All about... independence

Western cultures value individuality highly, and our system of education and care can do much to promote personal independence. The recent national focus on citizenship emerges from a growing awareness of the need to educate an informed electorate, able to recognise and withstand pressures to conform. The sophistication of modern communications means that it is both more complex and more necessary for each of us to develop the ability to judge the merits of different arguments so that we can make a positive contribution to society, as advocated in Every Child Matters.

One of the principles underpinning the Foundation Stage emphasises enabling children to make independent choices as an aspect of equal opportunities.

The guidance states that children will use adult help to achieve physical independence, and suggests that social and emotional independence are linked to confidence, self-control and self-reliance. By the age of three, most children have already learned to manage a great deal for themselves, and have a powerful disposition to do more.

However, the development of children's independence may be frustrated in various ways. Parents who do not understand how it grows from healthy dependence may unwittingly undermine children's emerging self-confidence by expecting too much or too little in the early months and years.

Over-protection or unrealistic expectations can make children feel inhibited. Adults who do not see the child's point of view may misinterpret entirely normal and highly desirable efforts to achieve independence as unacceptable behaviour. Many parents need help, particularly when children assert themselves and try to push the boundaries.

When under pressure, adults sometimes have to take over, but it is important to allow time for children to talk through their ideas, make choices and practise skills. Unsuitable tools and inaccessible resources make it hard for them to take charge of their learning.

Adults who ignore children's individual responses and personal interests miss significant aspects of what motivates them to persevere. Rewarding effort is more effective than praising achievement because it reinforces children's independence of mind, giving them the confidence to relish a challenge.

The foundations of independence

The Early Learning Goals for personal, social and emotional development expect that by the end of the Foundation Stage, most children will be able to dress and undress themselves, manage their own personal hygiene, select and use resources independently, try new activities and initiate ideas confidently. They should be developing a strong and positive sense of self-identity. This combination of self-help skills and emotional security leads to social and intellectual as well as physical self-reliance.

Practitioners aiming to promote independence must thus pay attention to all aspects of development, building on each child's personal history.

Human babies remain physically and emotionally dependent for a relatively long period. This enables them to adapt to their particular culture, and to learn relevant skills as they develop. It is important that parents are sensitive to their babies and get to know and appreciate their unique personalities. Some are naturally placid, while others demand more attention. Babies whose parents respond when they are upset in the first few months cry less and are more able to occupy themselves by the end of their first year, proving that independence is fostered by ensuring that help is available as and when it is needed.

Similar responsive support is essential when young children are cared for outside the family circle. The draft for the Early Years Foundation Stage states that, in principle, all children should have a key person who will look after their well-being and help them to develop independence by having someone to rely on. Practitioners' responsibilities include promoting children's physical and personal skills and providing an environment for learning with accessible resources, predictable but not rigid routines, and time and space which allow opportunities for children to consolidate and extend their learning.

The need to foster healthy dependence as a pre-requisite of independence is highlighted in the emotional well-being component of the Healthy Child aspect of the Birth to Three Matters guidance (DfES, 2003). Young children need to feel secure before they can venture into the unknown with confidence, and their emotional independence is in turn a necessary foundation for collaborative interdependent relationships.

Helping children to become independent

Although babies are born helpless and dependent on others, they are equipped from the start with a strong sense of survival and a drive to find out about the world. Adults have a reciprocal instinct to nurture their young, and by the time they are three most children can express themselves understandably and have physical dexterity as well as stamina. By this stage, most children attend group care for some time each week.

The transition from home to nursery provides a valuable opportunity for practitioners to find out from parents how they view their child's growing autonomy. This is a good time to establish a close relationship between every family and their child's key worker through a mutual sharing of information. Children with disabilities or other physical, educational or social needs may have difficulty in achieving functional independence, so it is even more important to agree realistic goals, matched by suitable support.

At the home visit or initial interview, practitioners can encourage parents to help their children to take responsibility for their personal care by sharing the following suggestions.

Provide clothing with:

* Velcro fastenings on shoes

* large buttons on coats

* strong loops for hanging up coats and jackets

* sleeves that children can push up for themselves

* elastic waistbands rather than belted or tied skirts and trousers

Help with eating through:

* allowing children to help themselves from a serving dish

* encouraging them to try unfamiliar food

* practising with cutlery at home

* showing them how to scrape their own plate clean

* packing a lunch that is easy for the child to manage.

