The Children's House nursery in Stallingborough, Lincoln-shire, gave children 12 disposable cameras to photograph over a week what they liked most about nursery. Each was allocated a key worker who explained the process of photography. The children, including four-year-old James Allbones, pictured left, took it in turns to take one photo of what they liked best - although some, according to joint managing director Sylvia Archer, ended up taking more than one photo because there was so much they liked about nursery.
Ms Archer said it was surprising to see the high quality of the photographs, which were 'perfectly centred and focused'. The pictures, which included friends, keyworkers, pieces of equipment, the garden and the rabbit, were mounted for an exhibition in the nursery.
'We wanted to involve the children as much as possible because we feel they should help decide what activities are available to them,' she said. 'The project helped the staff by giving them an idea of different ways we can be creative with our planning. It was a joy working with the children and learning from them.'
Inspiration for the project came from ideas from early years settings in Reggio Emilia, Italy, explained in Nursery World's photography pull-out (March 2001), and a report published this spring by Peter Moss and Alison Clarke from London University's Institute of Education. Listening to young children: the mosaic approach (see Nursery World, 5 July) which costs 11.99 from the National Children's Bureau (020 7843 6000).