Read, Play, Create

Read, Play, Create Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from Read, Play, Create, Child Development, Birmingham.

📚 Story-led early language, play & provision
✨ EYFS training, resources & consultancy
🌱 Helping adults build language through books and meaningful play
🎨 Plus Read, Play, Create family classes
🔗 www.readplaycreate.com/west-midlands

05/10/2026

We know our curriculum.
We know what children already know and what we want them to learn next.
We choose vocabulary intentionally.
We select a story, resources or experiences that could support that learning.

That's our starting point.
Then the children arrive.
And that's when the planning becomes responsive.
What do they notice?
What do they ignore completely? 😂
What do they return to?
What questions emerge?
What do they do with the resources that we hadn't anticipated?
What are they trying to work out?

And then tomorrow's planning responds to today.
Maybe we introduce a new word.
Add one resource.
Pose a problem.
Return to part of the story.
Model something.
Take away something that isn't adding anything.
Or leave it exactly as it is because they're not finished yet.

Good planning gives learning direction without deciding every step of the journey.
We bring the curriculum.
The children bring the curiosity.
And really thoughtful EYFS practice allows the two to meet. ❤️

This is the kind of planning I support nurseries and schools to develop — starting with curriculum intent, language and progression, while still creating space to respond to the children actually in front of us.
If your EYFS team is reviewing planning, curriculum or provision this year, feel free to message me about bespoke support.

01/10/2026

Sometimes the most interesting learning happens away from the activity we planned.

We can create an opportunity to practise counting.
We can provide numbers to recognise, match, order and explore.
We can model the language.
We can do it again in a completely different context.
All of that matters.

But then something like this happens. ❤️
The little boy in the final clip found the number mats himself.
He put them into the correct order.
Then he walked along them, saying the numbers as he went.
Nobody had asked him to.
It wasn't the activity I'd planned.
He had taken something he'd encountered through other experiences and used it independently, in a different context.

And THAT is something worth noticing.
Because when we're thinking about whether learning is becoming secure, perhaps we shouldn't only be looking at whether a child can succeed in the activity we've designed to teach it.

Can they recognise that number somewhere else?
Can they count objects during their play?
Can they put quantities together without being asked?
Can they use mathematical language naturally?
Can they apply what they know when the resources, environment or context changes?
Can they use the learning when we're no longer directing it?

That's where observation becomes so important.
Sometimes the clearest evidence of progression isn't the worksheet, the planned activity or the thing we've carefully put in provision.
It's the moment a child does something and you think:
“Oh! You know this.”
And those moments can be easy to miss if we're always looking for learning exactly where we planned for it to happen.
Teach it. Revisit it. Then look for where it appears next. ❤️

This is a big part of how I approach curriculum, progression and purposeful provision when working with nurseries and schools — looking beyond what we've provided and thinking about what children are actually understanding, applying and doing independently.

If your team is reviewing curriculum, progression or provision this term, feel free to message me about support for your setting.

27/09/2026

The resources we choose matter. The environment matters. The story matters.
But one of the most powerful parts of any provision can't be bought, printed or beautifully arranged...
It's the adult. ❤️
A skilled adult can completely change what happens within an experience.
They can introduce a new word.
Model language.
Repeat and extend what a child has said.
Wonder aloud.
Make a connection back to a story.
Model a skill.
Introduce a problem.
Notice a misconception.
Help children make connections between what they already know and what they're discovering now.
But I think there's another equally important skill...
Knowing when NOT to do any of those things.
Sometimes children need us to step in.
And sometimes they need us to step back.
To watch.
To listen.
To give them time to work something out.
To resist asking another question.
To let their idea develop rather than turning their play back towards what we originally intended.
Because purposeful provision isn't about adults constantly directing the learning.
It's about adults understanding the learning well enough to recognise when their interaction could move it forward — and when their interaction might interrupt it.
And that takes skill.
So when we're reviewing provision, I don't think we should only be asking:
What's available? How is it organised?
What resources have we added?
We also need to look at what is happening around it.
What language are children hearing?
What are adults noticing?
When are they modelling?
When are they extending?
When are they allowing children to struggle with a problem for a little longer?
And when are they stepping back and letting children take the learning somewhere we hadn't planned?
This is a big part of the thinking behind my work with nurseries and schools — looking beyond how provision looks and exploring how curriculum, language, environment and adult practice work together.
If you're an EYFS lead or setting looking at purposeful provision, language or curriculum development this term, feel free to message me and we can chat about what support could look like for your team.

