A cardboard tube can be a telescope, a tunnel, a trumpet or a chimney. A toy telephone can only ever be a telephone. Loose parts are open-ended materials with no fixed purpose, such as pinecones, fabric, crates, guttering, corks and pebbles, that children can move, combine, stack, take apart and transform. Because the child supplies the idea, the play holds their attention for a long time.
This loose parts play course explains why open-ended materials work, where to find them for next to nothing, how to match them to babies, toddlers and preschoolers, and what the adult should and should not do while the play unfolds. It finishes with risk-benefit assessment and the daily checks that keep a collection safe.
Why loose parts play matters
When a child picks up a crate, nothing about it says “use me this way”, so the child has to supply the idea, and that is where the learning happens. Loose parts build creativity and symbolic thinking, problem-solving and persistence, communication and collaboration, and both gross and fine motor skills. Large parts like planks and tyres often need two or more children, so negotiation and shared plans come built in.
The EYFS asks practitioners to attend to how children learn as well as what they learn, through the characteristics of effective learning. Loose parts serve all three strands well: playing and exploring, active learning, and creating and thinking critically. Done properly, it is a deliberately resourced, checked and well-observed approach, with choking risks for children who still mouth objects assessed and controlled.
What’s in the course
- What loose parts are and why they matterOpen-ended versus closed materials, what children gain, and Simon Nicholson’s theory of loose parts.
- Affordances, schemas and creativityWhat a material offers the player, how loose parts feed schemas, and the characteristics of effective learning.
- Sourcing, selecting and checkingFree sources, what to accept and refuse, the size rule for mouthing children, cleaning and storage.
- Provision by age groupTreasure baskets and heuristic play for babies, transporting for toddlers, construction scale for preschoolers, indoors and out.
- The adult’s roleResisting the urge to tidy, fix and demonstrate, when to join, what to say, and resourcing in response.
- Risk, benefit and keeping it safeRisk-benefit assessment, the non-negotiables, and the daily outdoor sweep.
- Assessment10 questions. Pass mark 80%. Resit as many times as you need.
What you’ll learn
- How to tell a loose part from a closed toy by asking what it lets a child do
- How to resource schemas such as transporting, connecting and enveloping with the right materials
- Where to source materials free, from families and scrap stores to tree surgeons for untreated wood
- What to refuse at the door, including splintered or rusted items, anything that has held chemicals and items that cannot be cleaned
- Why anything that can fit entirely inside a child’s mouth is a choking risk, and why mouthing stage matters more than age
- How to clean and check every item on arrival, then re-check weekly and termly
- Why tidying mid-play, fixing children’s problems and modelling “the right way” close down the play
- How to write a short, dated risk-benefit assessment that controls the hazard and keeps the challenge
Who this course is for
- Practitioners in baby, toddler and preschool rooms
- Room leaders planning continuous provision indoors and outdoors
- Managers and staff who write or review risk assessments for play resources
- Settings starting a loose parts collection on a small budget
How it works
- OnlineStudy on any device and pick up where you left off.
- 6 short lessonsAbout 45 minutes in total.
- 10-question assessmentPass mark 80%. Resit as many times as you need.
- CertificateIssued when you pass. NFAQ accredited.
Training your team
Loose parts play depends on every adult checking materials, holding back at the right moments and agreeing supervision levels, so it works best when the whole room trains together. Choose the number of learners at checkout, with group rates from 3 learners, or get it as part of the Training Portal for £5 per learner per month. It pairs well with Schemas: Understanding Children’s Play Patterns and Outdoor Play in Early Years.
Frequently asked questions
What are loose parts in early years?
Open-ended materials with no fixed purpose that children can move, carry, combine, stack, take apart and transform. Pinecones, fabric, crates, guttering, shells, corks, tyres and planks are all examples. If a child can use it in more than one way, it counts.
Are loose parts safe for babies and toddlers?
Yes, with the right materials and supervision. Every item for mouthing children must be too large to fit entirely in the mouth, cleanable, splinter-free and have nothing that can detach. Babies with loose parts always need an adult within arm’s reach, and baskets are checked before every session.
Do we need a big budget?
No. Most of the richest materials cost nothing. The course covers sourcing from families, scrap stores, tree surgeons, your own kitchen and charity shops, and how to set a clear standard for what you accept.
What is a risk-benefit assessment?
It asks what could go wrong and what children gain. You name the hazards, judge likelihood and severity for your children, write down the benefit, then choose controls that keep the challenge while reducing the risk. Sand the plank rather than bin it.
Should adults join in with loose parts play?
Sometimes. Join when a child invites you, when play has stalled or when a child is hovering at the edge. Take the role you are given and leave the ideas to the children. Much of the adult’s role is watching, keeping children safe and adding materials afterwards in response to what you saw.
What happens if I don’t pass the assessment?
You can resit it as many times as you need until you pass. Your certificate is issued as soon as you reach the 80% pass mark.
