Introduction to Purposeful Play

One thing is clear. Children develop and learn a host of physical, social and cognitive skills through play. Interactions with others influence how they communicate, learn new skills and manage their emotions. Play provides a superb platform for social-emotional development in children and young people.

The challenge in an ever-changing world, full of good intentions, is that children are now bombarded with structured activities and sessions, many of which remove the intended benefits of play.

Most people agree that play is important, yet the opportunity for play is disappearing!

There is a need for coaches, as uncomfortable as it may seem, to create space in sessions for unstructured, creative play. How do you allow your participants to explore, be creative and engage in play?

• Joy
• Active engagement
• Social interactions
• Opportunities to adapt, change and improve
• Cocreation with your participants
• Variety
• Creativity

The benefits are not limited to children. Play is also important for adults. One thing is certain; every adult has been a child, and sport and physical activity have the opportunity to unlock everyone’s playful side. 

Play offers opportunities to create developmentally appropriate activities and coach connected skills that you can tweak. Think of it as the foundation of holistic development.

As a coach, play gives you opportunities to manipulate the activity, environment, your own behaviours to focus on interrelated components of motor skills, cognitive development, and social and emotional development. It’s an approach that embraces the principles of learning, developing the whole person rather than aspects in isolation.

Play is unique in how events within it unfold spontaneously. Changes in the time and space mean decisions occur, excitement builds, the ‘world expands’ and learning occurs.

Watch and hear from three coaches on why the inclusion of play is important to their coaching

Purposeful play is the intentional use of playful activities to develop exploration, creativity and enjoyment. It also supports learning and development, plus restorative and wellbeing functions. The key difference between adult and childhood play is that adults often feel a need for permission and framing to engage in it.

For adults, purposeful play can remove a feeling of guilt about play being perceived as lacking a target. Framing play as an intentional process makes it more culturally acceptable and provides an important space to maximise the benefits and opportunities on offer. 

The feeling of intentional and purposeful play, a deliberate act rather than casual and accidental, means play becomes habit-forming and sustainable.

Amanda Gummer's definition of purposeful play is:

The “Purposeful” Element

1. Encourages the creation of habits. Treating play as a deliberate practice and activity, rather than accidental leisure, makes it sustainable
2. Matters for adults because it removes the guilt of ‘play’ time
3. Frames play as intentional and makes it culturally acceptable
4. Maximises the benefits. Allowing a choice of play types aligned to an individual’s preference and needs (such as creative, social, physical, imaginative) amplifies the impact and effect for them

Benefits of Play (if we need a reason!)

Play is hard wired into everyone. Participation provides a dopamine hit, a feeling of satisfaction and a sense of reward. We might describe it as a buzz, a moment of joy or the “yes” moment when we learn something new.

Play stimulates the brain and helps create new neural connections. It’s a powerful stimulant, supporting the brain to develop and adapt throughout our lives. Play keeps us young!

Play is our natural stress reliever, helping to lower cortisol and manage fear responses. It activates the prefrontal cortex, which improves emotional regulation and executive function. This area is the brain’s management system, responsible for planning, problem-solving and focusing attention.

Laughter is the best medicine, and our body responds in many positive ways when we smile and laugh. Reducing stress, increasing our immune system to fight inflections and improving our blood flow. The release of endorphins helps our muscles relax, releases tension, improves our mood and acts as pain relief.

Think of the moment when you introduce ‘play’ into a session. 

“We are going to play a game.”

“Let’s start by playing a game.” 

The very words evoke an emotion within participants. You’ll likely see this in their faces, body language, voices and actions.

Benefits of establishing play in early years

Establishing play in the early years creates a foundation for learning, growth, and enjoyment by making activity self-motivating and promoting good habits. Play also supports the development of social networks, boosts confidence, aids communication, supports imagination, and helps children understand their place in the world. For mental health, play allows individuals to relax and move away from the pressure of perfectionism.

Benefits of play in childhood

For children, it is an essential stage in their development and growth. The space and opportunity where they nurture motor, cognitive, social and emotional skills. Play is where children and teenagers learn how to learn. From setbacks to problems, curiosity to creativity, play is central to these opportunities.

