Professional Pedagogy For Early Childhood Education

l Pedagogy
Professiona ildhood
for Early Ch n
Educatio
Donegal County Childcare Committee Ltd.

Coiste Cúram Páistí Chontae Dhún na nGall Teo.
The Professional Pedagogy Project - Supporting Every Childs Right to Early Education
Supporting Every Child’s
Right to Early Education
© DCCC Publishing 2012

ISBN: 978-1-907235-05-4
i Professional Pedagogy for Early Childhood Education
By Avril McMonagle
The Author
Avril McMonagle has worked as Manager of Donegal County Childcare since 2008
and before this she worked as part of the team that developed Aistear; the first national
curriculum for early childhood education in Ireland.
Avril is the author of a range of early childhood education publications including Building
Pictures of Learning: Meaningful Assessment in Early Childhood (2010) and was the
development supervisor and editor of Naíonáin le Chéile: Early Childhood Identity and
Belonging Programme (2011) and has had articles published in the OMEP Ireland peer
reviewed Journal of Early Childhood Studies and the Education Matters Yearbook. She has written and presented a range
of academic papers on early childhood care and education at national and international conferences and has written core
modules for the Degree in Early Childhood Care Education and Health.
She has been responsible for the development of a range of innovative initiatives to enhance and support the work of the
early childhood sector locally, regionally and nationally. Not least she was the driving force securing a significant investment
in the form of the National Early Years Access Initiative funding to develop a new training and parental support programme
aimed at informing future early childhood policy in Ireland. Donegal was only one of 11 projects nationally to secure funding
and the only county north of Dublin to be successful.
Avril holds an Honours Degree in Early Childhood and a Masters Degree in Education from Queens University Belfast.
Professional Pedagogy for Early Childhood Education ii
Contents
Donegal County Childcare Committee Ltd (DCCC)..................................................................................................................................................... 1
Background to the Professional Pedagogy Project (PPP)............................................................................................................................... 1
Engaging with Síolta and Aistear through the PPP................................................................................................................................................... 1
Acknowledgements....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 2
Terminology................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 2
Additional Resources to Support the Professional Pedagogy Project...................................................................................... 3
Prologue: National Early Childhood Policy as Mechanisms for Quality Practice..................................................... 3

The prologue provides a contextual background to this publication in terms of National Policy for Early Childhood Care and
Education. Particular attention is drawn to Ireland’s national quality and curriculum frameworks Síolta and Aistear as well as the
National Literacy and Numeracy Strategy.
Section 1: Play is work, Play is learning. ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 9

This section considers play and a play curriculum, the different types of play and their benefits for children’s learning and
development. The area of language, literacy and numeracy is highlighted as a key component to support holistic learning and
development.
Section 2: Enabling Children to Learn ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 21

This section promotes the idea that children’s personal and emotional ability rather, than a linear focus on intellectual ability, is
the primary function of early education. The concept of positive dispositions to learn are explored and the Key Person System
is highlighted as a supportive mechanism for emotional well-being.
Section 3: Pedagogical Techniques and Strategies............................................................................................................................................... 29

This section explores the area of professional pedagogy in early childhood education and highlights nine key pedagogical
strategies by explaining what the strategies are, how they benefit young children’s learning and development and how the
strategies can be implemented as part of everyday practice.
Section 4: Advancing Learning and Development through Assessment ........................................................................ 45

This section explores meaningful assessment practice for early childhood education and includes an overview of the Learning
Story Approach, documentation and assessment practice and the role of the early childhood educator in the assessment
process.
Section 5: Planning and Reflecting on Professional Practice................................................................................................................ 56

This section considers the processes of planning and reflection as part of pedagogical practice in early childhood education
and in particular the links between planning and assessment practice. The area of enabling children to become effective
planners is also considered as is the importance of being a reflective educator.
Section 6: Promoting Effective Transitions......................................................................................................................................................................... 70

This section discusses the process of transitions in early childhood education and the importance of using information gained
from assessment practice to inform and support transitions across educational settings.
1 Professional Pedagogy for Early Childhood Education
Donegal County Childcare

Committee Ltd (DCCC)

Coiste Cúram Páistí Chontae Dhún na nGall Teo.
Donegal County Childcare Committee Ltd. (DCCC) is a local government-supported agency that works for the development,
sustainability and advancement of high quality early childhood care and education in County Donegal.
DCCC Mission Statement:

‘Proactively working in partnership and effecting positive change with our partners,
providers and key stakeholders and implementing the National Childcare Funding
Programmes and Quality Standards on behalf of the Department of Children and
Youth Affairs at local level in County Donegal.’
Background to the
Professional Pedagogy Project
The National Early Years Access Initiative (NEYAI) is a collaborative partnership between The Atlantic Philanthropies, The
Mount Street Club Trustees, The Office of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, The Early Years Education Policy Unit,
The Department of Education and Skills and Pobal. This tailored initiative funded 11 projects nationally that collectively had
the capacity to demonstrate innovative inter-agency responses to the provision of early childhood care, education and
development, inform a community-based model to underpin the local delivery of joined up services to children and families;
influence early years’ mainstream practice and provision and contribute to the ongoing development of early years’ policy. To
read more about the NEYAI, please access the Pobal website www.pobal.ie.
Following a competitive funding application process between July 2010 and May 2011, the Donegal NEYAI Consortium
successfully secured funding for an innovative 3-year professional development project under the National Early Years Access
Initiative (NEYAI). DCCC was the lead partner in a consortium project made up of representatives from a variety of local
agencies with an interest in early childhood care and education to develop a new initiative called the Professional Pedagogy
Project (PPP). The Professional Pedagogy Project is one of only 11 demonstration projects nationally to be funded under a
newly developed programme specifically devised for the advancement of early childhood care and education from 2011-2014.
Engaging with Siolta and Aistear through

the Professional Pedagogy Project
The NEYAI is based on the recognition that Síolta: The National Quality Framework for Early Childhood Education (2006) and
Aistear: The Early Childhood Curriculum Framework (2009) are the fundamental bedrocks and reference points for the future
Professional Pedagogy for Early Childhood Education 2
growth and development of early childhood care and education in Ireland. Together they provide a framework of quality and
practice guidance to inform the work of the early childhood care and education sector in working with children 0-6 years.
As Ireland’s economic environment finds itself in a challenging situation, the need for quality, appropriate early intervention
for children has never been more important. Early childhood service providers, educators and parents are feeling the strain
with young children as vulnerable recipients of the negative impact on their immediate and wider social environment. The
practical application of Síolta and Aistear through the Professional Pedagogy Project has the potential to provide consistent
and appropriate care and education for children, both in out of home settings. The meaningful link with parents promoted
by the PPP will value parents as partners in the child’s learning and development and support parents in their role. Therefore
the PPP reflects various aspects of the Síolta and Aistear frameworks but can be tailored to suit the individual capacity of early
childhood service providers, parents and children.
The methods, practice and processes promoted within this document are underpinned by the principles and
philosophy of Síolta and Aistear. Engagement with early childhood pedagogical practice as outlined will
enable educators working with children 0-6 years to practically implement Aistear through their everyday
practice and to use Síolta as a mechanism by which to measure their success in areas relating to professional
pedagogical practice.
Acknowledgements
The Donegal Consortium would like to thank the following agencies and individuals who have contributed to the success of
the NEYAI Professional Pedagogy Project:
• Project funders namely The Atlantic Philanthropies, The Mount Street Club Trustees, The Office of the Minister for Children
and Youth Affairs, the Early Years Education Policy Unit, Dept of Education and Skills and Pobal.
• The Donegal NEYAI Consortium and NEYAI Strategic Planning Group
• The NEYAI PPP Team - Claire McMonagle and Louise Toner - NEYAI Quality Mentors, Orán MacSuibhne - NEYAI
Communications Officer and Avril McMonagle - Project Manager, DCCC.
• The NEYAI Team at Pobal
• The National Evaluation Team, Kieran McKeown and Trutz Hasse
• Participating early childhood services namely Little Stars Pre-School, Moville; Bizzy Bees Crèche/Playschool, Clonmany,
Donagh Crèche Ltd, Carndonagh; Quigley’s Point Community Centre Playgroup; Bomany Nursery and Montessori
School Letterkenny; Errigal Montessori School and Crèche, Letterkenny; Raphoe Community Playgroup; Crossroads and
Killygordon Community Playgroup Ltd; Little Stars, Laghey and Bundoran Community Childcare.
Terminology
Children: The reader should assume that when the term ‘children’ is used, this is meant to include children with a range of
abilities, personalities, strengths, needs, backgrounds and interests. The terms ‘His/‘Her’ or ‘He/She’are used intermittingly
throughout the document to represent both boys and girls equally.
Parents: The term ‘Parent’ or ‘Parents’ is used to represent the people who care for the child, that is mothers, fathers, foster
carers, step-parents, grandparents, single parents, heterosexual or same sex couples.
Early Childhood Educator: This generally used term describes all those who work in early childhood care and education
services including Practitioners, Childminders, Teachers, Special Needs Teachers/Assistants, Playworkers and Volunteers.
Additional Resources to Support the Delivery

of the Professional Pedagogy Project
The tools and templates required to support the Assessment, Documentation, Planning and
Transition elements of this handbook can be found in Donegal County Childcare’s Building Ca
thr pturin
St ough L g uniq
orie ue
s... earnin nes
Pictures of Learning: Meaningful Assessment in Early Childhood (2009). Building g s
Pictures of Learning is a practical resource that aims to assist early childhood care and
education services to implement meaningful assessment procedures to inform, support
and enhance children’s learning and development. The Learning Story Approach is used
throughout the different sections as an effective, child-centred assessment approach that
integrates, supports and enhances all aspects of learning and development; informs the
provision of appropriate learning opportunities and reveals the uniqueness of the young
child as a learner.
Coiste Cúra
Donegal Counm Páistí Chon
ty Childcare tae Dhún
Committee na nGall Teo.
Ltd.
Guidance, information and practical examples of Child Well-

being and Identity and Belonging can be found in Donegal
County Childcare’s Naíonáin le Chéile: Early Childhood
Identity and Belonging Programme (2011). Naíonáin le Chéile
is an innovative programme that provides practical training,
meaningful activities and appropriate educational resources
for early childhood educators working with children 0-5 years
around the areas of diversity, individuality and identity and
promotes a sense of belonging through the mediums of art
and drama.
The delivery of the Professional Pedagogy training programme will draw

upon all of or some elements of these existing DCCC training programmes.
Prologue: National Early Childhood Policy

as Mechanisms for Quality Practice
It is clear that there is good political will for the development of high quality early childhood care and education in Ireland and
the increased visibility of children in government policy in recent years is a welcome development. The forthcoming National
Early Years Strategy will be a mechanism to build on the foundations of the preceding National Children’s Strategy in a way that
will require targeted and measurable outcomes for children.
Ireland now has at its disposal a range of contemporary, forward thinking frameworks on which to build quality early
childhood practice including Aistear the Early Childhood Curriculum Framework and Síolta the National Quality Framework
for Early Childhood Education. These frameworks, used in conjunction with the National Literacy and Numeracy Strategy and
the Workforce Development Plan for the Early Childhood Sector have the potential to transform early childhood care and
education for the benefit of children, families, society and the economy as a whole.
Síolta is a quality assurance process which addresses all aspects of practice in early childhood care and education services. It
is designed to support all those concerned with the provision

of quality early childhood care and education to participate
in a developmental journey towards the improvement and
enrichment of young children’s learning experiences. The benefits
of a set of overarching standards include assurance that there is
consistency in the quality of provision for children between the
ages of birth to 6 years, lending itself to an integrated approach to
early childhood care and education.
Aistear is a curriculum framework for children from birth to

six years. It provides information to help adults to plan for and
provide enjoyable and challenging learning experiences so that
all children can grow and develop as competent and confident
learners. Aistear describes the types of learning (dispositions,
values and attitudes, skills, knowledge and understanding) that
are important for children in early childhood and offers ideas and
suggestions of how this learning can be nurtured. Aistear also
provides guidelines on supporting children’s learning through
partnerships with parents, interactions with others, play and
assessment.
The development of Síolta and Aistear represent important milestones in early childhood care and education in Ireland. For the
first time, childcare services can avail of guidelines that have been developed to suit the unique and diverse needs of children
growing up in Ireland. Síolta and Aistear build on and work in harmony with Irish legislative requirements, specifically the Child
Care (Pre-School Services) (no 2) Regulations 2006, to enhance the quality of early childhood care and education services to
children and families.
July 2011 saw the launch of a National Strategy to improve Literacy and Numeracy among children and young people
called ‘Literacy and numeracy for learning and life’ 2011-2020. The Strategy acknowledges that children will develop good
literacy and numeracy skills if those abilities are fostered in a consistent way from early childhood to the end of second-level
education. This is a significant if not long overdue recognition of the importance of learning from birth and of the role of early
childhood education in building solid foundations for all future learning.
The strategy is focussed on actions that the education system can take to ensure early childhood education services, primary
and second-level schools provide the best possible opportunities for children to acquire good literacy and numeracy skills. The
strategy seeks to address the significant concerns about how well children are developing in terms of literacy and numeracy
skills that they need to participate fully in the education system, to live satisfying and rewarding lives, and to participate as
active and informed citizens in society. Highlighted in the strategy is the need for the early childhood care and education
sector to take charge of instilling literacy and numeracy skills into their curriculum plans as a means of ensuring that children
are being supported through this area of learning and development right from birth.
Early Childhood - a distinctive and unique chapter in a child’s life

