EV681 Julie canavan
CREATING A POSITIVE
LEARNING
ENVIRONMENT

2

Early Years Foundation Stage
“The environment plays a key
role in supporting and
extending children’s
development and learning”

Role of adult
‘The environment is the mechanism by
which the early childhood educator brings
the child and the different aspects
of knowledge together’ (Bruce 2005)
Laevers – Adult involvement scale

What does an enabling environment look
like? Discuss in groups

An enabling environment is a place
where;
 individual needs are met and all are included
 learning is through play and exploration.
independent learning and autonomy are fostered
opportunities for children to learn indoors and outdoors are
provided.
 children feel emotionally and physically safe.
Children have a voice
• a holistic approach to learning is promoted .

Gammage, P. and Meighan, J. (1993) (eds)
ctive – assumes hands-on involvement of child
ersonally meaningful – develops children’s interests
xperiential – plans for doing, talking, experimenting
xploratory – invites possibilities, delights in curiosity
evelopmentally appropriate – suited to the ages (stages of children)
ro-social – invites appropriate interaction and stresses co-operation
rather than competition
reative – encourages children to be imaginative and inventive

The environment consists of
hat does your placement ‘say’ to you/parents/children/visitors?
ntrances how are parents/carers, children, visitors and staff
welcomed into your setting?

Physical -appearance
isplays - Who are they for?
arents information
hildren's work
ictures that inspire discussion and reflection, motivates,
ictures/artefacts which stimulate senses
eflect diversity and equality
Celebrate and
stimulate

Floor space
urniture – size appropriate
pace for free movement/access
uiet spaces
essy spaces
oes the arrangement support children’s play?
oes the arrangement create barriers to communication?

Divide into regions and zones

Lay out activity areas

Continuous provision
learly defined areas?
ater/sand/malleable
raphics
ole play
onstruction
uiet areas
eading areas

outdoors
ll settings are now required to provide children with access to the
outdoors
iscuss in your groups
hy this is important
ow does your placement provide access to the outdoors
reeflow?

Outdoor
ross motor skills – indoor activities on a larger scale- indoors outside?
atural environment- stimulation of senses (Piaget)- Froebel bringing
the outdoors in
nteractions
ellbeing/dispositions
isk taking? Physical?
rain development
ttp://www.prometheanplanet.com/en-gb/Resources/Item/97757/early-

ttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJO-
LKZp2Aw&list=PL7914115EB65911A5&index=12&feature=plpp_video
reception class)
roperties of materials
roblem solving
coustics
hysicality

The Emotional Environment
ove and security enables
children to;
hrive emotionally in an
atmosphere of warmth
eel self worth through praise
and affirmation
stablish a locus of control –
allowed to make choices

The Emotional Environment
hat are the key factors in developing
and sustaining an environment which
promotes children’s emotional well-
being?
iscuss in groups.

The Emotional Environment
ey features include:
elationships of trust
redictability through daily routines
he rules democratically and consistently applied
igh expectations

Relationships
•Adult - key Person role – transitions,
attachment, home-learning (EPPE) - self
esteem
•Peers – how are children supported with
communication with and empathy for
others?
ttp://www.prometheanplanet.com/en-
gb/Resources/Item/102639/sweden-early-years#.T0UPGIGetmw
(sweden)

routines
llows prolonged periods of uninterrupted play?
hildren choose their playmates?
re children able to bring resources from outside in?
inside, out?
s there room for children to negotiate changes to
routines?
re children allowed to initiate play?- autonomy,

ncludes time for children to meet in groups and
share news etc?
ncludes time to allow parents/carers to talk
with staff when picking up and dropping off?
llows staff to reflect, evaluate and plan?
llows time for staff to update children’s
learning journals?

Quality environment- What does it mean?
hat constitutes quality?
ow do we ensure it?
ow do we measure it?