Teach personal hygiene by showing children how to:

* cough or sneeze into their bent elbow to prevent spreading germs

* blow their own nose

* go to the toilet independently

* turn taps on and off and use a plug

* wash their own hands thoroughly

* dry their hands

* take off their own coat and hang it up

* put on their own coat, hat and gloves

* take off and put on their shoes and socks.

Routines and behaviour

Written policies on behaviour, explaining how children learn to select their own activities, to clear up appropriately and to deal with conflict through negotiation, are useful for discussion. Staff can help parents see how influential their adult role models are through demonstrating consistent respect for children's views and intentions in their own behaviour, as well as through explanations.

Children, too, should be part of the preliminary conversations. They should know:

* the nursery routines

* the general expectations of behaviour within the group

* that they are free to choose what to do so long as this does not harm others

* that they are entitled to have a turn with any activity

* that they can raise any concerns with adults, who will help them to develop negotiation skills.

Settling in

The settling-in period for new children is important. Some, especially those leaving home for the first time, may find it difficult to make the transition to nursery, pre-school or reception class. Most schools and early years settings encourage parents to accompany their children the first few times they attend, and welcome them to stay until their children are ready to let them leave. This is a good investment of time, as children who are left too soon may become anxious and take longer to settle.

It is unwise for a parent to slip away without their child's knowledge, as this undermines trust, leading to understandably clingy behaviour.

Occasionally it is the parent who finds the parting difficult, prolonging the goodbyes until their child becomes upset. Staff have to be sensitive in helping parents to see the separation as a step towards independence.

Staggered starting dates allow staff to devote time as needed for each new family to make the adjustment.

Children are often reassured by being allowed to bring something familiar from home into the setting. Adults frequently insist that this treasure is taken away on their arrival at nursery and put in a safe place so that it does not get lost or broken. Although it is an understandable precaution, putting this symbolic connection with home out of reach means that it cannot fulfil its purpose.

As the link with home, some families make sure they can provide several pieces of 'sucky' blanket to allow for laundry day as well as possible loss, invest in duplicate copies of a child's favourite toy where possible, or identify something that can be replaced easily. Children who do not yet understand much English may be reassured with a recording of a parent singing a familiar song, or a message in their home language confirming that they will return soon.

Helping children to become independent learners As part of the process of induction into a new group, children need to learn the routines and find out where resources are stored. Thoughtful organisation of time and space fosters independence, which can be encouraged in all aspects of nursery life from the start.

Self-reliance

Staff can help children to co-operate constructively with clearing up and instil a sense of responsibility and self-reliance by:

* warning children about changes in activities in advance

* having a space where work in progress can be kept

* allowing enough time and help for things to be put away systematically

* having child-sized mops, brooms and dustpans readily available

* having low-level sinks or bowls so children can wash up

* teaching children to set tables for lunch, help themselves to food, and clear away

* introducing a self-service system for snacks which gives children choice as to when they want to drink, what fruit they would prefer, and in whose company.

Personal hygiene

Children can take responsibility for their personal hygiene when:

* toilets and toilet paper are accessible

* water temperature is thermostatically controlled

* taps can be easily turned on and off

* plugs are fitted so that basins can be filled with enough water to wash thoroughly

* soap and towels are accessible, and children are taught to use them properly.

Entrance

The layout of the entrance can help children become increasingly independent. It is helpful to have:

* low-level hooks where children can hang their coats and bags

* each child's photograph clearly visible above their hook

* their name, written in their home script as well as in English where relevant so they can learn to recognise it, and also those of their friends

* seats nearby so that children can change their shoes comfortably

* self-registration, initially with the help of parents if needed.

Resources

* Storage Much equipment can be stored on open shelves where it can be seen and reached easily. Where resources are kept in drawers, it is useful to fix a visible example of the contents on the outside so that children can identify and select what they want.

* Labelling A picture of the equipment could be added to provide what Vygotsky called first-order representation, and also a written label, which is an abstract second-order representation, to offer older and more experienced children the challenge of decoding print. This sequence, moving from a real object to a picture of it and then its written name, can be replicated in various displays that help young children to begin the process of decoding writing.

* Recycled materials can be categorised by shape and size, and stored accessibly so that children can find precisely what they want for a particular improvised construction. Setting aside a space where incomplete structures can be left safely will encourage children to think about how they can improve and extend their work over several days. Discussion with other children as well as staff helps them to clarify their thinking, just as training in the necessary skills of selecting materials and measuring, cutting and joining them frees children to make things for themselves.

* Scissors Learning to cut with scissors is not easy. Managing to stick the end of a roll of sticky tape on to a table edge, pull a strip off the roll, and then cut it to the required length is a complex sequence of movements demanding concentration and care. It is important to ensure that scissors are sharp enough to allow children to succeed in their efforts, and that those needing help have access to ambidextrous dual or sprung scissors.

