Creating an Environment Conducive to Learning

This assignment is based upon my understanding of child development and children’s learning, considering the curriculum for the Early Years and the curriculum for the Early Years Foundation Stage/Key Stage One. I propose to outline a rationale for effectively continuing children’s learning, from the end of the Early Years Foundation Stage into Year One and include strategies to support transitions, effective curriculum delivery and links between the EYFS and the National Curriculum. Throughout the assignment I will refer not only in general but also to how my research has help me as a practitioner help my setting to effectively continue children’s learning.

Positive relationships with children and young people are important because children will feel comfortable with the practitioners and can separate more easily from their parents. If the children feel secure and use to their surroundings, they are more likely to join in playtimes and learning activities. Children will feel secure and at ease which will help them to enjoy themselves at nursery. Children’s language develops more quickly as the children feel confident and comfortable.

Every child deserves the best possible start in life and the support that enables them to fulfil their potential. Children develop quickly in the early years and a child’s experiences between birth and age five have a major impact on their future life chances. A secure, safe and happy childhood is important in its own right. Good parenting and high quality early learning together provide the foundation children need to make the most of their abilities and talents as they grow up.

A supportive learning environment should be purposeful and task orientated, where the tutor emphasises the need to progress steadily. This can be done by starting lessons promptly, creating a smooth flow to the lesson, involving pupils and monitoring their progression and organisation. A positive effort should be made to ensure pupils have or build on self-respect and esteem by setting realistic opportunities for success and helpful support and encouragement whenever difficulties arise.

Early childhood education curriculums are becoming a national curriculum in most countries. With more governments and society thinking about education of under-fives we are seeing shifts in thinking and education to meet the changing world. We are developing children skills for the future to create a society where children feel they belong and can contribute to society. Curriculums are being influenced my social, political, cultural, historical and theoretical issues that are impacting different curriculums in the world. I am going to explore and develop my understanding about three different curriculums to recognise the different influences affecting curriculums. I am going to explore the curriculums of Te Whāriki: New Zealand, Belonging, Being and Becoming: The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia and Curriculum for Excellence: Scotland. This will allow me to develop an understanding of other curriculums which I have not heard about to discover other way to education that I have not been taught in teacher’s college.

This essay will also discuss the advantages of teachers creating a positive and happy learning environment in the classroom. Teachers need to carefully plan a behaviour management theory/model that

It’s very important to work with families when it comes to their children’s learning. Children gain confidence by seeing their parents working with staff in the setting. Parents and families, who work with staff at their child’s school or nursery, will find that influences the way their children act at home. Having support from both parents/carers will encourage good relationships between the setting and the home, encouraging the families’ confidence and self-esteem. Practitioners can work in different ways to involve parents such as open days, newsletters, notice boards, parent-toddler clubs, day-to-day informal conversation, toy library, social activities, help with outings, reading with children, coffee mornings, school assembly, parent’s room and exhibitions of children’s work.

The quality of relationships that we as practitioners have with children and young people has a huge effect on the way in which we can work with them and help them. When children feel comfortable with us they can separate more easily from their parents, they are more likely to participate in the play and learning activities if they are secure emotionally. When children have a strong relationship they are less likely to show unwanted behaviour as we can recognise and meet their needs, children’s language may develop more quickly as they feel confident talking to us. Practitioners can plan more accurately as they understand children’s developmental needs and know their interests and what

The importance of establishing a strong and meaningful educator-child relationship has been acknowledged and stressed by both NQS and VEYLDF. According to NQS 5.1, a respectful and equitable relationship is required to be constructed and maintained between educators and each child. It points out that experiencing supportive relationships enables children to express their ideas, to establish self-assurance and to see themselves as competent and capable learners. This is reflected in the VEYLDF, according to which the Practice Principle 5 states that the nurturing and respectful relationships with educators enable children to learn and become confident individuals (DEECD, 2011). Furthermore, the goal of NQS 5.1 is to provide consistent reciprocal

No child should be excluded or disadvantaged because of ethnicity, culture or religion, home language, family background, special educational needs, disability, gender or ability, everybody should be treated exactly the same as one another. Parents and practitioners should work together in an impression of mutual respect which children can have safety and confidence. To be effective, an early year’s course should be carefully structured. This includes three strands, provision for the different starting points from which children develop their learning, building on what they can already do, relevant and appropriate content that matches the different levels of young children’s needs, planned and purposeful activity that provides opportunities for teaching and learning, both indoors and outdoors, we do this by having a plan for each week with a theme that changes every week, we have different toys out for each day, this is for construction play, floor play, sensory play also water and sand, we go around these toys for the children so if a child’s next step is to use the potty or toilet we could put out the babies, so they are learning to put the baby on the potty which they can they copy from and encourage them to do the

Educators hold the important role of supporting and facilitating each child’s development, one method of facilitating for the child is by recognizing and providing an optimal learning environment. An optimal learning environment is a safe environment specifically designed to facilitate a child’s learning and developmental needs. Educators need to provide time and opportunity for children to respond and experience the world creatively, it also needs to offer exposure to a variety of experience, to be secure and offer stimulating experiences so children can take risks and investigate the world around them safely. Olds (2001) suggests that children need to feel comfortable in their environment for them to explore. Educators need to be vigilant in making sure that each individuals needs are met so the child feels safe and comfortable in the learning environment. Creating an optimal learning environment means educators need to consider the aspects that create this environment. Harris Helm suggests that the overall effectiveness of an early childhood program is dependant on quality of staff, suitable environment, consistent schedules and parent involvement.

Think about your early childhood education (or your child’s early education), was it flexible to suit individual learning experiences or were children required to conform to the teacher’s methods of teaching? If you answered the latter, do you think the former would improve the quality of education? The initial years of education are crucial to learning, development and growth, during these first years children’s experiences shape their learning methods and they are able to learn rapidly, for this, early childhood educators must use teaching methods that are suitable for each child. Teachers must consider the attitude they bring to the classroom; how it affects children’s learning and the value, of the information and knowledge that

A positive learning environment requires consistency within the classroom and by the teacher. Rules need to be established in the classroom. Students and teachers need to understand and agree upon the rules and procedures of the classroom.

Constructive working relationships between teachers and parents can enhance adults knowledge and understanding of children and children’s learning opportunities, and so contribute to children’s learning and wellbeing at home and in the setting. Children who see their parents working closely together with their teachers “gain a sense of continuity and of being cared for” and experience a “trusting

Every builder knows "A house is only as strong as its foundation". They also know that they have to evaluate and become familiar the land before beginning to work. This rationale can be used as a guideline for teachers across the world, especially with the children in the early childhood stage, ages 2-6, because how teachers assist children in this stage will serve as the foundation for the life ahead of them. A child develops physically, cognitively and socially. It is important for the teachers to know how the child is developing in order for them to effectively teach the students because they lack of understanding can lead problems for the child. Additionally, if the teacher is aware of how the