Tag: research

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Cockfosters Nursery Early Years Education Enfield Nursery High Scope early years approach Montessori Ofsted outstanding Pre-School Learning Reading for early years Reggio Emilia Research on Early Years Development

Making marks, making meaning: the importance of mark-making in early learning

Children need to be able to experiment with making marks from an early age using a range of resources as well as their sense and their bodies. There is a wide set of skills that children need to master in order to be able to use mark-making tools effectively, such as dexterity and coordination, and purely cognitive skills like dealing with symbols. Parents, carers and teachers all need to get on board and become more fascinated by children’s mark-making journeys and provide a wealth of opportunities to celebrate achievements and development of these skills.

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Early Years Education Early Years Foundation Stage High Scope early years approach Ofsted outstanding Reading for early years Reggio Emilia Research on Early Years Development

High Scope Approach – the importance of reflection

“What did I do today? Let me think”
Eloise, age 4

Focused Weeks

During our “focused weeks” this Summer Term we explored in detail a specific educational approach every time. As part of this process, we made a lot of progress in implementing more elements of the High Scope approach. This is one of the four core early years educational methodologies that we follow as part of our overall hybrid philosophy.

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Early Years Education Early Years Foundation Stage Enfield Nursery Forest Schools Montessori Ofsted outstanding Reggio Emilia Research on Early Years Development

‘Focused Weeks’ at Alphablocks Nursery School

Our hybrid educational approach at Alphablocks Nursery School has been recognised for its beneficial mix of pedagogical methods, which are naturally incorporated in our everyday practice and guide our children’s learning journeys. During this Spring Term we are focusing on a different approach every two-week ‘cycle’ (we call these ‘focused weeks’). Regular updates will be published in our blog.

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Cockfosters Nursery Early Mathematics Early Years Education Enfield Nursery Pre-School Learning Research on Early Years Development

Children’s language development and overall well-being

Language and Wellbeing

An important piece of research into language development and how it can be used as an indicator of a child’s well-being, was published recently, and we have been looking at its implications for early years practice.

The report highlights the centrality of language development for the overall development of a child (in the wider social, emotional, and cognitive contexts). In the words of its authors:

Early language acquisition impacts on all aspects of young children’s non-physical development. It contributes to their ability to manage emotions and communicate feelings, to establish and maintain relationships, to think symbolically, and to learn to read and write.

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