A socio-cultural view of learning
Síolta and Aistear are built upon a socio-cultural perspective of child centred learning which highlights the social and cultural
nature of learning and development in early childhood. A socio-cultural view suggests that learning leads the developmental
process, with children acquiring the dispositions, attitudes and values, skills, knowledge and understanding of their immediate
environment as they interact with others.
Síolta and Aistear support a socio-cultural view of learning and development as it promotes the child as a competent learner
from birth and as an active agent in his/her own development through his/her interactions with the world. Both frameworks
promote the uniqueness of the child and embrace the notion of active learning, where children learn by doing things and
through respectful and meaningful relationships with others. Although Síolta and Aistear are two separate frameworks, there
are many benefits to using them together. Aistear will enable early childhood educators to develop their practice around many
of the Síolta quality standards including curriculum, partnership with parents, identity and belonging, interactions and play.
Both frameworks are built upon a set of common underpinning principles that celebrate early childhood as a distinctive and
unique chapter in a child’s life that will lay the underlying foundations for all future learning and development.
In order to complement this view, the assessment response needs to be consistent with a socio-cultural view of learning and
development where the child is a valued, active agent in the learning process. This requires a meaningful assessment approach
such as the Learning Story Approach (section 4), to reflect the complexity of interactions between the child, the context and
the people or objects that contribute to learning at any given time.
Aistear: the Early Childhood Curriculum Framework

Aistear is a curriculum framework for children from birth to six years.
It provides information to help adults plan for and provide enjoyable and
challenging learning experiences so that all children can grow and develop as
competent and confident learners. Aistear describes the types of learning
(dispositions, values and attitudes, skills, knowledge, and understanding) that
are important for children in their early years, and offers ideas and suggestions
for how this learning might be nurtured in children.
Aistear is based on 12 broad principles. There are many connections between these and the principles of Síolta. Each
principle is presented using a short theoretical statement, which is then explained from the child’s perspective. Aistear uses
four themes that connect and overlap with each other to outline children’s learning and development. The themes are:
Well-being
Identity and Belonging
Communicating
Exploring and Thinking
Guidelines offer support in using Aistear’s principles and themes in working with children. These guidelines describe
good practice in:
• building partnerships between parents and educators

• learning and developing through interactions
• learning and developing through play
• supporting learning and development through assessment.
Aistear is a distinctive curriculum framework as developmental domains and/or curriculum subjects are not used to frame
learning opportunities. This type of curriculum framework overarches the whole of early childhood, a practice endorsed by
the OECD in 2004. Aistear uses the 4 learning themes to present the content of children’s learning and development. This
reflects the holistic nature of young children’s learning and development where each aspect of learning is interconnected and
interdependent. In addition, each theme connects with most, if not all developmental domains and the subjects in the Infant
Curriculum in primary schools.
Although Síolta and Aistear are two separate frameworks, there are many benefits to using them together. Aistear will enable
early childhood educators to develop their curriculum and pedagogical practice around many of the Síolta standards including
curriculum, partnership with parents, identity and belonging, interactions and play.
What does learning and development in early childhood look like?

When we think of young children, we tend to think of them in terms of their small physical size. It is important to remember
that, although children will develop physically over time, they are whole human beings from birth. Therefore, learning and
development in early childhood is holistic – meaning all aspects are interconnected and mutually dependent.
Aistear at a glance
Well-being
The theme of Well-being is about children being confident, happy and
healthy. Well-being has two main elements: psychological well-being (including
feeling and thinking) and physical well-being.
Children’s relationships and interactions with their families and communities contribute significantly to their sense of well-
being. Children need to feel valued, respected, empowered, cared for and included. They also need to respect themselves,
others and their environment.
Children become positive about themselves and their learning when adults value them for who they are. This helps
children to become resilient and resourceful and to learn to cope with challenge and change. Being flexible and having a
positive outlook on learning and on life is crucial.
Physical well-being is important for learning and development as this enables children to explore, to investigate, and to
challenge themselves in the environment. A growing awareness of their bodies and abilities is also part of this.
The adult supports children’s psychological and physical well-being by helping them to make healthy choices about
nutrition, hygiene and exercise. The adult also helps children towards independence by providing them with choice in
their activities and by giving children opportunities to make decisions and to take the lead.
In partnership with the adult, children will:
• gain increasing control and co-ordination of body movements

• discover, explore and refine gross and fine motor skills
• show good judgement when taking risks
• express themselves creatively and experience the arts
• enjoy themselves and have fun through a variety of types of play
• develop and nurture their sense of wonder and awe
• become reflective and think flexibly
• care for the environment
• show increasing independence and be able to make choices and decisions
• demonstrate a sense of mastery and belief in their own abilities and display learning dispositions, such as
determination and perseverance.
Identity and Belonging

The theme of Identity and Belonging is about children developing a positive sense of who they are, feeling
that they are valued and respected as part of a family and community.
From birth, children develop a sense of who they are. Children’s sense of who they are is shaped by their characteristics,
their behaviour and their understanding of themselves, their family and others.
Belonging is about having a secure relationship with or a connection with a particular group of people. When children
feel a sense of belonging and sense of pride in their families, their peers and their communities, they can be emotionally
strong, self-assured and able to deal with challenges and difficulties. This creates an important foundation for their learning
and development.
Giving children messages of respect, love, approval and encouragement enables them to develop a positive sense of who
they are and a feeling that they have an important contribution to make wherever they are. Positive messages about their
families, backgrounds, cultures and beliefs give them confidence to voice their views and opinions, to make choices and to
help shape their own learning.

• have strong self-identities and will feel respected and affirmed as unique individuals
• feel that they have a place and a right to belong to the group
• be able to share personal experiences about their own families and cultures
• see themselves as part of a wider community and know about their local area, including some of its places, features
and people
• express their views and help make decisions in matters that affect them
• understand the rules and the boundaries of acceptable behaviour
• interact, work co-operatively and help others
• demonstrate the skills of co-operation, responsibility, negotiation and conflict resolution.
• see themselves as capable learners and show increasing confidence and self-assurance in directing their own learning
• demonstrate dispositions like curiosity, persistence and responsibility
• experience learning opportunities that are based on personal interests and linked to their home, community and culture
• be motivated and begin to think about and recognise their own progress and achievements.
Communicating
The theme of Communicating is about children sharing their experiences, thoughts, ideas, and feelings with
others with growing confidence and competence in a variety of ways and for a variety of purposes.
Communicating involves giving, receiving and making sense of information. Children do this by using non-verbal means
of communication, talking, listening, thinking and understanding. Children communicate in many different ways including
facial expressions, gestures, body movements, sounds and language. Children’s language is more than words, phrases and
sentences. It includes art, Braille, dance, drama, music, poetry, pictures, sculpture, signing and stories.
Being a good communicator is crucial to children’s development. The adult encourages children to communicate by
listening to them, interpreting what they are saying, responding to them and by modelling good communication. The
adult also provides an environment which motivates children to interact with others and with the objects and places
in it. By capturing children’s interest and curiosity and challenging them to explore and to share their adventures and
discoveries with others, this can fuel their thinking, imagination and creativity, thereby enriching communication. These
early experiences support children in becoming confident and competent communicators.

• use a range of body movements, facial expressions and early vocalisations to show feelings and share information
• explore sound, pattern, rhythm and repetition in language
• use language with confidence and competence for giving and receiving information, asking questions, requesting,
refusing, negotiating, problem-solving, imagining and recreating roles and situations, and clarifying thinking, ideas
and feelings
• be positive about their home language, and know that they can use different languages to communicate with
different people and in different situations.
• use books and ICT for fun, to gain information and broaden their understanding of the world
• have opportunities to use a variety of mark-making materials and implements in an enjoyable and meaningful way
• share their feelings, thoughts and ideas by story-telling, moving to music, role-playing and responding to these
experiences
• express themselves through the visual arts using skills such as cutting, drawing, gluing or painting
• listen to and respond to a variety of types of music, sing songs and make music using instruments.
Exploring and Thinking

The theme of Exploring and Thinking is about children making sense of the things, places and people in their
world by interacting with others, playing, investigating, questioning and refining their ideas.
Children use their senses, their minds and their bodies to find out about and make sense of what they see, feel and
experience in the world around them. They gather information and develop new skills, including thinking skills. They form
ideas and theories and test these out. They refine their ideas through exploring their environment actively and through
interacting and communicating with adults and with other children.
Much of this happens through play and other experiences that allow children to be creative, to take risks and to make
discoveries. As they learn, they retest their theories adjusting them to take on board new discoveries and new experiences.
As well as building knowledge and developing skills, children also need to develop positive dispositions and attitudes
towards learning. They have an innate drive to get to know the workings of their world. The adult can foster learning by
planning activities for them through which they can experience success as learners. This means planning activities that are
suited to children’s individual needs and connect with their experiences and interests while at the same time challenging
them to extend their knowledge and refine their skills.

• engage, explore and experiment in their environment and use new physical skills including skills to manipulate
objects and materials
• learn about the natural environment and its features, materials, animals and plants and their own responsibility as
carers
• come to understand concepts such as matching, ordering, sorting, size, weight, height, length and capacity, in an
enjoyable and meaningful way
• develop and use skills and strategies for observing, questioning, investigating, negotiating and problem-solving, and
come to see themselves as explorers and thinkers
• collaborate with others to share interests and to solve problems confidently using their creativity and imagination to
think of new ways to solve problems
• make marks and use drawing, painting and model-making to record objects, events and ideas
• use books and ICT (software and the internet) for enjoyment and as a source of information
• demonstrate growing confidence in being able to do things for themselves
• address challenges and cope with frustrations
• make decisions and take increasing responsibility for their own learning.
Where do I find out more ...
The Early Childhood Curriculum Framework (2009) NCCA

www.ncca.ie
The National Quality Framework for Early Childhood Education (2006)

www.siolta.ie
Section 1:
y is W o rk ,
Pla in g
s L earn
Play i
“Children have the right to play. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the
Child recognises the right of the child to rest and leisure and to engage in play and
recreational activities appropriate to the age of the child and to participate freely in
cultural life and the arts.”
(UNICEF, 1989).
r:
will conside
This section
* What is Pla
y?
listically through Play
Ho
an d Developing
* Le arning
d oes pla y look like?
lay - What
* Types of P ulum for Pla
y
n g a C u rr ic
* Promoti
n g La ng u age, Literacy
* Supporti ugh Play
era cy th ro
and Num
What is Play?
Play is a natural channel for young children’s thinking, learning and development and is central to their holistic well-being.
All children need and have a right to play. Play is what children do when they follow their own ideas and interests, in their
own way and for their own reasons. Play physically strengthens children’s bodies, expands their minds and influences
many dimensions of development and is a powerful tool for learning. For young children, play is a way of strengthening
meaningful relationships and co-operation with others and supports the development and use of language. An enriched
play environment, indoors and outdoors, will stimulate children’s imagination, extend their sense of wonder, enable them to
experience success and develop a positive attitude towards learning. To achieve this, children need appropriate periods of time
for learning through sustained involvement in play.
What do we know about Play and Learning in Early Childhood?

