The Early Years Foundation Stage (2007) aims to improve quality in early years settings by eliminating any distinction between care and education. This reflects the way young children learn and develop.
For babies and children, every moment in their day is a learning opportunity. Children learn as they play and play as they learn. They do not separate play and learning, and nor should the practitioners caring for them.
An environment with a structured care routine timetable can make it very difficult for children to develop free-flowing play as defined by Tina Bruce (1991).
Care routines provide practitioners with an ideal opportunity to build secure attachments with children in their key group, offering continuity of experience. For some children, having their nappy changed can be an anxious time, and a familiar and trusted key person may go a long way to relieving this tension. Practitioners should make the most of care routines, giving high-quality one-to-one interactions, lots of eye contact and reciprocal exchanges, ultimately handling the children with respect.
RESOURCES
Planning a stimulating changing area is as important as planning play experiences. Jennie Lindon (2006) highlights that changing areas need to be hygienic, but practitioners can make them welcoming, with pictures and photos on the wall.
- Laminate images so they can be easily cleaned.
- A small basket containing interesting objects may be beneficial, particularly for children to explore if they are restless while being changed.
- Use your observations to create a basket based on children's current interests and fascinations. A car, train or musical instrument can be popular objects to include.
ADULT ROLE
- Reflect on current changing facilities. Is it a stimulating space for babies and children? How could it be improved?
- Review current practice. Are nappies changed to meet individual needs? Taking responsibility for a child's care routines is a fundamental role of the key person approach. For this approach to be effective, practitioners must understand the huge emotional impact physical care times may have on a child's well-being.
- Use changing times as an opportunity for communication and interaction.
IN PRACTICE
By being reflective about practice and provision, Pebbles Day Nursery in Thrapston, Northamptonshire, brought about a huge change in their current thinking about care routines. Nappy changing is now used as a time to engage in high-quality one-to-one interactions. They now change children's nappies using their key person system to support personal, social and emotional development. Staff noted that the basket of objects has proven to be a useful tool in engaging with children and promoting conversation.
The changing area was developed to incorporate stimulating images to capture children's interest. Staff said the children often point at the laminated pictures displayed and they are used as a stimulus for learning.
- Written by Claire Stevenson, Birth to Three adviser
REFERENCES
- Bruce, Tina (2004) Developing Learning in Early Childhood. London: Paul Chapman Publishing
- DfES (2007) The Early Years Foundation Stage
- Lindon, Jennie (2006) Helping Babies and Toddlers Learn - A Guide to Good Practice with Under-threes. London: National Children's Bureau
Links to EYFS guidance
- UC 1.4 Health and Well-being
- PR 2.4 Key Person
