Lizzie said
"I know, we could make a start by throwing away all those who want 'Pre School Learning Alliances' and replacing them with those who want 'Playgroups' to return..."

Ideally it should be both. The choice of play materials should lead to learning. The idea that 'play' is the same as 'running riot' is false, but may be what led to a change of name.

It's the pressure of inspection, and box ticking that sends things awry.
I found when I was a Playgroup supervisor that I could teach or I could record. Not both. So the children were learning, but I couldn't say just what they'd learned in any session.