Play is not easily defined. It has many dimensions and can be many different things. Play can be frivolous, serious, absorbing
and captivating. Play can be gentle or demanding, it can be simple or amazingly complex. Play is very personal to the
individual child and is without rules.
What is easily defined though, is that play enables the child to make sense of the world in which she lives, the people in her
world, concepts, reality, language and relationships. Essential to high quality play is that the child’s play is freely chosen, self-
directed and based on his personally meaningful interests. In other words, the play is owned by the child with the adult as a
partner in learning. Play enables the child to extend her sense of wonder, experience success and develop a positive attitude
towards learning.
As parents and early childhood educators, we need to provide the best play opportunities possible for children. Opportunities
that are full of potential and possibilities to enable the child to explore, engage, question and discover. First-hand experiences
through play are the primary means for the child to actively engage with his environment and to construct knowledge,
meaning and understanding. The development of the child’s self-image and feelings of self-worth are also accessed through
play. Therefore, multiple opportunities for sustained involvement in play alongside opportunities for shared thinking,
discussion and talk between adult and child are essential for learning, growth and development.
efi ts in al l area s of th e child’s well-being,

ben
Play brings a wealth of
ent.
learning and developm practice and refine skills.
Regular physical
e motor control and to
ab les ch ildren to gain small and larg
Physi ca lly , pla y en and physical well-being. es a vehicle for the child
to
y pro mo tes a he alt hy attitude towards nutrition tio n and creativity. Play provid
activit ina tio n, co nc en tra
tes memory, imag
Cognitively, play stimula en their
e ide as, qu est ion , pre dic t and solve problems.
n-v erb al co mm un ica tio n skills. Children will broad
explor bal and no
to the development of ver guage.
Linguistically, play leads kin g sen se of the ir experiences through lan children are able to do thi
s,
rld by ma out their feelings. When
understanding of the wo , rec og nis e an d tal k ab h the ir pe ers .
les children to name cult situations and intera
ct wit
Emotionally, play enab es of stress , react appropriately to diffi sha re, negotiate,
co pe in tim of be ha vio ur,
they are better able to to for m rel ati on shi ps, learn the rules
ssible for children
Socially, play makes it po
group. ir natural instincts and
cooperate and be part of a
al pro ces s for children as it follows the s.
spiritual growth as a na tur respect and value system
Spiritually, play nurtures of wo nd er an d fac ilita tes the development of
children’s sense
curiosities. Play facilitates
Learning and Developing Holistically

through Play
Together with a sound knowledge of the child’s individual stage of development, the educator can ensure that even the
most everyday activity can become a valuable holistic learning experience for the child. When we think of the young child,
it is important to see him as ‘whole’ in terms of his learning and development. For example, if different aspects of a child’s
development are divided into individual strands, the child can be seen as a collection of different bits and pieces instead of
a whole person. When the young child is developing physically, he is also developing ideas, feelings and thinking skills at the
same time.
Development and learning are therefore interconnected, interdependent and inseparable. When educators view child
development in this way and plan play and learning opportunities accordingly, a holistic approach is being utilised. The
physical, social and emotional context in which children live has a powerful influence on the effectiveness of learning
opportunities. For example, children’s ability to develop relationships with others is affected by their self esteem, their ability
to communicate, to move and to think. It is important to remember that while children learn much through unassisted play,
learning is enriched and extended when the adult is involved through sensitive and timely intervention.
Aistear provides a framework for holistic learning and development brought to life by an adult who creates
a meaningful play environment, interacts with children when appropriate, co-constructs learning through
questioning, suggestion, demonstration and encouragement, and monitors and assesses both the children and
the activity to inform future planning.
Types of Play and their Value to

Development and Learning
Good quality play provision begins with providing activities to stimulate all the areas of development and learning. This
includes Imaginative (Pretend) Play, Construction (Manipulative) Play, Creative Play and Physical Play.
What is Imaginative Play?

Imaginative play includes pretend, fantasy and symbolic play, often referred to as role-play. Through imaginative or pretend play,
children can practice and come to terms with different aspects of daily life. Role reversal is very common in imaginative play and
many children like to use dressing up clothes as part of their imaginative play-these are wonderful props and allow children to extend
imagination and play. Fantasy play is common between the ages of three and eight, when children pretend to be, for example a
superhero or an action figure. This type of play decreases as a sense of reasoning increases. Symbolic play happens when children use
an object in their play but pretend it is something else, for example pretending buttons are money.
How does Imaginative Play benefit Development and Learning?

Imaginative play develops self-expression as well as giving children the opportunity to explore their experiences. Children solve
problems during imaginative play, as they act out things that have happened or could happen. Imaginative play helps children to see
things from others’ point of view. It develops social skills, as children often play together for such activities, and fine and gross motor
skills – for example dressing up will require children to use fine manipulative skills, whereas running around pretending to be an action
figure will help develop co-ordination and balance.
What is Construction (Manipulative) Play?

This type of play can use a range of materials including bricks, lego, and train sets. There is usually an end product but for young children
this is not the most important thing, as they are more interested in the process of what they are doing and often do not have an end
product in mind when they start. Young children will often not decide ‘what it is’ until well into the work. Older children are more concerned
about the end product and will often set out to make a particular thing. Some older children find it difficult to work constructively without
knowing what end product they are aiming to produce-they cannot get started until they have a clear idea in mind.
How does Construction (Manipulative) Play benefit Development and Learning?

Manipulative play is suitable for all stages of play as it can be an individual activity such as puzzles, activities carried out alongside each
other such as building with bricks (parallel), or done in groups such as train sets or large floor puzzles (co-operative). Children can become
fully engrossed in an activity and this strong concentration should not be broken as it disrupts their train of thought and reduces potential
satisfaction. It is important that there is adequate time for a child to complete an activity once started. In this type of play the adult should
offer suggestions and encourage children to complete their task. The adult can develop language skills by actively encouraging children to
describe what they are doing.
What is Creative Play?

Creative play covers a wide range of activities from art and craft work such as drawing, modelling and painting, to self expression
through music, drama, puppetry and dance. Similar to manipulative play, activities can be carried out alone or as part of a group.
How does Creative Play benefit development and Learning?

A lot of learning takes place through creative play – children can learn about the properties of materials, they see and can create
pictures, patterns, shapes and symbols. When a wide range of materials are offered, children can learn about different colours and
textures. Creative play offers the opportunity for children to develop fine manipulative skills because of the precise nature of many of
the movements involved in activities such as painting, cutting, sticking and drawing. It also allows children to experiment and make
discoveries for example through colour mixing. Adults should not attempt to make a child’s creative work seem more acceptable to
adult eyes. They should avoid interfering and making statements such as ‘if you put this here it will look more like a house’. This can
lead to a child becoming dependent on an adult for ideas and reduce a child’s creativity. It is much more important that adults praise
children for their attempts and make them feel proud of their work. Work should be displayed without being altered, but by using the
skills of display an adult can present the work effectively.
What is Physical Play?

Physical Play covers many different activities, which can be indoor or outdoor. It can involve the use of equipment like climbing
frames, balls or hoops or may require no equipment at all. Children enjoy climbing, running, jumping and balancing either in natural
environments such as woods or parks, or on manufactured large equipment such as balancing beams and tunnels.
How does Physical Play benefit development and Learning?

Physical activities are not only healthy, as they encourage children to eat and sleep well, but also develop self-confidence and physical
confidence. Physical play develops both fine and gross motor skills as well as muscle control. It develops an awareness of space and
develops an ability to take risks. Outdoor play often involves others and so it develops skills of turn taking and co-operation. It is
important to provide opportunities for physical play which are not too challenging for children but not too easy as they quickly become
bored. Too often, adults supervising physical play do so from a distance and do not become involved with the play. Closer attention
would allow the adult to anticipate the next stage of development and make suitable provision for it while ensuring a safe and secure
environment is maintained.
Promoting a Curriculum for Play

Teaching young children is a creative process. Educators do not need to follow a prescribed programme as might someone
teaching adults a class in biology or history. Nor can teachers simply react to what happens each day, without any goals or
plans in mind. Rather, early childhood educators depend on a curriculum framework that sets out a philosophy, goals, and
objectives for children as well as guidelines for teaching that address all aspects of a child’s holistic development. An early
childhood curriculum provides the framework for what actually happens in a planned environment where children interact
with materials, their peers and adults. The primary goal is to help young children use the environment productively and see
themselves as capable learners - as individuals who are developing the skills and understandings that will enable them to
make sense of the world and to succeed in it.
A curriculum is a written plan that sets out:

• The goals for children’s development and learning
• The experiences through which they will achieve these goals
• What educators and parents do to help children achieve these goals
• The materials needed to support the implementation of the curriculum.
There are many comprehensive approaches to the early childhood curriculum designed to promote young children’s learning
and development. Over the past twenty years, many countries, including Ireland, have adopted a national early childhood
curriculum to support early childhood educators to provide appropriate early learning experiences for children. Aistear
represents Ireland’s first curriculum framework that captures the early childhood phase – from the time a child is born to the
time she completes her first year in primary school.
Each curriculum approach puts forward its own particular view of the child, childhood and the learning and development
process. However, play-based curriculum models have much in common. Play-based models such as Aistear are based on the
idea that children learn through active involvement with their environment and that this is best achieved through play. They
merely differ in the structure and framework provided for children’s learning and the emphasis they place upon certain aspects
of that learning. All play-based models acknowledge that childhood is a sensitive learning time and that children are highly
receptive to all experiences.
Adopting a specific approach to the delivery of the early childhood curriculum promotes a shared framework for
understanding of learning and development for educators and parents. It is essential that Early Childhood Educators are not
only familiar with their own national early childhood curriculum but that they also familiarise themselves with the theory and
practice relating to other models of early childhood education. This enables educators to critically analyse different approaches
and to gain a broader perspective of their own practice.
Providing a Curriculum for Infants and Toddlers

One of the key strengths of the Aistear curriculum framework is that it provides consistency for learning experiences across
the age range from 0-6 years. The broad learning themes can be adapted to suit children’s differing ages and abilities. When
planning an Infant-Toddler curriculum, it is useful to consider the following factors:
1. Infants learn holistically. Infants do not experience social, emotional, intellectual, language, and physical learning
separately. Adults are most helpful to the young child when they interact in ways that reflect an understanding of
the fact that the child is learning from the whole experience, not just the part of the experience that the adult gives
attention.
2. Relationships are primary for development. The infant is dependent on close, caring, ongoing relationships for
positive physical, social, emotional and intellectual growth. Infants develop best when they are sure of having trusted
caregivers who can read their cues and respond to their needs.
3. Infants are developing their first sense of self through contact with others. An infant or toddler learns most of how he
or she thinks and feels by imitating and incorporating the behaviours of those who care for her or him–how they first
see themselves, how they think they should function, how they expect others to function in relation to them.
4. Home culture is an important part of a child’s developing identity. Because an infant’s sense of self is such a crucial
part of a child’s make-up, early care must ensure that links with family, home culture and home language are a central
part of the curriculum.
5. Infants are active, self-motivated learners. Environments and activities that keep motivation, experimentation, and
curiosity alive must be constructed to facilitate the infant learning process.
6. Infants are not all alike–they are individuals with unique temperaments. Because of these differences, educators need
to see each child as an individual.
7. Language skills and habits develop early. The development of language is particularly crucial during the infant-toddler
period. Quality education and care provides many opportunities for infants to engage in meaningful, experience-
based communication with adults and have their communications acknowledged and encouraged.
8. Environments are powerful. Infants and toddlers are strongly influenced by the environments and routines they
experience each day. This is particularly true for very young infants who cannot move themselves from one
environment to another. The physical environment, group size, daily schedules, plans and routines must foster the
establishment of small intimate groups in which relationships with trusted adults can develop.
Supporting Language, Literacy and

