Learning and Development

How useful are learning journeys? Learning journeys are a common way of documenting a child’s progress and storing development information within the early years. As it is not an Ofsted requirement, there is no set guidance on exactly how learning journeys should be completed. The steps taken to completing a learning journey are often: An … [Read more...] about Are learning journeys useful or not?

Both the EYFS development matters and early years outcomes are important in supporting a child's development; but what is the difference? In 2008 Department of Education released the Early Years Foundation Stage EYFS Development Matters document. This non-statutory guidance supported practitioners in the implementation of the … [Read more...] about The difference between EYFS development Matters and Early Years Outcomes

What is the best way to present children's learning journeys Learning journeys are a great way to present the children's achievements and share with parents and other professionals. They provide a story of the child's time at nursery and can include photos, observations and artwork to show the EYFS milestones a child has met. In recent times, … [Read more...] about Digital learning journeys vs paper learning journeys

Why quality early years settings are so important “So you’re just a baby sitter” or “you just sit and play with children all day” are comments heard all too often by early years practitioners, however, this is not the case and yes it may be playing with children, but the impact of this play on children’s development is huge. Early education … [Read more...] about The importance of quality Early Years Settings

Ages and Stages are not important; it’s about the individual! The EYFS made massive changes in 2012 placing a higher emphasis on each child being an individual learner, who develop in their own ways and at their own rates. It also ensured the age brackets overlapped and stated they are not to be used as a checklist, but unfortunately, these … [Read more...] about Children being treated as individuals

Bring stories alive by involving the children There are many reasons why reading stories to children are so important. It can often be forgotten by a practitioner as to why reading stories are important. It is good practice too often discuss with other colleagues and parents why sharing stories are beneficial to children's development. When at … [Read more...] about The Importance of sharing stories with children

Play is fundamental to children's learning, this is supported by the play based EYFS curriculum. Most Early Years settings have fully adopted the play based learning style, enabling children to learn through experience and exploration, rather than being taught. However, there is still a great deal of controversy over the best way for children … [Read more...] about More play based learning for young children

Why playing with playdough can benefit children's development Many children and adults enjoy playing with playdough; it is a great sensory activity as well as an open-ended resource. There are many benefits to playing with this and plenty of learning happens when exploring it. Here are just a few of the benefits of playing with playdough: … [Read more...] about 10 different ways to use playdough