At our after-school club, we believe that play is essential to children’s development. Every child plays differently, and each type of play supports important life skills. That’s why our provision embraces all the many ways children play, guided by the work of leading playwork expert Bob Hughes.
Inspired by A Playworker’s Taxonomy of Play Types (Hughes & Melville, 2002), our after-school provision actively supports all 16 recognised play types. From creative and imaginative play to physical, social and mastery play, our experienced playworkers plan environments and opportunities that allow every child to thrive.
Our staff are professionally trained to support, extend and protect children’s play, ensuring it remains child-led, inclusive and safe while promoting confidence, resilience and wellbeing.
The 16 Types of Play Your Child Will Enjoy at Our Club
Symbolic Play
Children use their imagination to transform everyday objects into something magical – a stick becomes a wand, a box becomes a spaceship. This type of play supports creativity and abstract thinking.
Rough and Tumble Play
Friendly physical play such as chasing, rolling or play fighting helps children understand boundaries, build trust and develop strong social bonds in a safe environment.
Socio-Dramatic Play
Children act out real-life roles such as parents, teachers, carers or superheroes. This supports emotional development, empathy and understanding of the world around them.
Social Play
Sometimes play is simply about spending time together – chatting, joking and “hanging out”. Social play helps children learn cooperation, communication and friendship skills.
Creative Play
From junk modelling to painting and crafting, creative play allows children to express themselves, develop fine motor skills and build confidence through making.
Communication Play
This includes playing with language through jokes, riddles, songs, secret languages and funny voices, helping children develop literacy and social communication skills.
Dramatic Play
Children create big imaginary stories and adventures where anything can happen. Dramatic play supports storytelling, collaboration and emotional expression.
Deep Play
Deep play involves taking safe, managed risks, such as balancing on logs or climbing. It helps children build confidence, resilience and a sense of achievement.
Exploratory Play
Children investigate how things work by mixing, squashing, testing and experimenting. This supports curiosity, problem-solving and early scientific thinking.
Fantasy Play
Becoming dragons, wizards, animals or aliens allows children to escape reality and explore ideas in a safe, imaginative way.
Imaginative Play
Children invent new worlds, characters and scenarios, either independently or with others, developing creativity and flexible thinking.
Locomotor Play
Running, jumping, skipping and spinning purely for the joy of movement supports physical development, coordination and overall health.
Mastery Play
Children practise skills repeatedly, such as building complex structures or mastering game rules. This builds perseverance, confidence and a sense of accomplishment.
Object Play (Loose Parts Play)
Children play with objects like sticks, stones, boxes and toys, turning everyday materials into endless possibilities. Loose parts play encourages creativity and independent thinking.
Role Play
By pretending to be someone or something else, children explore rules, identities and social norms in a playful, meaningful way.
Recapitulative Play
This play reflects ancient human instincts, such as den building, hide and seek or chasing games, helping children connect with natural patterns of play.
Why Supporting All Types of Play Matters
By offering rich, varied play opportunities, our after-school club supports children’s physical, emotional, social and cognitive development. Free, child-led play helps children build confidence, manage emotions, solve problems and develop essential life skills – all while having fun.
At our club, play isn’t just an activity – it’s how children learn, grow and flourish.
