Learning Playing and Interacting_Good Practice in the EYFS

7/28/2019 Learning Playing and Interacting_Good Practice in the EYFS

1/65

The Coalition Government took office on 11 May 2010. This publication was published prior to thatdate and may not reflect current government policy. You may choose to use these materials,however you should also consult the Department for Education website www.education.gov.uk for updated policy and resources.

Learning, Playing andInteracting

Good practice in the Early YearsFoundation Stage


2/65

Learning, Playing andInteractingGood practice in the Early YearsFoundation Stage


3/65


4/65

D S I C M M

1 0

- 2 0 0 9

Disclaimer

The Department or Children, Schools and Familieswishes to make it clear that the Department and

its agents accept no responsibility or the actualcontent o any materials suggested as in ormationsources in this publication, whether these are inthe orm o printed publications or on a website.

In these materials, icons, logos, so tware productsand websites are used or contextual and practicalreasons. Their use should not be interpretedas an endorsement o particular companies ortheir products.

The websites re erred to in these materials existedat the time o going to print.Please check all website re erences care ully tosee i they have changed and substitute otherre erences where appropriate.


5/65

1 The National Strategies | Early YearsLearning, Playing and Interacting Good practice in the Early Years Foundation Stage

Crown copyright 2009 00775-2009BKT-EN

ContentsIntroduction 3

Thinking about pedagogy 4

Learning 6

How children learn 8

Learning and teaching through play 10

Play ul learning and play ul teaching 14

The skil ul practitioner 22

Re erences 58Further reading 59

Resources 60

Acknowledgements 61


6/65



Introduction

Learning, playing, children and adultsBabies and young children are power ul learners, reaching out into the world and making sense o theirexperiences with other people, objects and events. As they explore and learn, children are naturallydrawn to play. Play is recognised as so important to their well-being and development that the rightto play is set down in the United Nations Convention on the Rights o the Child (1989), and play is aundamental commitment within the Early Years Foundation Stage.

How play and learning are related, however, is not as straight orward as it may seem at irst glance. There is a signi icant body o knowledge showing that many orms o play help children to learn and tobecome con ident learners or the uture. Research also shows that a skilled adult who interacts withchildren in particular ways to enhance their learning is a crucial ingredient in children making goodprogress.

It may not always be clear how these two elements work together how play sits at the centre o EarlyYears provision, and how it relates to the role o the skil ul practitioner. Many questions and uncertaintiesarise as practitioners consider the best approaches to play and learning or young children. What does learning through play actually mean, and what is the adult role in this? Should childrens ree play be unrestricted (within the bounds o sa ety), with the adult simply

observing, either to document learning or to plan urther learning experiences? Should play opportunities be structured, with learning intentions de ined by adults? Is it play i

adults have designed the activities? How much time should children spend playing? What about other learning opportunities what is the adults role in helping children to learn in

other ways? How can adult-led activities involve play ul teaching and play ul learning?

This guidance addresses these questions and clari ies the role o adults who support and enhance youngchildrens learning. Early Years practitioners do this by selecting rom a range o strategies, matchingwhat they do to the needs o the children and identi ying the best way or them to learn at that time. These decisions are made hundreds o times each day, and are rooted in an understanding o howchildren learn and the nature o play and play ulness, and in knowledge o the areas o learning anddevelopment and a repertoire o e ective strategies in other words, in early years pedagogy.

This publication re lects the guidance contained within the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS)materials and the Early Years Foundation Stage Pro ile (EYFSP) Handbook. As well as demonstratinghow pedagogy, provision and assessment are interwoven, it aims to help practitioners understand howevidence about childrens attainment can be drawn rom a wide range o contexts including child-initiated and adult-led activities, particularly clari ying how this supports completion o the EYFSPin reception.


7/65


00775-2009BKT-EN Crown copyright 2009

Thinking about pedagogyBeing an e ective adult in helping children to learn involves being both skil ul and thought ul. ManyEarly Years practitioners shy away rom using the word teaching to describe their work with children,perhaps because o the perception that teaching implies a particular top-down or ormal way o working with children. In act, teaching is much broader and more subtle than that, and covers the manydi erent ways in which adults help children to learn. The more we are aware o our practices what wedo, why we do it, its impact on children and their learning and the more we re lect, learn and developour practice, the more e ective we will be. This is developing our pedagogy.

Pedagogy is the understanding o how children learn and develop, and the practices throughwhich we can enhance that process. It is rooted in values and belie s about what we want orchildren, and supported by knowledge, theory and experience.

From Stewart, N. and Pugh, R. (2007)Early Years Vision in Focus, Part 2: Exploring Pedagogy , Shropshire County Council. Used with kind permission.

Pedagogy covers many things that practitioners believe and know, and all the interactions they havewith children, amilies and caregivers. The themes and commitments o the EYFS provide guidanceacross broad elements o pedagogy, including child development, working in partnership with parents,the importance o relationships, understanding the areas o learning, play, and establishing secureemotional and challenging physical environments.

Find out more The EYFS materials, including the Principles into Practice cards, CD-ROM, and Practice guidance orthe Early Years Foundation Stage, contain urther guidance across these areas which are essential to

e ective pedagogy.Go to www.standards.dcsf.gov.uk/nationalstrategies and search or Early Years.

This publication ocuses on one part o the larger picture the adults role in supporting, stimulating andextending learning through supporting and initiating experiences, and interacting skil ully with childrenin play and planned activities.

Playful approaches and successful outcomesFor babies and very young children, ew would question the central role o play and exploration within

close, respect ul relationships to support early development. At these youngest stages throughout allactivities rom changing nappies to walking to the shops practitioners should also ocus on theircrucial role in interacting sensitively and skil ully to support and enhance learning.

Practitioners with children o nursery and reception age sometimes eel uncertain about providing anappropriate combination o child-initiated and adult-led activities, and balancing open-ended play andexploration and direct teaching in adult-led activities. The EYFS and the Early Learning Goals (ELGs),however, provide su icient lexibility or practitioners to ollow childrens interests, respond to theirideas or developing play activities, and provide structured activities (which can also be play ul) to teachspeci ic knowledge and skills.


8/65



Research on success ul outcomes o Early Years provision both in the short term and or later success inschool and as adults has pointed to some general guidelines. The best outcomes or childrens learningoccur where most o the activity within a childs day is a mixture o : child-initiated play, actively supported by adults ocused learning, with adults guiding the learning through play ul, rich experiential activities.

This can be illustrated as a continuum o approaches as seen below.

Unstructured Child-initiated play Focused learning Highly structured

Play without Adult support or an Adult-guided, play ul Adult-directed,adult support enabling environment, and experiential activities little or no play

sensitive interaction

At one end, too little adult support can limit learning. While play without adults can be rich andpurpose ul, at times it can become chaotic or repetitive activity which is hands-on, brains-o . At theother end o the scale, too much tightly directed activity deprives children o the opportunity to engageactively with learning. E ective Early Years practitioners will organise the time, space and activities in thedaily routine to re lect the overall combination which best supports childrens well-being and learning.

As part o this general emphasis on combining child-initiated play and play ul adult-led opportunities,con ident and re lective practitioners will select the approach that is best or the developmental stage

o the children, and or individuals and groups. For example, within a whole day it may be that a periodo ree play without adult involvement meets a childs need or space, independence and relaxation. Thismay apply particularly in an out-o -school club, or example, or or children attending settings or ulldays. On the other hand, short sessions o care ully planned, structured activity can be use ul in teachingspeci ic skills, or example bene iting children with identi ied special educational needs, buildingvocabulary or children learning English as an additional language or demonstrating how to use tools orequipment.


