More from ' Emma Davis - EYFS Expert'

Facilitating play can be a complex role for Early Years practitioners. Early Years expert, Emma Davis, explores the importance of child-led play and how to strike a balance between the role of observer and facilitator.

Introducing loose parts play into a setting can be a hugely empowering and valuable experience.  As practitioners, our role is to facilitate an enabling and inspiring environment for children and incorporating loose parts into our provision can help us to achieve this.

Check out our latest blog post which explores how nursery and preschool practitioners can lead the way in making the transition as smooth and tear-free as possible!

The outdoors can be the most wonderful space to play and learn in the Early Years and beyond.  Although it can be seen as an extension of the classroom, the outdoors holds enormous value.

As settings are being more eco-conscious, as well as managing reduced budgets, we need to look for alternative ways to set up and maintain a supply of free resources.  One way of doing this is to set up a recycle and reuse scheme for parents and carers.  Encourage them to save items they might usually consider throwing away, ready to use in the setting. 

A positive to come out of the time many of us had to stay at home during lockdown was the way in which we became more connected and tuned in to nature.  Social media was flooded with images of vegetable plots, wildlife in the garden, blooming flowers, budding trees and food cooked with homegrown produce.  Now that we find ourselves living with COVID, rather than post-COVID, it is a good time to refocus on our environment, not just at home but in settings and schools too.

Many settings and schools are now looking to Forest School as a way to enhance their outdoor provision and opportunities for children’s play and learning.  However, it’s important to remember that Forest School is not merely outdoor learning.  Both have distinct advantages for play, development and wellbeing but are not the same.  Forest School is an approach to engaging with the outdoors, led by a trained Forest School leader.  Its ethos is built on the holistic experience of the child, led by the child, for the child.  

Often, January is a time for reflection and making plans. Time for Nurseries consider the coming year, setting objectives and mapping out the spring and summer terms.  However, things are much different this year, making it more of a challenge to look ahead.  It is difficult to predict what might be happening next month, let alone the remainder of the year. This can make it challenging for nurseries to think ahead, in a time which is still incredibly uncertain.  There is no way of knowing if COVID will impact further on the Early Years sector and how.  Although the current circumstances means it will be difficult to plan, it’s still important to reflect on our provision and practice and use this to feed into the coming months. 

There’s no denying that it’s been a most challenging year for Early Years settings and schools.  Now we’re heading into the festive season, we all want to celebrate with the children, to make this Christmas one to remember.  However, restrictions are going to somewhat limit the way we enjoy these coming weeks.  That doesn’t mean we can’t have fun – it just means we might have to think creatively in order to ensure we all remain safe.

Having to live with the restrictions imposed by COVID has required us to reevaluate how children learn. With lower transmission rates outdoors, and greater ability to naturally socially distance, outdoor learning is really taking off.