Nursery Equipment: Resources - Best buys

Buying resources for the under-threes can be a daunting task. With so many products on the market, it can be difficult to stick to a budget. Experienced early years practitioners advise that the best approach is to invest in some high-quality items and then bulk out your provision with cheaper buys, natural materials including stones and shells, and recycled items such as cardboard tubes and cartons.

The under-threes age group covers a broad range of development and Julie Brierley, proprietor of Harlequin Nursery, Scarborough, recommends splitting it into two groups: 0-18 months and 18 months+.

'For young children the sensory experience is key, so look at the textures and colours and the sound something makes when it is banged or shaken. You are looking for as many experiences as possible,' she says.

Nursery toys have to withstand being chewed, sucked, banged and dropped. Choose robust, stable, easy-to-clean items, with no small parts that can be swallowed. For example, when picking a sand and water table, make sure it won't topple if the children lean on it or use it to pull themselves up.

'Wood is more sensory than plastic and more durable. Wooden toys retain children's interest for longer,' advises Ms Brierley. 'Once they get to 18 months, I would be looking from the schemas point of view and whether the children are interested in wrapping things, containing, transporting or whatever. You would probably look at more plastic toys because you are following the children's interests, but be aware of the sensory experience.'

Key principles

Dr Jools Page, co-author of Working with Babies and Children from Birth to Three (Sage) and programme director for the MA in Early Childhood Education at the University of Sheffield, says, 'The best resource for children under three is a knowledgeable and highly attuned adult. To make the most of your budget you need to have a good grasp of children development and a good knowledge and understanding of the individual interests of the children for whom you are buying.

'It is the role of the adult, preferably the key person, to plan how children will be able to utilise the equipment, rather than buying the equipment without a purpose. Toys and equipment are children's tools. You would not go out and buy yourself a hammer unless you had a use for it. The same can be said for children's toys. It is easy to get seduced by glossy catalogues offering colourful must-haves that actually have limited learning potential. Look for versatility, durability and longevity. Wooden toys are more expensive, but buying cheaper plastic items can be a false economy.'

Dr Page believes buying resources involves long-term planning and thinking about:

• What are the children interested in?

• How will an item extend their learning?

• What is it going to offer these children?

• How valued is it going to be now and in a year's time?

• Can it be used inside and outside?

Sally Thomas in Nurturing Babies and Children Under Four - Achieving Best Practice in the Early Years Foundation Stage (Heinemann) recommends buying identical copies of toys for children from 19 to 25 months to encourage interactions and support relaxed parallel play (see box overleaf).

Cushions and mats

Check that cushions and mats are easy to clean and any covers are quick to take off, wash and dry. Play to Z has Playscope ribbon-edged floor mats (£85 for a large mat, £15 for a single). Asco has a reversible, cuddly crawling quilt (£115), large enough to accommodate several children.

• www.playtoz.co.uk

• www.ascoeducational.co.uk

Rocking toys

It is difficult to find a rocking toy suitable for both the under-18 months and 18 months+ groups, says Ms Brierley. The aim is to encourage children to be independent and if you give them a toy that it is too big, they will fail.

Whatever you pick has to be cleanable, robust and stable. It needs to be small enough for toddlers to climb on and feel comfortable, with a good handle. Anita Johnston, EYP at Oaklands Day Nursery, Salford suggests the Little Tikes Rocking Horse (£19.99) from Argos.

• www.argos.co.uk

Stackable toys

Ms Johnston and Ms Brierley say nothing beats simple, basic wooden blocks and bricks - even better if they come with a storage trolley that can be used in all sorts of different ways.

Prices range from £12.95 for a set of traditional wooden blocks in a bag from TTS to around £20 for a set of blocks from YPO, to £364 for a 149 Pre-School set of wooden blocks from Community Playthings.

• www.tts-group.co.uk

• www.ypo.co.uk

• www.communityplaythings.co.uk

Shape sorters

Shape sorters can be very frustrating for small children, says Ms Brierley. However, keep an eye out for versatile products in natural materials that provide a variety of play opportunities and aren't limited to fitting shapes in holes.

