Four guiding principles should shape practice in early years settings.
- The unique child
- Positive relationships
- Enabling environments with teaching and support from adults
- Learning and development
1. The unique child
Every child is a unique child, who is constantly learning and can be resilient, capable, confident and self-assured.
Practitioners:
- observe and understand each child's development and learning, assess progress, plan for and act on next steps
- support babies and children to develop their own sense of identity
- identify any need for additional support
- keep children safe
- value and respect all children and families equally.
2. Positive relationships
Children learn to be strong and independent through positive relationships.
Positive relationships are:
- warm and loving and foster a sense of belonging
- sensitive and responsive to the child's individual needs, feelings and interests
- supportive of the child's own efforts and independence
- consistent in setting clear boundaries
- stimulating
- built on key person relationships in early years settings.
3. Enabling environments with teaching and support from adults
Children learn and develop well in enabling environments with teaching and support from adults, who respond to their individual interests and needs and help them to build their learning over time. Children benefit from a strong partnership between practitioners and parents and/or carers.
Enabling environments: value all people, development and learning. They offer:
- stimulating resources and spaces, inside and outside, relevant to all the children's cultures and communities
- rich learning opportunities through play and playful teaching
- support for children to take risks and explore.
4. Learning and development
Importance of learning and development. Children develop and learn at different rates. (see the characteristics of effective teaching and learning" at paragraph 1.18). The framework covers the education and care of all children in early years provision, including children with SEND.
Practitioners teach children by ensuring challenging, playful opportunities across the Prime and Specific areas of development and learning.
They foster the characteristics of effective early learning which are:
- playing and exploring
- active learning
- thinking creatively and critically.
In this publication we have focussed on the first three guiding principles.