Nursery World - First talk to the children

There is a temptation when faced with new funds to start with the catalogue and not with the children. However, more long-term benefits may be gained by first consulting children, writes Alison Clark of the Thomas Coram Research Unit, Institute of Education. Decisions may take longer but the results are likely to be enjoyed more by the children and practitioners may learn unexpected things about their children's views, interests and skills.

Decisions may take longer but the results are likely to be enjoyed more by the children and practitioners may learn unexpected things about their children's views, interests and skills.

The 'Spaces to Play' project gathers the views of three-and four-year-olds about their outdoor environment and linked up with the LTL Kent project.

Over six months children at Happy Faces Pre-school, Tonbridge, were given participatory tools, including cameras, map-making and slide shows, to convey their understanding of their outdoor area.

The methods of consulting built on Listening to young children: the Mosaic approach (2001), devised by Alison Clark and Peter Moss (available from the National Children's Bureau, tel: 020 7843 6029).

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