Unit 3.4:
Contribute to enabling environment
Factors for creating a functional play environment
This unit is about learning how to provide a safe and suitable surrounding for children to play, enjoy and relax whilst supporting their learning and development.To create the perfect play habitat where children can flourish consider the following factors:
- Layout of the physical environment e.g. navigating easily from one area of room to another. or seamlessly moving from one area to another within the same room.
- Provision for indoor and outdoor play area within the childcare setting
- Equipment, toys and furniture that is safe and useful e.g child-size friendly chairs and tables, secure climbing frame or soft balls for younger kids.
- Space for children to run around and a quiet space for children to relax.
- Play areas that support children's individual needs in terms of their age,ability, preference, interest and special educational needs. e.g. soft play areas for the very young, variety of toys appropriate for their ages or sensory area for children with disabilities.
- Practise 'inclusivity and diversity' e.g. ramps for wheel chair access and tabletop play. dolls with different colour skin tones or sign language interpreter for children hard of hearing
- Freedom of movement e.g. allowing children to move around and choose their play area.
- Provide child-led activities
- Local authority day nurseries
- Local authority children centres that run babies, toddler groups and for children under age 5
- Community play groups
- Private nurseries
- Maintained school nurseries
- Montessories
- Home learning environment including childminder, nannies and grandparents.
Food for thought: Find different types of play environment outside UK
Every childcare setting will provide core areas of play and resources that enable children to explore freely. These core areas of play should entice engagement and resources should be stimulating enough to encourage child-initiated play whilst at the same time, stretch children's learning and development.
Exposure to these continuous areas of play and resources will give children familiarity and confidence too. The table below outlines the core provisions:
| Core areas | Core resources |
|---|---|
|
Small world play - zoo, dolls house, farm yard Home corner - kitchen area with child-sized kitchen equipment Workshop area - making cards and masks and models using scissor and paper How do these core areas help child's learning and development |
Malleable natural materials e.g. mud, dough Animal shaped toys, soft toys, wooden toys wooden blocks Balls of differenrent sizes How do these toys help a child's and learning development? |
| In-door space
Freedom to move from one area to another in same room gives children choice and variety of play. Fresh area, toys and ambience keep them interested. Encourage child-led activities |
Open-ended natural materials: Clay and dough Flour and water dough Cookery items Wooden blocks The above encourage children to be more creative and imaginitive |
| Out-door space Space must be functional and visually pleasing. Opportunities to interact with nature,, tress, flowers, plants and vegetables. Visits to parks, forest to experience and enjoy green space and natural ambience. Sand and water area giving children opportunities to play with spade and bucket and building castles. How does playing in out-door areas help child's learning and development? |
Open-ended natural materials: Sand and water Plants and soil Flowers and leaves |
| Can you think of anymore? |
In your setting, identify open-ended materials. |
Practitioners support the play environment by providing:
- appropriate materials, equipment and resources
- clutter free space to prevent confusion and easy mobility
- flexible indoor and outdoor space that can be adapted for variety of play
- temperature: suitable clothes for outdoor and good air circulation for indoors
Analysing how play theories influenced EYFS guidelines on play
Click here to see an example of "How to Analyse"
Supporting Children's behaviour and socialisation within play environemnt
In the context of childcare setting, socialisation refers to:- How children interact with other children, e.g. playing or making friends
- How children interact with adults, e.g. communicating with practitioners, carers and other staff
- Obeying social rules that to enable children to function in childcare settings, home and society at large.
Children are not born with social skills but need to learn them because:
- Children need to develop the skills to interact with other children and adults.
- Children need to acquire social etiquettes in order to display acceptable behaviour.
- Children need to learn how to deal appropriately with emotions such as anger or frustration.
- Children need to learn how to deal with rejection.
- Children need to learn how to respond to negative behaviour displayed by others.
How can practitioners help children develop these social skills?
- Allocate a key worker to support child to builds self-esteem- Provide a play environment that makes child feel safe and comfortable
- Provide stimulating resources that encourage children to play together where they have to follow rules, learn to share or take turns
- Be sensitive to the needs of the child
- Having patience
Factors that can affect childrens's socialisation
- Poor or lack of communication skills- English not first language
- Family separation
- Only child - Child with stammer - Abandonent or neglect in the home
- Visual or hearing impairment
- Special educational needs
Can you think of anymore?
The table below outlines the approaches to support children to develop social skills.| Approach | Social skill |
|---|---|
| Social Learning Theory Albert Bandura proposed children learn social behaviour by observing and imitating behaviour of another person. In which case, parents, carers practitioners would be the ideal role models for children.