Children who experience high quality early years provision are well
placed to achieve better outcomes in schools and beyond and
develop better social, emotional and cognitive abilities necessary
for life-long learning. Poor quality provision, however, adds no
value in the long term.”
DCSF EYQISP p.6)

A contentious term
ot all practitioners are comfortable with the processes and
services which accompany the idea of quality (Jones, 2010)
term that needs to be critically discussed (Dahlberg et al
1999)
o you believe it to be necessary?
hat may be the problems associated with it?

theory
bjectivist
elativist

objectivist
ccording to Dahlberg et al (1999) is a term embedded in
modernist thinking:
easurement is possible through, scientific study, objective
value-neutral truths are attainable and enable predictions to
be made about the world
ntervention impacts on outcomes – pupil premium?
ducation Endowment Foundation?/Dyson
op down model (Walsh and Gardner 1999)
rovides a standardised tool with which to compare provision

relativists
ostmodernist thinking
re all settings same? Addressing the same issues? Values?
Communities? (Alexander 2010)
ome cultures value social and emotional and spiritual above
cognitive, some value cognition and adopt the behaviourist
model of instruction (formal).
oral and spiritual/ Steiner
Quality’ has become synonymous with ‘effective’

herefore current means of measuring e.g. Ofsted are
worthless
all stakeholders need to be involved (Index)
ow desirable/possible would this be?
itchell et al (1997) reminds us to reflect upon the power
different groups may have in order to voice their opinions.
Who has the power?

EPPE
The Effective Provision of Pre-school Education
Investigated effects of pre-school education
for 3 and 4 yr olds
Collected information on more than 3000
children, their parents, their home
environments and the pre-school setting they
attended
Drawn from 141 settings: LA day nurseries,
combined centres, playgroups, private day
nurseries, maintained nursery schools and
maintained nursery classes. (included a sample
of ‘home’ children

Key findings:
 Pre-school experience, compared to none, enhances all-round
development in children.
Duration of attendance (in months) is important; an earlier start
(under age 3 years) is related to better intellectual development.
( cortisol levels of fulltime day care?)
Full time attendance led to no better gains for children than part-
time provision.
Disadvantaged children benefit significantly from good quality
pre-school experiences, especially where they are with a mixture
of children from different social backgrounds.
Good quality can be found across all types of early years settings;
however quality was higher overall in settings integrating care
and education and in nursery schools.
Importance of quality home learning environment (HLE)

What quality looks like
Settings – what are the key elements of high quality provision?
Content &
Environment
Workforce Practice
Clear
educational
goals
Sustained
shared thinking
Meeting every
individual child’s
needs
Warm responsive
relationships
between
adults/children
Parents
supported in
involvement in
children’s
learning
Safe &
stimulating
physical
environmentEYFS
challenging & play-
based content
EYFS
staff : children
ratios
Graduate
leading practice, setting
vision, leading learning
cultureLevel 3
as standard
for group care
& basis for
progression to
higher levels
CPD –
opportunities
for staff to gain
higher
qualifications &
improve skills
32
Back/Themes Next/Conclusion

Measurement of quality
cales
hecklists
ook at the ECERS scales
ram siraj-blatchford – diversity/inclusive setting scales
hat is inclusion? Discuss with your neighbour

Diversity, equalities and inclusion

PCS Analysis (Thompson, 2003)
• Discrimination and oppression
operate at different levels
• These levels are interrelated
• Some elements are overt and
visible – other features of
oppression can be more invisible
or covert
• Effective action to promote
equality and diversity relies on
thinking and action at all levels
Structural
CulturalCultural
PersonalPersonal

Index for Inclusion
ProducinginclusivePOLICIES
ProducinginclusivePOLICIES
EvolvinginclusivePRACTICES
EvolvinginclusivePRACTICES
Creating inclusive CULTURESCreating inclusive CULTURES

Bart Struggles at School

Teachers’ Standard 5
dapt teaching to respond to the strengths and needs of all pupils
•know when and how to differentiate appropriately, using approaches which
enable pupils to be taught effectively
•have a secure understanding of how a range of factors can inhibit pupils’
ability to learn, and how best to overcome these
•demonstrate an awareness of the physical, social and intellectual
development of children, and know how to adapt teaching to support pupils’
education at different stages of development
• have a clear understanding of the needs of all pupils, including those with
special educational needs; those of high ability; those with English as an
additional language; those with disabilities; and be able to use and evaluate
distinctive teaching approaches to engage and support them.

