First act

There are important differences between educational drama and children's spontaneous imaginative or role play, and differences in the benefits it brings Educational drama is well established with children of statutory school age, but it remains under-represented in early years settings -and in the education literature. The Curriculum Guidance for the Foundation Stage makes reference to imaginative play and role play, but not 'drama' as such. Yet it is possible to 'do drama' with children whose make-believe is only just emerging - and they can derive enormous benefits from it.