Do further reading on |
Adults displaying good manner like saying 'thank you' or 'please',
children will learn to be polite too. Modelling can also help practitioners to enforce rules, for example practitioners 'everyone tidy up together' after play or or queque in a line to wash hands before sitting down to eat. Practitioners can also present themselves in a positive light by using body language too, for example, praising children for good behaviour, smiling when greeting children in the morning, showing respect by making eye contact or showing calmness through soft tone. Help children resolve conflict: - encourage children to 'think of their actions' - teach children to be assertive - help understand consequences of unacceptable behaviour - present options to resolve conflict. For example, When Yasmin is crying because Susan has snatched the teddy bear from her, carer might say to Yasmin "I wonder how you could stop Susan grabbing the teddy bear?" and say to Susan" I wonder what you could say if you wanted the teddy instead of snatching it." Teach Susan to ask for the teddy rather then snatch. Say "can I play with the teddy or can I have a turn next?" Teaching children to be assertive is a skill they must learn if to survive in the real world. Practitioners can teach children language that demonstrates assertiveness, for example: Teach Yasmin to say 'No, it's mine, you can't have my teddy' Practitioners can suggest that they practise together the sentence so that the child becomes confident in expressing these words. Teach Susan that it is wrong to snatch the teddy and ask her to give it back to Susan and say Sorry. Let both children know that when one finishes playing then can let the other play. If behaviour is repeated, then child may have to have 'time out' sanction in order to discourage negative behaviour. |
| Operant conditioning theory B.F Skinner proposed that children's positive behaviour can be reinforced with rewards and negative behaviour can be discouraged by using sanctions.
Do further reading on Operant Conditioning Theory proposed by Skinner |
Rewards can be in the form of both verbal praise and tangible. For example, say 'well done' or 'good boy' when child puts toys away or help tidy up. Giving a 'gold star' for good behaviour. Letting child play for longer or with favourite toy when sharing toys with other children. Time out for children who are being disobedient, hitting other children or displaying aggressive behaviour. |
| Positive Modification Without intention and unconsciously unacceptable behaviour maybe strengthened through the use of reinforcement (rewards). It is not acceptable to reinforce children's negative behaviour by rewarding them. For example: When a toddler keeps throwing his/her breakfast spoon on the floor and mum keeps picking it up, the mum is only reinforcing that negative behaviour, because the toddler learns that he/she will get mother's attention (reward) if they throw the spoon on floor. | When a child is given sweets to stop or calm their tantrum, their behaviour becomes reinforced; the child will learn
quickly that if they throw tantrums, they will be rewarded. This is known as positive reinforcements.
Of course, tantrums are negative behaviour and not socially acceptable, so reinforcing that behaviour is also not
acceptable.
This undesirable behaviour can be modified by stopping the positive reinforcement. If the mum stops picking up the spoon, the learnt behaviour will no longer be reinforced and stop ultimately. |
| Containment Theory Wilfred Bion Containment refers to an adult receiving and understanding someone else's emotional communication, like joy, distress or anxiety. For example: Baby in distress is crying, so mother picks up the baby and sense's baby's feelings by soothing the baby and understanding baby is feeling cold and hungry and then feeding the baby. This behaiour demonstrates that feelings are 'contained' - mother understands, empathises and responds to needs of her baby so that the child is no longer in distress. |
For example: Baby in distress is crying, so mother can picks up the baby and sense's baby's feelings by soothing the baby and understanding baby is feeling cold and hungry and then feeding the baby. The feelings are 'contained' When this positive behaviour is repeated many times the baby learns to manage feelings like hunger without always becoming distressed. |
| Social Referencing Socia referencing refers to infants looking at or relying on their parents facial,emotional expression or body language for guidance that helps them to respond to certains situations. Social referencing helps children get a sense of their new surroundings , people and objects which harnesses some of their emotional development. |
Infant is crawling towards an object on the floor, he/she looks at the mother to see if its alright
for him/her to touch it. The infant will read a mother's frown as 'no' and a 'smile' as yes, its ok to touch the object.
Can you think of other examples? |
| Therapeutic help |
Identify therapeutic support available for child's learning and development |
| De escalate and diversion |
What is 'De esclate and diversion '? |
| Group Learning | Describe forms of group learning |
REFERENCES
DFE (2017) Early Years Foundation Stage Framework (EYFS)
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-foundation-stage-framework--2
DFE (2014) Development Matters in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS)
http://www.foundationyears.org.uk/eyfs-statutory-framework/
Every Child Matters (2003)
http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130403155730/https://www.education.gov.uk/
publications/standard/publicationDetail/Page1/DfES/1081/2004
Early learning and childcare
https://www.education.gov.uk
Caroline Meggit & Tina Bruce (2014) CACHE Level 3 Early Years Educator. Hodder Education:London
Caroline Meggit (2011) CACHE Level 3 Children & Young People's Workforce Certificate. Hodder Education:London
Tassoni et al (2014) Level 3 Early Year Educator. Pearson: Harlow Essex
Tassoni et al (2011) Level 3 Certificate for the Children and Young People's Workforce. Pearson: Harlow Essex
www.gov.uk/government/publications/2010-to-2015-government-policy-childcare-and-early-education
www.education.gov.uk/publications
www.foundationyears.org.uk.
www.legislation.gov.uk/
www.4children.org.uk