9/65



Learning

How children learnKnowing how children learn and develop is the bedrock o pro essional knowledge or con ident EarlyYears practitioners, and supports them in making decisions about provision, practice and adults roles,which are then adjusted in the light o understanding speci ic children in the setting.

Messages from brain researchNeuroscientists study how the human brain develops and unctions, and how human minds areormed. Their research shows that children are highly motivated, intelligent learners, who activelyseek interactions with the people around them rom the earliest gaze o in ants towards theircaregivers, to the con ident child who asks Will you come and play with me? Children have built-inexploratory tendencies, and engage all their senses to investigate and master tools and resources,to develop their skills, and to build their knowledge and understanding o the world. The reedomto combine resources in many di erent ways may be especially important or lexible cognitivedevelopment, by enabling children to build pathways or thinking and learning, and to makeconnections across areas o experience.

Theories o learning and development agree with these perspectives rom brain research. Learning isboth individual and social. Young children are not passive learners they enjoy participating in hands-on and brains-on activities. They actively drive their own learning and development, by the choicesthey make, the interests they develop, the questions they ask, the knowledge they seek, and theirmotivation to act more competently. Childrens choices and interests are the driving orce or buildingknowledge, skills and understanding: by working and playing with other people, they are constantlylearning about themselves and their social and cultural worlds. Children build positive identities throughcollaborative, caring relationships with other people, by managing and taking risks, having a go,experiencing success, developing resilience, and developing mastery or can-do attitudes. High-qualityprovision helps children to develop positive dispositions which lay the oundations or becoming li elongsuccess ul learners.

Practitioners have a key role in building the right conditions or learning. Firstly and undamentally,adults ensure that children eel known and valued as individuals, sa e and cared or. Their own rate

o development is respected, so that children are not rushed but are supported in ways that are rightor each child. Childrens time must be managed so that they have the opportunity to become deeplyinvolved in their activities and to ollow their ideas through, including returning later to continuetheir explorations or creative expressions. Adults manage the pace o activities, planning varied andinteresting new experiences to stimulate learning alongside opportunities or children to revisit, practiseor enjoy a sense o mastery. With this groundwork in place, it is then the adults skilled interactions whichwill move learning orward.


10/65



Practitioners build conditions for learningacross the EYFS themes

A Unique Child Positive Relationships EnablingEnvironments

Learning andDevelopment

Children develop atdi erent rates, havedi erent interests, comerom varied culturalbackgrounds andunique amilies

Practitioners

Ensure provisionre lects and supports allchildren

Respect ul and caringinteractions are thebasis o emotionalsecurity which supportslearning

Practitioners

Give priority to a keyperson, and respecteelings and opinions

Children need time,space and materials toplay, investigate andexplore

Practitioners

Observe, then organisespaces, materials andthe low o the day

Experienceso er stimulatingopportunities toexplore, be active, andthink creatively

Practitioners

Ensure challengingopportunities across allsix areas o learning

Find out moreSocial and Emotional Aspects o Development (SEAD)

Go to www.standards.dcsf.gov.uk/nationalstrategies and search or Social and Emotional Aspectso Development: Guidance or EYFS practitioners.


11/65



How children learnEYFS Framework Children are competent learners rom birth and develop and learn in a wide variety o ways.

EYFS Statutory Framework, Learning and Development Requirements 2.2

Play underpins all development and learning or young children.EYFS Practice Guidance 1.17


12/65



What are the key ways that young children learn? playing

Playing indoors and out, alone and with others, quietly or boisterously allows children to ind outabout things, try out and practise ideas and skills, take risks, explore their eelings, learn rom mistakes,be in control and think imaginatively. Playing is an important centre o learning or young children.

being with other people

As well as developing emotional security and social skills, being with other people other childrenand adults stimulates ideas and involvement that move learning orward.

being active

Young children need to move, and learn and remember things by taking experiences in through thesenses as they move. Sitting still or too long can disrupt learning.

exploring new things and experiences

Childrens deep curiosity leads them to use all their senses to explore in real hands-on activities, andthen put the in ormation together in their own minds to orm ideas and make sense o the world.

talking to themselves

In sel -speech children use out-loud thinking to clari y their thoughts, regulate their activities, takeon imaginative roles and rehearse their skills.

communicating about what they are doing with someone who responds to their ideas

Even be ore they can talk in words, children are keen to share their ideas through sounds, gestureand body language. Talk helps children to understand what they experience. It is important that theyhave a chance to express their own ideas, as well as have conversations to hear other peoples ideas,

extend their thinking, and use language about learning. representing ideas and experiences

Children deepen their understanding as they recreate experiences or communicate their thinking inmany di erent ways in role-play or small world play, pictures, movements, models, and talk.

meeting physical and mental challenges

Working out what to do, trying hard, persevering with problems, inding out and thinking orthemselves are opportunities or developing real understanding. These challenges may occur in play,or in real-li e or planned activities.

being shown how to do things

Children learn skills by watching others or being shown how to do something. Adults or peers maydirectly instruct, model, guide or demonstrate.

practising, repeating, applying skills

Rehearsing skills in similar tasks or new contexts helps children to build mastery, to enjoy their ownexpertise, and to consolidate what they can do.

having fun

There is no place or dull, repetitive activities. Laughter, un, and enjoyment, sometimes beingwhimsical and nonsensical, are the best contexts or learning. Activities can be play ul even whenthey are not actually play.


13/65



Learning and teaching

through playEYFS Statutory Framework All the areas must be delivered through planned, purpose ul play, with a balance o adult-led andchild-initiated activities.

Learning and Development Requirements 2.5

Learning through play is one o the key principles o Early Years education, which is supported by awealth o research. Play and play ulness are shared across all cultural groups, but with some variationsaccording to the belie s and customs that in luence child-rearing practices. Family members andcaregivers typically play with their children, and they devote a great deal o time to helping children tolearn by teaching them: how to play, through structured games such as peek-a-boo, and open-ended activities such as sand

and water play; how to pretend, by being imaginative, acting di erent roles, making one thing stand or something

else; how to be play ul, by demonstrating play ul ways o interacting with others through humour,

gentle teasing, jokes, mimicry, riddles and rhymes, singing and chanting, clapping games, and usingmaterials and resources in imaginative ways.

In high-quality Early Years settings, children have opportunities to play as well as to experience a widevariety o adult-led and child-initiated activities. Practitioners build on childrens home-based knowledgeand experiences, and provide opportunities or progression, extension and challenge. These activitiescan also success ully build on the childs innate joy in play.

Ideas o play, child-initiated and adult-led activities overlap and it is use ul to be clear about what ismeant by these terms, how they can work together to support learning, and the adults role in each.

Play is reely chosen by the child, and is under the control o the child. The child decides how to play,how long to sustain the play, what the play is about, and who to play with. There are many orms o play, but it is usually highly creative, open-ended and imaginative. It requires active engagement o the players, and can be deeply satis ying.

Play engages childrens bodies, minds and emotions. In playing children can learn to interact withothers and be part of a community, to experience and manage feelings, and to be in control andconfident about themselves and their abilities.

Play can help children to develop these positive dispositions for learning: finding an interest being willing to explore, experiment and try things out knowing how and where to seek help being inventive creating problems, and finding solutions being flexible testing and refining solutions


14/65



being engaged and involved concentrating, sustaining interest, persevering with a task,even when it is challenging

making choices and decisions

making plans and knowing how to carry them out playing and working collaboratively with peers and adults managing self, managing others developing can-do orientations to learning being resilient finding alternative strategies if things dont always go as planned understanding the perspectives and emotions of other people.

