Literacy as a social practice has a fundamental role in children's lives especially in the early years context, in which social interactions are in the centre of knowledge achievement. Several pieces of research investigate the positive contribution of the arts in children's literacy development in the early years settings. However, most of them focus on the aspect of emergent literacy and phonological awareness, with some indirect arguments about literacy as a social practice. Having this in mind and the importance of literacy as a social practice, this project was designed. The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of the arts in the development of literacy as a social practice in the early years settings. The intervention used the "Play and Learn through the Arts" (PLA) programme for a full school year in a case study with 5-6-year-old children in Greece. The outcomes were measured using authentic assessment techniques and a semi-structure interview. The findings showed the positive contribution of the arts in the development of literacy as a social practice in the early years setting.