Each article provides some important background information on policy, some real-life case studies and examples of Principles Into Practice, and a list of useful resources. There are also some questions to challenge your own understanding and practice.
The Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage, page 9, states, 'Learning and Development recognises that children develop and learn in different ways and at different rates, and that all areas of learning and development are equally important and inter-connected.'
Play and exploration
Children are born as naturally curious beings and we must encourage their curiosity through our provision of opportunities to explore and play. Every child will have their own unique way of interacting and experiencing their world, depending on their preferred learning styles and any special learning needs that they may have. They will all respond emotionally and intellectually to sensory experiences as they try to make sense of the world around them. Our role is to ensure that we provide a rich and varied environment of first-hand experiences, both indoors and outdoors, in which the children follow their own needs and interests.
Play is a child's work. We should respect their individuality and personal choices as they explore and try to make their own meaning. Play provides an opportunity for them to rehearse things that are happening to them in their lives. They also explore concepts and experiment with who they are and who they would like to be.
The role of the adult is to provide stimulating resources and enough time and space for learning, and to observe the learning as it happens in order to modify future provision to meet the developing needs of the learners. You should also get involved in playing alongside the children, but try to resist the temptation to lead the play in the direction you want it to go - you should let yourself be led by their play.
You can support their language development by talking as you play about what you are doing, and you can ask them questions about their play and learning, but try to do this in as unobtrusive a manner as you can. Open questions are best for this, such as:
- 'What have you been doing?'
- 'Can you tell me about ...?'
- 'What will you do next?'
We need to create opportunities for the children to make real decisions. Questions such as, 'What are you going to learn at nursery today?' will provide children with the opportunity to make those decisions for themselves. More specific questions are:
- 'Who are you going to work with today?'
- 'Are you going to work inside or outside?'
- 'What materials will you need?'
- 'Will you need some help or do you want to work on your own?'
Tina Bruce, in her book Time to Play in Early Childhood Education, explores the concept of 'free-flow play'. She provides 12 key features which she summarises as:
'Free-flow play = wallowing in ideas, feelings and relationships + application of developed competence, mastery and control'.
Active learning
Here are some practical examples of how the Rowland Hill staff team encourage all children to be active learners.
Every child has their own individual learning plan that has been drawn up by the key worker and parent. When the child arrives at the start of their session, they choose where they want to go. The adults support the child's learning in that area. The key person will make time in the day to spend time with their key group of children. At set times during the day, some adults will present focused activities based on the children's interests and learning needs.
We try to keep the timetable as flexible as possible so that children can become deeply involved in their play and don't have to be interrupted by the adult's desire for routines. So, for instance, at the end of the session, there is a group transition time which allows for some children to be collected, and some children to go for lunch or after-school club. This is not a lengthy storytelling session or performance, as that can turn it into a policing session.
Children are encouraged to express their feelings and manage their own and others' behaviour by asserting their own needs and feelings. Our relationships policy encourages children to say and sign 'stop it, I don't like it' to support them in feeling secure and confident with their peers. This policy is given to parents before their child starts, so that our expectations are shared.
Creativity and critical thinking
'When children have opportunities to play with ideas in different situations and with a variety of resources, they discover connections and come to new and better understandings and ways of doing things. Adult support in this process enhances their ability to think critically and ask questions.'
(EYFS, Principles into Practice Card 4.3)
In order to encourage creativity in children, we must allow them to make choices for themselves about what they do, where they do it, how they do it and with whom they do it. Children can demonstrate their creativity in all areas of learning and not just the traditionally creative pursuits such as art, dance and drama. The learning environment needs to reflect our intention to provide these choices for the children. For example, are all resources available for children to use where they wish to use them? Are they easily transportable? Do we provide a range of multi-purpose and multi-sensory resources? Are we over-planning prescriptive activities that reduce the child's ability to respond in their own creative manner? If children are afforded these choices, then they will develop their ability to think critically about the choices they have made. They will, of course, experience some level of frustration along the way, but they will determine for themselves what works best for the particular task in which they are engaged.
Providing this level of choice enables each child to meet their own learning and developmental needs - they will use their own individual skills and talents and will develop relevant skills as and when they need them.
The adult's role in supporting the development of critical thinking lies in developing their understanding of each child as an individual learner. Once you are aware of each child's individual interests and levels of understanding, you can provide support and challenge to them - asking open questions about what they are doing, making suggestions of alternative approaches if they get 'stuck'.
