Independence days - children in charge

The mere thought of children being in control of their nursery environment is enough to make some childcarers shudder with horror. It's easy to conjure up a chaotic image of splattered paint, dishevelled dolls, spilt drinks and unruly youngsters. But a totally different picture is found at one Derby school.

Children attending the 40-place Ashgate Nursery School prove that it is possible for three- to five-year-olds to organise their own learning successfully. Yes, there is some mess, but only amid an atmosphere of industrious activity. Surrounded by intrepid dinosaur exploration, puppet making, bicycle riding and computer play, headteacher Sharron Colton explains that it is important to encourage children's desire to learn by allowing them to investigate and follow their instincts.

Having independence, she believes, helps children to become confident learners and cope with the transition to school. This conviction has propelled Ashgate Nursery into Learning to Learn, a pioneering national scheme looking at ways of encouraging children's appetite for learning (see box).

'We give the children the opportunity to balance their own curriculum, and I'm a great believer in children being very capable of doing that,' Mrs Colton says. 'The more responsibility you give children then the more they rise to the occasion and they'll take on further activities that we wouldn't ask or expect them to do.'

Taking responsibility

Children are encouraged to work independently and take control from their first day at the nursery. 'We want children to do this, so we put up with the mess and don't expect three-year-olds to cope with it all immediately. Independence is something they build up to,' says Mrs Colton.

'Some children come straight in and you wouldn't know that they'd only been attending a few days. Often it takes longer, but we keep encouraging them.'
Staff start by letting children take responsibility for their own needs, by allowing them to use the toilet when they want and have constant access to drinking water which they pour themselves. They're also able to pursue their learning both inside and outside, jointly providing freedom and serving the important purpose of accommodating varied learning styles (see box).

'We're aware that people learn in different ways, and boys tend to be more active learners, so we want to address that,' Mrs Colton explains. 'We set outside some of the same activities that are inside so there aren't just physical ones. This addresses the issue that boys are underachievers in literacy. We find it is successful to take literary activities outside because that is often where they want to be.

'Girls tend to be more social learners. They like to chat, ask questions and put ideas down on paper. But by the time they leave nursery the girls have caught up with the boys on the physical side. They whiz around on bikes and can all negotiate the hill and around the sandpit with skill before they leave.'

Brain-friendly nursery

The nursery follows a 'brain-friendly classroom' concept which aims to make the environment conducive to learning. A dinosaur willow sculpture recently joined the nursery, and the children's outdoors curiosity is also encouraged through a small sensory garden. This includes a water feature and umpteen model rabbits ideal for counting games. The indoors environment is enhanced by background music ranging from classical to jazz and ethnic styles.

'It is also all about ensuring that children can access resources,' says Mrs Colton. 'The layout of the room needs to help children's creativity by allowing it to be spontaneous. The idea is that they can easily get the tools needed to pursue individual projects because it can be very frustrating if you can't find equipment.'

Guiding hand

Mrs Colton believes the children don't fear failure because the nursery nurses reassure them that there is no right or wrong way of tackling tasks, and they constantly give feedback. Staff also initiate joint nursery topics and planned activities so children can develop new skills and ideas if they choose. The current theme, inspired by the willow dinosaur, is measurement and size, some children are fathoming how to measure with their hands while others are outside arranging boxes in order of size.

The nursery nurses encourage the children's learning through asking questions, demonstrating the skills needed and suggesting alternative ways. For example, when it comes to making a model dinosaur the children discuss what colours they'd like it to be and settle on multicoloured, like Elmer the Elephant. One boy is inspired to use feathers as eyes. He locates a pot of feathers and, helped by a nursery nurse, the group find two of similar length.

Team work

'The children work well as a group because they have to make decisions and don't always wait for an adult to inspire them,' Mrs Colton says. 'We have a strong emphasis on PSE (personal, social and emotional development) and communication, so they are good at co-operating, sorting problems, taking turns and negotiating.'

A unique turn-taking system has evolved at the nursery, involving egg-timers. All the children know that when the sand runs out it is time to move on to another toy or resource. Cunningly, older children employ their numerical skills and quickly learn that bigger egg-timers allow more time.

Confrontational situations are infrequent and staff attribute this to limited nursery rules. 'There are very few things they aren't allowed to do, so they don't go looking for it,' says Mrs Colton. Set regulations, such as 'no running indoors', are for safety reasons, and the older children have the responsibility of devising additional rules, which include 'read books carefully' and 'do what the teacher tells you' (see box).

'Our systems are based on common sense,' Mrs Colton says. 'If we want children to grow up as creative, responsible, independent adults then why shouldn't we treat them like that whatever age they are? I treat children the way I'd like to be treated.'