The nursery environment provides the context for children's play and learning and should be responsive to the particular needs and interests of children within that setting. In order to maintain a high-quality learning environment, and meet the needs of all children, practitioners should adopt a reflective approach to developing the areas of provision they offer.
Of course it is crucial that children are able to revisit experiences and activities so that, over time, they can develop ideas and consolidate learning. Teams should work on the principle that basic provision is offered on a continuous basis to enable this learning 'journey' to take place. Any decisions to change the layout of an indoor or outdoor space, or to reorganise provision within a specific area, should be taken following a period of observation and evaluation. However, within the framework of basic provision there should be flexibility that allows practitioners to respond appropriately in order to motivate children and support learning effectively.
REVIEWING LONG-TERM PLANS & DEVELOPING PROVISION
In a high-quality setting, each area of provision will have been carefully developed by the team and a long-term plan will be in place that outlines key learning opportunities, resources, organisational features, possible activities or experiences and the role of the adult in supporting learning.
The aim of this plan is to scaffold staff in supporting children's play and also to provide a framework for review and evaluation.
Observation is the basis for all developments in provision, and staff will be continually registering information on an informal basis as they work with children. Incidental comments and observations of individual children all feed into the bigger picture of how effectively provision is working.
However, it is useful to plan a more structured approach to evaluating areas at regular intervals to ensure that a thorough assessment is made.
This evaluation, along with other relevant information, should then have a positive impact on practical developments to improve the quality of experience for the current cohort of children.
The organisation of such a process will have implications for management.
In a large setting, it may be that practitioners take the lead individually, or in pairs, in maintaining and developing a particular area of provision. Time slots should be planned to enable practitioners to observe, perhaps with a specific focus, how children use areas. These observations may vary in timing and duration, but should give a picture over time. For example, teams may decide to plan half an hour's observation period once a week for four weeks. Photography, particularly video film, can provide an additional insight and offers the benefit of the 'replay'
option, enabling more staff to contribute to reflective discussions.
Once the observations have been gathered, and information analysed, practitioners can then decide what actions should be taken. Managers may then need to release individuals for a period to implement practical developments. In all settings, time is a valuable resource, so it should always be used productively. Practitioners should take responsibility for organising any release time effectively and should be well prepared in advance. It can be useful to meet briefly with a mentor prior to the allotted time, to discuss and agree intentions.
For structured observations in areas of provision, the elements included in the long-term plans can offer the following useful focal points.
Learning opportunities
An overview of all the long-term plans should reflect curricular breadth and balance through provision. The richness of opportunities offered across all six areas of learning in the context of child-initiated play can be monitored through a systematic review of long-term plans linked to an evaluation of practice.
All areas of provision will offer opportunities for learning in all or most aspects of the Foundation Stage curriculum. However, each area will also be particularly effective in promoting specific learning, and key goals will probably be identified on the long-term plan.
Although adults may plan carefully for children's learning, children will not necessarily use provision in the way that adults anticipate.
Observation in an area over a period of time (looking at a range of children and play experiences) will reveal whether or not provision is being effective in supporting children towards the identified goals. It may be that, in order to meet the curricular aims in the long-term plan, some additional resources will be added, or perhaps some focused adult support planned. Or, it may be that the long-term plan is altered to identify different key goals in response to how children are using equipment.
Evaluation of provision creates a valuable opportunity for highlighting and developing an area or aspect of learning across the whole nursery. Looking for evidence of learning, for example of 'language for thinking', through observation in a number of play areas, will give practitioners useful information about how effectively they are supporting that particular aspect of development. As a result, they may decide to enhance certain areas to include more opportunities.
Practitioners should also plan to look at the accessibility of the curriculum for all children through areas of provision. Looking at how children with different dominant learning styles use the provision, and at whether any are disadvantaged because of their learning style, can give practitioners useful information as to the direction of developments. Ask questions such as 'What provision is there in the book corner for the predominantly auditory learner?' The answer may be to include a CD player and story or music recordings.
Likewise, practitioners should look carefully at areas of provision to ensure that no child is excluded or disadvantaged because of special educational needs, disability, gender, ethnicity, culture or religion or home language. Monitoring which child accesses which areas over a period of time can help to highlight any issues. Such monitoring may also reveal that certain children never choose to play in a particular area, while action may be taken to enhance another area (regularly accessed by them) to increase their learning opportunities. For example, what if practitioners notice that three boys never opt to work in the office/ mark-making area but spend most of their time building walls and 'houses' with blocks in the outdoor construction area? The team may decide to respond by offering mark-marking equipment during their building play and modelling the recording of plans and lists.
Resources
Regular audits of resources, including rotated equipment, should be planned, and these may be a job for the practitioner with particular responsibility for the area. Broken equipment should be withdrawn immediately and missing equipment replaced. Entering an area but being unable to develop play because of a lack of resources is a frustrating and demotivating experience for any child.
Practitioners also need to look at the type of resources that are offered and establish how effective these are in supporting the learning and play that is engaging children at that time.
It can be useful to include a 'wish list' in each area of provision, perhaps displayed on the wall. This should be an ongoing list to which practitioners can add ideas for resources as they arise. The 'wish lists'
can then inform teams as they order new resources.
Following an audit, or the introduction of new equipment, it may be necessary to update lists on long-term plans.
Organisation
The organisation within an area of provision needs reviewing regularly and may be modified according to children's play choices at the time. However, it is important to emphasise again that frequent changes do not make for the continuity and development opportunities necessary to ensure embedded learning.
