CONTRIBUTORS
Embracing cultural diversity in Early Years settings
This month, in our ongoing collaboration with Edge Hill University curated by ALICIA BLANCO-BAYO, Early Years Lecturer and WTEY Programme Leader at the University’s Faculty of Education, we’re delighted to hear from FARZEEN SHAH, a current second year BA (Hons) Working and Teaching in the Early Years student.
It is crucial to ensure children’s culture is respected within their Early Years setting. But what does this mean? Although defining cultural competence can be complex, it can be broadly defined as organisations (in this case Early Years practitioners) having the ability to identify and have awareness of their own and other cultures including ethnic, linguistic and racial diversity. This would create a welcoming, positive and inclusive early years environment beneficial for all practitioners, children and their families (Samuels, 2018). Cultural competence in Early Years allows practitioners to have an
insight into their own culture (including their behaviour and attitudes), so they are able to respect and value the cultures of the children they teach. This will enable them to reflect upon diversity and embrace various beliefs to build a provision where children and their families feel included and valued. Thus, allowing them to confidently speak and share information regarding their cultural differences comfortably. Thereby, initiating communication amongst practitioners, parents and children to stimulate effective interactions in relation to their cultural backgrounds, behaviour and individual norms (Johnson, 2021). This process would enable both practitioners and parents to develop the skills of effective communication and possibly overcome any language barriers, creating a positive parental partnership. The newly revised Early Years Foundations Stage Framework (EYFS)
emphasises the importance for practitioners to ensure they promote equality and diversity within the setting to enable inclusive provision (DfE, 2021). Hence, it is vital for practitioners to recognise children’s cultural beliefs; this would assist them in planning activities, displays and resources which are meaningful for every child. For instance, the home corner being equipped with cooking utensils which reflect all home backgrounds or provide a range of multicultural books. This will replicate various cultures and allow children to identify their own morals as well as learning about their peers’ differences in a positive way. From this, practitioners will be catering for every child’s individual needs, allowing them to feel a sense of belonging within the setting. Tassoni et al. (2016) claims this would positively impact children’s self- esteem and improve their learning outcomes as they know their cultural practices are being identified, appreciated and supported within their environment. Therefore, improving their personal, social and emotional development as a whole. As we persist to develop into a multicultural country, it is imperative
for practitioners to ensure they continue to build an Early Years provision which embraces rich diversity. Bennett et al. (2018), highlights the significance of providing children with experiences that affirm children, families and their communities’ cultures. It is therefore, the role of practitioners to implement cultural pedagogy within the setting, which would subsequently empower children’s individual uniqueness and nurture their emotional wellbeing whilst allowing them to develop knowledge regarding various cultures around them.
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www.education-today.co.uk Learning over summer
In her regular column this month, STEMtastic! founder KIRSTY BERTENSHAW offers some great ideas for keeping children engaged in learning over summer.
The summer break can be used to maintain the momentum of learning or as a catch up after a tumultuous academic year. There are several ways to provide fun and engaging options for learning over summer.
Puzzle packs Puzzle packs are a great way of entertaining students while ensuring they continue learning at the same time, plus they can be completed at the student’s own pace. Word searches maintain vocabulary of keywords and are a great way to
check spellings. Whilst they are not encouraged in a school setting as they limit the learning opportunities, you can add in more challenge by leaving the unused letters to spell something out relevant to the words used, or don’t give a word list, but tell students there are 10 words related to animals in the wordsearch, for example. “Spot the difference” can be quickly made with important pictures e.g.
Palisade cells or heart diagrams. This helps students to identify the parts of anatomical diagrams they will be shown in exam papers. Extend the task by asking the student to identify the missing parts and state their function. Crosswords use descriptions to identify key words. For example, a crossword
on the anatomy of a flower could describe the functions of the parts of the flowers e.g. anther. Crosswords can be themed, and challenge extended by adding on a follow up question to the theme of the puzzle. Number puzzles are good for practising math skills in the form of mazes,
where the only way to reach the end of the maze is to find the correct answers to each question. Graph skills are important but not always fun. Try using coordinate plotting
worksheets that reveal a mystery picture when plotted. These can be simple with one quadrant or complex with four quadrants, and many are ready made and available online.
Games! Online games can include maths or literacy as part of the game, and multilevel games increase in difficulty. Using an educational games website also means the students are in a safe online environment playing single player games. These games also feel like fun as they can be done online , on tablets, phones or laptops rather than suing a pen and paper.
Pre-recorded mini lessons Depending on the time availability of teachers, a set of pre-recorded mini lessons with accompanying worksheets could be produced for students over the summer, recapping the content covered throughout the year and ensuring any gaps in knowledge could be identified before the new academic year begins. Alternatively, there are several good quality education videos available on common hosting sites which could be linked to, especially for KS3 and GCSE students.
STEM at home sessions, lessons or booklets can encourage a love of the STEM
subjects, engage the students, and improve problem solving skills all at the same time. There are various instructions for at-home experiments online, videos and even lesson plans to support the activities, all of which could be done under parental supervision. Not all students will have access to printers or reliable internet at home, so it
is worth offering several options, including printed puzzle packs or experiment instructions for students to ensure everyone has the same opportunities.
https://www.superteacherworksheets.com/
full-puzzles.html
https://www.puzzles-to-print.com/math-puzzles/
https://sciencenotes.org/free-printable-word-search-puzzles/ https://sciencespot.net/Pages/
classpuzzle.html
https://www.sciencekids.co.nz/quizzes/wordsearches.html https://crosswordhobbyist.com/Browse/Science/Science-General
https://mathsframe.co.uk/en/resources/category/22/most-popular https://www.funenglishgames.com/
https://www.topmarks.co.uk/ https://www.worksheetworks.com/puzzles/
math-maze.html Kirsty is the founder of STEMtastic, an education consultancy with a focus on Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths
www.stemtastic.co.uk
July/August 2021
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