We are delighted to be joined by Lynsey Grubb from Sidlaw View Primary School in Dundee who will share how the school has taken STEM forward over the last three years. Muriel Macleod from the Western Isles who will share how she has supported nursery colleagues with STEM and Gaelic. Participants will have the opportunity to ask questions and share ideas.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with The Pines it is home to a multi-agency team supporting children and families with neurodevelopmental needs throughout the Highlands.
It was opened to support autistic children and their families in the Highlands. It still offers the same service – housing a multi-agency team of Highland Council professionals, NHS staff and third sector organisations, although the remit has expanded to support children with all neurodevelopmental conditions, before and after diagnosis.
The website has lots of information including; resources, links to training and upcoming events and advice for families.
Highland One World have launched a new resource for Early Level practitioners: ‘Seeds for Change’. The guide aims to support nursery practitioners (and P1 teachers) to help young children develop the knowledge, skills and values of global citizenship using a child-centred, play-based approach. It serves as an introduction to key themes such as anti-racism, gender and nature connection, with suggestions and case studies from across Scotland and signposting to more detailed sources of guidance if you’d like to find out more.
We all need opportunities to interact and communicate with others, we are social beings much of the time and like to be with friends or family.
Why is it important?
During Covid many children had fewer opportunities for interaction with a variety of people; self-isolating, relatives needing to protect themselves or unable to travel or visit. Families were unable to visit nurseries and wearing masks made communication challenging. Language development may have been delayed; children may not be aware of the social convention of conversation.
Social interaction and communication are so important for building language skills and developing vocabulary as well as supporting their health and well-being. ‘it is good to talk’.
Families need to know what their children are doing, what they like to play with, how they interact with others and how they are progressing so they can support and help their children at home too.
How to bring it back
Can you re-establish Stay, Play and Learn sessions? Initially these could be in the garden. Can you have face to face sessions to discuss Being Me/Personal Care Plan forms?
Sharing with home
Ask families what they would like introduced or re-established to help interactions with staff. What do they miss? Share your ideas with families and see what works for them. Support any who are still hesitant.
This might be a good opportunity to remind staff and families of the key messages from Words Up.
This is one of a weekly series of posts highlighting different spaces, experiences and interactions that practitioners have told us are not all easy to get back after the pandemic restrictions.
It’s all about playing, talking, and having fun together – so we hope they are useful. If there are any ideas you’d like us to highlight, just get in touch with your link EYESO.
For ideas about family engagement, you will find a “home” version of this post on bumps2bairns.com
To quote Realising the Ambition p56 ‘Even the most uninspiring outdoor spaces can be transformed into a rich play environment creatively and inexpensively through the provision of loose parts play. Instead of focusing on recreating indoor play areas outdoors, reflect upon the unique opportunities outdoor play affords for big movement and dynamic play. For instance, consider how fresh air, natural materials, and areas for digging, growing and splashing in puddles can contribute to a child’s learning and development in ways that could never be achieved indoors. Children flourish when playing outdoors in all weathers. Feeling sun, wind, rain, snow and ice first-hand is important as it connects us as human beings to the planet we live on. Being in nature stimulates the senses and nurtures a sense of wonder and awe at the processes of life. Outdoor environments can offer different surfaces, different levels, lots of natural features to explore, trees to climb, and bushes and shrubs to hide and build dens in’.
How to bring it back.
Ensure you provide, wherever possible, free flow between indoors and outdoors on a daily basis. Think about how children access their outdoor wear, do they need to walk through the nursery or is it accessible? Consider having a snack station set up so children do not need to come inside just to have a snack.
Sharing with home
Remind families that you will be outdoors daily and ask them to ensure their wee one is dressed appropriately for whatever type of weather there is. Explain to families why you go outdoors and the benefits of being there. Encourage them to spend time outdoors with their children too.
This is one of a weekly series of posts highlighting different spaces, experiences and interactions that practitioners have told us are not all easy to get back after the pandemic restrictions.
It’s all about playing, talking, and having fun together – so we hope they are useful. If there are any ideas you’d like us to highlight, just get in touch with your link EYESO.
For ideas about family engagement, you will find a “home” version of this post on bumps2bairns.com
