Future Educators Explore Bilingual Learning Through Play at UWTSD
The University of Wales Trinity Saint David (UWTSD) has celebrated another successful academic year of outreach workshops designed to strengthen connections between higher education, further education colleges, and sixth form providers across Wales.
Focused on the theme of play as a vehicle to explore childhood, education and creative learning, the workshops have enabled students to experience first-hand the importance of play in children’s holistic development and wellbeing.
Delivered across a range of FE colleges and schools, the interactive sessions encourage learners to actively engage in playful learning themselves, exploring creative resources and designing unique activities and stories. Each workshop has highlighted how play supports problem solving, communication, social interaction, emotional wellbeing, science and mathematics, alongside creativity and experimentation.
The sessions are particularly valuable for students considering progression into Childhood, Education and Society-related degree programmes, helping them reflect on how play can support children and young people in both educational and community settings.
Glenda Tinney, one of the workshop leads, said:
“These types of workshops break down barriers and demonstrate that higher education is not something unachievable. At UWTSD, we can also demonstrate that the approach to teaching is practical and engaging and not always based in lectures. In terms of the play workshops, they also give students a taste of what studying Childhood, Education and Society courses would be like.”
Natasha Morgans, another workshop lead said that:
“This year, the initiative has also strengthened bilingual and Welsh-medium learning opportunities. The team collaborated closely with officers from the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol at Bridgend and Pembrokeshire College, as well as tutors from Mudiad Meithrin and its Cam wrth Gam programme in secondary schools across south Wales.
“The workshops demonstrated how play creates a relaxed and supportive environment for introducing and practising additional languages. Students impressed facilitators by naturally incorporating incidental Welsh into their play activities and by designing games specifically to encourage language development.”
One Further Education tutor commented:
“For us as an FE college, having Higher Education visits is important because they open students’ eyes to what can be studied at HE level, while also helping to build their confidence by showing them that their current skills provide the foundation needed for the next stage of their education.
“It broadens their horizons, and engagement between sectors ensures that the ‘next step’ into Higher Education feels less like a leap into the unknown and more like a natural progression from their existing talents.
We are grateful to receive visits from a variety of Higher Education institutions and courses so that our students can gain a clear understanding of the opportunities available to them.”
Angharad Jameson from Cam wrth Gam added:
“We visit the University campus annually, where our Level 3 Childcare learners benefit enormously from engaging play workshops alongside discussions about possible future courses and qualifications available to them.
Once again, it has been a fantastic opportunity for our learners to participate and expand their knowledge of play and the foundations of Child Development with experienced and welcoming University lecturers. Thank you very much.”
The workshops continue to promote creative thinking while strengthening links between educational theory and professional practice. Importantly, they also showcase Higher Education as an active and engaging learning environment where students can participate in experiential learning linked to children’s rights, holistic development, teamwork, leadership, curriculum studies, Additional Learning Needs (ALN), and wellbeing policy.
The University looks forward to welcoming even more students in the coming months as the programme continues to grow.
To book a workshop or find out more about Childhood, Education and Society programmes at UWTSD, contact g.tinney@uwtsd.ac.uk or visit: https://www.uwtsd.ac.uk/programme-courses/undergraduate/teaching-education-and-pgce/childhood-education-and-society-full
Further Information
Lowri Thomas
Principal Communications and PR Officer
Corporate Communications and PR
Email: lowri.thomas@uwtsd.ac.uk
Phone: 07449 998476