It is the start of the session at the nursery unit in Sidley County Primary School in Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex. Rather than waiting to be told what to do, the children are flying into action - finding their names for self-registration, taking off their outdoor shoes and changing into plimsolls. Then they are off to choose their own play activities and immerse themselves in the session. This wonderful sight shows how very young children can take on the mantle of independence.
The move toward encouraging children to take control of their own learning and to become independent is reflected in the Foundation Stage curriculum and is being picked up in Ofsted inspections. Sarah Lambert, consultant for early years education and childcare at Blackpool Borough Council, says, 'Ofsted looks to see whether children can access equipment and resources for themselves and also whether children are taking the initiative.'
Encouraging independence has many pay offs, as Jane Stenson, head of nursery at Sidley School, explains, 'By providing children with the opportunity to be independent, they learn to take responsibility and be trusted.
'We create plenty of play opportunities for children to access and when we carry out an adult focused activity, children actually make a choice to come to us. This means they are more responsive and enjoy the adult input.'
Jane believes her provision also benefits the staff. 'We have 25 children here and you cannot put on 25 pairs of shoes and expect them to sit around and wait nicely. Encouraging children to tidy away and do things for themselves means that we can create a purposeful and calm atmosphere.'
So what approach will foster children's independence? For Jane Stenson, the answer lies in creating an infrastructure where children can do a lot for themselves. 'There are different aprons for different activities. Children quickly learn that blue is for gluing and yellow is for painting,' she says. 'Instead of having hooks, we have put up strips of Velcro on the walls so that the children can easily hang up the aprons. We have also clearly labelled boxes with photographs so that children know what is inside and can identify the correct place to tidy things away when they have finished.'
A similar approach is endorsed by Sarah Lambert, who suggests the use of plastic storage containers with lids. 'In some pre-schools where equipment has to be tidied away at the end of each session, using labelled storage is a must. We suggest that silhouettes are put on the lids so children can match the items when they put them back.'
Sarah also helps practitioners think about 'continuous play', where child- initiated activities are available throughout the session. 'We have been doing a lot of training on continuous provision. We are encouraging practitioners to have the resources out all of the time so children can have easy access. The aim is to avoid situations where young children have to sit for long periods of time, waiting for adults to direct them.'
It is also worth thinking about the role of the adult. 'It is a key element,' says Sarah Lambert. 'The whole ethos has to be geared to developing independence skills. For example, we encourage pre-schools and nurseries to think about providing self-service snack times. This means that children might select the snack, prepare it and of course, choose when to eat it. The adults have to be ready to relinquish control and take on the role of facilitator.'
Sue Andrew, education co-ordinator at Childbase Nurseries, adds, 'Developing children's independence and confidence is a major focus for our current staff training programme.
'We encourage staff to see things from the child's point of view. For example, messy play, instead of being a conveyor belt-like activity, will be provided in such a way that children can take the lead. Staff can then interact with the children, observe their interests and build on this. The overall aim is that when children go on in later life they are more confident in a range of different experiences.'