Numeracy through Play
Literacy and numeracy are among the most important life skills that our schools
teach. No child should leave school without having mastered these skills to the best of
their abilities. Literacy and numeracy skills are crucial to a person’s ability to develop
fully as an individual, to live a satisfying and rewarding life and to participate fully in
our society. Ensuring that all young people acquire these skills is one of the greatest
contributions that we can make to achieving social justice and equity in our country.
(Ruairí Quinn, TD Minister for Education and Skills, 2011).
Early experiences that support the development of children’s communication skills (such as their awareness of verbal and
non-verbal communication; their knowledge of sound, pattern, rhythm and repetition; their awareness of symbols such as
print and pictures; the opportunities that they have to become familiar with and enjoy print in a meaningful way; and the
opportunities that they have to use mark-making materials) play a key role in the development of their literacy skills. Their
awareness of materials, shape, space, pattern and difference, classifying, matching, comparing and ordering are important for
the development of numeracy. A range of skills are developed by exposing children to language, nursery rhymes, pictures,
objects to compare, measure and count, books and environmental print. Through meaningful and timely interventions, the
educator supports children to build their understanding of literacy and numeracy through natural play experiences in their
day to day lives. The knowledge, skills, attitudes and dispositions developed in these early years impact significantly upon their
later literacy and numeracy learning experiences.
What do Síolta and Aistear say about language, literacy and numeracy?
Síolta and Aistear place a particularly strong importance on the acquisition of language, literacy and numeracy in early
childhood. Communication, Partnership with Parents and Interactions are all cornerstone considerations in promoting
early literacy and numeracy skills and are interwoven throughout both frameworks.
Attention is given to the importance of encouraging children to communicate through a wide variety of mediums such as
books, songs, nursery rhymes, drawing and painting helping children to communicate and understand many of their daily
experiences. One of the four central learning themes of Aistear is dedicated to Communicating which highlights the crucial
role of the adult in being an effective role model so that children develop a positive and meaningful outlook on literacy and
numeracy provided through meaningful and stimulating learning opportunities in early childhood.
In promoting children’s literacy and numeracy development, the aims and goals of the Exploring and Thinking theme of
Aistear also play an important role. When children are enabled to explore the environment and are given a chance to problem
solve and investigate, they can make sense of the world around them and develop new skills. Children will naturally explore
experiences that they are interested in therefore it is important that educators and parents ensure that activities are fun for
children when exploring concepts and skills such as early literacy and numeracy so that positive dispositions are developed
for lifelong learning and enjoyment.
Aistear and Síolta both highlight the significant role that parents play as a child’s first educator. Many early reading and literacy
skills are developed in the home and continued in the early childhood environment. Through an active partnership between
parents and Early Childhood Educators, the development of each child’s attitudes, dispositions and skills in this area can be
supported and strengthened. (For further information, see Síolta, Standard 3: Parents and Families and Aistear Guidelines for Good
Practice: Building partnerships between parents and practitioners).
Interactions are fundamental in learning to communicate. Aistear places particular importance on this area and in particular
the importance of regular adult/child and child/child interactions. Interactions are at the heart of good quality learning
experiences. Whilst many early reading and early literacy dispositions and skills are promoted through interactions, it is also
important to remember that it is positive and meaningful interactions that make a child’s experiences enjoyable and fun!
(For more information on interactions see Síolta, Standard 5: Interactions and Aistear Guidelines for Good Practice: Learning and
developing through interactions).
Supporting Children to become Readers for Life

A child will become a reader for life not by merely learning to read but when he has developed an interest and passion for the
process of reading. The most successful way of supporting a child to develop the dispositions to become a lifelong reader is
by making the process of reading something enjoyable and interesting from the earliest age possible. In helping children to
become readers for life, many skills need to be developed; and in developing these skills children are also exploring many of
the basic concepts of numeracy development. Although these are two very different concepts they are interconnected in the
manner which they can be explored by children.
Reading is essentially the ability to recognise and understand words or sentences but is not a solitary skill. 3 key
interconnecting elements are crucial to the process of supporting literacy and numeracy development:
1 Communication
(verbal or non-verbal) to acquire, understand and use a wide base of vocabulary
2 Early literacy and numeracy

(writing, drawing, number concepts and language) to develop skills necessary to recognise and recreate letters,
numbers and awareness of numeracy concepts such as shape, size, measurement, space and one to one
correspondence
3 Reading skills
to be able to interpret what letters, words or sentences mean when put together.
1 Communication: the ability to give, receive and make sense of information

Communication is essentially how children acquire an understanding of everything around them right from birth, ranging
from vocabulary that represents objects, to methods of expressing themselves. Communication can be through verbal means
such as babbling, talking / conversing, singing or saying nursery rhymes. It can also be through non-verbal means such as
dancing, musical instruments, art, facial expressions, pointing, body movements or gestures.
From birth, a child’s communication skills undergo vast developments and changes. Initially, infants communicate through
methods such as crying, cooing and babbling. At around 8 - 10 months of age, children can begin to understand what
words mean, progress to saying their first words at around 10 – 15 months of age and continue to build up to multiple word
sentences and an understanding of a wide range of vocabulary.
Why is communication important for literacy and numeracy?
Communication provides children with the necessary tools to question, understand and represent all that they see, hear or
experience. Having an understanding of a wide base of vocabulary plays an important role in children’s abilities to understand
what they are reading later on. Right from an early age, as their vocabulary base begins to build up, children begin to link what
they see in books, signs and print to words they know or an experience they may have already had. Communication skills are
also crucial in further extending children’s knowledge for example, reading books can be used to help a child deal with a new
experience such as the arrival of a new sibling or to explore different lifestyles and cultures.
As children progress and develop, they learn to communicate verbally, understand language and recognise that objects
and words in print have meaning. Positive adult/child interactions are crucial to the acquisition of language, vocabulary and
communication skills. It is through interactions that adults can explain what words mean and also extend what children are
learning through open questions and information sharing.
• What do you think...?

• How do you think...?
• Why do you think....?
How can I support early communication skills?
1. Point to and name objects/people for babies and toddlers within their environment for example, door, dog, cup, bus,
Mammy, Jack etc. Use picture books and day to day experiences to build up their understanding and use of vocabulary.
Name concepts and use them in general communication with children, for example the very heavy bucket, up high in the
sky, low on the ground.
2. Use nursery rhymes, songs and poems that rhyme to encourage children to play around with new words/sounds and
to become more secure and confident in using their newly acquired language and to reaffirm numerical concepts, for
example ‘twinkle twinkle.......up above the world so high....’ Children usually enjoy rhyming words and sentences as they are
easier to pick up, remember and use in sequence.
3. Talk to children, take time to listen to what they say and answer their questions. Avoid surface communication, ask
open ended questions and give children the opportunity to lead the conversation. Engage in intellectually stimulating
conversations with children, use books, themes and topics to explore new words and support children to understand
these new words and relate them to their environment.
The importance of songs and rhymes
Nursery rhymes are often regarded as irrelevant to young children today. This is a grave mistake. Not only do nursery rhymes
support children to understand numerical concepts, singing and reciting nursery rhymes is one of the best - and easiest - ways
of helping children to develop good reading and writing skills. Why is this? The answer lies in the rhythm and rhyming words.
For a child to become a successful reader and writer he/she needs to develop sensitivity to rhythm and rhyme – and nursery
rhymes are packed with both.
The ability to detect the sounds that make up words (phonological awareness) is essential to literacy success. The rhythm of
the nursery rhyme helps phonological awareness by breaking up the words into syllables, for example In-cy Win-cy Spid-er …
The child who hears lots of nursery rhymes from an early age will develop the ability to segment words without even realising
it. When the child starts to write, he/she will have a head start in breaking down words into their separate sounds in order to
represent these sounds with letters or letter clusters.
Successful literacy development also depends on the ability to detect rhyme. This leads to the more refined skill of breaking up
a word into its initial sound and the end unit which produces the rhyme. For example, w-all/f-all, J-ill/h-ill, p-eep/sh-eep.
Regardless of modern electronic gadgets and novelty toys, nursery rhymes are the perfect way to stimulate and develop
a child’s confidence in using language. Traditionally, nursery rhymes have been passed on orally from adult to child. Adults
need to continue this tradition, safe in the knowledge that they are making an extremely important contribution to a child’s
language and literacy development.
2 Early literacy and numeracy

Early Literacy: a child’s emerging reading and
writing skills before they are able to read or write
independently for example, scribbling/drawing,
identifying, naming and sounding letters.
Early Numeracy: a child’s emerging recognition
of number and mathematical ideas for example,
building, sorting, counting and measuring.
Early literacy and numeracy development does not simply happen;
rather, it is a social process, embedded in children’s relationships with
parents, grandparents, extended family members, siblings, teachers,
caregivers, friends and the wider community. Even though we can
classify the different stages of literacy and numeracy development as
two separate pathways, these pathways are interlinked to such an extent that we cannot take each one in isolation. Children
are developing literacy skills while at the same time, through the same experience can be understanding a numeracy concept.
Early literacy skills are the starting blocks which help a child be able to understand that letters are made up by a combination
of lines, curves and circles and that when combined together, make up specific sounds, which make words with a specific
meaning. Early drawing and writing begins with a lot of experimentation by children using large arm movements. Over time,
these movements become smaller and more controlled by the hand. As this type of hand control and strength builds up, a
child’s ability to make shapes, lines, curves and circles emerge, which later combine to represent letters.
Early numeracy skills involves having the skills to use numbers and mathematical ideas such as problem solving, measurement
and spatial awareness. Children should have access to fun experiences where they are learning how to classify, measure,
identify and recognise numbers, count and become familiar with shapes and size. These skills can be encouraged and
achieved by involving children in various every day activities in the home such as sorting the shopping, measuring or
weighing the ingredients whilst baking or cooking and singing finger rhymes and songs.
Whilst reading a book, drawing attention to text going from left to right, a number on a page and positional words such
as ‘under/over/behind/on top of/beside’ will not only build the child’s vocabulary, but also introduce early mathematical
language.
Interactions and relationships are also central to all children’s learning and development. Good quality interactions between
the key worker/ staff and children will help build strong relationships especially when the activity is meaningful and enjoyable.
Spending one to one time with a child to read them a story which also introduces number concepts such as big, small, colour
and number, or activities such as stacking cups, sorters, jigsaws and water or sand play will ensure that concepts are being
explored in a fun and meaningful way, in a manner which is comfortable for the child.
Why is early literacy and numeracy important for lifelong readers?
Early exposure to writing materials such as crayons, paint, markers combined with regular exposure to books helps children
to become visually familiar with letters/words and how to draw and write them. Exposure to number and mathematical ideas
from an early age will also build a firm foundation for children to become confident with numeracy concepts which will ensure
they develop a positive disposition towards future numeracy experiences.
How can I support early literacy and numeracy skills?
1. Provide materials such as paper, cardboard, chalk boards, crayons, markers or chalk to explore scribbling, mark making,
writing and drawing.
2. Be a good role model for reading and numeracy. Read out information on signs or posters, sing counting or memory
songs, draw attention to the time on the clock.
3. Provide an environment that enables early numeracy skills to flourish, encourage opportunities for children to interact
with activities that explore skills such as measuring, predicting, sorting, sequencing, patterns, matching and counting.
Have a picnic with your child and ask them to sort the resources needed. Help them count how many plates, cups and
forks that are needed and to pick a blanket that is big enough for everyone to sit on.
4. Activities such as shape sorters, treasure baskets, sand and water play and looking at picture books can be used with
younger children to help strengthen early numeracy and literacy skills as spatial awareness, shape, numbers and language
are encouraged.
5. Exploring nursery rhymes can also promote both literacy and numeracy concepts for example the nursery rhyme of ‘The
grand old duke of York’ will develop new vocabulary, explore rhyme whilst also developing an awareness of space and
position in the rhyme, “when they were up they were up and when they were down they were down”.
3 Reading: the ability to recognise, understand and make sense of words, print or sentences.
Reading needs several skills such as letter/sound recognition, language/vocabulary skills, and the ability to understand what a
word means by sounding out letters and interpreting its meaning. It is through reading with an adult that children learn the
difference of sharing information through conversation and reading, for example, sharing information through the medium of
print or picture format as opposed to verbal communication and sharing of information.
Encouraging children to read and to enjoy books from a young age enables them to develop a positive, lifelong interest in the
process of reading as well as being a more successful reader. Reading is a skill that if developed early in life, will give a child a
sense of accomplishment and enjoyment for years to come.
How can I support early reading skills?
1. Encourage children to notice print, number and symbols around them and try to guess what it means for example, road
signs, signs on doors, maps, etc

