What does a good early years environment look like? Dr Alison Borthwick Author, teacher trainer and consultant 22nd November 2023
We will cover: • General guidance about your learning provision • Continuous provision • A safe learning environment
Photo credit: Chapel Break Infant School, Norfolk. UK
Questions to consider • Do your early years classroom spaces truly reflect your vision for learning? • Have they come together by accident or been carefully planned? • Do they offer rich, meaningful and playful experiences for children?
Photo credit: Long Melford Primary School, Suffolk. UK
This means… … your environment is inextricably linked to how and what children learn … … and your environment can be valued as a ‘teacher’.
Your early years environment • Offers children a mix of dynamic, hands-on learning opportunities • Allows your early years curriculum to be delivered through a variety of experiences • Provides resources that children use and interact with, which they build into their play • Reflects moments of your ‘direct teaching’ that occur throughout the day, every day
Securing the development and progression of skills • How can the space I have available offer the best opportunities and conditions for learning? • How can I create spaces in which children feel secure, empowered and joyful? • Are my spaces appealing – do children return, repeat and extend their ideas over time?
General guidance about your learning provision
What do you need to think about with your environment?
Questions to consider about resources Why have I chosen to include the resources I have, or areas of provision? How are these resources/areas supporting learning across the whole curriculum? Is every resource chosen so that it connects with children’s interests and their natural curiosity to investigate?
What makes an effective resource? 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Age appropriate Child-centred Safe Provides open-ended, creative opportunities Allows children to make choices, play independently, take responsibilities 6. Develops more than one skill at a time 7. Promotes collaboration 8. Promotes children’s own interests 9. Multisensory 10. Durable
Continuous provision
Provision: continuous and enhanced Continuous means permanent resources and areas of the learning environment that you provide for children to explore freely across the whole year. Enhancements are just temporary changes to continuous provision – they can be new areas but, especially where space is short, they can be new resources/opportunities added to an existing area. Photo credit: Long Melford Primary School, Suffolk. UK
Examples of areas you might include in continuous provision: • • • • • • • • •
Home area Role play Book corner/reading area Writing/mark-making area Art and craft area Sand area Water area Nature area Construction area
Examples of areas you might include: Counting corner
Dinosaur Den
Photo credit: Long Melford Primary School, Suffolk. UK
Zoo role play
Builders yard
Zones
Additional resources Digital technology resources
Resources to develop fine motor skills
Music resources
Games and puzzles
What do you want your environment to do? Reflect a particular theme?
Encourage exploration towards a particular learning statement?
Accommodate/reflect children’s current interests?
A play-based approach Open-ended activities for child-initiated and guided play. Opportunities to try out different ways of achieving a task or solving a problem. Enables children to undertake tasks and tackle problems without fear of failure.
Photo credit: Wells-next-the-Sea Primary and Nursery School, Norfolk. UK
A safe learning environment
A safe learning environment • Support risk-taking • Be inclusive for all children • Develop children’s own decision-making skills • Empower children to keep themselves safe Identify Decide Evaluate Monitor/Review
Record
Finally…
Have fun! Be creative!
Photo credit: Photo credit: Wells-next-the-Sea Primary and Nursery School, Norfolk. UK
Further support School Support Hub
Teaching resources
Professional Development support • If you’re looking for early years professional development, scan the QR code and explore our calendar:
Or visit: https://www.cambridgeinternational.org/professionaldevelopment
Thank you! Learn more about Cambridge Early Years today: www.cambridgeinternational.org/earlyyears
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© Cambridge University Press & Assessment 2023 © Cambridge University Press & Assessment 2021