There are many orms o play that support the EYFS areas o learning and development. Constructionplay , or example, involves spatial and mathematical knowledge, problem-solving and reasoning.Exploratory play with natural and man-made resources builds knowledge and understanding o materials and their properties, and develops manipulative skills. Learning across all areas o the EYFS canbe seen by practitioners who observe childrens play.

As children develop as players, the ability to pretend has special signi icance or children as learners.When a small child begins to pretend that one object stands or something else such as a toy coweating the toy bricks a key ability is being ormed. The child is beginning to understand the idea o symbols, which eventually leads to being able to think in abstract ways. In time the child will be ableto use words and images (marks, drawings, and symbols) to express ideas, predict or solve problems,instead o having always to rely on trial and error with physical objects. This supports the childsdevelopment as a lexible, creative thinker.

Role-play involves the next development o this imaginative play, where a child is able to become

someone or something else. In taking on a role a child sees how it eels to have another point o view,and learns that the world looks di erent to di erent people. This brings the realisation that we all think,including the child, and this awareness o being a thinker and a learner is one o the strongest supportsor success ul learning. Children become more aware o their own mind, and that they can think o di erent strategies to try when aced with a task or a problem.

Practitioners cannot plan childrens play, because this would work against the choice and control that arecentral eatures o play. Practitioners can and should plan or childrens play, however, by creating high-quality learning environments, and ensuring uninterrupted periods or children to develop their play.

Find out more

EYFS Themes and Commitments Enabling Environments: The Learning Environment 3.3 Learning and Development: Play and Exploration 4.1, Active Learning 4.2

Go to www.standards.dcsf.gov.uk/nationalstrategies and search or Early Years.

Every Child a Talker: Guidance or Early Language Lead Practitioners (includes audits on theenvironment and routines)

Go to www.standards.dcsf.gov.uk/nationalstrategies and search or Every Child a Talker: Guidanceor Early Language Lead Practitioners .

The adult is an interested observer o play, inding out about the individual children and the communitythat is created through play. The adult should seek to discover what children are interested in, knowand can do in order to support their learning more e ectively. Childrens achievements across all areas


15/65



o learning can be recognised through observing play. The skil ul practitioner will also be alert toopportunities to join in the play sensitively and appropriately, in order to enhance the play and learning.Supporting childrens language as they play, by describing what children are doing or commenting oncurrent actions, is a prime way in which practitioners help children to learn through their play. At times

the adult will support children in developing their abilities to play, perhaps through modelling how topretend, or ensuring that children with speci ic educational needs are supported in how to participate inplay opportunities.

Find out moreEYFS Themes and CommitmentsA Unique Child: Inclusive Practice 1.2

Go to www.standards.dcsf.gov.uk/nationalstrategies and search or Early Years.

Inclusion Development Programme

Go to www.standards.dcsf.gov.uk/nationalstrategies and search or Inclusion Development Programme.

Child-initiated activity has many characteristics in common with play, as it is wholly decided uponby the child, based on the childs own motivation, and remains under the childs control. It mayinvolve play o many types, or it may be seen by the child as an activity with a serious purpose toexplore a project or express an idea which the child may not see as pure play. It is guided by certainexpectations within an Early Years setting regarding responsible use o space, time and purposes.

Practitioners are aware that child-initiated activity is a power ul opportunity or learning, and make the

most o this. Practitioners: maintain their ocus on learning, and actively use a range o strategies to support and extend

learning through engagement with the children including introducing new words and new ideas,thinking out loud, modelling more complex ways o speaking, posing new problems, encouragingnegotiation o con licts, explaining, or demonstrating approaches

o er assistance and support as needed to help children to be success ul in ollowing their ideas,including talking about or suggesting strategies, and practical support such as holding an object inplace as the child works with it

ensure that the learning environment o ers a range o stimulating open-ended materials, outdoorsand indoors, which children can use and combine in their own way to meet their own purposes

ensure that children have sustained time to develop their activities encourage children to use the language o learning as they make their plans and carry out and

review their activities, talking about things such as I remembered, I tried, we ound out, we know, Ican, we thought, we solved the problem.

use a problem-solving approach to resolving con licts or behavioural issues, helping children to beaware o others points o view and thinking together to agree on a solution

observe childrens activities care ully, trying to discover what the child is thinking about and learningand the goals o the play, so they can accurately support and extend the childs learning ocus eitherat the time, or later by changes to the environment or in planned activities.


16/65



Adult-led activities are those which adults initiate. The activities are not play, and children are likelynot to see them as play, but they should be playful with activities presented to children which areas open-ended as possible, with elements o imagination and active exploration that will increasethe interest and motivation or children. As well as ocused activities with groups o children, adult-led activities can include greeting times, story times, songs and even tidying up.

Practitioners plan adult-led activities with awareness o the children in the setting and o theirresponsibility to support childrens progress in all areas o learning. They will build on what childrenknow and can do, and o ten draw on interests and use materials or themes observed in child-initiatedactivities. As with child-initiated activities, the practitioner actively uses a range o e ective interactionstrategies to support learning in the adult-led context.


17/65



Playful learning and playful

teaching Through all activities in the Early Years setting, a play ul approach supports learning because: play ul children use and apply their knowledge, skills and understanding in di erent ways and in

di erent contexts play ul practitioners use many di erent approaches to engaging children in activities that help them to

learn and to develop positive dispositions or learning.

Children are strongly motivated to play, and can experience satis action and deep learning in play, asthey bring their current interests, questions and thinking together with strong motivation, so that theyare able to unction at their highest level. In play children can concentrate deeply, sustain concentrationor long periods, and communicate with others to develop and maintain the play. Play ul practitionersare able to engage with children in their play, and to use characteristics o play in other activities as well.

Practitioners participating in playPractitioners o ten have di iculties knowing when and how to interact in childrens sel -initiated play. They o ten make the mistake o going into a play activity with lots o questions, and may try to take ona role that does not low easily into the play one practitioner described this as going in with your sizetens and lattening the play. Children like playing with adults, however, and actively seek adults as co-players. A guiding principle is to do what young children do when they are learning to be good players they o ten stand at the edges o play and watch what is happening. They may be observing strategiesor entering the play, trying to understand the rules o the play, or thinking about what they can o er.Sometimes they ask permission to enter Please can I play? and sometimes they wait to be asked.Children seem to know intuitively that they need to tune in to what is happening in order to be includedin the low o the play.

Practitioners can use the following strategies to join in play: Take a little time to observe, ind out what the children are playing, and what are their roles andintentions.Consider whether you need to enter the play, and or what purposes (such as o ering suggestions,introducing new ideas or vocabulary, managing the noise or behaviour, extending the activitythrough additional resources or negotiating entry or another child).

Try to play on the childrens terms by taking on a role that they suggest, and ollowing childrensinstructions. With the youngest children, o ten participating alongside and imitating a childs actionswith the same type o materials will signal that you are in tune and start a play ul interaction.

O er your own ideas when you are sure that they are consistent with the low o the play.

Avoid going into closed questioning (How many? What colour? What size?). Instead, try to maintain

play ul ways o engaging by ollowing childrens directions, and tuning into their meanings. Try not to direct the play to your own learning objectives or assessment agenda. Instead, be alert tothe qualities o play, and to the knowledge and skills that children are using and applying.


18/65



Playful adult-led activitiesAlongside the child-initiated and play activities where adults can have a key role in supporting learning,there is an important place or activities initiated by adults. Adult-led activities provide opportunities or

introducing new knowledge or ideas, and or developing and practising skills. The activities can providea new stimulus, or an opportunity to revisit or urther develop learning.

Sometimes the activities could be prompted by childrens interests as observed in their play. At othertimes practitioners will identi y areas o learning which are less likely to be available to children throughdaily experience and play, where adults can best take a lead in introducing new ideas and concepts.

