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Background. The article is devoted to the study of the current state of senior preschooler’s free play and the resources for its development through non-directive pedagogical support. Despite the introduction of the Federal State Educational Standard and the great attention paid to the topic of play all over the world, the state of children’s play is alarming. This was confirmed by the ascertaining stage of our study, which showed its extremely low level in 86% of children.

The aim of the study was to identify and analyze the key indicators of free story-driven play and to identify the impact of regular play meetings with non-directive pedagogical support on its development.

Description of the research progress. The study involved 37 senior preschoolers aged 5.8–6.5 years. The methodological apparatus of the study was a modified method by E.O. Smirnova, I.A. Ryabkova. Through observation and careful data recording, play features were obtained and described in terms of such parameters as subject-spatial and content component, game and organizing interaction. The examined group of children was divided into two parts: experimental and control groups. A formative experiment involving 19 children was carried out for two months and was dedicated to exploring the possibilities of developing the play through its non-directive support. Children of the experimental group came once a week for 45-minute play sessions with non-directive support, which were held in a separate room of the kindergarten using of multifunctional material and the absence of traditional toys. Children of the control group continued to lead their usual lifestyle and occasionally came to play, but without special play support. The article describes the principles of pedagogical support, the use of which made it possible to change the features of children’s inclusion in the play and to state the development of different indicators of the game.

Research results. Data analysis showed statistically significant differences in the quality of children’s play in the experimental group and the absence of such differences in the control group. The interaction of children organizing the play and the subject-spatial component of the play have been developed. Game interaction and the content component of the play have not changed so much as a result of play meetings.

Conclusion. The use of unformed materials gave a lot of impulses to both play and construction, productive activities to provide children with play needs. Children’s play initiative has increased, and ways of resolving conflicts have changed. The results obtained and the described approaches can serve as practical material for teachers.

Relevance (context) of the article. Play is important not only for the full life of preschool childhood, but also for the formation of psychological readiness for school. Play support is one of the key aspects of high-quality practice. At the same time, the analysis of existing studies shows that the level of development of preschool children’s play remains low, and the conditions for it are at a minimum level. To change this situation, an objective analysis of the practice is necessary, highlighting the strengths and points of growth.

The aim of the study. Development and testing of the scale “Support for Children’s Play” (SCP) as a tool for assessing and developing the quality of the educational environment of the kindergarten.

Description of the research progress. A scale was developed and tested, consisting of 97 indicators, grouped into 7 indicators. The scale design corresponds to the instruments of the ECERS family. The course of instrument validation in 32 preschool groups is described: checking the internal consistency of the instrument (Alpha-Cronbach), reliability by the method of inter-expert consistency, checking the validity and determining the discriminative function by the method of contrast groups (the significance of differences in the Welch-modification t-tests and the Mann-Whitney shift criteria).

Research results. Statistical analysis showed that the scale has good internal consistency (Alpha-Cronbach coefficient = 0.89), validity (differences between contrast groups are significant at the level of 0.01, p-value = 7.294e-06 according to Welch-t-test, p-value = 0.0002733 according to Wilcoxon test) and sufficient reliability (the average model of deviations of paired inter-expert assessments was 0.47 points, which is significantly lower than the standard deviation for the total score of the entire sample (sd = 1.1695).

Conclusion. The SCP scale can be applied not only for external expert assessment and self-assessment, but also as a tool for the professional development of a teacher in order to reflect on his own strategy for supporting the play and finding growth points. The article proposes measures to improve the tool in order to increase reliability, including the development of a training program for experts.

Relevance. Currently, in most preschool groups there is a minimum level of quality conditions for supporting play. The task is to improve the quality of play support. The article examines the developing potential of regular practice of storytelling as a part of indirect play support in preschool setting.

The aim of the study: to analyze the influence of regular storytelling experience on the development of pretend play.

Methods. 38 children aged 6-7 years from two preschool groups took part in a pedagogical experiment (duration – 7 months). For the initial and repeated assessment of the level of play development we used E.O. Smirnova’s diagnostic tool and the “challenge-response” parameter (L.I. Elkoninova); to assess the level of imagination development – the tool “Where is whose place?” (E.E. Kravtsova). In the experimental group, conditions were created for regular practice of storytelling based on children’s drawings. The results of the pedagogical experiment were assessed by the presence of a shift in the level of development of play and imagination in the experimental and control groups before and after the pedagogical experiment.

Results. Based on the analysis of more than 600 children’s stories, 3 types of children’s stories were identified and 5 trajectories of development of children’s storytelling were described. During the experiment, children moved from a description and sequence of actions to more complex structure with culmination. Statistical analysis revealed significant differences in the level of development of play and imagination before and after the pedagogical experiment (p<0.01) only in the experimental group.

Conclusions. Regular storytelling is a significant condition for the development of the cognitive aspect of the play associated with substitution, symbolic actions of the child, plot features, as well as the affective side of play associated with the creation of a situation of challenge and response. Storytelling can be seen not as the only necessary condition for the development of play, but as an additional condition (part of indirect support) that expands the capabilities of children playing. The results can be used in developing a strategy for complex play support in preschool organizations.