CONTRIBUTORS
The everlasting effects of a global pandemic on our
young children 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 MEGAN LOUGHRAN, a PGCE Early Years with QTS student at the university.
How the pandemic has affected children
The global pandemic was a life-changing event that took over many aspects of people’s lives. Notably, a giant changing aspect was how education was accessed. Children were no longer granted the same access to education and instead were told to isolate themselves to stay healthy. A common ingredient of early years education is communicating and learning to be around others, solve problems, and diffuse squabbles. During COVID years, children were exposed to a reduction of social interaction due to the need to be within their “bubble” to stay safe. This may affect their ability to form relationships with others in the future, and that is something yet to be discovered over time. Furthermore, research has shown that during and even after the COVID period, children seemed to struggle to make friends as easily as they had done before. Something is happening to children, and it is time to act on it; it is time to help children. But in a classroom that is constantly pushing for “school readiness” and focusing on academic progress, how can we help children catch up with their Personal, Social and Emotional development (PSED)?
What’s really happening in our Early Years classrooms?
The Early Year Foundation Stage (EYFS) Framework naturally advocates for the holistic development of children, celebrating all aspects of their equally important and interconnected areas of learning and development. PSED and Communication and Language are specified as Prime areas that ignite children’s curiosity for learning. As Early Years teachers we must aspire to create a classroom environment that encompasses children’s post- COVID needs. Remarkably, however, within classrooms, a stark difference can be observed. Research suggests that teachers want to include further opportunities to develop children holistically, however, Early Years teachers obliged to ensure that children meet the Early Learning Goals and are ready to progress to Key Stage 1.
Early Years teachers face pressures from Head teachers, KS1 teachers, Ofsted, and parents to prepare children to be “school ready” and also ready for the KS1 formalised curriculum. These pressures mean that the time to let children lead their own learning is reduced. As this happens, the Prime Areas are not prioritised and can often be ignored. Policy makers need to consider that Early Years teachers do know and understand what the children in their care need, and yes, their judgement should be valued. This, therefore, stresses the importance of supporting Early Years teachers who are eager to focus on the individual needs of children, rather than the unnecessary push for “school readiness”. Early years teachers must be encouraged to promote high-quality learning opportunities that intertwine children’s areas of learning, and in particular PSED and Communication and Language skills that children may be lacking after COVID. Afterall, our Early Years teachers have the role to work on preparing children for life. They need to be trusted to guide children through the process by permanently stopping the “school readiness” agenda.
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www.education-today.co.uk
Outdoor learning In her regular column this month,
STEMtastic! founder KIRSTY BERTENSHAW offers some practical advice on using your outside space to its maximum advantage.
We all know the physical and mental health benefits of being outside in the fresh air
and sunshine each day. Warmer days tempt us to be outside for our lessons, and there are plenty of genuine activities that require the outside space available to us. Collating data and data handling
Leaves from different plants provide a chance to explore variation within plant species and between species. Leaves of one type could be measured for length using a ruler, tree circumference could be measured using tape measures, or a population survey conducted. With the data recorded, students can present it as graphs and draw conclusions. Anomalous results could be identified, and the mean, median, mode and range calculated too. Quadrat sampling could be carried out on the school field, especially if it hasn’t been mowed yet. It’s a good idea to have paper flowers to scatter just in case the area is mowed unexpectedly. Modelling sizes
Using chalk on the playground or paper on the school field, a scale model of the solar system can be constructed. This is a useful activity to understand the vastness of our solar system as well as order the planets correctly, compare sizes and even characteristics such as number of moons. Students could even see by walking an ‘orbit’ of the sun how the distance between the sun and planets affects the length of a year on each planet. Similarly, a scale model of an atom can be constructed. Solar energy
Try setting up circuit kits with solar panels and voltmeters to measure the energy from the sun outside. Make a sundial and mark the shadow each hour to tell the time. Make a solar cooker and measure the temperatures inside using an infra-red thermometer – this could be combined with learning about alternative energy sources and solving the energy crisis as well as reducing global warming and deforestation. STEM projects
Messy stem projects could be done or tested outside to limit the cleanup required. Practical Action have several challenges that include water, like a floating garden or flood proof houses. Floating and sinking experiments outside would also limit the risk of slipping in spillages.
Outside maths
Make sure each student has a protractor and grids to record data, then challenge them to find as many different angles as they can in ten minutes and identify if they are acute, obtuse, reflex, right angles etc. This could include the angles between trees and their branches, the angles around walls, the angle of shadows cast on the ground. A large space allows for practising position and direction instructions or getting students to write their own instructions. Draw pictures on the playground in chalk and a compass for directions, or use a grid if the playground has one printed. How can students get from the starting square to the butterfly, for example. How many ways can you direct someone to reach the end point using direction instructions? The class can test each other’s instructions and see whether they make sense to someone else.
Information or treasure hunts
Use the outside space to spread out information for students to find and record details on their own piece of paper. Alternatively, set up a treasure hunt where students follow clues to find the hidden ‘treasure’. The clues could be in a different language or include Roman numerals to find the right tree or bench for the next clue. Perhaps students could find all the hidden cards and then, when they bring them back, match them up e.g., maths equations to answers, keywords to definitions such as habitat or population.
Kirsty is the founder of STEMtastic, an education consultancy with a focus on Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths
www.stemtastic.co.uk
June 2023
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