This adult agenda could be addressed in any adult-led time (planned small or large group activities,greeting time, story or song times; in reception, this will include the discrete daily phonics session).Adult-led activities may: provide open-ended opportunities where practitioners observe and support childrens learning

during the experience and consider next steps based on childrens responses; or have clearly speci ied learning objectives which will be matched to childrens current learning to

extend or consolidate what children know and can do.

Adult-led activities should be play ul, even when planned with a speci ic objective in mind, bymaintaining characteristics o play through a sense o playing with things, ideas, imagination, and others.Play ul practitioners will plan activities which motivate children by: presenting tasks in imaginative ways ensuring tasks are as open-ended as possible, allowing children to make choices and express their

own ideas using materials or story-lines that children associate with play providing or childrens hands-on, active participation.

The Unique Child and playChildren bring their own experiences, culture and personal characteristics to their play and practitionersneed to understand and respond to childrens individual di erences as players just as in every otheraspect o their development.

Skil ul adults understand that children develop as players at di erent rates, and are able to supportpatterns o development within play. For babies, play may be primarily about play ul interactions withsensitive and responsive others, such as games o peek-a-boo. With toddlers who enjoy exploring

objects alongside others, imitating the way a child uses an object can become a play ul communication,and using objects to pretend opens new areas o play. Creative and open-ended play o many typesollows, where children decide the purpose and may agree the rules o the play. Children also come tounderstand more ormal games as a di erent type o play that involves set rules.

Depending on their previous experiences, some children may not be amiliar with particular playopportunities within settings. They will be encouraged to play when they encounter amiliar resourcessimilar to those at home, possibly including elements rom popular culture such as TV characters oravourite toys. Children may need support to engage in new and un amiliar play experiences. Somechildren may not eel secure in making open-ended choices, and bene it rom more support andstructure as they gradually develop the ability to manage themselves and their activities in play.

Practitioners also need to be aware o di erent cultural expectations about play. It is important to sharepoints o view with athers as well as mothers about play and learning.


19/65



Find out moreWorking with Parents and carers e-learning module www.nationalstrategiescpd.org.uk

Parents as Partners in Early Learning case studiesGo to www.standards.dcsf.gov.uk/nationalstrategies and search or Parents as Partners in Early Learning.

Weaving the strands together to plan for learningPlay, child-initiated and adult-initiated activities, together with the practitioners knowledge o the areaso learning, all come together in good practice in Early Years settings. Planned, purpose ul play includesplanning or child-initiated opportunities which will enable children to learn, as well as planning oradult-led activities.

The speci ic combination will vary with the development o the children. Provision or babies andtoddlers, or example, will ollow individual childrens rhythms and play agendas, with brie plannedopportunities or experiences either one-to-one with an adult or in very small groups. As children movethrough the EYFS years they will gradually be ready or small group and short periods o large groupplanned activities.

Practitioners consider childrens interests and learning observed in both child-initiated and adult-ledactivities, along with knowledge gained rom home links, and then decide how best to support thechildrens learning. This may be through an adult-led activity, or instead it could be through targetedsupport or child-initiated activity, such as bringing in additional resources, introducing new elementsinto the routines, or ensuring that adults are engaged to support a particular area.

It is important or practitioners to consider how best to ensure that children bene it rom both child-initiated and adult-led opportunities. It may be possible or the day to involve moving seamlesslybetween one emphasis and the other. There are risks, however, in not distinguishing between theseelements o the routine. Where adults ocus on supporting particular planned opportunities during child-initiated time,

there may be children who regularly do not opt into these activities and so miss the adultstimulus and support or learning.

When practitioners plan and lead small group activities while other children play, they are notavailable to observe, engage with and support play.

I this organisation involves calling children away rom their child-initiated activities to join inwith adult-led activities, childrens control over their play and sustained time to develop theirinterests is compromised.

Practitioners may instead develop a clear structure ensuring that all children participate in ocusedactivities and that child-initiated activity is valued and supported.

Sometimes adults will plan a ocused activity based on what they observed in child-initiated activity.When materials introduced in adult-led activity are then made reely available, children may choose toplay with them in their own way and so urther explore, practise or develop a skill. This interweaving o approaches motivates, stimulates, and rein orces learning.


20/65



In responding skilfully to support learning, whatever the context, knowing about a range of appropriate strategies helps practitioners to make decisions about which strategies are likely tobe effective for groups and individual children. These strategies include:

Direct instruction: Sometimes it is not appropriate to allow children to explore and discover when anadult can see that direct teaching is the most appropriate strategy. This can include teaching a skill orgiving acts/in ormation or possibly correcting a childs misconception, although o ten encouragingchildren to think through and explore their misconceptions can provide rich opportunities or learning.

Providing assistance: Children learn to choose and direct their own activities, but many will needassistance to develop their skills and con idence to express their own ideas, and share these with theirpeers.

Guided interaction: Adult and child collaborate on a task, where the adults strategies are highly tunedinto the childs existing skills and motivations. The adult uses a range o pedagogical strategies that areresponsive to the childs intentions, ocused on the spontaneous learning, and provide opportunities orthe childs eedback. Talking together is a primary tool, using open questions and exploring what the

child is thinking about to help the child to go beyond what they understood be ore.Participating in the play: Joining in with childrens play, taking cues rom the children to understandthe nature and purposes o the play, can o er an opportunity to extend childrens learning. Childrenlearn rom others in play o ten they learn rom their peers, and they also learn rom a knowledgeable,skilled and sensitive adult who plays with them.

The case studies which follow illustrate some of the ways practitioners and children movebetween child-initiated and adult-led activities, making use of active opportunities whichstimulate and reinforce childrens learning. Where children are in the final year of the EYFS,practitioners will be able to observe their learning and development across a range of contexts togather assessment evidence toward the EYFSP.

A child writing a message provides an opportunity for the adult to encourage message writingwith all the children.

During play on arrival that morning Emily had written a message or Sally, thepractitioner.

Be ore going outdoors Sally gathered the children together to show them themessage and share her excitement at receiving the note. All the children lookedand listened attentively, and one child made a link with writing a note to Johnwho was away on holiday. Sally suggested that i the children wrote to John hewould be very happy about returning to nursery since he would know that hisriends had missed him.

Several children then used the mark-making resources outdoors and indoors towrite messages to their riends during child-initiated time.

child-initiated

adult-led

child-initiated

Pause for thought

What do these observations tell you about individual childrens interests? What areas o learning do you identi y as being shown here? What changes to the environment might be planned to support these developments?

Find out more

Mark Making Matters: Young children making meaning in all areas o learning and development

Go to www.standards.dcsf.gov.uk/nationalstrategies and search or Mark Making Matters.


21/65



In a nursery group, a playful adult-led activity includes both demonstration by the adult and childrensindependent explorations.

The practitioner irst demonstrated to a group o ten children how to create static electricity with balloons.She had set out resources or children to explore independently, and asked the children to carry out their ownexperiments to see what they could do.

The practitioner gave running commentaries on what di erent children were doing, encouraging the childrento learn rom each other, or example, Harry is rubbing his balloon on his jumper.

At the end o the session, the practitioner brought the children back together and asked some o them to talk about what they had done.

Pause for thought

Can you think o any other ways as well as talking in which the children could be encouraged to representtheir experiences o static electricity with balloons?

How could you enable children to continue their explorations i they chose to do so in child-initiated play? Could you identi y possible developments across di erent areas o learning that children might

demonstrate while they play with balloons: Physical Development; Personal, Social and EmotionalDevelopment; Communication, Language and Literacy; Problem Solving, Reasoning and Numeracy;Creative Development; Knowledge and Understanding o the World?