2. Read together often, on a one to one basis or in small/large groups as appropriate to the children’s ages.
3. Use a variety of types of reading materials such as books, newspapers and comics.
4. Use books as part of daily routines in an early childhood setting and as an enjoyable experience between adults and
children. For example, have an allocated time each morning when you sit down to read a child’s favourite story or before
they go to sleep. Remember that it is the children who enjoy reading that will enjoy it throughout their lives.
5. Provide a print rich environment for example, names on coat hooks, picture and names on toy boxes, labelling of
environment features.
6. Let children choose their favourite book, even if they choose the same one often. This is the book they enjoy most and
helps children associate reading as something fun and enjoyable. Children often feel secure in knowing what to expect.
Encourage children to retell their favourite story or to guess what’s coming in advance.
7. Provide a wide variety of books for children that are suitable for their age and stage of development.
How do communication, early literacy and numeracy

and reading skills relate to each other?
A range of communication, literacy and numeracy skills are
interconnected and crucial in developing enthusiasm for reading for
life. As each skill develops, it has a knock on effect on the other skills.
Through the build up of vocabulary, scribbling/drawing/writing,
singing and exposure to books, pictures and print as a baby, toddler
and pre-schooler, the foundations are being laid for children to make
a connection between what words mean, what letters and numbers
look/sound like, how words are made up of different letters being put
together and what these words mean.
It is important to note that all of these skills are best developed during day to day routines and don’t need to be
‘taught’ For example, pointing out animals while out for a walk to extend vocabulary, writing a shopping list together and
reading as part of a sleep routine for enjoyment. Focussed or ‘taught’ reading in the early years may deter children from actually
enjoying these processes if they feel pressured.
Using Books for Second Language Acquisition

Learning a second language (Gaeilge or any other language) is a great way to boost children’s brain development.
Educational studies have consistently shown that children who are regularly exposed to a second language:
• have better general reading and comprehension skills

• appreciate diversity and cultural differences
• have increased creativity and problem-solving skills
• have a better grasp of their first / native language and vocabulary
• have an improved ability to communicate
• have better job opportunities.
But how do you begin teaching a young child a second language (Gaeilge), especially if you can’t speak it yourself
or if you only have a ‘cúpla focal’? A great and easy way to introduce a second language to children is through Irish
books
• Start to introduce Irish books when the child is learning their first language. Children, at a very young age, have a great
ability to absorb language and in today’s world a second language is not a luxury but a necessity
• Don’t ever force it. Gently guide children into the new language journey. Be confident in what you are doing
• Picture books can be used to begin with, which will give you the opportunity to give children Irish vocabulary
• Teach the Irish words alongside the English words. It’s as easy as pointing to a dog and saying ‘dog’ followed by ‘madra’
• Read often with the child. Many Irish books now have CD’s that accompany them
• Read a variety of materials including picture books, big books and small books, poetry books.
Planning for Early Literacy and Numeracy in the Early Childhood Setting
The Learning Environment:
Provide a range of reading/writing/numeracy materials in all areas of the learning environment, for example magazines, newspapers,
books, pens, crayons, paint, chalk, blocks, objects that can be compared and matched for size, weight, shape and pattern.
• Are there reading and writing materials available in all areas of the environment?
• Are there resources availible to children to measure, weigh, count and divide?
• Are there ICT experiences available to children on a daily basis?
• Are all materials labelled with both the name and the picture?
• Are there opportunities for children to explore a range of mark making materials?
• Are there books/signs/ labels in different languages including Irish?
• In what areas can children explore shape, size and pattern?
Play
Provide a range of play experiences that centre around literacy and numeracy which can be adult or child led, give children the
opportunity to explore concepts through play.
• Are play experiences with literacy or numeracy learning outcomes planned across different areas of the learning environment?
• Is there an opportunity for child-initiated play centred on literacy and numeracy learning?
• What mechanisms are in place to scaffold children’s literacy and numeracy learning?
• Is literacy and numeracy learning included in the assessment process?
Relationships and Communication

Understanding the adults role and the importance of building strong relationships in the development of literacy and numeracy.
• Are staff engaging in open ended communication with children?

• Are conversations meaningful?
• What opportunities are available for one to one and group communication?
• Do adults demonstrate how to use literacy and numeracy, when to use them and for what purpose?
1. Facilitate children’s right to play: all children have a fundamental right to

play.
2. Respect play: respect the culture of children’s play and the diverse
background and life experiences of all those in the early childhood setting as
a positive resource to inform play.
3. Model inclusive behaviour, practice and attitudes: ensure that play
opportunities are fully inclusive, identify and respond to any physical or
Rem
organisational barriers to play for all children.
not ember
4. Enable a culture of participation: consult with and listen to children,
to f
respond to their perceptions, views, interests and involve children in
orge planning play experiences.
t... 5. Use play as a learning vehicle: use play to develop a deeper
understanding of the child and his unique needs and interests and to deliver
a curriculum appropriate to all children in the early childhood setting.
6. Develop professional knowledge, skills and abilities: responsive
communication skills, effective interaction strategies, keen observational
and scaffolding skills will enable the educator to maximise the potential of
children’s play experiences.
7. Use Aistear and Síolta to inform your practice: link play and learning
experiences to the themes and goals of Aistear, the Early Childhood
Curriculum Framework and reflect on your progress through the Síolta
Standard 6 on Play.
8. Supporting Children to become readers for life: the most successful
way of supporting children to develop the dispositions to become lifelong
readers is by making the process of reading something enjoyable and
interesting from the earliest age possible.
Where can I find out more ...

The following will provide educators with additional information on the areas discussed in this section and provide a broader
knowledge for participating in the training and development element of the programme.
Aistear, the Early Childhood Curriculum Framework, 2009 (NCCA, Dublin).

• Learning and Developing though Play is a section within Aistear’s Guidelines for Good Practice. Here you will find
information on how to prepare the play environment and using play across Aistear’s four themes.
• Aistear underpinning research paper entitled Play as a context for Early Learning and Development is available to
download from www.ncca.ie
• Aistear Toolkit is available to download from www.ncca.ie
Ready Steady Play: A National Play Policy (2004) available at www.dcya.gov.ie

With the launch of Ready, Steady, Play! A National Play Policy in March 2004, Ireland became one of the first countries in the
world to produce a detailed national policy on play. The reason for the development of such a policy by Government was to
honour commitments made in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989), the National Children’s Strategy (2000)
and the Programme for Government (2002). The publication of the National Play Policy was an acknowledgement that in the
past children’s play had not been given the priority or attention it deserved.
Section 2:
Enabling n
to Lear
Children
Early childhood is a time of tremendous opportunity for learning and development when children
learn through relationships, communication, exploration and play. Personal and emotional ability,
rather than intellectual ability, is the primary goal of early childhood education. Therefore,
learning and development in early childhood is not solely about academic learning - such as
reading, writing or maths. The primary goal for learning in early childhood is to enable children
to be ready, willing and able to engage with learning.
r:
will conside s,
This section
os itio ns, Skills, Attitude
D isp
* Nurturing nd Understanding
e a
Knowled g
as a C orn erstone for
Well-being
* Emotional Developme
nt
an d
Le arning
l W ell-be ing through
Emotiona
* Supporting n System
so
the Key Per
Nurturing Dispositions, Skills, Attitudes,

Knowledge and Understanding
Positive Learning Dispositions
To enable children to be ready, willing and able to engage
with learning requires the early childhood educator to pay
attention to the child’s acquisition of positive dispositions to
learn. Dispositions are attitudes or tendencies to respond in
a particular way. They can be positive or negative and can
have long term effects on lifelong learning. Dispositions are
acquired in early childhood through everyday interactions
and experiences. Positive dispositions such as confidence,
curiosity, self-control and self-motivation can be nurtured,
learned and strengthened particularly in early childhood.
It is also worth remembering that the dispositions and

attitudes of the early childhood educator are also crucial,
as his/her actions and attitudes send important messages
to children on how they should behave. An effective
early childhood educator can be described as stimulating,
patient and encouraging. When the early childhood
educator displays curiosity, imagination and respect, they
will appreciate and encourage the same attitudes and
dispositions in children.
What happens if children do not develop positive dispositions?
A child’s ability to try something new and to explore and learn is greatly inhibited if they lack confidence and motivation or if they are
afraid to take risks or make mistakes.
A child who has not developed positive social dispositions, such as co-operation or taking responsibility for their actions, may struggle
to gain social acceptance thereby inhibiting social learning opportunities.
It will be more difficult for a child to become a successful reader for life if he/she has not had time to develop a love of the process of
reading and to enjoy books in early childhood before moving on to formal reading and writing.
The child’s ability to make a confident transition from pre-school to primary school may be compromised if he/she has not developed
positive dispositions such as independence, responsibility and resilience.
Recognising Dispositions, Skills, Attitudes, Knowledge

and Understanding
When deciding what to look for and what information to document, it is worth remembering to focus on all aspects of the
child’s learning and development that are helpful in showing progress in developing positive learning dispositions, skills,
attitudes, knowledge and understanding.
Positive Dispositions Skills that children can Children demonstrate Children demonstrate
towards learning practice include: positive Attitudes to Knowledge and
include: learning and to life by: Understanding by
being able to:
• Being confident • Developing sociability • Taking risks, trying out • Show and talk about
• Being absorbed and • Using communication new things feelings
purposeful skills • Demonstrating • Share information
• Being able to • Developing listening caring, and respectful with others
concentrate skills attitudes towards • Express themselves
• Being curious and • Using language others creatively and
showing an interest • Developing • Caring for the natural imaginatively
• Using imagination problem-solving and environment • Ask questions, predict
• Being resilient negotiating skills • Being responsible for and justify
• Demonstrating • Manipulating objects, themselves • Understand pictures
independence tools and materials • Exhibiting a positive and symbols
• Persevering with • Using technical attitude to investigate, • Respond to music,
challenge and equipment such explore and learn stories and drama
difficulty as cameras and • Count, classify, order,
computers size
Emotional Well-being as a Cornerstone

for Learning and Development
When the early childhood curriculum pays attention to the development of positive dispositions towards learning, a solid
emotional foundation for all future academic, skills and knowledge based learning will have been created. Children who have
successfully developed positive dispositions have conquered the most fundamental component of learning for life – they have
learned how to learn.
Social competence and emotional well-being are central to children’s educational achievements. Regardless of the learning
opportunities presented, a child who feels emotionally insecure, afraid or anxious will struggle to reach their optimal stage
of learning and development. Children develop social competence through stable, caring and responsive relationships with
adults. These relationships form the foundation for learning and development.
It is essential that the early childhood educator has a highly developed awareness of the following five emotional building
blocks, how to support the child in these areas and their importance for the development of positive dispositions towards
lifelong learning.
1 Self-Identity and Belonging
2 Secure Relationships
3 A Language for Feelings
4 Inner Strength and Resilience
5 Self-confidence and Self-Esteem
1 Self-Identity and Belonging

Children’s self identity is their understanding of who they are and their place in the wider world. In the years from birth to
eleven, children’s sense of their own identity develops; they come to understand their unique place in the world and the many
different roles they have within their family, school and community. It is important that children develop a positive sense of
their own identity and that they feel valued and respected as a unique individual. This contributes to children’s understanding
of themselves, relationships with others, self-esteem and self-belief. This is particularly important for children with additional
needs, physical disabilities or speech and language difficulties, as they are more vulnerable to being excluded.
Why is it important that the child’s self-identity is valued?
The child’s sense of self is closely linked to his family, home environment and community. For most children, the home
environment is a safe, protective place where they are accepted for who they are. However, the transition to a new environment
(pre-school or school) can challenge this sense of acceptance. For the first time the child’s name, speech, behaviour and traditions
may not be the same as the rest of the group. The child’s name may be mispronounced, his speech may sound different and he
may be surprised to find that everyone is not the same skin colour. Just at a time when he may be missing his family and familiar,
protective surroundings, he may struggle to find a firm foundation for his individual sense of identity.
Helping children understand and value who they are and feel a sense of belonging outside the home
When the child’s transition to a new environment is handled with respect and understanding, it broadens her sense of self and
leads to a positive developmental experience. A skilled adult can help the child to understand and articulate her own identity
and to foster spiritual connections by learning to respect the perspectives of others and recognise the responsibilities to the
world in which she lives. It is important for the child’s emotional strength to feel a sense of connection and belonging to a
particular group. Belonging provides a framework for her sense of security. It is difficult for a child to feel comfortable or secure
if customs or things that are familiar to her at home are not apparent in her wider surroundings.
To promote a sense of belonging in the childcare setting, provide learning experiences that are meaningful to each individual
child. It is important that the curriculum should develop from a blend of children’s abilities and interests and the intended
learning outcomes. In this way the curriculum can be adapted to meet the individual needs of the children within the setting.
2 Secure Relationships
From the moment children are born, they begin to form relationships with the people around them. These relationships are
an essential part of their early life and contribute largely to their overall development. Initially children’s main relationships are
with their parents, but as children grow older, other relationships begin to form and become a significant part of their lives.
These relationships can include people both inside and outside the family, for example, close family members, educators
or caregivers. The most important aspect of any relationship for children, especially babies, is that it is a secure relationship.
Essentially, secure relationships are those which are responsive to all the needs of a child. These needs can include their
physical, emotional and developmental needs. With the help of secure relationships, children can explore the world around
them and be confident that if anything happens, they can rely on the adult to be there, to help them and make them feel safe.
Why do children need secure relationships?
Children bring their experiences of early relationships with them in life and this can affect their long term behavioural and
emotional development, for example, how children react and adapt to new experiences, situations or people from an early age.
Being part of a secure relationship enables children to develop a sense of who they are and a sense of being important in the lives
of others. The benefits for children who enjoy secure relationships are vast, including self-confidence, motivation, independence,
good peer relationships, social skills and an understanding of emotions. Secure relationships also develop a foundation for
empathy (being able to understand how someone else is feeling), an openness to two way interactions with peers such as taking
turns and enhanced thinking and reasoning skills.
3 A language for feelings