Small-world play

Many products are geared at children aged three and over, says Ms Brierley. She suggests small wooden cars/trucks, planes and peg people from Community Playthings, which are more expensive but last much longer, from £9 for six peg people.

Ms Johnston prefers the wooden Treehouse (£105) from Mindstretchers to a plastic playhouse.

• www.mindstretchers.co.uk

Role play

There is no point in buying fancy costumes for role play, as under-threes will not be able to get into them unaided, says Ms Brierley. Instead, stock up on hats, small cloaks and wellies. Think of children's schemas. A young child wearing a hat is not dressing up in a special role but likes to be enveloped.

Ms Johnston uses real fruit and vegetables in the home corner rather than plastic and suggests buying wooden bowls from Mindstretchers (£35.00 for a set of olivewood).

Pullable toys

Ms Johnston says children who have just learned to walk love the challenge of walking and pulling something behind them, such as the wooden pull-along range of animals from Wesco at £26.40 each.

Ms Brierley says with some pullable toys maybe the ears flap, the tail wags or it makes a noise as it rolls along, which adds interest. You can just add string to a wheeled toy for older children to tow and some children prefer pushable toys. Community Playthings has a wooden wheelbarrow for £134.

• www.wesco-group.com (online catalogue only; to order one, contact sales@wescouk.co.uk or telephone 0115 989 9765)

Soft toys

Ms Johnston says the only value of soft toys is as a comforter. Ms Brierley says puppets are a good option, particularly ones that link in with songs that the children know, but whatever you pick it has to be washable. Wesco supplies fairytale puppet sets from £28.10.

Dolls

Buy a range of gender and ethnic appropriate dolls, advises Ms Johnston. But think of how the children will play with them, says Ms Brierley. If they will end up in the water tray buy a plastic doll (Wesco, from £8.40). If they are likely to have their clothes taken off, buy dolls with soft tummies that are easier for small hands to manipulate (Wesco, £15.).

Ms Thomas recommends that a biting doll be about 18cm long, not jointed and made of a plastic that gives without cracking.

For children around 26-29 months, she suggests providing several dolls 20-25cm high (in both genders, different races and some twins).

Puzzles

Keep it simple. Maybe follow a theme with nursery rhymes used in the nursery so there is a thread running through the provision that the children can recognise.

Durability is important, because puzzles will get chewed.

Mirrors

'Mirrors help children develop a sense of self-reflection both literally and metaphorically,' says Martin Pace, managing director of Reflections Nurseries, West Sussex.

He says the large wall-mounted mirrors, infinity cube (£41.50) and Mirror Exploratory (£250), from Reflections on Learning, are made from robust acrylic or plastic with good reflective properties so they are safe for young children to use.

Practitioners can use mirrors at floor level to provide young children with interesting viewpoints and to engage their attention.

Mirrors can also be sited behind resources to create exciting environments to explore.

Ms Johnston likes the Combi mirror (£14 from Mindstrechers), with both concave and convex reflections.

• www.reflectionsonlearning.co.uk

Magnets

Magnets are always a source of fascination. Ms Johnston suggests buying a magnetic knife rack from Ikea for £7.99. Reflections on Learning has a range of magnets from £3.99.

• www.ikea.com

Suppliers

Other suppliers to consider are:

- The Consortium, www.theconsortium.co.uk
- Early Excellence, www.earlyexcellence.co.uk
- Eibe, www.eibe.co.uk
- Galt Educational, www.galt-educational.co.uk
- Hope Education, www.hope-education.co.uk
- NES Arnold, www.nesarnold.co.uk
- Step by Step, www.sbs-educational.co.uk

A GUIDE TO RESOURCES

Nurturing Babies and Children Under Four - Achieving Best Practice in the Early Years Foundation Stage by Sally Thomas includes grids covering each area of learning across the age groups (in stages of three months). They are divided into: observation, example of experiences, resources to encourage play and active learning and development, and 'ponder points'.

The resources column suggests what resources to introduce to babies and young children at each stage of their development to aid their learning in each of the six areas of learning.

Nurturing Babies and Children Under Four (Heinemann, £260 + VAT) is a resource pack with a 90-minute DVD and is aimed primarily at trainers. There is no copyright so all the material can be photocopied.