Adult support for children to resolve a conflict results in a creative solution which leaveschildren in control.

Two our-year-olds in a nursery group were arguing over who could wear the monster costume. The adultintervened to stop the shouting and pulling, and held the costume while they discussed the problem. Sheencouraged each child to give their point o view and say how they elt. She supported one child by saying, Itlooks as i you might be eeling angry about that.

She then posed the question, What can we do so that both people will be happy? Share! suggested alistening child. How could you share one costume? asked the adult. There was discussion about taking turns,but neither child would agree to wait.

I know! We could both have one leg in, suggested one o the two. The adult asked i they would both behappy with that idea, and they agreed that they would. So amid great hilarity they cooperated to put thecostume on and walk away wearing one leg each.

Pause for thought

How could the practitioner build on this experience by helping children to recognise and celebrate theirsuccess in solving the problem?

What might be planned or an adult-led opportunity to support children to recognise the eelings andpoints o view o others?


22/65



The interweaving of learning through play, adult-led and child-initiated activities is seen in five-year-old Ellas growing knowledge and use of numbers.

Ella is interested in numbers and numeracy, which she shows during daily adult-led routines when the children count the number o boys and girls, identi y thenumerals, and work out whether there are more boys or girls.

Ella continues her interest during child-initiated activities. The teacher observesher sorting, matching and counting plastic igures, where she uses numeracyconcepts in context. Ella counts accurately up to 20, sorts according to colour,counts on (Five red dolls, and ive more six, seven, eight, nine, ten tenaltogether.), adds and subtracts (Five add two more is seven, take away two andits ive again. See!).

During outdoor play at lunchtime, Ella announces that she is going to make ahopscotch. She uses the large chalk to mark out a grid, and writes the numerals.An adult is watching and Ella talks through her activity, asking or support when

necessary: This is my hopscotch. Im starting backwards 15, 14, 13. Whatcomes next? She writes some numerals correctly, but 4, 5, and 7 are reversed. The adult chooses not to correct Ella at this point in order or her to sustain herown purposes and enjoyment. She makes a note to support Ella in recognisingand writing numerals in adult-led activities.

During role-play, Ella uses her knowledge to en orce the rules: Only ive childrenare allowed in here. Theres too many one, two, three, our, ive, six. James,youve got to go out cos you havent got a band.

adult-led

child-initiated

outdoor play

(adult-led)

child-initiated

Pause for thought:

Can you identi y ways in which the adult-led opportunities to gain knowledge about numbers havesupported Ellas activities in play?

Judging rom how Ella is using numbers independently in her play, what would you identi y as next stepsin her learning?

From this episode what evidence might you gather about Ellas attainment that would contribute tothe EYFSP?

Find out more

Problem Solving, Reasoning and Numeracy (PSRN) e-learning course

Go to www.standards.dcsf.gov.uk/nationalstrategies and search or Problem Solving, Reasoning andNumeracy.


23/65



Evidence toward Early Years Foundation Stage Profile scale points

Personal, Social and Emotional DevelopmentDispositions and attitudes 5 Selects and uses activities and resources independently

Ella selects own resources and uses her knowledge and skills to initiate her own activity 6 Continues to be interested, motivated and excited to learn

Ella is absorbed in what shes doing 7 Is confident to try new activities, initiate ideas and speak in a familiar group

Ella initiates making a hopscotch and con idently organises the group in the role-play area

Communication, Language and Literacy

Language for communication and thinking 7 Uses talk to organise, sequence and clarify thinking, ideas, feelings and events; explores the meanings and

sounds of new words Throughout the process o making a hopscotch Ella talks through her thinking by saying what shesdoing

Problem Solving, Reasoning and Numeracy

Numbers as labels and for counting 4 Says number names in order

Ella demonstrates counting amounts and counting backwards when making her hopscotch 5 Recognises numerals 1 to 9

Ella writes the numbers on her hopscotch 6 Counts reliably up to ten everyday objects

Counts reliably up to 20 objects 8 Uses developing mathematical ideas and methods to solve practical problems

Ella uses her knowledge o number lines, order and recognition to support her in making and using her

hopscotch game

Calculating 4 Relates addition to combining two groups, and 8 Uses developing mathematical ideas and methods to solve

practical problemsFive red dolls, and ive more six, seven, eight, nine, ten ten altogether.

5 Relates subtraction to taking away, 6 In practical activities and discussion, begins to use the vocabulary involved in adding and subtracting, and 8 Uses developing mathematical ideas and methods to solve practical problemsFive add two more is seven, take away two and its ive again. See!

7 Finds one more or one less than a number from 1 to 10 Only ive children are allowed in here. Theres too many one, two, three, our, ive, six. James, youve got togo out cos you havent got a band.


24/65



Engaging with ICT offers children opportunities to learn in a range of contexts in a reception / Year 1 class.

Building on childrens interests, the practitioner offers direct instruction and support for children to reach their own aims

The children are interested in making maps and recording directions, usingprogrammable toys. The teacher reminds them how to programme the toys,what the arrows signi y orward, le t, right, and how to clear the commands.Some children mark out maps with chalk on the playground or the toy to travelalong. Other children are happy to explore what the toy can do. The teacherencourages them to record their actions (e.g. Forward 5) on clipboards. Thechildren use numerals and letters as well as their own marks and diagrams.

Noah is playing with the programmable toy. He puts a elt-tip pen in the holeso that he can see the trail as the toy moves along a long sheet o paper on theplayground. He asks the teacher or some help making the toy into a snail. Theywork together using paper, scissors and crayons to make a head and shell, and

they stick it on with adhesive tape. Noah returns to programming the snail andmakes it go in the right directions to ollow the trail he has marked on the paper.

Children actively support each others learning

Reception and Year 1 children have chosen to use digital cameras and movieso tware on the computer.

Jack has recorded a video on the camera, and takes it to the computer. Theo isthe best moviemaker (his 16- year-old brother has taught him lots o computerskills), and he shows Jack how to load the video into the computer programme.Ruby shows Jack how to animate his video. She guides him to the toolbar andmakes suggestions.

Jack: Why dont we put a meteor loop?

Ruby: This time put it in the middle (points to the screen).

Jack: No. Im going to do it over here (clicks and drags the icon to the top le t).

Ruby: OK Jack, thats cool. Now put the volcano on so it will do big explosions.

Jack: Lets only do explosions then it will blow everything up.

Ruby: Just keep on pressing that Jack (points to icon). OK, now press play. Howsit going Jack? Thats antastic! Put some music on now. That needs a bit moredesign.

(Leo comes over.)

Ruby: Look Leo, this is what we ilmed. This is what we ilmed RIGHT NOW.

Leo:I want to ilm stu . How do you ilm?

Ruby hands Leo the camera: Press this button and hold it down hard. Then youlook through here (holds camera to her eye, then holds it to Leos eye).

Leo goes off to make his video.

adult-led

child-initiated

Pause for thought

Children learn rom other children who have more knowledge or experience. What particular eatures o the learning environment might encourage children to work together? What strategies might adults use in child-initiated time to encourage children to support each other?

How do you decide when children would not bene it rom an adult joining the activity?


25/65



The skilful practitionerWhen young children are le t to their own devices in a stimulating environment, most will learn throughtheir own explorations and play, ollowing their own ideas and motivations. Early Years practitioners playan important role in providing the building blocks or such independent exploration materials, time,space and a supportive emotional environment.

Yet this is not enough. Adults have a crucial role in stimulating and supporting children to reach beyondtheir current limits, inspiring their learning and supporting their development. It is through the activeintervention, guidance and support o a skilled adult that children make the most progress in theirlearning. This does not mean pushing children too ar or too ast, but instead meeting children wherethey are, showing them the next open door, and helping them to walk through it. It means being apartner with children, enjoying with them the power o their curiosity and the thrill o inding out whatthey can do.

