MU 2.8 Contribute to the support of positive environments for children and young people © Laser Learning Limited under licence to Pearson Education Limited Printing and photocopying permitted. CREATING A RESOURCE BANK

MU 2.8 Contribute to the support of positive environments for children and young people © Laser Learning Limited under licence to Pearson Education Limited Printing and photocopying permitted. Why have a resource bank? ●To ensure a good selection of resources and activities for children and young people ●To help colleagues know what is available ●To provide ideas of how resources could be used ●To identify any gaps and prioritise future purchases

MU 2.8 Contribute to the support of positive environments for children and young people © Laser Learning Limited under licence to Pearson Education Limited Printing and photocopying permitted. What are you looking for? An effective resource bank reflects: ●the age range of those using the resources ●the developmental needs of those using them ●equality, diversity and anti-discrimination ●the setting and local community ●up-to-date ideas and concepts ●attempts to select items that can be adapted for a variety of activities.

MU 2.8 Contribute to the support of positive environments for children and young people © Laser Learning Limited under licence to Pearson Education Limited Printing and photocopying permitted. Identifying resource gaps Gaps can be identified: ●when setting out specific activities ●when planning for a theme ●during a resource audit ●when a child’s special needs are identified ●after staff have received training in an area of learning or interest.

MU 2.8 Contribute to the support of positive environments for children and young people © Laser Learning Limited under licence to Pearson Education Limited Printing and photocopying permitted. Free stuff There are a wide variety of places to find free resources: ●Posters, activities, games etc. can be found using the internet. ●Many companies and charities also offer free resources. ●National newspapers and magazines regularly give away DVDs,CDs etc. which may be useful.

MU 2.8 Contribute to the support of positive environments for children and young people © Laser Learning Limited under licence to Pearson Education Limited Printing and photocopying permitted. Extending resources Almost any activity can be extended with a little imagination and careful planning. ●Choose resources that obviously have more than one use. ●Consider how to encourage the wider use of the senses. ●Consider whether the activity or resource might be used for more than one purpose with a little imagination.

MU 2.8 Contribute to the support of positive environments for children and young people © Laser Learning Limited under licence to Pearson Education Limited Printing and photocopying permitted. Activity Create a table using the following headings: Start your own bank of resources which can be added to throughout your course. ResourceMain use Other possible uses Age range / development stage