Online Webinar: Risky Play in Early Years Education

Risk is everywhere in childhood - from climbing frames to muddy slopes, from rough-and-tumble play to first tool use. Understanding how managed risk builds judgment, confidence, and real-world skills is key to helping children thrive.

This webinar offers a clear, encouraging look at how early years educators and professionals can enable risky play safely and purposefully. Whether you’re in a nursery, preschool, school, or community setting, you’ll gain practical insight into small shifts that make a big impact - so children can explore, assess, and grow.

With thought-provoking reflection and real-life examples, we’ll explore how embracing manageable challenge becomes part of your culture, not just a checkbox on your policy list.

Meet Our Speaker: Liam Bardwell
With deep experience in early years and a passion for child-led learning, Liam brings both professional insight and practical strategies to this session. His work focuses on helping practitioners distinguish risk from hazard and create environments where all children can stretch themselves safely and confidently - indoors and out.

Whether you’re just getting started or strengthening existing practice, Liam will guide you with warmth, clarity, and real-world action.

What You Will Learn in This Webinar
✅ Understanding Risky Play in Early Years
Gain clarity on what risky play is, the six categories (heights, speed, tools, natural elements, rough-and-tumble, exploration), and how they show up in everyday provision.
✅ Moving from Awareness to Action
See how enabling challenge goes beyond “safety first” posters - why embedding it in daily routines, policies, and planning matters.
✅ Language, Supervision & Resources that Empower
Use confident, parent-friendly language; apply responsive supervision; choose materials that invite graduated challenge without introducing hazards.
✅ Designing Environments for Safe Challenge
Discover easy-to-implement tweaks indoors and outdoors, dynamic risk-benefit assessments, and tool-use progressions that support all learners.
✅ Reflecting on Practice Without Judgement
Get prompts and checklists to evaluate your setting with curiosity - not criticism - and build a steady, sustainable action plan.

Let’s Create Spaces that Challenge, Not Limit
Whether you’re an early years educator, leader, student, or someone supporting families and young children, this session will help you feel confident enabling risky play with care, compassion, and clarity.

Register today and join us for a practical, inspiring session on embracing challenge and fostering growth - starting in the early years.