The ability to tune in accurately to meet children where they are is summed up in the irst steps o thecycle described in the EYFS guidance:

PlanningWhat next?Experiences andopportunities, learning

environment,resources, routines,practitioners role.

Start HereObservationLook, listen and

note.Describing

AssessmentAnalysing observationsand deciding whatthey tell us aboutchildren.

Important key words in understanding this cycle are highlighted above.

Observation involves paying attention, noticing, and being able to describe accurately what a childdoes or says. The description could be written down, or the practitioner could make a mental note o what has been noticed.

Assessment means re lecting on the observation to decide what it means in terms o the childs interests,current ocus o learning, ways o thinking, emotional response and level o development. Assessmentinvolves the practitioner making an in ormed judgement about the childs learning. It may be representedin accounts o a childs learning journey, or summarised as described in Progress Matters: Reviewingand enhancing young childrens development (go to www.standards.dcsf.gov.uk/nationalstrategies and search or Early Years). The same process is used to in orm judgements at the end o the EYFS, as apractitioner observes what children do and say in a range o contexts and decides how these contribute as


26/65



evidence towards the speci ic scale points o the EYFSP (go to www.qcda.gov.uk and search or QCA Testsand exams support Early Years Foundation Stage Pro ile).

Planning involves deciding what next to provide to support the childs learning, responding to whatthe practitioner understands about the child rom the assessment process. As noted in the diagram,planning may include introducing experiences or changing the environment, the routines, or theresources. It should also include a wide range o speci ic ways o interacting through which practitionerscan support and extend learning.

Moment-by-moment This cycle is o ten thought o in terms o recorded observations, assessments possibly matched to areaso learning and stages o development, and planning or the next day or the next week. These are use ulelements o good practice which may support the practitioner in meeting the needs o the children inthe setting, and support the link between what is observed in child-initiated activity and how this can be

built upon in planned adult-led activity (and vice versa).Babies and young children, however, are experiencing and learning in the here and now, not storingup their questions until tomorrow or next week. It is in that moment o curiosity, puzzlement, e ortor interest the teachable moment that the skil ul adult makes a di erence. By using this cycle ona moment-by-moment basis, the adult will be always alert to individual children (observation), alwaysthinking about what it tells us about the childs thinking (assessment), and always ready to respond byusing appropriate strategies at the right moment to support childrens well-being and learning (planningor the next moment).

A skilful practitioner uses the observeassessrespond cycle on a moment-by-moment basis.

In a day nursery a practitioner, Claire, is sitting on the loor with twobabies, Sarah and James. She is acing Sarah, talking to her andsupporting her with one hand when she wobbles as she sits, andalso keeping an eye on James. James has a plastic ball which he isrepeatedly banging on a posting box. He then starts to bang it onthe loor, but it doesnt make a noise on the carpet. He puts the ballto his mouth, then goes back to banging it on the box.

The ball slips out o his grasp and rolls away across the loor. Clairereaches out to retrieve the ball and hands it back to James, sayingOops. Here it is.

James goes back to knocking the ball on the box, then begins to

bang it on Sarahs head. Claire puts her hand between to protectSarahs head, then o ers her palm to James, and he begins to bangthe ball on her hand.

Observe:James is banging the ball on other

objects.

Assess:James is exploring with some

persistence is he interested in thesound, or the eel?

Respond:Support James in his explorationby making it possible or him to

continue.

Use simple language models aboutthe here and now.


27/65



In a nursery class three-year-old Luke has chosen to go with a riendto the cra t area during child-initiated time. Looking through pagesrom catalogues, they ind pictures o bicycles and his riend beginsto cut out his avourite bike. Luke says, I want this one. He uses bothhands to hold the scissors, opening and closing them like gardenshears against the paper with no e ect.

An adult says, Shall I help you? and when Luke agrees she irstdemonstrates, explaining about using the thumb and ingers o one hand. She then helps him place his ingers correctly, tells himto open the scissors and holds the paper taut in position or him toclose the scissors.

A ter the irst snip he pushes the scissors at the paper. She says,You have to open them again. Pull your ingers apart, like this. Shecontinues to hold the paper, turning it at the right time so that thecuts go roughly round the picture. She says, Open, close, open,

close until the picture is ree rom the page.

Observe:Luke doesnt know how to hold or

use the scissors.

Assess:Luke has a speci ic goal in mind,and he will not be success ul by

experimenting on his own with thescissors. Cutting around a shape is

complicated, involving a continuouscutting movement while holding

and turning the paper.

Respond:Directly teach Luke how to holdand open and close the scissors.

Support him to continue the scissor

movement by talking, and hold andturn the paper or him.

In both o these cases, the practitioner could plan adult-led activities to support the learning at alater time. Claire might decide that James was probably most interested in the sounds made by knocking one

object on another in his up and down movements, so she may plan to put some wooden trays onthe loor, provide di erent materials to hold, and model banging in rhythm.

The sta at Lukes nursery may plan small group opportunities with a purpose ul task which willinvolve using scissors, and provide support as needed.

But in both o these cases, the right support at the right time is critical to the childrens learning. This willoccur over and over as the adult actively supports child-initiated learning.

A limited number o adult-led activities will be planned or each day, and the practitioner will try toensure that the activities are relevant and appropriate to the learning o the children through basingthem on previous observations. When planned as open-ended activities, a group o children will be ableto engage with and bene it rom an activity sparked by observing one child. During the activity, thepractitioner will use the same skills o moment-by-moment observe-assess-respond to help each childin the group to move learning orward.

Find out more The Practice Guidance or the EYFS o ers use ul support or practitioners on responding to children,both in the moment and in uture plans. Look, listen and note sections support practitioners to understand observed behaviour in terms

o learning and development. E ective practice sections o er suggestions and examples o responses that will support and

enhance learning and development.

(Go to www.standards.dcsf.gov.uk/nationalstrategies and search or Early Years.)

The ollowing case study illustrates one re lective practitioners journey in developing, reviewing andre ining her approach as she built on her knowledge o how children learn and her understanding o herrole. Accessing training and working with a network o practitioners was help ul in urther developingher thinking and skills.


28/65



A practitioners story developing pedagogySue is a reception teacher and deputy head teacher at an infant and nursery school in Shrewsbury.

Through more than twenty years experience as a teacher o nursery and reception children, Sue hasdeveloped her practice. Drawing on changing national rameworks and other models o pedagogy,Sue has kept challenging hersel to develop her approach in line with her central marker what Ibelieve in or young children.

Sue says the support o headteachers has been important to her journey. They valued me as apro essional, and trusted me. In order to get that trust, you have to prove that the children aremaking progress, that you are making a di erence. Teamwork, now with teaching assistant Helen,has been another key part o the process. Sue points to some essential skills in her work which sheis continually re ining, including observation and assessment and using questions rom childrenand adults. Her ocus on learning is clear: We ind out what they already know, and work so theyunderstand more the next time. I always try to give a challenge or provoke a question.

Too relaxed?

Sue says that early in her career the approach was almost too relaxed. We used to have just a bluehardback notebook, and wed sit at the end o the day and say, Right, what shall we do? Well, wehavent had the marble run out or a while so lets put that out tomorrow. Or the aquaplay system theyll like that, its a nice sunny day so well get that out.

When the Curriculum Guidance or the Foundation Stage was issued in 2000, Sue says she ullyembraced it. I opened it and I thought this is good, because it talked about awe and wonder,and thats me. Well bring as much as we can into the classroom and well get that sense o awe andwonder and really spark and interest young children.

Too structured?

