Learning & Development: National Strategies series - part 8 - Movement, mark-making and maths

In the latest of our National Strategies features on the EYFS, Jacqui Hardy, Paula Healey, Gill Hunter and Judith Stevens reflect on where movement, mark-making and maths fit into the themes.

The Early Years Foundation Stage is built around four themes: A Unique Child, Positive Relationships, Enabling Environments, and Learning and Development. Movement, maths and mark-making are linked to all of these themes, but in this feature we focus on Enabling Environments and Learning and Development. We look in particular at supporting Physical Development, Communication, Language and Literacy (CLL), and Problem Solving, Reasoning and Numeracy (PSRN).

Why Focus on Movement, Mark Making and Maths?

The EYFS Statutory Guidance (p15) states that physical development must be encouraged through opportunities for children to be active and interactive and to develop the crucial skills of co-ordination, control, manipulation and movement. Development Matters statements within movement and space (Physical Development) and handwriting (CLL) stress the importance of developing the controlled movements of the whole body or parts of it, such as the arms and legs (often referred to as gross motor control) and movements of smaller body parts, such as the hands and fingers (known as fine motor control).

Mark-making is the general term used to describe young children's early recorded communications through marks, drawings and writing using a wide variety of materials to record their thoughts, feelings and ideas. In Mark Making Matters (p4) we are reminded that children will 'be making marks for a wide range of reasons ... across all six areas of learning in the EYFS. These opportunities for making "thinking visible" are fundamental to children's learning and development and should be the entitlement of every child.' Clearly, mark-making involves children using lots of movement and practising gross and fine motor skills.

An analysis of recent Early Years Foundation Stage Profile results reveals that although children are generally making good progress across the 13 scales of learning and development, achievements are consistently lower in the scales of writing (particularly for boys) and calculation.

The 2008 Independent Review of Mathematics Teaching in Early Years Settings and Primary Schools, led by Sir Peter Williams, established that while it is quite common to see children from an early age making their own marks in role play to communicate or act out literacy activities they observe in adults, it is comparatively rare to find adults supporting children in making mathematical marks. In the following examples, we consider ways in which this important aspect of development can be addressed.

The Outdoor Environment

Many mathematical concepts can be more easily understood if explored outdoors on a large scale and linked to physical movement. For example, if practitioners are planning to support children's understanding of repeating patterns, outside experiences should include making large-scale movement patterns, such as using wheeled toys to make tracks and trails or through games like 'follow the leader' with repeating patterns where children make three hops, four jumps, three hops and so on.

It is important that, although adults may introduce the activities, children develop them through their own ideas. Babies can be supported in exploring pattern making with their hands and feet in a thin layer of sand in a builders' tray, while older children can explore pattern making in outdoor sandpits using natural materials.

Learning outdoors provides first- hand contact for children with the weather, seasons and the natural world. In windy weather, children can be challenged to use ribbons and streamers to make shapes, write numbers or make the ribbon go up, down or around. During wet weather, children can develop gross motor skills by stamping through mud patches or splashing in puddles.

Outside, children can be introduced to mathematical vocabulary such as longest, shortest, longer than, straight or wavy and can explore mark-making through flicking paint on to large pieces of paper, using squeezy bottles filled with coloured water or spraying garden hoses on to dry paths.

Movement, Mark Making and Maths in Action

At one school staff worked with the early years advisory teacher to identify ways to raise outcomes further for children in the EYFS through creativity and challenge.

Through analysis of the school's 2008 EYFS Profile results, practitioners identified that planning and provision around problem-solving across all aspects of PSRN needed to be developed further. Using the EYFS practice guidance (p63), staff identified a need to 'value children's own graphic and practical explorations of problem solving, reasoning and numeracy'. Linked closely to this, the staff identified the need to improve support for children learning English as an Additional Language (80 per cent of the cohort), and to motivate boys' learning.

Throughout reception, each week the children are given a 'problem' to solve, as well as opportunities to investigate or even extend the problem.

