WHY WE NEED TO PROTECT IMAGINATION
IN ASSOCIATION WITH
EDUCATION
LET THEM PLAY:
WHY WE NEED TO PROTECT IMAGINATION
WORDS BY SEAN TURNER, CHIEF EXECUTIVE, KIDSBURY ROLE PLAY VILLAGE, TUNBRIDGE WELLS
As grown-ups, we’ re brilliant at filling children’ s lives with structure- school, activities, routines- but we often overlook one of the most vital things in a child’ s development: space to play freely.
Not just play as a filler between tasks, but the messy, magical, made-up kind. The kind where children aren’ t being directed or corrected, but allowed to lead, create and imagine. As parents, teachers, even policymakers, we too often treat play like a luxury- in fact, it’ s foundational.
That’ s the idea behind Kidsbury, our childsized role-play village in Tunbridge Wells. It’ s a place built entirely around the belief that learning doesn’ t always look like learning. Here, children choose their own path. Some become doctors, chefs and mechanics, others create worlds far more fantastical.
No matter their choices, they’ re all practising empathy, collaboration, communication and confidence.
It’ s easy to underestimate the value of open-ended play in a world that rewards outcomes above all else. Inside the village, however, we see its power every day: a child solving a problem with a stranger, negotiating turn-taking, inventing a story, or simply making sense of the world around them by pretending to be part of it.
If we want our children to grow into creative, resilient thinkers, we need to protect these moments- not supervise them and squeeze them out. Imagination isn’ t the opposite of education. It is education. And Kidsbury is proud to be doing its small part to make space for that.
kidsburyplay. com kidsburyplay www. insidekent. co. uk • 179