Planning and leading activities in ways that are appropriately challenging for all children is not a well-understood concept in the early years and one that is commonly raised in Ofsted inspections. At The Nursery, founded by consultant and trainer Jackie Hardie, the issue is vital.
‘We spend a long time talking about what we are doing and why,’ she says. ‘The “why” question is really key. Staff will be able to point to anything in the room and explain why it is there and what learning it supports and relate it to the group of children which is in that day, particularly their stages of development and next steps’.
According to The Nursery’s Ofsted report, ‘From the moment children start attending the nursery, staff work incredibly closely with parents to find out what each child knows and can do. Staff make the most of every opportunity to extend children’s learning so that they become motivated and inquisitive learners… All children make excellent progress from their individual starting points… Children thrive in the incredibly enabling environment where staff teach them important and valuable skills which are highly successful in preparing them for their future learning.’
Engaged or compliant?
At The Nursery, a key concept is ‘enhanced provision’. ‘We want to see children say “wow” when they come into the room,’ says Ms Hardie.
- She defines continuous provision as the resources you continually provide such as sand, water, construction, etc. Enhanced provision is simply what you do to the continuous provision based on children’s next steps, stage of development and interests.
- There is no topic or main theme to the environment, but planning is led by the needs of the groups of children who are in the nursery on a particular day, and is flexible so it can be led by the children’s own ideas. ‘Child-initiated practice comes through our provision. We may set something up in the morning and children take it to different places than expected.’
- Staff question whether children are truly engaged in what they are doing, i.e. being creative, thinking critically, or simply being passively ‘compliant’. Ms Hardie says, ‘To the untrained eye a child may look engaged, e.g. if they are filling up and emptying a container at a sand tray. But if they are doing this every day, they might just be compliant.’
- The Characteristics of Effective Learning are rooted in practice – ‘this is how we can see if children are compliant or actively engaged’.
Culture of continuous development
- The Nursery is ‘senior staff heavy’ so every room has senior staff who coach and mentor junior team members continuously. ‘I am a great believer in training on the shop floor,’ Ms Hardie says.
- New staff are assigned a mentor.
- Staff who struggle will be given plenty of 1:1 training and have regular reviews.
- Staff are encouraged to try things out. ‘We say to staff, like with the children, it is much better to have a go and find it is not quite right than not to try.’
- Culture of two-way trust – regular reviews and coaching give junior staff plenty of chance to learn and ask questions, while senior staff can question their team about practice without causing offence. The Ofsted report noted, ‘Staff are extremely committed and enthusiastic to further their professional development.’
- All staff have at least a ten-minute 1:1 catch-up with a manager every week, and formal supervisions take place every six weeks.
- ‘In the EYFS there is nothing saying your planning has to be recorded at all,’ says Ms Hardie. ‘It is about believing in your practice – being able to talk the talk and prove it.’ For this, she adds, ‘The right training can give confidence.’
Tips
Ask questions of your staff:
- Why is the room set out like this?
- Which children does this support?
- What are these children’s next steps?
‘For those settings that are heavily reliant on paperwork, try taking some of it away for a week and seeing what happens,’ adds Ms Hardie.
Nursery Overview
Name The Nursery
Number of settings 1
Established 2015
Chief executive Jackie Hardie
Hopscotch early years consultancy comment ‘Each member of their staff team knows their key children exceptionally well, which means they can challenge children to their optimum potential.’