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Nursery group London Early Years Foundation (LEYF) recognises the teaching opportunities available at this unique age and that children under two have specific needs. As such, the group has introduced a formalised approach to working with this age group that gives babies the time and space they need. A suite of training ensures that sensitive teaching underpinned by excellent care is understood and embedded into practice. The ‘Baby You’re Fantastic’ training underlines the uniqueness of babies and the LEYF approach to teaching them.
All practice with babies and toddlers places a strong focus on establishing and maintaining positive and happy relationships between teachers, children and parents, in line with the Harmonious Relationships and Home Learning strands of the LEYF pedagogy.
LEYF has focused on the practice and provision relating to work with children under two in response to observations shared by teachers across the organisation. It had been noted that since the Covid-19 pandemic, the youngest children and their parents were finding the transition to nursery particularly difficult. This prompted several nursery teams to carry out action research within their own settings on the needs of the youngest children and instigate changes based on their findings.
For example, at Bushy Tails Nursery, teachers noted that babies needed more support to settle into nursery. The initial separation from their main caregiver was the biggest challenge, and often led to children being unsettled during the day. It was important for teachers to work closely with parents to find out about the children and their interests so they could adapt nursery rooms accordingly. They created more cosy areas where the children were introduced to family books to ease settling in.
The team at Bushy Tails also planned a range of outdoor activities to enable parents and children to spend time together with nursery teachers. The impact of this was significant, with children quickly forming relationships and becoming more confident. Babies and toddlers were more inclined to investigate and engage with others, often displaying secure base behaviour towards their key persons when doing so.
This approach was then shared across all LEYF nurseries, where settling-in sessions were relocated to outdoor areas to ensure the children were introduced to the setting and teachers gradually, alongside parents. This approach also strengthened relationships with parents.
LEYF’s emphasis on communication development in the context of secure attachments with children is at the core of its pedagogy. Makaton is used in all settings to support communication development.
At Playhouse Nursery, teachers noticed babies were a little behind on communication development, and got in touch with the Makaton charity. They quickly learned and used signs such as ‘more please’, ‘sorry’ and ‘wait’, and the importance of maintaining eye contact while speaking to children. This made a huge difference, as the bond between teacher and child strengthened, babies’ communication and language improved, the noise level of the room reduced, and the staff werew more engaged and less stressed. Teachers then introduced online sessions for parents to get involved and use Makaton at home as well.
FINALIST
Toddletown Day Nursery, Farncombe, Godalming
CRITERION
For early years provision displaying exemplary practice in caring for and educating the youngest children, meeting their individual needs and supporting their development.