Key insights
5 slides
The setting
Free play sits at the core of two Gdańsk schools.
Gedania 1922 Preschool and the CreoGedania alternative school in Gdańsk, Poland, have spent five years introducing free play. It sits alongside science-based activities in physics, chemistry, and astronomy.
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- 01Free play forms the core of the Gedania 1922 Preschool and CreoGedania alternative school in Gdańsk, Poland, which has spent five years introducing it alongside science-based activities in physics, chemistry, and astronomy, with computer tasks limited to roughly 10% of classes.
- 02The author argues free play supports cognitive, emotional, social, and physical development, and that Polish schools need structural change, including more unstructured play and stronger emphasis on soft skills such as communication, empathy, and conflict resolution.
- 03The schools' outdoor spaces expanded from the Playpod, opened in 2016 with parental help, to GratoSfera in 2018, a larger area built from 12-metre shipping containers filled with loose parts, where teachers intervene only in conflicts and children return materials to their designated places.
- 04Under the Erasmus+ CAPS project with partners from five European countries, six UK OPAL-programme schools were visited to inform GratoSfera's design, and the project aims to develop play-friendly quality criteria for Central Europe.
- 05GratoSfera-style areas were piloted in nine Gdańsk schools from September 2019, though the paper offers limited quantitative outcome data on their effects.
- 06Play remains marginal in many Polish schools, where breaks are often oriented toward lesson preparation, and parents may be sceptical due to safety concerns or view play as a mere reward.
- 07The main obstacles identified are overloaded curricula, heavy administrative burdens on teachers, and a lack of national policy support, so the author concludes that parental engagement, teacher training, and institutional commitment are essential.
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Summary
This paper examines five years of introducing free play into Gedania 1922 Preschool and the CreoGedania alternative school in Gdańsk, Poland, while situating these efforts within the broader state of play in Polish education. The author argues that free play supports children's cognitive, emotional, social, and physical development, and that Polish schools need structural change, including greater room for unstructured play and stronger emphasis on soft skills such as communication, empathy, and conflict resolution. The document also draws on research linking recess and play to improved concentration, well-being, and social competence.
The preschool model centres on free play combined with science-based activities across subjects such as physics, chemistry, and astronomy, with computer-based tasks limited to roughly ten percent of classes. Its outdoor Playpod, opened in 2016 with the parents' help, was expanded with recycled and loose materials, and was followed in 2018 by GratoSfera, a larger outdoor area of 12-metre shipping containers filled with loose parts. Teachers intervene only in conflicts, and children are expected to return materials to their designated places, reinforcing responsibility and cooperation.
Work carried out under the Erasmus+ CAPS project, which involved partners from five European countries, included interviews with local authorities and alternative educators in the Pomerania region. Respondents emphasised that play strengthens imagination, independence, self-confidence, and conflict-resolution skills. Based on the UK OPAL programme, six schools were visited to inform the design of GratoSfera, and the project aims to develop play-friendly quality criteria for Central Europe. The pilot introduction of GratoSfera-style areas in nine Gdańsk schools from September 2019 is also described, though the paper offers limited quantitative outcome data.
The paper acknowledges that play remains marginal in many Polish schools, where breaks are often oriented toward lesson preparation and parental attitudes can be sceptical due to safety concerns and views of play as a mere reward. The author identifies overloaded curricula, heavy administrative burdens on teachers, and the lack of national policy support for play as key obstacles, and concludes that parental engagement, teacher training, and institutional commitment are essential for play to become a serious component of school life.