When we use a language for feelings we are naming, acknowledging and dealing with the different feelings we all experience
throughout our daily lives. Children, like adults, may feel angry, sad, lonely, guilty or any of a huge range of emotions,
depending on the circumstances surrounding them. It is important that adults help children recognise and understand these
emotions by providing them with a language to communicate their feelings to others and in turn empowering children to
cope with more difficult emotions. Children’s understanding of their emotions contributes, not only to their understanding of
themselves, but also an understanding and awareness of the emotions of those around them.
Why help children with feelings?
When children are able to name, recognise and talk about their feelings they are better able to cope in times of stress, react
appropriately to difficult situations and interact with their peers. Their behaviour can also be heavily reliant on their ability to
communicate their feelings. For example, if a child is feeling angry it is important that the adult recognises this and does not
label him as ‘bad tempered’ or as ‘playing up’, but rather acknowledges the feeling ‘I can see that you are angry but it does not
make it ok for you to…..’. When naming and defining feelings, it is important for adults to recognise that children develop an
understanding of emotions at different stages. Some children are more emotionally literate (able to understand emotions) than
others. Children may begin to understand basic emotions like fear, sadness, happiness and anger at quite a young age, however,
more difficult emotions such as pride and shame may not come quite as easily. Respecting and understanding children’s basic
emotions gives them the space and trust to explore and express more difficult emotions. It is important that adults learn to
recognise these emotions; particularly for very young children. For example, a young toddler may feel embarrassed if their
nappy is being changed in front of others, and therefore it is important that adults are observant and sensitive to his emotional
expressions.
Emotional understanding is a developmental stage like any other in children’s lives. Just like children learn to walk and talk, they
also learn to recognise and express their feelings appropriately. As with any other skill, the age at which children develop this skill
can vary; some appear to develop this skill quite quickly, while others develop it at a slower rate. Adults have an important role to
play in helping children understand their emotions.
4 Inner Strength and Resilience

Inner strength and resilience refers to a child’s ability to cope with the changes, challenges and adversities she comes across
in life. These can range in severity and frequency for a child. For example, it could include a subtle adaptation such as an
unexpected change in her daily routine to something bigger such as moving house or a change in family structure. Essentially,
developing children’s inner strength provides them with skills to be able to cope and deal with the unpredictable. It enables
children to adapt and move forward in life.
Why support inner strength and resilience?
The main reason for supporting inner strength and resilience is that it creates opportunities for positive cycles in life for children. It
enables children to cope with the challenges they face in life, deal with such challenges and come through them with a positive
outlook to their future. Children who develop resilience and inner strength are more inclined to have a positive self-image. They are
more open to being aware of what they are good at and in turn creating positive cycles for themselves. Children who lack inner
strength can often fall into a negative cycle of thinking. Children with emerging inner strength and resilience are more likely to
experiment and find a skill they are good at which can help them form a positive cycle of thought for themselves. This can then
further promote and support resilience. For example, in the case of a child who struggles academically in school, if he lacks inner
strength, he may be inclined to think he is not going to achieve in general. However, a child who is resilient may be more open to
experimenting with a variety of challenges and may discover he is good at music, sport or art. By trying to develop and succeed with
new skills, children can feel better about themselves which can promote a positive cycle and further support their inner strength.
5 Self-confidence and Self-esteem

Self-esteem is the value we place on ourselves. It is a personal perception of ourselves and how this makes us feel. It is the knowledge
that we are lovable, capable and unique. Good self-esteem in children means:
• They have established a sense of identity

• They have a sense of self-worth
• They feel they are accepted and valued by adults and peers around them
• They feel confident and have self knowledge.
The foundations of self-esteem are laid early in life when babies develop attachments with the adults who care for them. When adults
readily respond to their cries and smiles, babies learn to feel loved, valued and accepted by the people they look up to. Parents have
the greatest influence in shaping their child’s sense of self-worth, as they are her first and most important teachers. The child’s self-
esteem is further influenced as she develops relationships with other family members, educators, peers and other adults.
Why is self-esteem central to children’s well-being?
Healthy self-esteem is imperative to children’s well-being. It is a prominent factor in building and supporting social, emotional and
mental well-being. These factors also play a major role in children’s academic achievements and physical health. Self-esteem in babies
and young children will influence and develop a child so that they can become ready to learn, conquer challenges, take risks, cope
with mistakes, set realistic expectations and develop positive relationships with others.
Supporting Emotional Well-being

through the Key Person System
What is a Key Person System?
The key person system is a way of supporting close meaningful relationships between children, their families and educators. The
key person is a designated member of the staff team assigned to an individual child in their care attending the setting to support
the child’s physical, emotional, and developmental needs and to act as the key point of contact with his/her parent/carers.
The key person plays an essential role in supporting the child’s holistic development, especially their emotional well-being. In
doing so, they take responsibility for those aspects of the child’s day which have the greatest impact on their well-being, which
include personal care routines – nappy changing, toileting, rest times and meal times. These care routines provide special
times to build up the secure attachments and develop meaningful relationships which underpin healthy emotional, social and
cognitive development.
Benefits of the Key Person Approach
For babies and young children

A key person gets to know their key child really well and is aware of all the special details of how s/he is cared for. Essentially this helps
each child to feel cherished, able to express themselves fully, relax, and become confident and valued. The key person develops an
understanding of their key child’s current skills and interests and can engage with them in and extend their play. They also provide a
safe, secure and consistent base for babies and young children to return to, physically or emotionally, when they need to. This provides
them with confidence to explore the world around them and be confident that if anything happens they can rely on the key person to
be there, to help them make them feel safe.
For Families
The key person gets to know each child, their family and their circumstances really well, listens and values what families have to say
about their child. The key person is ‘tuned in’ to the child and family, and actively builds positive relationships and communications. It
benefits the child as a consistent approach, interests from home are noted and strengthened and also parents are kept informed about
child’s learning.
For the Key Person

The key person has a powerful impact on the well-being of their key children and the children’s ability to develop and learn. They are
also able to support their key children’s all-round development and in particular their long term behaviour and emotional development
through providing a secure relationship.
For the Early Childhood Setting

The key person system may be difficult to arrange at the outset but the outcomes will be: improved care and learning for the children;
parents and families who are better-satisfied and more trusting, engaged staff, and more enthusiasm for professional development to
support children’s individual needs.
What are the Key Persons Role and Responsibilities
• Settling new key children and families into the setting.
• Developing secure, trusting relationships with key children and their families.
• Spending time with each key child’s family to learn about the child’s changing routines, interests and dispositions.
• Settling key children in as they arrive each day, updating parents on their progress during the session.
• Changing and toileting key children, using sensitive handling and familiar words/actions/routines.
• Dressing and washing key children, offering help as needed but also supporting their growing skills and independence.
• Eating with key children in small groups or bottle feeding babies on your lap, maintaining eye-contact and conversations.
• Regularly observing, documenting and assessing key children’s progress, sharing information with other staff and the child’s family.
• Planning to develop key children’s interests, skills and schemas.
• Supporting key children through various transitions, for example moving play rooms and routines during the day.
Important aspects of Key Person Role

• Using body language, eye contact and voice tone to indicate that you are available and interested, gauging these
according to the child’s needs and culture.
• Understanding and ‘containing’ children’s difficult feelings by gentle holding, providing words for feelings, showing their
expressions in a mirror and showing empathy in a way suited to each child’s needs.
• Comforting distressed children by acknowledging their feelings, offering explanations and reassurance calmly and gently.
• Acknowledging and allowing children to express a range of feelings: anger, joy, distress, excitement, jealousy,
disappointment, love.
• Providing a secure base for your key children by supporting their interests and explorations away from you, perhaps by
nodding and smiling as they explore and draw your attention to things.
• Providing a secure base for key children by being physically and emotionally available for them to come back to, by sitting
at their level and in close proximity to them.
• Interacting with key children with reciprocal sounds, words, facial expressions and gestures, according to their individual
temperament and age.
1. The primary goal for learning in early childhood is to enable children to be

ready, willing and able to engage with learning.
2. The development of positive dispositions in children is closely linked to
secure relationships with adults and emotional well-being.
3. Dispositions can be negative or positive and can have long-term effects on
Rem
not ember
lifelong learning.
4. The implementation of a Key Person System supports emotional well-being by
to f
orge providing children with consistency. It gives them the confidence to explore
t... the world around them, to be confident that if anything happens; they can rely
on a key person to be there to make them feel safe.
Section 3:
T ech n iques
ag ogic al
Ped r ateg ie s
and St
Pedagogy (or teaching) is the interactive process that takes place between the early childhood
educator and the child to enable learning to take place. The educator is responsible for articulating
not only what she/he does and the impact of this, but also how, and why they do what they do, to
parents, colleagues and to society. An understanding of the educator’s pedagogical foundation will
support a spirit of enquiry and professional dialogue and ensure that pedagogical approaches
develop, evolve and are effective.
r:
will conside
This section agogy
o logy of Ped d education
* The termin arly ch ildhoo
ogy in relation to e .
* Pe dag
hn iqu es and strategies
al tec
* Pedagogic
The terminology of Pedagogy

Different approaches to early childhood practice is informed by different educational philosophies, values and theories
about how young children learn and develop. Consequently, early childhood practice is informed by a variety of approaches
to curriculum. It is not surprising then to learn that there are a variety of approaches to pedagogical or teaching practice
as well. Differences in pedagogical practice mainly refer to the degree of influence that adults should have over the early
childhood curriculum. Although most early childhood settings offer a play based curriculum, this does not mean that there is
pedagogical uniformity in the balance of involvement between children and educators.
ng e of te rm in ol og y surrounds pedagogy.
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elow:
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(or the art, the science or
Pedagogy: The practice ild to en ab le learning to take place.
ator and the ch
place between the educ of
; they may take the form
e intera cti on s ed uc ato rs engage in with children
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Pedagogical interaction
intera cti ons.
cognitive or social ,
to provision of materials
he -sc en es’ wo rk tha t ed ucators do with regards exp lor ati on , co operation
Pedagogical framing:
Is the ‘behind-t
tin es to sup po rt lea rni ng through play,
ily rou
d the establishment of da
arrangement of space, an
resources.
and the equitable use of
ce, social interactions,
gie s: pra cti ces wh ich support learning, for instan
es and strate
Pedagogical techniqu
ldi ng lea rning.
assessment, scaffo
What is Pedagogy?
Pedagogy refers to that set of instructional techniques and strategies which enable learning to take place and provide
opportunities for the acquisition of knowledge, skills, attitudes and dispositions within a particular social and material context’.
In other words, Pedagogy (or teaching) is the interactive process that takes place between the educator and the
child to enable learning to take place.
Pedagogy is distinct from and complementary to curriculum. In other words, curriculum describes the ‘what’, that
is, the learning opportunities on offer and pedagogy describes the ‘how’, that is, how the educator can assist the
child to learn.
The pedagogical interactions between the educator and the child will be greatly influenced by the early childhood curriculum
model in place within the early childhood service.
Pedagogical practice can be defined through three main types:
- Structured Approach
- Open Framework Approach
- Child-led Approach
A Structured Approach describes a highly adult directed curriculum and largely didactic pedagogical techniques, providing
for little initiative on behalf of the child. The rationale for this method is based on development theory where children are
expected to learn skills and concepts in sequence. This approach sees curriculum objectives very clearly defined and the
educator in control of the child’s learning.
An Open Framework Approach provides the educator with a broad framework for learning, the ability to use endless
pedagogical techniques and strategies. As curriculum classification within this approach is less structured, the child has
the freedom and flexibility to make choices between the various learning opportunities on offer. As learning opportunities
provided span across all areas of learning and development, a balanced range of experiences is encouraged over a period of
time. This enables a process of ‘active learning’ where the child constructs his own understandings within a social and physical
environment.
A Child-led Approach is where the educator responds entirely to the child’s interests and activities. Topic or project themes
are adopted based on the child’s interests. The main curriculum emphasis is based on developing the child’s independence,
social and emotional growth, creativity and self expression. The learning environment is designed to open-ended exploration
and discovery.
The three approaches described are merely ‘types’. In reality, many early childhood services adopt a combination
of all three.
What does research say about Pedagogy?