You asked for it… so here it is! 🙌After sharing my Reception progression resource, I had lots of messages asking whether...
24/09/2026

You asked for it… so here it is!
🙌
After sharing my Reception progression resource, I had lots of messages asking whether I could create the same thing for younger children too.

So I have! 💛
The full EYFS Progression Across the Years collection is now available, covering:
Birth to 3
3 & 4-year-olds
Reception

Each pack covers all 7 areas of learning and is designed as a worked example to support curriculum thinking, purposeful provision and professional discussion — not as a checklist or assessment tracker.

They’re available individually, or together as a complete Birth to 5 bundle with 21 progression overviews.

The RPC resource shop is growing slowly but surely, week by week, and I’m really enjoying building resources that practitioners are actually asking for.

So if there’s something you’d love to see me create, please send me a message. I’m always happy to add ideas to my list.
😊
You can find the new progression resources in the shop here 👇
https://payhip.com/ReadPlayCreate

23/09/2026

What do I want the children to get from this?

That's the question.

Not what can I put in the tray?
Not what will look good?
Not what activity goes with this story?

Start with the learning.

What do children need to practise, revisit, apply or communicate?
Then build the provision around it.

It's one of the things I look at through my Language & Purposeful Provision Reviews — helping EYFS teams consider not just what their provision looks like, but what it's actually doing for their children.

If you'd like more information about a review for your nursery, preschool or Reception setting, comment or DM me REVIEW and I'll send you the details 😊

When I review EYFS provision, I’m not looking for Pinterest-perfect classrooms.I’m looking at what the environment is ac...
22/09/2026

When I review EYFS provision, I’m not looking for Pinterest-perfect classrooms.

I’m looking at what the environment is actually enabling children to learn, say, practise and revisit.

Beautiful provision can still lack purpose. And simple provision can be incredibly powerful when we know exactly why it’s there.

These are just five of the things I notice when looking at language and purposeful provision in an EYFS setting.

My reviews are designed to be supportive and practical — identifying what’s already working, where there may be gaps, and clear next steps that are realistic for your team and your children.

If your setting is reviewing its EYFS provision this year, feel free to get in touch.

📧 [email protected]
📱 07960206866

17/09/2026

Repetition can sometimes sound like we’re asking children to do the same thing over and over again.
But that’s not what I mean by revisiting learning.

Take Little Red Riding Hood. ❤️🐺
The first time children hear the story, they might simply listen and enjoy it. Then they hear it again.
They begin to recognise the characters. Anticipate what happens next. Join in with familiar parts. Notice the repeated language.
And then we can give them opportunities to meet that same language and knowledge in a different way.
“What big eyes you have…” 👀
“What big ears you have…” 👂
“What big teeth you have…” 🦷
Now they're digging and searching for the wolf's eyes, ears and teeth. They're finding, scooping, comparing, describing. Big. Small. Huge. Sharp.
They're hearing familiar vocabulary again, but this time they're physically doing something with it.
Later they might use the characters to retell the story. Then take those ideas into their own imaginative play.
Maybe they remember the sequence.
Maybe they use a word independently that they've heard us model several times.
Maybe they change the story completely.

Same story. Not the same learning.

We're not repeating an activity for the sake of repetition.
We're giving children multiple opportunities to hear, experience, practise, retrieve, apply and eventually use learning more independently.
And we don't need to create something completely new every time we want learning to move forward.
Sometimes the next step is a new resource.
Sometimes it's a carefully chosen word.
A question. A small challenge. A chance to retell.
Or simply more time with something familiar.
Because repetition doesn't have to mean standing still.