Learning
Objectives
Setting suitable
learning challengesAccess
Overcoming
potential barriers
to learning
Teaching styles
Responding to
children’s diverse
needs
Inclusion

New National Curriculum Inclusion statement
etting suitable challenges
.1 Teachers should set high expectations for every pupil. They
should plan stretching work for pupils whose attainment is
significantly above the expected standard. They have an even
greater obligation to plan lessons for pupils who have low levels of
prior attainment or come from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Teachers should use appropriate assessment to set targets
which are deliberately ambitious.
esponding to pupils’ needs and overcoming potential barriers for
individuals and groups of pupils
.2 Teachers should take account of their duties under equal
opportunities legislation that covers race, disability, sex, religion or
belief, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, and gender
reassignment.

Early Years Foundation Stage (2012)
“Children have a right, spelled out in the United Nations Convention
on the Rights of the Child, to provision which enables them to
develop their personalities, talents and abilities irrespective of
ethnicity, culture or religion, home language, family background,
learning difficulties, disabilities or gender.”
(Development Matters, 2012, p1)

Creating an Enabling Environment
earning objective – what do we
want the child to learn?
ccess – how is the child going to
access this learning? (child’s next steps)
eaching style – how can I adapt my

Differentiation
ompensatory or complementary
wo underpinning principles:
• grounded in the child’s skills and aptitudes, not ability
• the learning process, not the product is the teaching focus
types (in Eaude, 2011, p148)
• task
• outcome
• support
• questioning

P scales
rovide a map of attainment below level 1 in the National
Curriculum
rovide a way of assessing pupils’ achievement below level 1 of the
National Curriculum
sed once or twice a year to decide on a pupil’s next steps in
learning
ttp://www.edu.dudley.gov.uk/primary/Stepinto/addsupport/pscale
smaths.pdf

SEN Code of Practice
School Action
School Action Plus
School Action Plus is the next stage in the SEN support and assessment
process, when external services are involved. At this stage, the school SENCo
will become more involved, arranging meetings, external involvement and
assessment, and will write the IEP
•If you as teacher identify a child with SEN, and you have to provide intervention
additional to or different from those provided as part of the school's usual
differentiated curriculum then the child should move to School Action. Provision will
include the writing of an IEP (Individual Education Plan) for the pupil.
Pre-SEN:

‘We will remove the bias towards
inclusion and propose to strengthen
parental choice by improving the
range and diversity of schools from
which parents can choose, making
sure they are aware of the options
available to them and by changing
statutory guidance for local
authorities’.
‘We will remove the bias towards
inclusion and propose to strengthen
parental choice by improving the
range and diversity of schools from
which parents can choose, making
sure they are aware of the options
available to them and by changing
statutory guidance for local
authorities’.
Source: DfE (2011) Support and aspiration: A new approach to special educational needs and disability, [Online] Address:
http://www.education.gov.uk/publications/eOrderingDownload/Green-Paper-SEN.pdf
Source: DfE (2011) Support and aspiration: A new approach to special educational needs and disability, [Online] Address:
http://www.education.gov.uk/publications/eOrderingDownload/Green-Paper-SEN.pdf
•Single category of SEN
•Single assessment process
•Education, Health and Care plan
(statutory protection)
•More transparency for parents
•Personal budgets for parents (2014)
•Improve the range and diversity of
schools from which parents can choose

The new Education and Health Care Plan
• replaces the statement It looks like it will be more
of an education plan as there is a question mark
over the statutory responsibility of health
professionals to be involved.
• No time frame for when the EHCP should be
completed as there was with the statement.
• Applies only to children with SEN not to children
with disabilities!
• What is stated in the EHCP is not legally binding!
• There will be no equivalent of School Action or
School Action Plus

Chapter 8 Alexander reading
hat does Alexander mean by the “incompatibility” of fairness,
inclusion and effectiveness? (p110)
hat are your thoughts on statistics being like a mirror reflecting the
level of inclusiveness in society? (p117)
differences are never neutral”; does ‘different’ have to mean
disadvantaged? (p115/p124)

Transitions to KS1
http://www.teachersmedia.co.uk/videos/too-much-too-young

references
ammage, P. & Meighan, J. (Eds) (1993) Early Childhood education:
Taking stock
undred Languages of Children, edited by C. Edwards, L. Gandini, and G.
Forman, Ablex Publishing Corporation, London, 1998
ruce ,T, (1987) Early childhood education, London: Hodder Stoughton
urther reading:
odkinson, A. (2010) ‘Inclusive and special education in the English
educational system’ in British Journal of Special education Vol. 37,
no.2 NASEN