* Paper Providing a range of different weights of card and paper can enable children to succeed and then make progress in these skills. Children should be taught how to use a range of tools safely, so that they can begin to create their own constructions independently.

* Posters and charts Alphabet charts and number lines should be at a level where children can trace the letter and number shapes with their fingers.

Posters and pictures used for reference should similarly be positioned where they can be scrutinised closely, and children's own work is best displayed where everyone can see it easily.

* Book areas should offer inviting places to sit, and a selection of books should be arranged to face forward so that children can select the titles that interest them.

* Graphics areas can stimulate emergent drawing and writing with a wide range of mark-making equipment, together with pencil sharpeners, paper clips, hole punchers and other relevant materials, all directly accessible to children. A variety of paper, in different colours, shapes and sizes, encourages children to be selective. It is essential that there is enough clear space to allow them to draw and write with ease.

Left-handed children can be shown how to hold their pencil and paper at an angle that enables them to write comfortably, and invited to sit to the left of their right-handed peers.

Space

If space is limited, children can regulate the number of them that go into an area independently by noting whether there are any spaces left on a row of hooks where they can hang a photograph of themselves to book a place.

Planning

Nurseries using a High/Scope approach apply a similar system to children's planning, which enables them to consider and then indicate what they intend to do in the forthcoming session. This accords with the conviction that children are naturally independent thinkers whose ideas and interests are the best starting points for planning. High/Scope educators allow children to explore, hypothesise and explain and then evaluate their key experiences.

Self-initiated activities

Self-initiated activities allow children to make decisions of their own. In the Foundation Stage, the process of learning is more important than the outcome of any activity.

Research by Professor Carol Dweck shows that praising effort is a more effective strategy than rewarding performance, as this encourages children to enjoy a challenge and see mistakes as opportunities for learning rather than failures. It prepares them to persevere and work with others to overcome problems, whereas undifferentiated praise for achievement can damage children's drive towards independence. Rewards for performance can lead to a reliance on adult approval, a fear of failure and a competitive attitude. Self-esteem is important, but it cannot be generated simply by telling children how great they are.

Social influences Young children are particularly sensitive to social influences, and the way they behave is shaped by what adults want, expect or need them to do.

Children's awareness of their own thoughts, beliefs and personalities emerge from their recognition of differing ideas. Findings from the longitudinal research on the Effective Provision of Pre-school Education (EPPE) study highlight the significance of joint attention, where adults treat children as colleagues, discussing meaningful questions and modelling enthusiasm for debate.

The Birth to Three Matters guidance (DfES, 2003) recommends that each child should become physically and psychologically strong and self-confident.

This strength should be sustained throughout the Early Years Foundation Stage and beyond, so that children can develop the physical, emotional, social and intellectual attributes that promote independence of mind.

Helpful resources

* Allan and Janet Ahlberg, Starting School (Picture Puffin)

* Jean and Gareth Adamson, Topsy and Tim Start School (Ladybird Books)

* Save the Children, Where's My Peg Activity Pack from www.savethechildren.org.uk

Further reading

* Wendy Scott (2001) 'Listening and Learning' in Experiencing Reggio Emilia by Abbott, L and Nutbrown, C (eds), Buckingham: Open University Press

* Shoe and Meter: Children and measurement - first approaches to the discovery, function and use of measurement published by Reggio Children in 1997, available in the UK from Sightlines Initiative www.sightlines-initiative.com. Contains evidence from children of five and six, but is an object lesson in developing intellectual independence.

* Vivian Gussin Paley (1986) Mollie is Three and (1997) The Girl with the Brown Crayon (University of Chicago Press)

References

* Gerhardt, S, Why Love Matters: How affection shapes a baby's brain (Brunner Routledge, 2004)

* Hohmann, M and Weikart, D (1995) Educating Young Children (Ypsilanti, Michigan:High/Scope Press). See also www.highscope.org

* Comparisons of the characteristics of mastery versus helpless patterns of learning are available in Dweck, CS (2006) Mindset (Random House) and through a recent internet interview recorded on www.itconversations.com/shows/detail1011.html

* Siraj-Blatchford, I et al (2002) Researching Effective Pedagogy in the Early Years DfES Research Brief 356

* Dowling, M (ed) Supporting Young Children's Sustained Shared Thinking: An exploration Training materials, including a DVD, are available from Early Education (www.early-education.org.uk)