TEY_10_1_2020

Teachearlyyears.com 23 Snack time offers the perfect opportunity for boosting personal development. READ MORE Teachearlyyears.com features a huge range of articles sharing advice and insights on topics spanning the EYFS – why not check out four more from Sue Cowley… l Tantrums are a natural part of early childhood development, but here’s how to help toddlers learn how to regulate their emotions – bit.do/TEYtrm l Young children love to move, but there are times when we need them to sit still; read these tips on developing focusing and listening skills – bit.do/TEYfnl l It’s not uncommon for the under-fives to struggle when mum or dad turns to leave, but you can help them to adjust to the change – bit.do/TEYclch l We want to give our charges freedom to learn as they pursue their interests, but they also need structure to succeed – bit.do/TEYstrc Sue has helped to run her local early years setting for 10 years. Her latest book is The Ultimate Guide to Mark Making (Bloomsbury, £19.99). Inspection Framework ( about which you can read more from page 78 – Ed. ), a key focus is on a “rich set of experiences”. In a speech to the National Day Nurseries Association in June 2018, HMI Amanda Spielman explained that inspectors would be looking at “what you do to care and educate children in the broadest sense”. This judgement looks at areas such as developing emotional literacy; promoting equality and diversity, challenging stereotypical behaviours; helping children build confidence, resilience and independence; supporting physical and emotional health; and creating secure attachments. SNACK TIME Snack time offers the perfect opportunity for boosting personal development in the early years, because you can introduce the children to new, healthy foods and also support social development through a shared dining experience. In our preschool setting, the children learn so much from snack time – from handling small tools to cut up the fruit and vegetables and counting out the right number of portions, to talking about healthy eating choices and pouring drinks for their friends, the learning in this part of our daily routine is invaluable. OUTDOOR LEARNING Outdoor learning supports numerous aspects of personal development, particularly the important areas of self-regulation and resilience. Forest school provision offers a challenging environment in which the children can learn how to assess and manage risk, face challenges and also participate in physical activity. Whether it is making fires, climbing trees or building dens, the outdoors is the perfect place for building children’s confidence to cope with a range of challenges. Even if your setting is not able to offer forest provision, giving the children the opportunity to free flow between indoors and outdoors can help build independence and personal responsibility. The children make decisions about where they play and when, and learn how to put on their coats/boots and how to be responsible for putting them away afterwards. As an added benefit, being outdoors can be great for our health and tends to be a place where we are more physically active. INCLUSION AND EQUITY A key aspect of personal development is the ability to understand how people should act within an inclusive society. In our setting we use Makaton to ensure that all our children are able to communicate – we teach a new sign each week, using the signs the children have learned during carpet and snack time and when singing nursery rhymes together, and asking the parents to use the signs at home as well. Equality and diversity are crucial aspects of an inclusive setting and it’s well worth doing an audit of your resources to ensure that your children see a wide range of peoples and cultures represented in the toys and books that they use. When the term ‘British values’ was first introduced, we saw some instances of a ‘tokenistic’ approach with images of Union Jack flags, Buckingham Palace and afternoon tea. Golden rules are a great way to explore the idea of how people can work together in a respectful way as a society. Talk with the children about why we need different rules and the benefits that they bring for your community.