Over the years, numerous research studies have demonstrated powerful justification for early childhood education. However,
this is not to be misunderstood to mean that all early childhood education is beneficial or effective. The effectiveness of early
childhood education goes well beyond the physical environment or the resources on offer. When we consider that learning
comes from a process of cognitive construction, achieved when the child is motivated and involved, the crucial role of the
educator is clear.
Research findings from a longitudinal study in New Zealand, ‘Competent Children’ (1998) suggests that by six years of age
children gained higher or lower educational outcomes depending on the age they commenced early childhood education
(below 3 had more impact) and the quality of staff and interactions with children. Other longitudinal studies have shown that
children provided with direct instruction (for example, a structured approach) sometimes do better in the short term than
those provided with other pedagogical techniques. However, the research also found that these gains were short lived, with all
significant differences having disappeared within a year of the pre-school phase ending.
Other studies have shown that formal approaches to teaching young children are counterproductive and can hinder young
children’s learning, generating higher anxiety and lower self-esteem. Overall, research emphasises that outcomes are best
in those early childhood settings that emphasise a balance between child-initiated and teacher-directed activities. Most
importantly, research suggests that the long term effects of early childhood education lies not with IQ gains, but with children
remaining in mainstream education and developing positive views of themselves and their futures.
Pedagogy in relation to
early childhood education
Considering pedagogy can help us to be aware of the impact we
have on children
To support the vision of every child as an ‘active agent ’ in society, we need to be aware of the experiences that children have in
their early years that help them to develop as confident, powerful, competent individuals. We know that children are born with
powerful motivations to learn and that in order to learn effectively, they need people to interact with.
How can we be sure that we are engaging with young children appropriately and, most importantly, engaging in
meaningful ways? We understand that children need active support from adults who:
• are well informed about child development

• are respectful of and interested in children
• are knowledgeable about and value the importance of play and the powerful contribution it makes to children’s
development and learning
• understand the importance of relationships with other children and with adults
• recognise learning contexts that are real and meaningful to the child.
We know that children learn from adults, from other children and from the environment around them, but also that children very
often are more knowledgeable across a range of interests and experiences than the adults with whom they are interacting. This
latter knowledge is crucial in our image of the child as a rich and resourceful individual, in whose abilities we need to trust.
Educators that develop the ability to self-reflect and learn in different ways are constantly adding to what they know.
Educators learn from:
• practical research
• general evidence from practice
• Individual and group reflection
• exploration and enquiry
• being comfortable accepting that they are still learning.
Pedagogical Techniques and Strategies

All children deserve excellent teaching. Teaching in early childhood is a highly skilled process where there is no single correct way
to respond to children in order to optimise learning. It is the teaching skills and practices of the early childhood educator that
make interactions educational. Skilful educators draw on a wide repertoire of pedagogical techniques and strategies during their
interactions with children. This section will explore some of the common techniques by explaining what the technique is and
how it enhances children’s learning and development, how the technique is used and what the technique looks like in practice.
The following eight techniques are discussed:
1 Positioning
2 Empowering
3 Scaffolding
4 Co-constructing
5 Modelling
6 Questioning
7 Encouraging and Praising
8 Problem Solving
9 Documenting
1 Positioning
What is Positioning and how does it enhance children’s learning and development?
Positioning is the process of placing objects in relation to each other or in relation to people. As a teaching technique, positioning
involves placing learning materials to safely and ethically support and enhance children’s learning.
How do I Position?
Staff need to decide how to place materials and equipment in the physical learning environment to best
assist children’s learning. Specifically, they need to decide:
• the equipment, materials and spaces they will make available in the inside and outside play areas
• the balance between the different types of closed and open spaces and materials
• the boundaries between the different areas within the centre
• the ways in which materials will be grouped together
• the ways in which the placement of materials will encourage movement and interaction between
• children
• the ways in which the placement of materials will allow for quiet moments of reflection
• the ways in which spaces will allow for robust physical exploration of materials.
There can be considerable advantage to having flexible, multi-use spaces that can be quickly adapted to children’s changing
interests and projects and that allow staff to respond flexibly to what emerges during a day with children.
Educators need to decide with each other or with the children how they will place materials and equipment to facilitate social
interaction in the learning environment. For instance, they can make places available for adults and/or children to sit individually,
sit in groups, sit on the floor, sit on chairs, stand and move about. They need to decide what equipment will be placed within easy
reach of the children, what equipment only adults will be able to access, how possible it will be for children to work in small and
large groups, how large the groups will be and what spaces will encourage individual exploration and thinking.
Positioning in Practice
When deciding how to place people and materials, staff should seek to create and maintain a safe, secure,
interesting and pleasurable learning environment for children and adults. To do this, educators need to:
• place people to ensure safe supervision of all children and safe work conditions for all
• place equipment to meet children’s and their own health and safety needs. For example, a member of staff can make a safety
check every day before the first child arrives and a staff member can always be scheduled to be near the climbing equipment
to assist children if needed
• place equipment to enhance the aesthetic appeal of the environment, thus maximising children’s, parents’ and staff’s
enjoyment of it
• place equipment to ensure that children gain a feeling of security and competence in their learning environment
• place equipment and materials to stimulate children’s curiosity and interest by providing elements of surprise and novelty
• place equipment and adults to support equity of access to and participation in the program by all children
• place equipment to stimulate brain development.
Placing Equipment to Enhance Children’s Sense of Security and Competence
To achieve this, educators need to ensure that:

• there are regular major traffic paths in the environment
• children can readily access child-safe cleaning materials and equipment
• everyday materials which children use, such as sticky-tape, glue-sticks, scissors, etc. are readily accessible to the children
• everyday materials are placed to avoid congestion when several children at once want access
• materials used regularly have an obvious home. All containers, shelves and storage bins should be labelled with names or
symbols to show children where everything belongs
• children have a personal storage space for their special projects and personal belongings
• children have access to child-sized furniture and equipment when needed

• spaces that promote security and competence are generous in size and allow for child involvement, for children to spread
out for moments of peace, and reduce the need to share continuously.
Placing Equipment and Materials to Stimulate Children’s Curiosity and Wonder
There are many ways to do this. One simple method is to position some materials ‘out of place’, such as placing a book in the
block corner to stimulate particular types of building, or placing paints near the nature table to suggest painting nature, or using
nature in paintings. Another method to stimulate children’s curiosity is to place materials with which children may not be familiar
in the space. This can prompt experimentation and questioning. A more complex change can also prompt new discoveries and
learning. In spaces that promote curiosity and wonder there is flexibility, open-ended materials, easily moved furniture, nooks and
crannies and lots of different levels at which the children can physically work.
Placing Equipment to Support Equal Access and Participation by all Children
Staff can create equity of access and participation by ensuring that:

• children of differing physical abilities can move around easily. For example, consider how readily a child using a wheelchair or
a walking frame can move around the area
• children of differing physical abilities can participate in a range of experiences
• children of differing abilities, sizes and ages can easily see and touch display areas
• children from differing cultural backgrounds can recognise their own culture in the materials and staff available to them.
Placing Equipment to Stimulate Brain Development
There is increasing evidence that the early years really do matter to young children’s learning and that brain stimulation enhances
brain development in very specific ways. More broadly, placing equipment to encourage child choice and play and to stimulate
children’s questions can benefit young children neurologically by fostering new brain growth, and novelty in the environment
also stimulates brain functioning.
The Early Childhood Educator should:
• Ensure children have access to plenty of water to reduce the likelihood of brain dehydration, which can lead to children
being ‘bored, listless and drowsy’.
• Introduce aromas into the room to increase children’s learning in several ways. Floral odours can increase the ability to learn,
create and think . . . Peppermint, basil, lemon, cinnamon and rosemary are linked to mental alertness. Lavender, chamomile,
orange and rose are used for relaxation and calming.
• Introduce novelty into the environment to increase children’s memory. Schiller suggested rotating toys, equipment, books
and shelving and placing things in surprising places.
Disability and Additional Needs
The placement of materials and pathways should enable children with disabilities to move about safely and with comfort.
Materials and equipment should be positioned to ensure that children with disabilities can participate in the key experiences. The
nature and type of each child’s disability will determine what this means in practice.
Careful positioning of images within the centre can challenge children’s understandings of what is normal male and female
behaviour. Consider creating similar challenges to children’s understandings of disability by placing images of children and
adults with different disabilities performing a variety of potentially unexpected tasks alongside images of non-disabled people
performing these tasks. An example of this would be using images from the Para Olympics. Staff can use such images to interest
the children in people’s differing abilities and disabilities and challenge their understandings about what is a normal way to be,
think, see, move, hear and feel.
Careful placement of materials can also enhance engagement between children with autism and their environment.
Improving Pedagogical Practice
1. Sketch the layout of the inside and outside learning areas in an early childhood centre and take photographs of these areas.
2. How well did placement of equipment support easy supervision of children?
3. How well was equipment placed to support a safe and healthy environment?
• Were play spaces well lit?
• Was there fresh air and were temperatures comfortable?
• Was there room to move around freely (for example, when using a wheelchair, callipers, walking frames, guide dog, etc.)?
• Could equipment be reached easily and safely by children?
• Were sharp edges kept away from areas where children might knock against them?
• Was there ready access to a space for recycling of material and clearing rubbish from the floor?
• Were there non-slip surfaces in the ‘wet’ areas?
• Could staff readily access all equipment without straining muscles?
4. To what extent did the current placement of equipment enhance the aesthetic appeal of the centre?
• Were equipment and materials deliberately and carefully placed?

• Was the careful placement of materials and equipment maintained?
• Did the environment evolve over time?
• Were there soft areas that encouraged children and adults to relax, reflect and rest?
• Were sounds placed as carefully as objects?
• Were texture, shape and colour used with care and thought to provide enjoyment, stimulation and relaxation?
• Were visual images hung and treated with care and respect?
• Were artefacts, crafts, art and memorabilia culturally familiar to the children and adults?
5. Was equipment placed to enhance children’s sense of security and competence?
• Were there regular major traffic paths in the environment?