Used purposefully, repetition can be exactly what helps children move forward. ❤️📚

This is a big part of how I think about story-led learning, language, progression and purposeful provision when supporting nurseries and schools — looking beyond “What activity are we doing next?”
If your team is looking at curriculum, language, progression or provision this year, message me about support for your setting.

13/09/2026

We talk about progression a lot in Early Years.

But it doesn't always need to look like a completely new activity or something obviously “harder”.

Sometimes progression is much quieter.

A child hears a new word.
Then begins to understand it.
Then uses it with support.
Then one day uses it independently.

A child listens to a familiar story.
Then joins in.
Then retells parts of it.
Then uses the ideas within their own play.

A child explores a resource in one way.
Then returns to it, combines it with something else and uses what they already know to create something entirely their own.
That's what you're seeing here. ❤️

The animals and tree bricks were initially part of a provision I'd created. But then the child took those familiar resources, moved them, combined them and created something completely different.

I didn't need to replace everything with a “next level” activity.

The learning had moved on because the child had.

They were applying what they knew with greater independence, making connections, solving their own problems and developing their own ideas.
And that's something I think is really important when we consider progression within our curriculum and provision.

Sometimes the next step isn't more stuff.
It might be a new word.
A carefully timed question.
A small challenge.
A different material.
More independence.
Or simply the opportunity to revisit something familiar and use it in a new way.

Progression isn't about making provision busier. It's about making learning deeper.

This is a big part of the work I support nurseries and schools with — looking at progression not just on paper, but at what it actually looks like through curriculum, provision and children's everyday experiences.

If progression is something your team is currently reviewing, feel free to message me. ❤️📚

There can be so much pressure in Early Years to keep adding.A new activity. A new enhancement. Something different for e...
12/09/2026

There can be so much pressure in Early Years to keep adding.

A new activity. A new enhancement. Something different for every area. Something new for tomorrow.

But sometimes the most powerful thing we can do is stop adding and start noticing.

What are the children returning to?
What conversations are happening?
What are they trying to work out?
What have they changed that we didn't expect?

And what could we do next to move that learning forward?
Sometimes that's a new resource.
Sometimes it's a new word, a question or a small challenge.
And sometimes it's simply giving children more time.

That's the kind of thinking I love supporting settings with. Not giving you a list of activities to recreate, but working alongside you to look at your curriculum, your provision and your children and make sure they connect.

Because purposeful provision will look different in every setting — and it should. ❤️

I'm currently taking enquiries from nurseries and schools looking for support with curriculum development, purposeful provision, language and literacy, staff development and curriculum review.

If you're looking at your provision this term and thinking “we know there's more we could get from this”, drop me a message and we can have a chat. 📚

10/09/2026

“Swamp.” “Stomp.” “Muddy.” “Erupt.”
We can read those words.
We can say them.
We can show children a picture.

But imagine being a young child and actually having something to connect those words to.
Stomping a dinosaur through thick mud.
Feeling the mud squish through your fingers.
Feeding a hungry dinosaur.
Exploring a bubbling volcano.
Moving dinosaurs through murky swamp water.

And all the while, an adult is there talking.
Repeating words.
Modelling language.
Adding new vocabulary.
Responding to what the child notices.
Extending what they say.

Then we return to the story and those words aren't quite so abstract anymore.
They've felt muddy.
They've stomped.
They've explored what a swamp might be like.
They've watched their volcano erupt.

For young children, experiences give us something incredibly powerful to attach language and learning to.

And this is particularly important to me because we can never assume children arrive with the same bank of experiences.
If they can't go to the experience, sometimes we can bring a little piece of the experience to them. ❤️
That's one of the reasons story-led learning can be so powerful.
📚 Read it.
💬 Talk about it.
🙌 Experience it.
🔁 Revisit it.

Give the words something to stick to.

This thinking runs through my work with nurseries and schools, from early language and purposeful provision to literacy, SEND intervention and story-led curriculum development. If you'd like support for your setting, I'm currently taking enquiries.

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