But soon her practice was not developing in a way she elt com ortable with. It was seen as a way o working where each child had to hit each o those stepping stones and it was almost as i you haveto do it in this order. You had to work through this and almost use it as a tick sheet. And that was verytricky or me because I know that children dont necessarily work in that way. You had to li t yourobjective rom the stepping stones and plan an activity or that. So I would spend hours at hometrying to think o activities that would interest the children that would hit that objective, and then gointo school, get all the resources ready and it was just deadly. I didnt like it, and I had quite a battleon my hands to prove that children could learn through play, and that you didnt have to set upactivities that would speci ically reach each objective.

Linking learning to play

Her next step was to try to ind an approach between her ormer loose method o using activitiesthe children liked, and a more structured way using the Foundation Stage and monitoring progress.So we tried to look at the types o activities that children enjoyed and set those up, then look at thePro ile, the Early Learning Goals and the stepping stones to see i we were actually hitting those bydoing that and we were.

The use o observations made Sue think again. We made sure we had very tight observations. Inthose days we just used to do sticky notes and stick them on the kitchen door, so that at the end o the session youd have a door ull o observations, which wed then take o the door and put in thechilds older which would then sit on the shel . Until you came at hal -term to update your pro ilesyou wouldnt look at them again. Then we had to think about why are we doing the observations,

and what are they telling us about how children learn?


29/65



Too prescribed?

Sue began to use the observations to plan or groups o children. Youd have the observations, andit was almost like illing the gaps Well, that ones striped o , and that one, but this is a bit o a gap

so well do that one. We then thought this wasnt working either. The pro ile was being used as aplanning tool, and it was just too prescriptive and too rigid. It wasnt really moving rom childrensinterests. That went on or a long, long time, and I didnt particularly enjoy what I was doing toomuch assessment, too much questioning about where the children were and which statementstheyd hit.

Starting from childrens interests

A local authority workshop on Reggio Emilia, and later a more extended training course ollowedup by network meetings, provided the next support or Sues developing thinking and practice. Ithought, this has elements o where I want to go. This is what I believe in or young children.

As soon as we started ollowing their interests we broke away rom the planning, which is very

radical and very brave, Sue says. This was even be ore the EYFS came in, but it its in well with theEYFS. It has not been a straight orward change, and Sue points out that over the last three yearstheir way o planning has changed many times. For instance, they thought care ully to avoid athemed approach: Like the old days when youd bring the butter ly in and it would last or a wholeterm, Sue says. We didnt want everybody having to study butter lies. What about the children whodont show that interest?

Flexible days

Within the stable daily routine there is still lexibility and constant shi ting o types o activity. In astill-emerging approach, the childrens interests and knowledge are explored in mind-mapping,discussions, and open-ended activities. In response, Sue and Helen plan opportunities which

encourage children to think and ind out, and these are grouped into an umbrella project that canhold strands o childrens particular interests within it.

Through care ul observation and discussion about individual children, Sue and Helen plan or amorning with a mix o open-ended and objective-led ocus groups, and or enhancements to thea ternoon o child-initiated opportunities. There is also a daily session o Letters and Sounds in twogroups.

Purpose and challenge

Throughout child-initiated activity Sue ocuses on learning. At the beginning o child-initiated timeIll say, At review time today I think I will be asking Maddie about what she ound out about thosenew materials, so then Im giving them a purpose. In the session I might re er to that, saying I need

to hear rom you two things that you ound out two tricky things, or two things that you oundreally easy. So there is a purpose and a bit o a challenge, and they know that theyve got to indsomething out rom their play.

Sue and Helen support childrens play by participating alongside them which o ten strikes up aconversation, modelling and posing questions. The skill you need is asking the right questions, Suesays. I say, Tell me what youre thinking what have you got in your head? Then its a step-by-stepapproach between you and the child. I have an idea What i ...? You dont want to be the bigperson that always comes in and interrupts, or presents something as Do this.

Sue keeps her sights on making a di erence to children. When we talk things over at the end o theday I always ask, What has that child learned today? What has been the bene it or them o being inschool today?.


30/65



Warm, trusting relationships with knowledgeable adults support childrens learning more e ectivelythan any amount o resources.

EYFS, Supporting Learning 2.3

Skilled and thoughtful practitioners support learning by:

A Unique Child Seeking to know and understand each individual child and their development

Showing interest and celebrating with children their interests and achievements

Positive RelationshipsMaintaining close, caring and respect ul relationships

Encouraging and supporting children to relate to others

Supporting children to resolve their own con licts through problem-solving

Enabling EnvironmentsEnsuring children have sustained time to develop child-initiated activities

Arranging, resourcing, and making time or children to make ree use o rich indoor and outdoorspaces

Observing children as a natural part o all normal activity

Interpreting childrens actions and words to try to understand the childs thinking and learning

Being sensitive to the childs thinking and learning when deciding when to interact and when tovalue the childs independent activity

Joining in play and child-initiated activity ollowing childrens agendas

Sca olding childrens learning through talk, discussing strategies and ideas, suggestingpossibilities and modelling approaches

Providing brie , well-planned ocused learning opportunities in response to observed interests,

learning and development

Learning and Development Using daily events within the routine to provide worthwhile real-li e experiences

Varying experiences, using resh, creative and play ul approaches

Providing irst-hand experiences to explore and discover

Directly teaching, through demonstrating or explaining

Encouraging and supporting children to persevere through di iculties, to take risks, to ask questions and problem-solve

Using the language o learning to ocus children on themselves as learners

Identi ying and supporting next steps in learning


31/65



Case studiesOn the ollowing pages, case studies covering the age range o the EYFS illustrate how e ective practiceby skil ul practitioners supports childrens learning and development across a range o contexts.

Notice the callout boxes along the side, which identify some of the ways listed on the previouspage in which skilful and thoughtful practitioners support learning.

Activities develop in complexity as children move through di erent stages o development, yet theimportance o practitioners interacting with skill and sensitivity does not change. The principles o observing, seeking to understand each child, and responding to support learning within a warm andtrusting relationship remain the same.

In the case studies, can you identi y how practitioners are: valuing childrens unique interests and characteristics, and supporting childrens independence and

play?

observing, interpreting and responding to children on a moment-by-moment basis? using what they have understood rom their observations to plan or enhancements to child-

initiated opportunities through new stimulus or materials? using what they have understood rom their observations to provide play ul adult-led opportunities? making good use o a range o contexts to support and extend childrens learning?


32/65



Birth20 months

An environment for babiesPractitioners at a day nurseryin Hert ordshire decided toimprove the environment orbabies. Responding to researchwhich suggests that youngbabies ocus best on high-contrast tones o black, whiteand red, a high-contrast area

was created in the baby room. Practitionersworked with parents to provide black and whitephotographs o the babies, people and objectswhich were special to them, and mountedthese on display boards at eye level or thebabies.

The baby room was designed to stimulate babies senses and encourage exploration,with di erent textured materials at ground level or the young baby to reach and grab,including so t cushions, silk scarves, black hard pots, rubber shoes and voile.

Sharing a moment of communicationNine-month-old Chloe was sitting up, playing and exploring with her hands in the high-contrast area, in a calm and quiet atmosphere. She reached orward and started pattingone o the many photographs around her. Karen, the practitioner, realised that this wasChloes own photograph, and thought that Chloe was indicating her interest in the picture.

Karen moved down to the level to make eye contact with Chloe, and spoke to her usingacial expressions and a voice that showed her interest and pleasure: Is that you, Chloe?Can you see Chloe? Chloe smiled broadly, encouraging the conversation to continue.Chloe and Karen continued taking turns with expressions and gestures, sounds romChloe and words rom Karen, as they looked at each other and the photos.

