Nursery World - 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.

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.

Drama, whether a soap opera or Shakespeare play, focuses on human experience, especially when characters face a problem, and through that dilemma aims to broaden our knowledge and understanding of ourselves and others. The same is true of drama in education, even in the nursery: 'By encouraging creativity and imagination we are promoting children's ability to explore and comprehend their world and increasing their opportunities to make new connections and reach new understandings... Through their imagination children can move from the present into the past and the future, to what might be and beyond.' (Duffy, 1998, p8).

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