Primary school break times have often been seen as a distraction from formal lessons in literacy and numeracy.
They might even be viewed as a disruptive influence if the rough and tumble of the playground went too far.
But the latest report on education systems across the world from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) paints a different picture.
Its Education at a Glance 2018 report suggests breaks in formal instruction play a vital role in allowing pupils to play, rest and
interact with their peers.
The benefits are not just a refreshed pupil, but the ability of play to further develop cognitive, emotional and social skills means these attributes can be used in the classroom to improve learning.
The OECD report comes at a time when the early years of primary school in Scotland are under intense scrutiny.
The catalyst has been the Scottish Government’s introduction of standardised assessments in P1 to help close the attainment gap.
A range of charities and other interested parties such as teaching unions have spoken out against the move, partly on the basis that assessment of five-year-old runs counter to the increasing realisation that play rather than formal learning is the key to raising standards.
Another section of the OECD which touches on this point is an analysis of the age at which pupils start school.
In around three out of four countries pupils start primary education aged six, while in most others the required starting age is seven.
Only in a handful of countries, including Australia, England, New Zealand and Scotland, does primary education start around the age of five.
That means pupils in Scotland are some of the youngest in the developed world to begin formal schooling at a time when the majority of their international peers are still being allowed to play.
There is still a significant debate to be had over the calls for a new kindergarten stage in Scotland along the lines of the model in Finland.
However, the OECD report highlights the progress individual schools could make simply by viewing break times in a different light.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here