Collaborative play in the EYFS
27th September 2025
Collaborative play in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) involves children working together towards a common goal, requiring them to communicate, negotiate, and share ideas to achieve a shared objective. The FS1 children use this type of play to foster essential social skills like empathy, problem-solving, teamwork, turn-taking, and conflict resolution and they also learn to respect others' perspectives and contribute to a group effort.
As the FS1 collaborate during play, they come up with solutions to problems and obstacles encountered and they discuss the ‘best fit’ for each particular problem. Examples of collaborative play could include: building a shared structure and participating in imaginative play scenarios, balancing on tyres and how to maintain this balance by aligning their bodies, how to dig a tunnel or big hole in the sand by scooping large amounts of sand and how to maneuver tight corners when pulling the cart.
