As a nursery nurse who studied child development and the power of play (from birth to 8 years) I knew this was the right thing to do. I thought about the following:
- Why are so many of our children thrust into a formal, developmentally inappropriate, pedagogically irresponsible learning environment...just because they are no longer under the protective umbrella of the statutory EYFS framework?
- Why do those crucial and proven effective learning characteristics no longer remain statutory...just because our children have moved into KS1? Yet many schools choose to introduce "learning behaviours up to Yr6?
- What about the unique child?
- What about the enabling environment?
- What about the power of positive relationships?
- Do these principles only matter from birth to 5 years old? Surely that includes the majority of Year One children who join year one classes at 5 years old..perhaps just turning 5 in August?
The truth of the matter is that these principles matter beyond Year 1, beyond Year 2...beyond Year 6! These are principles for lifelong learning; principles for life. Surely its no surprise that so many of our children are switched off from learning at a young age and suffer from poor mental health? Surely it's because we stop giving them what they need, what they deserve...what they are entitled to. Surely it is clear that quite sadly our children are being failed by a system that simply does not understand (or care) how they learn and develop or what they need to thrive. But we DO understand how they learn and develop and what they need. So surely we have a duty to them to give them exactly what they need to succeed, not just "get through" phonics screening or SATs...but for life! We don't want children who merely cope, who just survive..we want, and our world needs, children who thrive!
In my school we decided to make a change to Year One. Take a leap. Was it a perfect year? No of course not...there are things that we need to reflect upon for the next cohort, but it was a good start, and all journeys begin with a start!
In July we waved goodbye to an amazing set of parents and carers who have seen the power of this approach for their children. For those with older children the Year One experience for their younger child was a world away from their older child's experience. We waved goodbye to a cohort of happy, settled children. A group of children with solid foundations in personal, social and emotional development, language and physical development as well as academic learning too. A group of children who I believe didn't just recall facts because they had been told to. I honestly believe these children know and understand the things we learned together. I honestly believe that learning wasn't just poured into their brains, it was in their bones. My evidence for such a bold statement? Well if I think of maths, my particular passion, these children used and applied the maths we learned in their own activities. We explored halves and quarters..but they wanted to know about thirds. We counted to 100 in 10s...but they went to 500 because they saw the pattern, they felt the pattern. These amazing children not only learned what the curriculum says they must, but things they wanted to learn to: origami, playing instruments, speaking french, the names of a 12 sided 3d shapes...the list goes on!
Routines, timetables and the environment changed gradually throughout the year...but those essential principles remained at the heart throughout. Were they our highest achieving ever cohort because of this approach? Was their data off the chart? Well if there was data for creativity, imagination, connection making, problem solving, thinking, love of learning, engagement and sheer perseverance then they would have been. Unfortunately in our system its only reading, writing and maths that matter. BUT... I know that even those children who aren't quite writing yet, or aren't reading at the expected level, or who do not yet know numbers bonds to 20...have had another year of foundation building, a year of exploration, talk and play inside and out. A year of nurture, nature, understanding, scaffolding, time to be and develop at their own pace; a year of exactly what they needed. And when their brains and bodies are ready...that is when they will be off the chart!
So back to now. What's happening this year? Well over the summer there have been exciting developments! The walls which divided our 2 classrooms and communal art area have been removed! We now have a fluid open plan year one base. Today my colleague popped in and excitedly sent me some photos. (see below). My initial thoughts.. "Aaahh it's table city!!!" Our lovely cleaners have put everything back in the rooms for us... and by the end of the year we did have enough tables and chairs for each child to have a place. But that was July and we are heading back to the beginning of the year, so when I go in next week...the tables will be going! The clutter will be cleared out. "Less is more" will be our mantra. The photos below show our environment before we have done anything to it!
The journey continues..watch this space. Be the tortoise, not the hare. So back to the title of this blog "Year One the journey continues"..the journey will be continuing but not just for our children, but for us too as practitioners. Who knows what will happen, but if you want to find out, stick with me to watch it unfold.
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| Communal art area |
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| One half of our new open plan Year One base |
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| The other half |
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