Enabling Environment

Why are tyres a useful resource? The early year's environment is incredibly important and can often be thought of as the third teacher. The EYFS highly advocates the importance of the learning environment. For these reasons, it is incredibly important that in early years settings the environment is made as engaging and interesting as … [Read more...] about Using old tyres in the early years environment

How can I promote mathematics in the outdoors environment? Mathematics can often be something practitioners find difficult to promote in the outdoor environment as a lot of the emphasis can turn to social skills, physical skills and understanding of the world. However, mathematics is incredibly easy to promote outdoors and has so many benefits … [Read more...] about Ways to promote mathematics in the outdoors environment

What are British Values and how are these embedded into everyday practice? A huge mistake many people make is thinking the British Values are all about the union flag, big Ben, the Queen, cups of tea, etc. When in fact, this is wrong, British Values relate to promoting Democracy, the Rule of Law, Individual Liberty and Mutual Respect and Tolerance … [Read more...] about Understanding exactly what British Values are

How to enhance your sand area Sand trays/tables/pits have become an expected thing to see in many early years settings. This is because o a huge wealth of learning to come from children’s natural enjoyment of playing in the sand. Not only is it great for mathematics but also communication and language skills and even early writing skills. There is … [Read more...] about Make your sand area outstanding

Benefits of using visual routines in your setting Visual timetables are an easy tool to use with all children, however, they can work extremely well with children with SEND, but many practitioners find using them with all children works just as well. Introducing visual timetables can be as simple as taking photos of your routine and the … [Read more...] about Using visual timetables to support all children’s learning

The benefits of a sensory garden The term sensory garden may seem strange as the outdoors environment is already a naturally sensory rich environment. However, because of this it is incredibly easy to enhance and can become a space enjoyed by all in the early years especially younger children and those with SEND. If you are lucky to have … [Read more...] about Why you should create a sensory garden

Could you introduce real tools in your setting? A previous article published by early years careers discussed how real tools are gaining more and more popularity in the early years over the usual lightweight plastic tools. As with anything in the early years, first-hand real play experiences have so much more to offer than just watching others use … [Read more...] about Introducing real tools in the early years

Making your creative area outstanding Creative area’s in early years settings all tend to contain very similar resources making it sometimes difficult to make the area seem special and unique. With this in mind, it is more the presentation and the accessibility of the resources rather than the actual resources themselves. Things to consider … [Read more...] about How to improve your creative area

Do you know what a provocation is? This a term which has recently been circling early years forums and social media pages, however, this is actually an old term that originates from the Reggio approach. The most simple way to explain a provocation is something that provokes and invites learning, interest, creativity and thoughts. They allow … [Read more...] about What is a provocation?

Getting parents evening right Every setting will have their own routine for parent’s evenings; some will offer termly, half termly, twice a year, once a year. It really does depend on the demands of the setting and the parents. Some will hold them in the evenings while other settings will offer them during the day, again this depends on what … [Read more...] about Top tips for holding a parents evening