Realising the Ambition (RtA) p 47, says that “designing learning environments requires consideration of the interactions, experiences and spaces on offer”.
Interactions
Remember that your interactions with the children are a crucial element of the learning environment and that ”learning through play requires skilful interactions and conversations in environments that support and extend thinking and actions. It requires adults who are both playful and knowledgeable of the building blocks of early development and learning in order to support and progress learning appropriately.” (RtA, p 68)
Here are some resources that can help support and develop interactions:
Click on the image to open the powerpoint. Start the slideshow to hear the recording.
Experiences and spaces
RtA says that “Physical spaces, both outside and indoors, should be constantly reviewed to incorporate a wide range of responsive, familiar, and exciting new play opportunities.” It goes on to state that in order to “support cognitive development the learning environment should be rich in opportunities for children to engage with concepts and foster skills for learning, such as reasoning, creativity and problem solving. The choice of experiences on offer should reflect an environment of open-ended possibilities in which children can feel intrinsically motivated to explore and investigate through play – including taking calculated risks and learning from mistakes.”
It is therefore important that practitioners “know the purpose and possibilities of the materials we provide outdoors and indoors. It is essential that we regularly evaluate how children are using the spaces within the environment and make changes and additions when required. Children should be involved in developing and caring for their environment.” RtA p 54
Other documents that can help in developing your physical environment are:
- Loose Parts Play a Toolkit by Theresa Casey and Juliet Robertson
- Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale (third edition) by Thelma Harms, Richard M. Clifford and Debby Cryer
- Infant/Toddler Environment Rating Scale (third edition) by Thelma Harms, Richard M. Clifford and Debby Cryer
Quality Learning Environments (Highland Council)
Inspiration from other settings
Click on any of the links below to find out how other settings have developed their learning environments to further support children’s play and learning.
