Supporting Children’s Emotional Wellbeing Through the Power of Role Play
Children don’t always have the words to explain how they’re feeling but they often show us through their play.
Our Wellbeing Planning sessions provide schools and early years settings with a safe, child led environment where children can explore emotions, relationships and everyday experiences through imaginative role play. Combining our role play areas and play therapy inspired techniques, our sessions are carefully designed to help children communicate, build resilience and develop emotional wellbeing in a way that feels natural and enjoyable.
Suitable for EYFS, Key Stage 1, Key Stage 2 and SEND settings, every session is adapted to the individual needs of the children taking part.
What Is Our Wellbeing Planning?
Our Wellbeing Planning uses role play as a tool for observation, communication and emotional development.
Rather than asking children direct questions about their feelings, we provide carefully planned role play environments that encourage children to express themselves naturally through play.
This gives children opportunities to:
Explore emotions in a safe environment
Develop confidence and self-esteem
Build positive relationships
Strengthen communication skills
Practise problem solving
Learn healthy coping strategies
=Develop emotional resilience
Every session is child led, allowing children to direct their own learning while experienced practitioners sensitively support and observe their play.
The Seven Areas of Our Wellbeing Planning
Our Wellbeing Planning is designed around seven key areas that support children’s emotional development.
Safe Expression and Emotional Regulation
Children learn to recognise, express and manage their emotions through imaginative role play, helping them develop healthy emotional regulation strategies.
Building Self-Esteem and Confidence
Role play provides opportunities for children to experience success, make independent choices and develop confidence in themselves and their abilities.
Developing Problem Solving Skills
Children naturally encounter challenges within their play and work collaboratively to find solutions, encouraging resilience, creativity and flexible thinking.
Strengthening Relationships
Working alongside others helps children develop empathy, cooperation, turn taking, negotiation and positive social interactions.
Enhancing Communication and Language
Rich role play experiences encourage children to develop vocabulary, conversation skills, storytelling, questioning and active listening.
Learning Positive Coping Strategies
Children are supported to explore different ways of managing worries, frustrations and everyday challenges through meaningful play experiences.
Developing Independence and a Sense of Control
Giving children ownership of their play encourages decision making, responsibility and confidence, helping them feel capable and secure.
How Our Sessions Work
Every school and setting is different, so no two sessions are ever the same.
Before each visit, we work with your setting to understand the needs of the children and plan sessions that will provide the greatest benefit.
Sessions may focus on:
Emotional wellbeing
Friendship and relationships
Confidence building
School transitions
Anxiety and worries
Communication skills
Social interaction
Emotional regulation
Self-esteem
Resilience
Our practitioners gently facilitate the environment while allowing children’s own ideas and interests to guide the play.
Benefits for Schools
Schools regularly tell us that our Wellbeing Planning sessions help children to:
Feel more settled and emotionally secure
Develop stronger communication skills
Build positive friendships
Improve confidence and self-esteem
Strengthen emotional literacy
Increase engagement with learning
Support smoother transitions into school
Provide valuable insights into children’s emotional needs
The sessions also provide opportunities for staff to observe children in a different context, helping inform future support and provision.
Ideal For
Our Wellbeing Planning sessions are suitable for:
Nursery
Preschool
Reception
Key Stage 1
SEND resource provisions
Alternative provision
Small nurture groups
Children experiencing emotional or social challenges
Why Choose Pop Up Play Village?
Founded by qualified primary teacher, author and role play specialist Becky Hoare, Pop Up Play Village has spent over ten years supporting thousands of children through imaginative role play.
Our approach combines educational expertise, practical experience and child led learning to create meaningful wellbeing experiences that children genuinely enjoy.
We believe children shouldn’t always be expected to talk about their feelings. Sometimes they simply need the time, space and opportunity to play them out.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are these therapy sessions?
No. Our sessions are educational wellbeing sessions inspired by play therapy principles. They are designed to support children’s emotional wellbeing within educational settings.
Can sessions be adapted for SEND pupils?
Yes. Every session is tailored to meet the needs of the children taking part and works particularly well within SEND and resource provision settings.
Do staff stay during the sessions?
Yes. We encourage staff to observe, as role play often provides valuable insights into children’s communication, interests and emotional development.
Do you travel to schools?
Yes. Pop Up Play Village delivers Wellbeing Planning sessions in schools across the UK through our growing network of practitioners.
Testimonial
The Wellbeing Sessions which we have been enjoying through Pop Up Play Village Thatcham and Newbury are such a valuable addition to our provision, especially in the summer terms when there are so many feelings around “starting school”. These sessions give children a chance to express their excitements, worries and questions about school through role play supported by Becky, an extremely knowledgable professional who our children know well. With Becky leading the sessions our own staff can observe and then feed back to parents offering them reassurance.
Paula Reed, Manager of Beenham Preschool, Berkshire
Book a Wellbeing Planning Session
If you’re looking for a creative, engaging way to support children’s emotional wellbeing, we’d love to work with your school.
Contact us today to discuss how our Wellbeing Planning sessions can support the children in your setting.
The Research Behind Role Play and Children’s Wellbeing
Role play has long been recognised as one of the most powerful ways children learn, communicate and make sense of the world around them. Decades of educational and psychological research suggest that imaginative play supports not only cognitive development, but also children’s emotional wellbeing, communication and resilience.
Role Play Gives Children a Voice
Young children often communicate their thoughts and feelings through play before they are able to express them in words. Through imaginative role play, they can explore real life experiences, rehearse social situations and process emotions in a way that feels safe and meaningful. Research into play therapy similarly recognises play as children’s natural language for expressing and working through emotions.
Learning Through Social Play
Developmental psychologist Lev Vygotsky believed that role play is central to children’s development because it allows them to practise social rules, develop self-regulation and learn alongside others. During imaginative play, children experiment with different perspectives, solve problems collaboratively and build the foundations for communication and emotional understanding.
Building Confidence Through Imagination
Jean Piaget described pretend play as an important stage in children’s development, enabling them to represent experiences symbolically and develop thinking, language and creativity. By taking on different roles, children build confidence, strengthen their imagination and begin to understand the world from another person’s perspective.
Our Approach
At Pop Up Play Village, our Wellbeing Planning sessions combine these well established educational principles with over ten years of practical experience working with thousands of children in schools, nurseries and community settings.
Rather than directing children’s conversations, we create carefully planned role play environments where children feel safe to explore, communicate and develop at their own pace. This child led approach allows practitioners and school staff to gain valuable insights into children’s interests, relationships, confidence and emotional wellbeing while supporting the personal, social and emotional development that underpins successful learning.
We believe children don’t always tell us how they feel, they often play it out. By providing the time, space and opportunity for meaningful role play, we can better understand children’s experiences while helping them develop the confidence, resilience and emotional skills they need to thrive.
