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Our philosophy is one that children cannot learn to keep themselves safe if they don’t know what risks are,’ says Jack and Jill’s nursery manager Jessica Bell. ‘Children only learn about safety by understanding what makes them vulnerable.
‘We allow children to take calculated risks so that they are able to understand the limitations of their bodies and their skills. They then can start to self-regulate and make judgements for themselves.’
At Jack and Jill’s, risk is built into the daily routine. The setting runs Forest School, which includes woodwork and den-building, and takes the children swimming each week.
Ms Bell says, ‘Children splash in the stream, they slide down the mud banks and they sit around the fire (and no, we do not have physical boundaries in place between them and the fire). The children love responsibility and because they are free to challenge themselves, they are motivated to learn.’
The swimming sessions, run by qualified instructors, have been put on because the setting ‘wants children to have the skills so that when risks are posed in life they are well equipped to deal with them’.
Helping children to form a deeper understanding of the environment they are in is key to developing their understanding of risk. ‘We wouldn’t allow risky play without talking to the children about the environment first,’ Ms Bell adds.
‘We teach children all the way through nursery rules and boundaries, and it is no different at Forest School. Children know where they can and can’t go in the forest and they adhere to these rules with no need for physical boundaries. Children are asked open-ended questions such as “what would happen if…?”. We get children to think about the environments and allow them to move equipment and decide where to play.’
This is connected with the idea that children should be treated as autonomous individuals. ‘Our staff are trained to supervise children but allow them to come up with their ideas and make mistakes. We never allow children to get themselves into dangerous situations but we will allow them to test their physical skills and work out their abilities, especially in the garden,’ says Ms Bell.
Risk assessment
‘Of course, as adults it is our responsibility to risk assess environments and situations prior to the children having their turn. This does not mean our children can’t emulate our procedures and do it themselves too,’ says Ms Bell.
‘Our children work with staff to identify risks in the environment. We talk about why areas are risky, for example wet steps outside, to support children’s critical thinking.’
Children also risk assess learning opportunities. ‘They start to understand that scissors are sharp, for example, and that if they run they may slip and bump their heads. We talk through risks and scenarios, which keeps them motivated to learn about what is risky play and what constitutes as being safe.
‘Our children like to take a visual checklist into the garden and tick off when they have cleared the hazards (and yes, adults deliberately leave hazards). We would not be safeguarding our children adequately if we didn’t risk assess our environments, but we believe the children should take responsibility for themselves.’
Graduated risk
The setting tries to graduate the level of support rather than tailoring risk for each child.
‘Our purpose is to encourage independence and primarily equip our children to live in a rich, varied (and risky) society. As children grow and develop, they will be faced with similar challenges without the safety net of an adult to guide them. If we were to graduate the risk as such, we wouldn’t be preparing all children adequately. Graduated support allows us to slowly take steps backwards, allowing our children the time to become excellent decision-makers,’ Ms Bell says.
Benefits
So what benefits do they see? Ms Bell says, ‘Children can explore and push their mental and physical boundaries with the support of an adult who is always there to guide and challenge. This in turns gives children a good gauge of their capabilities and allows them to set personal targets. As children set their own learning objectives, we see them taking control of their learning and becoming fiercely independent.’
Parents accept this approach because ‘the end product is so clearly visible’, says Ms Bell. ‘Our children are happy, engaged, critical thinkers and more than school ready as they leave our setting.’
This point was endorsed by Ofsted in its last inspection report from 2017, which rated the setting Outstanding and said, ‘Teaching is of the highest quality and worthy of dissemination to others. Staff are highly qualified, experienced and knowledgeable. They interact splendidly to guide and stretch children’s learning. Children are highly motivated learners, who are exceptionally well prepared for school.’
Nursery overview
Name Jack and Jill’s Nursery School
Number of settings 1
Established 1991
Location Yorkshire
Nursery owner
Tracy Humphreys
Hopscotch consultancy comment: ‘Through plenty of risky play, children become self-reliant and keep trying to achieve their goal. It is clear through the staff’s teaching that children are learning how to take risks appropriately.’