As we look to implement the EYFS I have been exploring how far we have already met the four themes, and in particular, Enabling Environments.
This has made me think about what exactly our children's environment is. It includes the obvious things such as the rooms, the garden and the children's access to resources and learning opportunities. It is this last aspect that we have been exploring in detail - how can we provide children with access to the widest range of learning opportunities.
I have helped my head of pre-school to introduce the topic of 'my community'. Within this we looked at what there is within our local area that we could tap into to enrich the children's understanding of themselves as part of a community. I felt it was important for them to appreciate where they and their families 'fit in' and how different people contribute to their lives.
In wanting this learning to be 'real', the challenges have been about how we take the children out to explore their community. My main role has been to empower the staff to rise to these challenges and look for solutions to them. Having identified some venues that we wanted the children to visit - library, shops, church, mosque and care home - we had to think about how we would get the children there, and we were able to bring in the answers to these questions as part of the learning. Some children had never been on a bus, so we built this into the topic, with the concept of 'paying for a service'. Some are driven everywhere in a car and never walk, so we took them to places they could walk to and look in detail at the built environment.
I have had to plan for a number of practical considerations, such as risk assessments and increased staffing ratios, which were carried out by using placement students and volunteer parents.
The rewards for the children have far outweighed the challenges. We have all benefited from having our horizons broadened.
