development, resilience, empathy and perspectives; play awareness including lesser-understood play types; co-regulation and supporting children and young people to manage risk and challenge; the opportunity to explore the creation of inclusive outdoor play opportunities and spaces.

  • Session 2 – CPD for full staff team.
    Topics covered will include: inclusive legislation, informed by the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD); inclusive play principles; the context of needs across schools and settings in Northern Ireland; guiding awareness and celebrating difference while fostering a sense of belonging; identifying and removing barriers to the provision of inclusive play; bespoke content based on pre-training baseline questionnaires including schematic play, sensory integration, transition spaces, accessibility and communication; opportunities to observe good practice from other settings; opportunities to work together as a staff team to adapt current practice and play opportunities to ensure all children have equal access.

  • Session 3 – An introduction to play therapy.

Training

Parents/carers

Parents/carers within each participating setting have the opportunity to access a Play Awareness training session. The session aims to develop a wider understanding of play, increase opportunities for play at home, and support collaboration between families and settings to ensure safety through consistency, structure and predictability.

Topics include: the importance of play from birth; UNCRC; building resilience, empathy and relationships; communication through play; screen time guidance; risky play versus hazards in play and how to manage this; schematic, destructive, risky and sensory play, and their benefits; opportunity to join a working play group established by their setting.

Children's Play Sessions

Children's participation is at the core of the children's sessions. Recognising that not all children will be able to use spoken language to express their needs and preferences, staff will be encouraged to reflect on their learning and use observations of free play to help guide future decisions. 

Play Session 1 – Children are invited to explore and contribute their thoughts on how they experience play within their setting. Feedback methods and activities are bespoke and will be guided by the age and abilities of the group.

Children will freely explore a wide range of fun play opportunities provided by the Inclusive Play team. Staff will be guided to use dynamic risk assessments and interventions to manage the play space, while observing children's preferences and skill development to inform future planning.

Play Session 2 – This takes place approximately five or six weeks after the initial play session. Children are invited to share any changes in their play opportunities.

Prior to the free-play element, children discuss how they can manage their play resources, including maintenance, working with staff and clearing away play equipment.

Further information

Resources

For inclusive play resources visit:

Impact

  • Delivery in 11 settings including early years and primary schools (May – early September 2026).

  • 366 staff attended full training.

  • Engaged with 35,000+ parents/carers through online resources and training.

  • Following training: 15% increase in confidence in managing behaviour during play and 24% increase in confidence with managing risk in play.

  • Following training: 32% increase in general knowledge and awareness of play types and 108% increase in knowledge of inclusive legislation and principles.

Feedback

Practitioners

When asked what they enjoyed about the training, staff reported:

"Refreshing perspectives… everyone hearing the same information, great starting point."  

"Real–life examples that can be used within the classroom with a deep explanation of the benefits of long-term advantages."  

"The inclusivity of the training and being able to speak out."  

"Seeing the clear links between play and learning."  

When asked what they would take away from the training, staff said:  

"A lot… lots of new ideas both indoor and outdoor… making do of things we have and not having to always buy new things or having to be so experienced. Sometimes it's just giving yourself."  

"Great suggestions of small changes to have a big impact on my new classroom."  

"I feel able and invited to get in touch if I later feel I need to. Thank you very much for today's training. It was a very valuable experience – fun and engaging as well as informative." 

“I didn’t do risky play as a child in case I got hurt, so I will try to encourage the children to be more adventurous”.

“Excellent information about play and valuable/realistic advice.”

“Content was delivered in an easy to digest way.”

“Thank you for your wealth of knowledge surrounding play.”

“I found it an enjoyable and informative day. Thank you.”

 

Contact Us

If you would like further information on inclusive play in schools, email info@playboard.org