EYFS Best practice: All about ... Communication friendly spaces

Good language skills give children not just an educational advantage, but leave them socially and emotionally equipped for life as well; and promoting these skills depends on an effective environment as well as supportive adults and good resources.

Since its launch last year, many practitioners have been using the Communication-Friendly Spaces Toolkit for Practitioners, commissioned by the Basic Skills Agency (see box), to help assess how effective their learning environment is in supporting children's speaking and listening skills. Here we look at how three Nottinghamshire settings used it and the challenges, debates and changes that emerged.

Abacus Playgroup, Lady Bay, Nottingham

Angela Hodgkinson is supervisor and Eve Erentz an assistant at Abacus, which offers 20 part-time morning places to children aged two to five years old. Its premises - a Scout hut - are used by various community groups throughout the week, so playgroup staff have to set out and pack away all their resources every day (pictured on page 19).

What was your initial response to the toolkit?

'We immediately knew it would make us think about things afresh,' says Angela. 'When you have to get everything out so quickly each day, it's easy to put things out in the same place, through routine really, and without thinking about why or how the way we arrange things could affect the children in terms of helping them to engage with activities.'

What area did you decide to start with and why?

'We wanted to create a quiet area but couldn't see where or how. We reviewed the whole of our space and realised the potential of using part of our storeroom once we had wheeled everything into the main room.

'We have started experimenting with this space and have created different structures in there. It's been interesting seeing how the children respond to the spaces - the way that they play in big or small spaces can differ.'

What are you starting to notice in these spaces?

'One of our very successful CFS (Communication-Friendly Spaces) areas was a really simple enclosed space we made, by hanging sheeting from the beams. We used trolleys to shape the space, and added mats to make it comfortable, with some blankets and a few toys. We positioned the entrance so that the children had to walk round to the back of the structure to get in. It was quite a private, child-height space.

'Finlay found the space first and went in, using it as a space to "be" - on his own. He came out and said, "I want to stay in there forever. Do you know I'm going to sleep in there tonight? I won't need anyone to bring me tomorrow. I've got a pillow".

'Jack then found the space and some inside-outside interaction went on with Finlay, until Jack was allowed in. We've noticed that they can get territorial about spaces, taking ownership if they find it first.

'They threw all the resources out of the space and wanted it to be empty. They waited until someone else came along. Very still, very quiet. The space gave them a semi-private, enclosed space to base their game.'

Eve adds, 'I noticed that Katie really likes the space. She has Down's Syndrome and she can find the choice available in the main room quite overwhelming. Being in the smaller, more enclosed area gives her confidence and her interactions with adults and children are noticeably more outgoing.'

What are you planning to review next?

'We have plans to buy some plain cream fabric, to hide the visual mess of stored furniture in this area,' says Angela. 'We are continuing to review everything, including the furniture, the layout of the room and the quantity of play equipment that's made available.'

Consider

Are you maximising the use of space in your setting? Are there any areas that you could use to create small, quiet spaces that are big enough for just a few children?

Christine Emery, Childminder, Mansfield Woodhouse

Christine, a childminder for 17 years and member of the Nottinghamshire Childminder Network, has ten children on her books, ranging from two to ten years old. They all have different combinations of sessions with her during the week (pictured, page 20-21).

What was your initial response to the toolkit?

'I felt it built on my practice. I take the children out all the time and we make good use of the local Sherwood Forest Pines area. There's a big focus on the importance of outside spaces in the CFS toolkit.'

What did you decide to focus on, and why?

'The children like making their own spaces and I wanted to extend that, especially for the older boys who like dismantling structures I've created! I wanted to make a mobile CFS kit that could stay in the boot of my car and be used by this group on our forest trips. I wanted to see if involving them in creating the space would change the way they used and valued it.

'I found some camouflage tarpaulin on eBay for £4. I also put a fleecy, soft blanket into the kit.'

What happened?

'Because the children knew the space in the forest, I was able to stand back and observe how they worked together and what they did. On the day I took these photos, I had five children with me, two aged ten, one aged seven, one aged three and one aged two.

'They worked together as a team for more than half an hour. There was masses of language and purposeful talk. They found a den that someone else had made, but decided that it was too big. They collected branches and leaves and combined them with the tarpaulin to make their own den. They used twine and twigs to hold the material up.

'We often take a picnic with us to eat in the spaces we create.'

How do you share this sort of activity with parents?

'Every day, I send home a diary and include photos of what we've done. This is a great way to communicate with parents, and also the children can re-tell what happened.'

Consider

Do children value spaces more if they have been involved in creating them? Try this out in your setting.

St John the Baptist Primary School, Colnwick

Nicola Wrixon runs the 33-place EYFS Unit at St John's, a one-form entry primary school in a rural area (pictured, page 22).

What was your initial response to the toolkit?

'I'd spent ages setting up my classroom for the start of a new year. It was full of colour and very busy. I read the toolkit and I just felt I'd done it all wrong!

'I started to ask myself why my room had to be so busy and bright? I'd never considered how colour and visual distraction could impact negatively on the children.'

What did you decide to focus on, and why?

'We decided to focus on the newly installed canopy in our outside area because it was a blank canvas, which somehow made it easier, as we weren't "undoing" things.

'The canopy was just one big space, with nothing in it. We'd been setting up a replica of inside provision under the canopy, which we knew we wanted to change.

'We started to look at how we could break the canopy down into smaller areas. We made some "concrete buckets" - using ready-mix concrete and a broom handle, which sets in the concrete overnight, giving you an instant screening support system. We attached neutral, "calm coloured" plain material to the broom handles using bulldog clips and positioned the screening to define smaller spaces.

'We noticed that the children could engage in their activity when they were tucked into a space. There was more depth in their play.

'As it got colder, our spaces under the canopy facilitated more mobile play. The activities outside became more role-play based.

'One space that worked really well was the police station. We'd screened the corner of the canopy using rush rolls, to enclose the space and make it more private. This screening also reduced distraction from the noise in the playground beyond. We added chairs, clipboards, a few role-play outfits and walkie-talkies. We deliberately didn't over-resource the area, as we wanted it to be uncluttered.

'We'd just had a visit from our community police officer and this captured the children's interests - the boys especially. They used the space as a base for their role play.'

What impact has this had on the children?

'Children accessed the space in different ways. Some controlled and directed the play, while others used the seats to just sit and "be" in there - watching and absorbing what went on. Our canopy spaces have drawn together different social groups of children. It's been particularly successful for the boys and has helped to engage them in role play with lots of interaction.'

What are you planning to review next?

"We're planning to review the layout inside and how we position spaces. We notice now how the children are using the spaces, positively and negatively, and we ask why. We now make decisions about our environment based on what we observe. Previously, I suppose some aspects of our environment were set up artificially.'

Consider

Do you have a canopy space? Try sub-dividing the space to zone areas and see if reducing the flow of movement and defining areas helps children to engage more deeply.

Further information:

- Elizabeth Jarman specialises in improving learning environments. Visit: www.elizabethjarmanltd.co.uk

- The Communication Friendly Spaces Toolkit: Improving Speaking and Listening Skills in the Early Years Foundation Stage, ISBN: 1 85990 428 9 by Elizabeth Jarman (2007) can be ordered from www.basic-skills.co.uk and costs £10

- 'All about ... communication friendly spaces' by Elizabeth Jarman (Nursery World, 3 May 2007).