The EYFS Principles in Practice cards have clear themes and commitments to ensure that effective practice takes place in the care, development and learning of young children. Reflecting on these principles recently made us stop and think: 'What is it that we, as a setting, do to guarantee we meet all the requirements, and support the unique child?'
Our established ethos gives strong regard to the importance of valuing the individuality of each child. The way that we plan for and support their unique learning journey begins when they first visit the setting. We recognise especially that children's personal, social and emotional development must be nurtured as the springboard for their individual learning to take place. This is one of the great benefits of having an effective key person system in place.
We all know our key children so well and are sensitive to their individual needs. We are also aware that if we are on a course and away from the setting, it's nice to provide something special to let our key children know we are thinking of them. For example, recently one of our practitioners left her key children a 'party in a bag', with lots of surprises to unwrap and little notes to read. This was much appreciated by her key children, who went on to write little thank-you notes for her to find the next day.
It is also important to get well acquainted with our children's parents, because they know their children best and the information they share is crucial in supporting their child's development, especially in the area of personal, social and emotional development. It could be as simple as letting us know if their child slept badly that night, to explaining that they are going through a divorce. For practitioners, sometimes it's knowing when a parent needs a little support and providing that time to talk.
Recently in the setting we have had to think more about how we support children who have special educational needs. We are having to create a quiet area to provide different learning opportunities. This is quite a challenge for us, because the children have always had access to all areas of our open-plan room, and some of them are big transporters! This means we are having to restrict the movement of some equipment, but we realise that we need to do it, to support these individual children on their own personal path.