Opportunities for play are disappearing. Busy schedules, structured days, family situations, actual and perceived risk of being outside unsupervised and the increase of technology can all play a role. 

And let’s not forget the increase of structured activities through ‘tots’ programmes which fix the time, space and activity for parents, while often removing the everyday opportunities and experiences to engage in the unstructured, flexible, self-creating and iterative process of exploring and finding solutions from play.

Gareth Williams is a primary school PE teacher and the founder of play_folke, an activity group for adults centred on play. The group has regular attendance from teenagers and adults in their mid-life through to septuagenarians.

Benefits of purposeful play in adults

Purposeful play has a positive impact on psychological health and well-being, reducing anxiety. It helps participants build resilience and recovery strategies from setbacks in a low-risk environment. It’s a safe space to develop connection and build trust with other adults; a place to meet, connect and feel a sense of belonging. For many participants, it’s an opportunity to develop new skills and competency, through movement, competition and play.

For adults, play offers the opportunity for choice, meeting different life demands, from recreational, social and competitive experiences to connection, creativity and physical well-being. Its intentional use can help create and maintain habits, through deliberate practice rather than casual or accidental leisure.

Play encourages smiles and laughter and creates our very own ‘happy drug’ through the release of endorphins. The participants that attend the play_folke sessions agree. When we spoke to them and asked why they came to the sessions and what they gained from attending, the messages were clear…

“Have a giggle”

“Let your hair down and have a bit of fun”

“It’s a laugh”

“I am buzzing, just look at the smiles”

“Smiles and connection”

One participant went further...

“We have adult jobs, with adult pressures, adult responsibilities, adult relationships, adult expectations. When I come here, there is no pressure. The competition is low stakes and it’s light-hearted. I can have fun, be child-like, mess around. I never miss a session. We had a break in December before Christmas, and I was desperate to be back in January.”

The science is clear. Play is not a luxury for adults. It is a biological necessity with measurable cognitive, emotional, social, and physical benefits. The “purposeful” framing simply gives adults the permission and structure they need to reclaim something their brains never stopped needing.

Sports and physical activity are arguably the most natural and structured form of purposeful play for adults. They provide the format (rules, goals, competition) that gives adults permission to play, while supporting the neurological and psychological benefits we’ve outlined.

Sports can combine several benefits in a single space or moment in time through great coaching.

• Intrinsic motivation features in play, as individuals participate through enjoyment, not external reward
• A balance of skill and challenge allows participants to be lost in the moment, a feeling psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi termed flow state. This is the total absorption in an activity, featuring deep satisfaction and optimum or peak performance
• Sport personifies play, engaging the body’s biological and cognitive systems, including the release of hormones
• Social connection with others in the group, teammates, opponents, coaches, and spectators. Opportunities arise to make social bonds during and around the sport or physical activity
• Uncertainty is the very essence of sport. The outcome of every game or competition is genuinely unknown, which keeps individuals alert, focused and engaged in a way other activities can’t
• Game situations allow for stress inoculation, increasing adrenaline and cortisol levels in a safe context. Through repeat exposure and controlled stress responses, participants build capacity to handle real-world stress more effectively.
• Movement-based play stimulates the cerebellum part of the brain, supporting motor skills and connecting to cognitive and emotional processing. Through play, individuals develop their thinking, decision-making, problem-solving and emotional regulation
• Team activities help participants build empathy and social attunement, the awareness of and sensitivity to the needs of others and their emotional states. This fosters deeper social connections and trust.

The coaches share how they evolve play within their sessions

• Revisit your purpose as a coach
• Speak to the people you coach to understand their goals and reasons they participate
• Rekindle enjoyment in your sessions
• Create opportunities for creativity
• Find opportunities to deepen social connection and bonds
• Reduce performance anxiety through play
• Play is an effective approach to sustain long-term participation.

Hear from the coaches as they offer practical tips and advice on including purposeful play in your next session.