When I first met Ben*, an early years pupil at a primary school, he was reluctant to speak or make eye contact with me. Alongside a teaching assistant, we investigated a few of the activities on offer during that first session. Ben very much relied on his known adult for support. Without any further explanation, he spent most of the first session shouting ‘No!’ and ‘Stop!’ when introduced to a new activity. He was easily discouraged and quickly felt overwhelmed. At these points he often became violent, lashing out at those around him which had included his classmates. At one point during the first session, I commented ‘good work!’ when he did engage with one of the activities. He instantly replied, ‘I don’t work: I play!’ And the term ‘good play!’ was born!

We spent the next 10 weeks ‘playing’ and building confidence through a mixture of games and activities built around Ben’s needs and preferences, all with multiple opportunities for him to succeed. This enabled Ben to build his resilience and try things he hadn’t done before, a huge step for him. For example, the first time we used the slackline Ben wouldn’t try it. The next time he tried it with support but wouldn’t get back on when he slipped off. By the end of our time, he managed to cross the slackline with support and even tried again when he had slipped or found it hard.

We started every session with Ben finding and counting toy birds that I had hidden around the outdoor space. Not only did Ben learn to recognise the different birds and recall their names but we were also able to get some numeracy into our sessions by counting how many had ‘flown away’ and how many were back in the basket. Once we discovered he enjoyed the sensation of being on the swing, we read stories whilst he was swinging. We were able to get to the point of reading the same book his peers were reading in class.

Over the course of the 10 weeks I spent with Ben, I saw him gain in trust and confidence. He was also able to state his feelings and instead of throwing things or shouting he would say, ‘I feel angry’ which gave us a great opportunity to talk about what makes us feel angry and what we can do with that feeling.

Our 1:1 sessions enabled Ben to stay in the school whilst alternative provision was made for him that better suited his needs. I really enjoyed our time together and in particular I enjoyed seeing him run out, eager to find the birds and start our sessions.

*names have been changed