Staff make sure that the problem-solving activities concentrate on:

- raising the profile of problem-solving linked to children's interests, using key vocabulary from the start

- using puppets/toys to introduce problems, encouraging empathy and allowing children to become 'experts'

- setting up a 'Problem Solving Table' which is interactive

- developing small, collaborative group work to encourage co-operation and sustained shared thinking and to foster self- confidence and self-esteem

- outdoor and multi-sensory experiences

- opportunities for children to represent methods and solutions through all forms of mark-making, writing, drawing, photography and model-making

- close observation of the children engaged in problem-solving

- demonstrating learning in 'Problem Solving Books' for children, families and practitioners to share and reflect on experiences.

The project has been enjoyed by all the children and they are more confident in mark-making and in tackling problem-solving. Examples of individual progress include:

- A child learning English as an Additional Language has invented his own problem-solving song

- A child who excels at Problem Solving, Reasoning and Numeracy has grown in self-confidence by working alongside others in problem-solving activities

- A child who has shared problem- solving in the home learning environment with peers and practitioners in the setting

- A group of boys who have developed their collaborative skills through problem-solving.

Jacqui Hardie, Early Years Regional Adviser (London), Paula Healey, Early Years Regional Adviser (North West), Gill Hunter, Early Years Senior Regional Adviser (Yorks and Humber) and Judith Stevens, Senior Adviser, Every Child a Talker (ECAT)

OTHER RESOURCES

- Early Years Foundation Stage Profile Handbook - a PDF version can be downloaded from the NAA website at www.naa.org.uk/eyfsp

- Independent Review of Mathematics Teaching in Early Years' Settings and Primary Schools. Final Report - Sir Peter Williams, June 2008. Available to download from www.teachernet.gov.uk

NATIONAL STRATEGIES RESOURCES

- Confident, Capable and Creative: Supporting boys' achievements, DCSF, 2007. Ref: 00682-2007BKT-EN

- Early Years Quality Improvement Support Programme (EYQISP), DCSF, 2008. Ref: 00669-2008BKT-EN

- Excellence and Enjoyment: Social and emotional aspects of learning: Early Years Foundation Stage Red Set Booklets, DCSF, 2008. Ref: 00840-2008FLR-EN

- Mark Making Matters: Young children making meaning in all areas of learning and development, DCSF, 2008. Ref: 00767-2008BKT-EN

- Social and Emotional Aspects of Development: Guidance for practitioners working in the Early Years Foundation Stage, DCSF, 2008. Ref: 00707-2008BKT-EN

- The Early Years Foundation Stage: Setting the standards for learning, development and care for children from birth to five, DCSF, May 2008. Ref: 00261-2008PCK-EN

- PSRN e-learning course

The materials are available online at www.standards.dcsf.gov.uk/nationalstrategies. Search using the reference number or title. Copies may also be available by telephone on 0845 60 222 60 or at www.teachernet.gov.uk/publications (quote reference number)

QUESTIONS TO SUPPORT LEADERS AND MANAGERS

The Unique Child

- What opportunities are there for children to celebrate their own and each other's mark-making, drawing and writing successes?

- How do you use children's interests to plan for meaningful mark-making, PSRN and Physical Development opportunities?

Positive Relationships

- How well do practitioners value children's early mark-making and recording systems and celebrate these with mothers and fathers?

- Are there examples of children's mark-making and problem-solving on display? Are different community languages and scripts valued?

- What do practitioners do to support and extend a child's mark-making, drawing or writing?

Enabling Environments

- Are there 'collections' of things for children to investigate and, as they get older, sort and sequence - for example, boxes, buttons, socks, coins, beads, keys?

- Can children access mark-making resources independently and are they able to take resources from one area of the environment to another?

- Are there helpful resources such as a number line that reflects children's interests displayed at child height - with picture clues where appropriate?

- Are there opportunities for children to be messy on a large scale?

- Are there opportunities for children to explore PSRN through movement - for example, obstacle courses, making dens, travelling games, tracks?

- Can most of these activities be enjoyed outside as well as indoors?

Learning and Development

- How do you know how children are progressing in their mark-making journeys across all six areas of learning and development?

- How do you encourage practitioners to support children's developing motor skills through movement and dance both indoors and outside?

Further prompts to support self-evaluation of provision and practice can be found in the Enabling Environments section of Mark Making Matters and in the Enabling Environments Professional Development Meetings materials in the Early Years Quality Improvement Support Programme (EYQISP).