Pause for thought Can you identi y how Karen was observing, interpreting and responding toChloe on a moment-by-moment basis?

Would you plan any urther response to Chloes interest in the photos?

How might you share this experience with Chloes parents?

Arranging,resourcing andmaking timeor childrento reely userich indoorand outdoorspaces

Providingrst-handexperiencesto exploreand discover

Observingchildren as anatural parto all normalactivity

Interpretingchildrensactions andwords to tryto understandthe childsthinking andlearning

Maintainingclose, caringand respect ulrelationships


33/65



Listening to babiesGrace, 14 months, crawled towards the practitioner, Sandra. Grace sat on Sandras knee, placed her rightindex inger onto the palm o her le t hand, and smiled at Sandra.

Sandra said, Do you want me to do Round and Round the Garden?, and Graceresponded with a smile.

Sandra sang the song, doing the actions on Graces hand. As Sandra tickled Grace atthe end o the song, Grace giggled and snuggled into Sandra. Grace then again put heringer against her palm, and Sandra repeated the song twice more.

But then Grace then put her inger into Sandras palm. Oh, you do it now, Sandra said,and she sang the song while Grace did the actions on Sandras hand.

Responding to feelings

Peggie, seven months, was placed into a high-chair or lunch. Peggie became verydistressed and wouldnt take any ood.

Her key person, Claire, took Peggie out o the high-chair and spoke to her in a soothingvoice, rocking her until she settled. Continuing to talk in a reassuring voice, Claire theno ered Peggie some ood as she sat on her knee. Peggie smiled at Claire and startedeating her ood.

When Peggie was totally settled and relaxed, Claire said, Are you ready to go in your chairnow? She placed Peggie back into the high-chair and Peggie happily inished her lunch.

Pause for thought Understanding what young babies are communicating requires attentivepractitioners who notice the babies signals and interpret what they mean. How might Claire interpret Peggies distress at lunchtime? Would you think about any changes to mealtimes or Peggie?

Find out morePractice Guidance or the Foundation Stage Look Listen and Note, E ectivePractice

Go to www.standards.dcsf.gov.uk/nationalstrategies and search or EYFS areas o learning and development.

Social and Emotional Aspects o Development: Guidance or EYFS practitioners

Go to www.standards.dcsf.gov.uk/nationalstrategies and search or Social andEmotional Aspects o Development: Guidance or EYFS practitioners.

Interpretingchildrensactions andwords to tryto understandthe childsthinking andlearning

Maintainingclose, caringand respect ulrelationships

Joining inplay andchild-initiatedactivitiesollowingchildrensagendas


34/65



16-36 months

Exploring togetherClayton, 29 months, had a stick and was poking about in the bushes. The practitioner, Terri-Ann, was sitting nearby.

Terri-Ann: What are you looking or, Clayton?Clayton: Snails.

He is very focused on looking through the bark. Terri-Ann: Have you ound anything, Clayton?Clayton: No.

Then excitedly:Look!

Terri-Ann: What is it?Clayton: Ant. Terri-Ann: Ooh, let me see.Clayton: And spider look!

Clayton and Terri-Ann continued looking through the undergrowth and chatting together, until Claytondecided to move on to another part o the garden.

Supported by a child

At a private day nursery in Newham or two-to- ive-year-olds, open rom 8:00 am to 6:00 pm, everythingis packed away twice a week. A high proportion o the children are learning English as an additionallanguage, and members o sta speak some o the childrens home languages.

Ashritha, 3 years 8 months, spoke Telugu as her home language. She had attended thesetting ull-time or over a year and, having begun with two or three words, her Englishwas now luent.

Pranav, 2 years 6 months, also spoke Telugu and had just joined the setting. He wascrying or nana (dad) who brings and collects him. His key person tried to com ortPranav, but he was still distressed.

The practitioner decided to ask or help rom Ashritha. You speak the same language as

Pranav. Could you tell him, because hes crying, that dad is going to come and pick himup soon?

Ashritha said, Yes, I speak his language because it is my home languageDaddy comingsoon (in Telugu).

Pranav calmed as Ashritha spoke to him, reassured at being able to communicate. LaterAshritha told Pranavs key person that she knew Pranav because he sometimes came to her house.

Commenting on playStephanie, nearly three, speaks Swahili con idently at home. She has been attending the day nursery

or about a month, and has just started occasionally to use single words in English when she has built arapport with the practitioner. Stephanie was outside playing in the water, with the practitioner, Sylvia,supporting her by commenting on her actions, providing a model o language at just the right levelor Stephanie.

Showinginterest andcelebratingwith childrentheirinterests andachievements

Joining inplay and

child-initiatedactivitiesollowingchildrensagendas

Seeking toknow andunderstandeachindividualchild and theirdevelopment

Encouragingand support-ing childrento relate toothers


35/65



Newham Early Years Advisory Team

Sylvia: That is ull...right to the top. Look how ull it is. Shall we ill it again?Stephanie nods, and pours more water. There is frequent eye contact and smiling at each other throughout the exchange.

Sylvia: Fill it up.Stephanie smiles.Pour it out. Stephanie smiles.Again. A big grin from Stephanie.More water.And stop. Stephanie smiles.

And stop.And its empty. Stephanie gives another big smile.

The play stopped because Stephanie was o to the Post O ice role-play in the outdoor area.

Pause for thought What strategies can practitioners use to best support young childrens developing communicationand language?

When children are learning English as an additional language, what kinds o provision andinteraction with practitioners are most help ul?

Find out moreEvery Child a Talker: Guidance or Early Language Lead Practitioners

Go to www.standards.dcsf.gov.uk/nationalstrategies and search or Every Child a Talker: Guidanceor Early Language Lead Practitioners.

Supporting children learning English as an additional language: Guidance or practitioners in theEarly Years Foundation Stage

Go to www.standards.dcsf.gov.uk/nationalstrategies and search or Supporting children learningEnglish as an additional language: Guidance or practitioners in the Early Years Foundation Stage.

Joining inplay andchild-initiatedactivitiesollowingchildrensagendas

Sca oldingchildrenslearningthrough talk,discussingstrategiesand ideas,suggestingpossibilitiesand modellingapproaches


36/65



Snack timeJackie is a childminder who had planned a walk to the supermarket with Thomas, two,and Chelsea, three.

Jackie supported the children to prepare shopping lists by laying out pictures o ruitsand vegetables. She encouraged Chelsea to make marks to represent the items and showhow many, while Thomas selected magnetic pictures to place on his shopping list, andsaid the names o some oods he recognised in the pictures.

When getting ready to go out Thomas was able to ind his own shoes. He tried to putthem on his eet, but when he was not making progress Jackie said, Would you like meto help you? Thomas nodded, and sat on Jackies lap. She ollowed his lead to decidewhich oot to do irst. Once the oot was in the shoe, she said, Will you do it, Thomas?and he success ully astened the Velcro strap.

On the way home a ter a period o great interest choosing and buying the ood, Thomas had a package

o strawberries in his basket, which was clearly heavy work or him to carry. Do you wantme to carry it? Jackie asked. Is it getting a bit heavy? Thomas shook his head and said,No. As he continued to struggle Jackie suggested, You could carry the ticket. He shook his head and she commented, No? Well, Ill carry the ticket, shall I? She walked patientlyholding Thomass hand as he continued to make slow progress with the load.

A ter washing their own purchases, the children were given knives to cut the ruit intopieces. Jackie suggested Thomas start with a banana. She held his hand and said,Turn it this way up. Then cut. Cut. Thomas explored on his own how he could jab theruit with his kni e, and occasi

Documents

Learning Playing and Interacting_Good Practice in the EYFS