Play versus pressure to perform: A false dichotomy?

"Some years ago I took on a combined Reception and Year 1 class and very soon began fleshing out what form the teaching and learning might take. Upon my suggestion to use a primarily playful approach to learning, working with small groups across the day and differentiating inputs and activities, my headteacher at the time contended that I would never be able to cover the Year 1 curriculum nor extend the children’s learning sufficiently if I used this approach." Using play as a tool for learning beyond (and, to an extent, within) the Foundation Stage tends to evoke one of two responses. There are those who, like my former headteacher, cite its undermining of academic performance, curriculum coverage and other aspects of the educational process. The other response is an insistence that play is necessary for our young learners. This leads one to question: why do such divisions in perspective exist between educators? Where does the idea that play and academic progress stand in opposit