A guest post by Connor – a Nature Premium youth ambassador. Tiptoeing out of a pandemic, we all know now just how valuable time in nature is for our physical, mental, and social wellbeing. Although we now have a greater sense of freedom, access to nature and playing outdoors is still limited and not equally accessible. This inaccessibility is especially true for our children and those of disadvantaged and marginalised communities. However, a Nature Premium could see this change. I was lucky to have somewhat of a nature premium growing up. My mum and grandparents passed on old wildlife and natural history books, I would watch documentaries and go to zoos, aquariums, farms, and green and blue spaces in and … Read More
OP&L Assessment – an update!
Alistair first gave us the opportunity to write about OP&L in February 2021 and for more detailed information, please refer to our previous blog posts on abcdoes.com. OP&L is an assessment tool, developed by us at Barnet Early Years Alliance (BEYA). We wanted to give our practitioners back time we felt was wasted collecting unnecessary evidence. Who is this evidence for? We know that it is through our interactions that we get to know our children best. We believe that if we are behind an iPad capturing the moment, we cannot be part of the moment. We wanted to share and be a part of our children’s fascinations, their curiosities, the awe and wonder. It also coincided with the key objectives of the … Read More
Forest Kindergarten – by Marina Robb
Forest Kindergarten Children are by nature curious and playful. There is a reason for that. Self-directed exploration and play are how they learn. Children were designed by nature to educate themselves by playing and exploring. The launch of the new Forest Kindergarten Level 3 Training is a welcomed and exciting moment. Although there are many opportunities to learn how to bring the benefits of the outdoors to the early years, this training has been crafted by early years professionals, with a vast range of nature-based experience. It is aimed to provide inclusive and accessible results so that children from urban or more rural settings can explore and enjoy local nature play in their communities. This Level 3 training … Read More
Developing Parent Collaboration in SEN Support
‘If a community values its children, it must cherish its parents.’ (John Bowlby) Take a look at the below statements. Do you find them helpful or harmful when speaking about children to parents? ‘It’s such a shame; she is so beautiful!’ ‘You must be so worried!’ ‘Your child is still the same, even with the diagnosis.’ ‘Boys are slower to talk, don’t worry.’ ‘Oh my God, how do you cope? It must be so hard!’ ‘It’s such a shame because it’s not just his life but all of you.’ ‘It’s so sad that his sister won’t have a normal life!’ ‘Don’t worry, in my opinion, everyone’s a bit autistic.’ ‘It must be like grieving the loss of the child you thought you … Read More