Observation is particularly important in a newly set-up area, where unexpected issues or difficulties in organisation can arise.
Practitioners should constantly be questioning whether the provision they offer children is promoting independent learning and decision-making. To improve such opportunities, changes may be made to the way in which resources are organised and displayed.
The position of an area in relation to facilities and other areas may also need to be reviewed. Where children are making links between areas, practitioners need to be sure that, as far as is possible and practical, these links are supported and facilitated.
The number of children accessing an area at any one time may need to be limited. Careful monitoring will help adults to decide the optimum or maximum number. If a registration system is not already in place in an area, the practitioner may decide to introduce one in order to address behaviour issues related to overcrowding, or to raise the quality of play for children in the area. For example, in the movement area, silhouette templates for four pairs of shoes could be provided with children taught that when four pairs of shoes are in place on the templates, the area is full.
An observation focus on behaviour in an area may reveal a need for clearer expectations. Adults' observations of children can usefully inform decisions about rules, but a more active consultation with children is likely to lead to a more effective commitment and understanding from them.
Through discussions with children during the review process, a set of meaningful rules can be established and these can be displayed in the area.
Activities/experiences
An overview of short-term focus plans will provide practitioners with information about the type and frequency of adult-supported activities and experiences in particular areas of provision. Monitoring of this kind will offer further assurance of curricular breadth and balance. Focused observation in areas of provision will give additional information about the nature of children's self-initiated play. Such observation should take place at intervals over a period of time, to enable practitioners to identify patterns in learning and individual or group interests.
What children choose to do in an area will vary according to the resources available and the particular interests and experiences of the children involved. More knowledge about what is engaging children in one area of provision may equip practitioners with useful information to support their interests and learning in other areas. For example, if a group of children repeatedly choose to play 'picnics' in the home corner, or in the book corner (transporting equipment from the home corner), practitioners may decide to enhance role-play provision in the outdoor area by purchasing a picnic hamper and a picnic rug.
Role of the adult
In order to successfully review the effectiveness of adults in supporting children's learning through interactions in areas of provision, a culture of professional respect needs to be established. Adults should feel confident, secure and respected within their team. Open discussions about, and clarification of, the key generic features of the role should precede any review, as these will provide the framework for evaluation. Any feedback about practice should celebrate successes as well as highlighting areas for development. Where practitioners are working in a 'safe' and supportive context, video photography can provide a useful medium for reflection and analysis.
Series guide
* This 12-part series aims to support practitioners in achieving and maintaining high-quality provision in the Foundation Stage.
* The series is underpinned by the principles for early years education as identified in Curriculum Guidance for the Foundation Stage and takes into account the national daycare standards and the 'outcomes' for children as set out in Every Child Matters and laid down in the Children Act 2004.
* Each part of the series will focus on a different aspect of practice, highlight key elements of good practice and offer a benchmark for self-evaluation.
* The series encourages practitioners to be reflective in their practice and to see the quest for quality as a developmental process.
* The elements of quality in early years practice are often interdependent and there will be points of cross-referencing between parts of the series.
CASESTUDY Butterflies Nursery, Runcorn, managed by Early Years Childcare
Staff at Butterflies Nursery have undergone training workshops in making the most of role play and resourcing the different areas of provision so they can best support children's learning experiences.
'The staff knowing their key children is the main factor to developing provision in line with children's needs and interests,' says nursery manager Jane McLean. 'Involving the children in planning provision by asking their opinions and listening to them is also important. We also involve parents by asking them what their children are interested in and talking about.'
For example, one boy was excited about moving to a new house where much of the estate was still under construction. He talked a lot about the buildings and machinery, so staff turned a role-play area into a construction site. Children had the opportunity to explore different building materials, such as doing brick rubbings. Photos of the nursery when it was under construction were located and made into a wall display.
Practitioners do daily 'snapshot' observations and more detailed narrative observations each month. They also use video and photographic evidence to look at how children are using the different areas. This information is discussed in regular team meetings and helps inform planning and resourcing, both in the short and long term.
Parents also help evaluate their children's learning experiences by filling out forms saying whether their children have talked about certain activities, what they have learned and whether they enjoyed them. Children have input through a 'smiley face' feedback system to show what they've liked and disliked.
Children's individual learning styles are taken into consideration. For example, if a child is kinaesthetic learner and learns more easily outdoors, staff include big number and dice games outside, rather than encouraging the child to sit down with number games indoors. There are role-play opportunities both in and outdoors, where there is currently a campsite.
Rules for using the different areas are devised by the children in discussion with staff, such as that they should share toys and listen to their friends. These are written up and displayed on the walls. They also discuss together how many children can play happily in an area, and the children make signs depicting this.
SUPPORTING LEARNING
10 steps to quality
1 Are long-term plans in place for all areas of provision and are these reviewed regularly?
2 As a team, do you plan time slots for practitioners to observe, with a specific focus, in areas of provision?
3 Are systems in place for gathering and sharing observational information about how areas of provision are working?
4 How do you ensure that your observations are fed effectively into the process of developing areas of provision?
5 Do managers release practitioners for periods of time for them to make practical changes to areas of provision?
6 How do areas of provision accommodate and engage children with different dominant learning styles?
7 How do you ensure that the curriculum is accessible to all children through areas of provision, and that all children feel included?
8 How do you involve children in the process of developing provision and establishing routines and behaviour expectations in areas?
9 How often do you plan an audit of resources in an area?
10 What does the setting do to promote a culture of reflection and ongoing development?
