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Inspiration is taken from the Reggio Emilia approach along with Scandinavian and forestry approaches at the Little Barn Owls group. Educators are constantly researching ways of making environments more inviting for children and value these as the ‘third teacher’.
Little Barn Owls adopts an enquiry-based learning approach, which enables it to provide continuous provision that supports children’s current interests, and its emergent curriculum allows educators, atelieristas and pedagogical co-ordinators to propose engaging and exciting provocations that often evolve into lengthy in-depth projects.
Following a recent trip to the Reggio Emilia study tour, trainers and leaders from Little Barn Owls were inspired to create research environments, working alongside educators to bring aspects and resources from atelier and mini-atelier spaces into the wider environment, creating connections between areas through technology and intelligent materials. Digital microscopes, cameras and projections allow them to make spaces within everyday areas of provision more connected and meaningful to children’s interests
Enquiry-based learning promotes independence, and the environment being the ‘third teacher’ allows educators to follow the child’s lead. Open-ended resources such as loose parts are readily available as part of continuous provision and allow children to be imaginative with their play and learning, transporting resources to different spaces within the environment and using them for different purposes.
Mini-Atelier and Atelier sessions enable children to take part in skills-based sessions using intelligent materials such as clay and wire for purposeful projects including sculpture and moulding. Children work with qualified artists to learn the purpose of the materials and the skills behind them to set children up for success, not failure. Bringing these resources into the wider environments has encouraged children to further investigate these materials, making connections between each different space within the nursery.
Educators believe the benefits for children are noticeable in the skills and confidence every child within Little Barn Owls holds. Providing children with rich experiences at an early age helps them to develop the desire and skills to be a lifelong researcher and learner.
HIGHLY COMMENDED
Treehouse Nursery School – Wanstead, East London
Classrooms have been transformed into ‘interactive STEM playgrounds’ at Treehouse Nursery School. STEM concepts are weaved into everyday activities, sparking curiosity and a love for exploration. Teachers ignite children’s fascination with erupting baking-soda volcanoes, creating gooey slime and nurturing plants. They even venture beyond Earth, exploring the International Space Station. Dedicated areas, like the science corner, encourage independent exploration and open-ended investigation, with or without guidance from teachers. Everyday moments are also used as opportunities for discovery – from weighing ingredients while baking to exploring gravity through building structures, and while venturing out, children identify shapes and materials used in buildings, which fosters an understanding of why structures need to be strong and introduces the concept of ‘substantial materials’.
FINALISTS
Atelier Nursery – Bath, Somerset
esSENtial Early Years – Birkenhead, Merseyside
Growing Places @ Little Acorns – Wickham, Hampshire
CRITERION
Open to early years settings that have developed elements of their provision to create stimulating, child-centred learning environments in line with the principles of the EYFS or other early years frameworks.
