Three to five year olds EYFS Framework Guide: Creating an enabling environment

Enabling environment In the new EYFS Framework the enabling environment is one of the four guiding principles which should shape practice in early years settings. children learn and develop well in enabling environments, in which their experiences respond to their individual needs and there is a strong partnership between practitioners and parents and/or carers.

Space, time and relationships The enabling environment is made up of: Space - the physical space which babies and toddlers are in. Time - how time is managed in order to capitalise on all the opportunities that the environment provides. Relationships -the quality of the interactions between the children, practitioners and parents/carers in the setting.

Space A high quality environment for young children should: Be clean, tidy and uncluttered and used flexibly in response to children’s moods and interests. Be painted in calm, neutral colours to provide a backdrop to the children’s activities. Contain only the furniture that is absolutely essential, leaving plenty of free floor space for children’s play. Have space for individual activities and for group interaction. Support and enhance the play opportunities of all children, boys as well as girls. Have resources stored at a height where children can see and access them. Make good use of mirrors to create interesting environments to explore.

Time To manage time effectively think about how to: Give children time and opportunities to become absorbed in what they are doing, often repeating things again and again, until their curiosity is satisfied. Provide opportunities for children to play on their own, time to play with friends and time to be part of a larger group at story time or when dancing or making music. Involve children in projects and activities that extend over several days or weeks providing the opportunity to come back to things and explore them in greater depth. Plan the rhythm of the day around the daily events that have to happen at certain times – mealtimes and home time for example – but be flexible about what happens during the rest of the day. Evidence shows that this approach leads to a calmer atmosphere in the setting, gives more time for children to become engrossed in what they are doing and results in a decrease in instances of negative behaviour.

Relationships Creating the right emotional environment involves: Thinking about the way in which adults and children talk to and behave towards one another. Strong positive relationships between adults and children enhance a child’s sense of wellbeing and emotional resilience. Establishing effective partnerships with parents as a way of ensuring children have the best possible experience in an early years setting. Having an effective key person system so that practitioners have time to get to know each child’s family well, and learn as much as possible about the interests, behaviours and preferences of each child in their key group. Helping parents to feel fully connected with their child’s life in the setting by sharing information – verbal feedback, written observations and photographs - at the end of the day.

Enhancing spaces How well do we all understand the contribution the physical environment makes to supporting the welfare, learning and development of young children? How could we go about auditing our environment to establish how well it meets our, and the children’s needs? Do we all understand the purpose of the different spaces we have in the setting and are they all used effectively? How aware are we of which spaces around the setting the children like, and which they dislike? Are we happy that the children, as well as the adults, can change the layout of the spaces? Do we always act as good role models in the way we take care of our environment and resources?

Managing time How could we audit our current use of time to see if we could make our regular routines more flexible? Do we regularly ask children what things they enjoy doing and what they don’t enjoy and do we do anything on the basis of this information? Does the rhythm of the day provide opportunities for children to be active or quiet, to think and reflect and to stand back and watch others? How good are we at giving children time to be creative, time to think, time to solve problems and time to practise and master skills for themselves? Do we plan enough opportunities for children to be involved in projects that may last days, or weeks? How easy do we make it for children to come back again and again to things they enjoy doing? Can they store ‘work in progress’ safely so they can complete it at a later date?

Developing relationships Do we all understand the importance of tuning in to and valuing individual children’s interests and fascinations? How well do we show that we value the interests of the boys as well as those of the girls in our setting? Does our key person system fully support the development of strong relationships with children and families? How could we minimise the number of transitions a child may experience while they are in our setting? How could we do more to support parents and children with the transition from pre-school to school? Do we make enough use of photographs and images around the setting that show how we value children and the communities from which they come?