If you know the child and their individual circumstances, you can also help them to make links and connections between their prior learning and their new thinking.
Areas of learning and development
The EYFS is made up of six areas of learning and development. The six areas are:
- Personal, social and emotional development
- Communication, language and literacy
- Problem-solving, reasoning and numeracy
- Knowledge and understanding of the world
- Physical development
- Creative development
All six areas are interconnected and are equally important.
These areas of learning and development need to be interwoven to form a cohesive learning experience for the children. You can do this by having clear values and beliefs about how children learn and develop. These should form the basis of your learning and teaching policy.
'Speaking a vision transforms a speaker. For that moment the "real world" becomes a universe of possibility and the barriers to the realisation of the vision disappear.'
The Art of Possibility by Rosamund and Benjamin Zander, 2000, page 169
At Rowland Hill we have developed six fundamental beliefs about children that the whole team have agreed. This was not an easy process, because everyone has different views and opinions about children. However, it is really important to bring these views into open discussion in order to debate them. Otherwise this will lead to contradictory practices. If someone openly disagrees with your viewpoint, you can turn it into a positive opportunity by saying, 'I am very interested in what you are saying because I see it very differently' - this will lead to constructive debate.
Our six fundamental beliefs are:
- Children must be valued and seen as unique
- Children are powerful
- Children must be safe and secure enough to be free, active and adventurous
- The way children learn must be understood - their creativity, imagination, communication, play, humour and reflection
- Children have their own learning styles; they learn through their senses and freedom of movement
- Children have a right to develop their ideas, feelings and relationships.
Once these beliefs had been agreed they were used to determine what resources we would buy, how the adults would work with the children, how the environment would be planned and how planned experiences would be provided.
What would the underlying fundamental beliefs be in your setting?
Finally, remember that it is the adult's attitude to inclusion that is critically important when developing an inclusive approach.
'Practitioners recognise that respect, patience, honesty, reliability, resilience, trustworthiness and integrity are valued by children and young people, families and colleagues. By demonstrating these qualities in their work, they help to nurture them in others.' This quote comes from a useful joint statement on values for integrated working with children and young people on the Nursing and Midwifery council's website, www.nmc-uk.org.uk.
How do you demonstrate these qualities in your work?
CASE STUDY: OUTLINING VALUES AND BELIEFS
It is important to be explicit about your setting's values and beliefs with parents and carers from the outset. For example, if you think that children should be allowed to climb trees or to be with their brothers and sisters, share this at the earliest opportunity to allow for discussion and debate. We have laid these out as statements in the centre's vision and values.
Christiana Ofosu-Asamoah has had three children enrolled at Rowland Hill. The oldest is now in primary school, but Priscilla (three years) and Jeylan (18 months) still attend the centre (see photo). 'It's important that the nursery has strong beliefs about children and I see this in the work they do with all my children,' she says. 'Parents can be worried about their children being safe and not coming to harm, but I know that here they let children explore and find out about things. My youngest, he loves to climb and try things out for himself, and he's allowed to do this in the nursery. I know they will be safe and secure.'
She adds, 'I am very pleased with how my children have achieved. The staff make time to chat to me, they ask what I want for my child and I feel involved in the planning for my children. All staff certainly treat them as individuals.
'What I like is the way my children can be together. I know they have all benefited from being in the same place. I think for my youngest child having his sister around has made them much closer. I observed the same with my oldest child when her sister started the centre.'
REFERENCES
DCSF, Social and Emotional Aspects of Development - Guidance for Early Years Foundation Stage Practitioners. The National Strategies Early Years, ref 00707 - 2008 BKT-EN
Time to Play in Early Childhood Education by Tina Bruce (Hodder Arnold, ISBN 0340538783)
The Art of Possibility by Rosamund and Benjamin Zander (Penguin, ISBN 0142001104)
FURTHER INFORMATION AND READING
Primary Colours provides teaching packs, theatre in education and INSET and consultancy to embed cultural diversity in the curriculum. Visit www.primarycolours.net
Early Childhood Forum, www.ncb.org.uk
The Race Relations Act 1976 and The Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000, Stationery Office Bookshop
- Julie Vaggers is the part-time head of Rowland Hill Children's Centre and Nursery School in north London and a tutor, mentor and assessor on the National Professional Qualification in Integrated Centre Leadership (NPQICL) programme.
- Elaine Wilmot is an independent early years and education consultant specialising in inclusion and leadership development. She is the author of 'Personalising Learning in the Primary Classroom' (Crown House Publishing).
