Play, Challenge and Learning About Risk
At Whitfield State School, we believe play is an essential part of childhood and an important way for children to develop confidence, independence and resilience. Our students are provided with opportunities to explore, create, imagine, collaborate and challenge themselves through a range of play experiences. Importantly, children also need opportunities to encounter and learn to manage age-appropriate risk. Climbing, balancing, building, exploring and negotiating challenges help students learn to assess situations, make decisions, understand consequences and recognise their own capabilities. Rather than removing every challenge, we support students to develop the judgement and skills to navigate them safely. These experiences build capable, confident young people and are an important part of our commitment to developing Resilient, Skilled Problem Solvers.
Play Pedagogy
Play pedagogy recognises that purposeful play can be a powerful vehicle for learning, particularly in the early years of schooling. Through thoughtfully designed play experiences, teachers create opportunities for students to investigate ideas, experiment, communicate, collaborate and solve problems while making meaningful connections with curriculum learning. Teachers intentionally observe, question, model and extend students’ thinking, balancing child-led exploration with explicit teaching and purposeful guidance. Play also provides a rich context for developing oral language, self-regulation, creativity, social skills and executive functioning. At Whitfield, play is not separate from learning; it is one of the ways children learn about themselves, other people and the world around them.
Outdoor Learning
Whitfield’s beautiful tropical grounds provide an exceptional environment for learning beyond the classroom. Outdoor learning gives students opportunities to engage directly with nature, investigate authentic problems, be physically active and experience learning in ways that cannot always be replicated indoors. Our gardens, open spaces, play environments and tropical rainforest areas can become extensions of the classroom, supporting learning across Science, Mathematics, Humanities, the Arts, Technologies and Health and Physical Education. Learning outdoors can foster curiosity, creativity, wellbeing, environmental responsibility and a stronger connection to place. For our students in Tropical North Queensland, it also means learning within one of the world’s most remarkable natural environments and developing an understanding of their responsibility to appreciate, explore and care for it.
Elements of outdoor learning and play at Whitfield State School
Loose Parts Play
Our Loose Parts Play spaces give children the freedom to build, create, imagine and problem-solve using open-ended materials. Through child-led play, students develop creativity, collaboration, confidence and resilience while learning to manage challenge and risk. The school has developed a comprehensive risk benefit assessment to create controls for allowing this play type. All staff and students undertake induction activities each year and entry and play in this space has a clear routine and signage that clarifies actions every time students commence play. All materials are viewable on request.
Nature Play
Our award winnig Nature Play area connects children with the outdoors through climbing, balancing, exploring and imaginative play in natural environments. These spaces encourage adventure, physical development, creativity and the confidence to test themselves in new ways. Based on our school developed book 'Rooeys dream playground', each element of play represents an animal that are ready to go on adventures with Rooey and his school friends, 'Our Students'.
Naturopolis Rainforest Play
Our Naturopolis rainforest play area transforms Whitfield’s tropical environment into a place for exploration, adventure and discovery. Set amongst our rainforest, children can connect with nature, explore their environment and experience the benefits of adventurous outdoor play. This area has clear directions for play and learning including safety routines. Throughout our school's learning programs this space is used to support learning as well as play every day.