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Creating smaller, cosier, enclosed spaces within the large nursery setting has been a deliberate approach for staff after they identified that some children were becoming over-stimulated throughout the day in larger spaces.
They observed that the constant processing of information and navigating social interactions within a large group, sometimes for long hours, often left children emotionally drained and overwhelmed. Discussions with parents, carers and an occupational therapist led them to identify that children needed spaces to self-regulate as well as take control of their play. They decided on creating ‘spaces within spaces’.
Outdoors, these smaller spaces creatively include a real caravan for the children to play in. Children love to pin sheets between the doors and it’s often used as a hiding area – there are lots of drawers and cupboards where children hide loose items, including their shoes and socks! The caravan also supports holiday, transport and family role play.
A reading shed is filled with cosy beanbags, blankets and cushions and books to create a calmer environment. Children also take in loose parts and adapt the space for role play with limited interruptions. A polytunnel allows children to be within nature. When it is in full bloom, it’s like a rainforest, creating a warm space even in cold weather, and children enjoy listening to the therapeutic sounds of rain on the roof. They often congregate in the polytunnel in smaller groups using mats and blankets as ‘barriers’ under the corn stalks. There are also tyre poles and den canopies outside for the children to create their own smaller non-static spaces as their play dictates.
Indoors, staff wanted the space to be adaptable to meet children’s ever-changing needs, particularly their large group of neurodiverse children, so there are no static areas. Instead, loose parts are used to create smaller spaces, which also support children’s enclosing and enveloping schemas. Staff ensure there are many blankets, cushions and mats available. There is a big window seat for the children to climb into, and children build houses with large pieces of cardboard and nooks and crannies under tables and shelves. Large modular magnetic panels allow children to create rockets and houses to play in, but children also repurpose other resources, such as climbing into storage boxes, replacing the lid and observing from the holes in the sides.
FINALISTS
• Birmingham Day Nurseries and Explorers’ Forest School at Winterbourne House and Garden – Birmingham
• Broussa Day Nursery – Hale
• Incy Wincy’s Day Nurseries – North Yorkshire
• Jack In The Box Nursery – Bosbury
CRITERION
Open to settings who have developed provision to create stimulating, child-centred learning environments in line with an early years framework.