• Could children readily access child-safe cleaning materials and equipment?
• Were everyday materials such as pencil sharpeners, sticky-tape, glue-sticks, scissors etc., readily accessible to the
children?
• Were everyday materials placed so as to avoid congestion when several children want access at once?
• Did materials used regularly have an obvious home?
• Did children have a personal storage space for their special projects and personal belongings?
• Did children have access to child-sized furniture and equipment for several of their experiences?
6. How was equipment placed to stimulate children’s curiosity?
7. Did the placement of equipment and adults support equity of access and participation?
• Could children of different physical abilities move around easily?
• Could children of different physical abilities participate in a range of experiences?
• Could children of different abilities and ages easily see and touch display areas?
• Could all children in the group, irrespective of their cultural background, recognise their own culture in the materials and
staff available to them?
8. How and how well were developmental considerations taken into account in the placement of equipment and materials?
9. Did the placement of equipment and materials express the values that were intended?
2 Empowering
What is Empowering and how does it enhance children’s learning and development?
Empowering is about helping children gain a sense of inner confidence, courage and strength to successfully surmount whatever
life presents. The act of empowering children is a process of guiding them to feel and believe that they are powerful. As an early
childhood teaching technique empowerment involves giving children the power to develop strong personal dispositions such as
confidence, self-image, and resilience. For example, empowering a child from a minority culture to feel included, empowering a
child with SEN to participate equally, empowering a child who is shy to build relationships. This enables the child to take actions,
make decisions and choices for themselves.
This has a positive influence of young children’s learning dispositions in the following ways:
• Develop resilience
• Take increasing responsibility for their own learning and care
• Enhance confidence, self-worth, identity and independence
• Develop special strengths and interests
• Develop creativity of learning and explore individual learning style.
How do I Empower?
In order to empower young children, the educator needs to:
• Through observation and documentation, decide what skills the child needs to experience greater control over (for example,
self-help skills, working independently, social relationships)
• Choose techniques and strategies that will enable children to gain greater control over their learning in this area, for example,
questioning, modelling, etc.
Empowering in Practice
The Educator helps children to:

• feel good about themselves (I am special activities)
• build children’s capacity (what are they good at/interested in)
• build positive relationships with others (sharing, friends activities, stories)
• solve problems as part of the daily routine (explore concept of fair/unfair in developmentally appropriate way)
• learn to stand up for themselves (using words to say how they feel)
• through meaningful curriculum activities and resources, help children learn to appreciate and respect difference in culture,
ability, race and gender.
For children with additional needs to be empowered to participate to their maximum potential it is important that educators and
children actively display non discriminatory attitudes towards differing abilities. Stories, images and puppets offer opportunities
for developing positive images and ideas about children and adults with a disability.
3 Scaffolding
What is Scaffolding and how does it enhance children’s learning and development?
Scaffolding is a pedagogical technique that has developed from the work of Vygotsky. Jerome Bruner developed the metaphor
of ‘scaffolding’ to describe the process where a more competent peer or adult helps the child achieve something that he cannot
achieve alone.
Scaffolding enhances children’s learning and development as the process offers temporary guidance or support to enable
children to move from one level of competence to another. The guidance can be either verbal or non-verbal and increases the
child’s level of competence in all areas of learning and development.
How do I Scaffold Children’ Learning and Development?
Educators need to be ‘tuned-in’ to children’s abilities, interests and strengths and to respond by providing appropriate scaffolding
techniques.
3 Steps to Successful Scaffolding
• Closely observe the child’s competencies, abilities and skills. Ask yourself, What can she do alone or with a little assistance?
Has she tried to do this before? What activity would challenge her and take her to the next level of competency?
• Spend time with the child. Support and guide the child to move from one level of competency to the other. Provide the
necessary resources, equipment or verbal guidance.
• Continue to observe the child’s progress, extending understanding, competency and skill through other techniques such as
questioning, praising, modelling, confirming.
Scaffolding in Practice – Baby 11 months.
Clara’s Key Person has observed that Clara is enjoying her new skill of throwing objects but is becoming frustrated when
she throws them out of reach and cannot reach them again. During an exploratory play session on the floor, Clara was
shaking a cube activity box and lost her grip on the toy. It landed near to her but not within easy reach. Clara expressed
her displeasure at this and the educator lifted the toy and placed it a little nearer to her. In order to reach the toy Clara had
to move onto all fours and reach forward whilst balancing herself with the other hand. The educator praised Clara’s efforts
by clapping and cheering and smiling at her. The educator demonstrated her knowledge of Clara’s individual stage of
development by not simply handing her the toy but by challenging Clara just enough to motivate her to reach for the toy
herself.
Scaffolding In Practice - 3 year old child
Michael: ‘How do I draw Mammy?’

Educator: ‘Well, you could start off by drawing her head’ – the educator motioned a circular movement around her own
head and around Michaels head.
Michael draws a round shape on his page.
Educator: Great, now what shape is her body. Again the educator indicates the length of her body and encourages
Michael to do the do the same.
Michael draws a long shape below the circular head.
Educator: That’s great Michael, now, let’s think, what else does your Mammy have? Michael holds out his arms and points
to his legs and smiles. He draws lines for arms and legs.
The educator employs further pedagogical strategies such as warm praise, questioning, and further discussion about
additional body parts such as fingers, toes, eyes etc.
The two examples above demonstrate how the child was at a particular level of competency and how the skilful educator
recognised what was needed to challenge the child and bring him/her to the next level. The ultimate aim is to enable
both children to carry out the respective tasks independently in the future. This is scaffolding.
4 Co-constructing
What is Co-constructing and how does it enhance children’s learning and development?
As a teaching strategy, co-construction describes how the educator and the child form meaning and build knowledge about the
world with each other. Co-construction promotes the collaborative nature of children’s learning as it motivates children to enter
into meaningful activities and discussions with the adult, to explore shared meanings and build knowledge together through
a range of learning opportunities and activities. This belief in this idea as a teaching strategy comes from Social Constructivist
(Vygotsky, Bruner) theories of learning and development where children learn as a direct result of meaningful interaction with his/
her environment.
How do I Co-Construct?
Co-construction happens when you explore multiple ways of explaining something or working out a problem. The mutual
involvement between the educator and the child makes the process exciting, stimulating and enriching. Therefore, co-
construction is an effective teaching technique for extending children’s level of understanding and the ability to express this
understanding in any area of development. Co-construction techniques emphasise meaning and understanding rather than the
acquisition of facts. Through a gradual, shared building of knowledge and understanding between the educator and child, the
child co-constructs knowledge, through symbolic languages such as music, drama, art, story or movement.
Co-constructing in Practice
The educator has three key functions in enabling co-construction.

1. Uncover, read and acknowledge the child’s understandings
2. Enable the child to express and share their understandings with others
3. Collaborate children’s understandings with others
4. Build on the child’s understandings
Babies co-construct knowledge and awareness of their environment by stimulating their senses. Provide interesting things
to see, hear, smell, touch and taste. Support the baby to explore scented water in a shallow tub with interesting items floating
on top. Hang wind chimes from the ceilings and place low-level mirrors around the room. The floor is also an interesting
landscape of humps and bumps for babies to roll on, crawl across and explore – big fat cushions, textured rugs, shiny objects
and colourful throws.
Toddlers are finding out about water. Educators and children co-construct knowledge together by splashing in the puddles,
making mud pies and collecting rain water. They explore different colours and textures in the indoor water tray. The adult talks
about water when washing hands and faces before snack. A walk in the park/trip to the beach allows children to explore water in
the environment. The educator provides materials and resources to enable children to make water collages/paintings/handprints.
Children participate in simple songs about water, ducks and rain. Older children can help care for goldfish, water plants and learn
about preserving water.
Pre-school children co-construct knowledge about trees and forests. They climb trees, explore the texture of trees and leaves.
They smell trees and leaves and listen to sounds made by the leaves. They consider the height of trees and identify different trees.
They discuss the different places where trees grow and share their understanding of trees with others. From their observations
of trees, the group enters into a shared activity of making a model of a tree for the hallway and adding leaves and they make clay
models of trees and leaves. Children take photographs of trees and make a book about trees. They measure and consider the
size of trees. Children participate in music, movement, drama and storytelling to build their knowledge of trees. They share their
thoughts, interpretations, experiences and knowledge with educators and peers.
5 Modelling
What is Modelling and how does it enhance children’s learning and development?
Modelling is a process by which children learn how to behave by copying the behaviour of others. Educators play a crucial role in
acting as a model for children. The value of educators modelling appropriate language, behaviour, skills and attitudes is especially
recognised as such modelling is consequential in terms of cognitive, social and dispositional outcomes. Modelling takes place
when children copy these appropriate behaviours.
How do I act as a Model?
This pedagogical strategy does not require direct intervention, rather, the educator leads by example over a period of time. For
example, if the educator wants to encourage children to share resources or materials, the most effective way of doing this is
to set up opportunities where children can observe the educator participating in sharing behaviours with children and other
adults. Children will be more motivated to imitate adult behaviours when they have developed a secure positive relationship
with the educator.
Modelling in Practice
Learning and Development

Modelling techniques can be used with just about any behaviour the educator wants children to learn. Modelling is particularly
effective in teaching appropriate social behaviours such as helping children to play cooperatively, to listen or to resolve problems
and conflict. Educator role modelling is also used to promote good eating habits and a positive attitude to healthy food, to
encourage children’s interest in books and reading, and to build socially inclusive learning environments where everyone that
participates is valued and involved.
It is important for young children to spend time with older peers (For example, toddlers spending some time in a pre-school
room) to enable them to model skills and dispositions of children more competent than themselves.
Meeting a child with a disability in the early childhood setting may be a first encounter for many children. Educators model
positive attitudes towards children/parents with disabilities by modelling respect, tolerance and acceptance. This is demonstrated
through positive behaviours such as maintaining eye contact and speaking directly to the child instead of the person with them.
Model patience by allowing time for speech or movements. Provide positive role models of living with a disability through for
example, inviting visitors to the early childhood setting to talk about their achievements and by using posters, books and puzzles
that include positive images of a person with a disability.
Gender, Ethnicity and Culture
Many of the activities and resources promoted by the early childhood setting provide children with clear representations of how
males and females should behave. Many of these are gender stereotyped. Many posters, games, puzzles, stories and rhymes
portray males in a dominant way. It is essential that educators are mindful of this and include resources that present boys and girls
with positive role models that portray females in non-traditional roles such as a Firefighter or Doctor. Place equal value on indoor
and outdoor play and promote equally to boys and girls.
Likewise, children need to have access to positive role models from their own ethnic and cultural group. Provide an inclusive
learning environment where different cultures, family types, abilities and occupations are reflected across books, posters, play
equipment, cooking utensils and dress up clothes. Reflect the home language of all children in the setting through dual labelling
of areas, belongings and play resources.
6 Questioning
What is Questioning and how does it enhance children’s learning and development?
From an early age, children use questions as a means of communicating with each other and with adults. Therefore, questioning is
an effective pedagogical technique for the educator to promote learning and development with all children.
There are two types of questions that can be used to gain information from children – open questions and closed questions.
Each type of question makes different demands on children’s cognitive and language skills. Early Childhood Educators use open
ended questioning as a pedagogical technique as this form of questioning assumes that there is no right or wrong answer. There
are many possible answers, levels of understanding and openings for children to express what they actually know, think and feel.
Open questions encourage children to endlessly hypothesise about how the world works, or to predict outcomes of a particular
activity or event.
Closed questions limit the answer that the child can give – it ‘closes off’ options to elaborate or share further thoughts or ideas.
Closed questions are beneficial when seeking factual information, when the educator requires a short answer – for example, to
find out the names of flowers, a pets name or the rules of the early childhood setting.
How do I use open questioning techniques?
• Avoid questions that require a yes or no answer. Ask children how, when, where, what or why.
• Ensure that questions follow a logical sequence and are pitched appropriately for the age and ability of the child.
• Use short sentences - this is particularly important for toddlers and younger children.
• Ask one question at a time – asking a number of questions together will only confuse children.
• Focus questions on a single task or event – avoid double-barrelled questions, for example ‘what did you have for lunch and
who is taking you home today?’
• Limit ‘whole group’ questioning as children can become bored – questioning is more effective if carried out in small groups
or on a one to one basis.
• Allow children adequate time to answer questions; this is particularly important for toddlers and younger children and
children with speech and language difficulties.
• Value children’s answers and contributions. Demonstrate interest and warmth in responses to children.
• Use prompting techniques to encourage children’s thinking. For example, rephrasing or simplifying the question or
summarising what the child has said will act as a scaffold for the child’s thinking.
Questioning in Practice
In addition to extending children’s communication and language skills, skilful questioning can promote and enhance children’s
thinking and learning. The early childhood educator can become a skilful questioner of children by adopting a range of
questioning techniques as follows:
Share ideas and understandings … encourage children to question themselves, others and their environment.
The educator is facilitating a small group discussion on recycling rubbish. She uses open-ended questioning techniques to
encourage children to share ideas and their understanding of the topic. Why do we do this? What would happen if we did not do
this? What do you think about people that… ? What happens in your house? Have you any ideas about … ?
Voice feelings … extend children’s communication skills and encourage the development of empathy with others.
The educator is preparing children for a new child joining the group the following week. She uses this event as an opportunity
to employ open-ended questioning techniques to discuss this with the children … What do you think about Ciara joining our
group? How do you think Ciara will feel when she comes to our pre-school? Can you think of any words to describe how she will
feel? What can we do to help Ciara feel welcome?
Guess and predict … involve children in active learning through discussion.

The educator is reading a familiar story to a small group of toddlers. She uses open ended questioning techniques to encourage
the children to guess and predict … Where is the fox going? What is going to happen next? How will he get home?
The educator is working alongside pre-school children making models from magnetic blocks. She uses open ended questioning
techniques to extend their thinking and enable them to hypothesise their ideas … What would happen if …? What do you think
this part does? How does it work? Is there another way we could do this?
Recall experiences … help children reflect on information, feelings or events.

The educator is calling out a small group recall activity with toddlers at the end of the day. What did you do this morning? What
was the best thing about it? Who did you play with today? What are you going to do tomorrow?
The educator is encouraging 3-5 year old children to recall a story featured the week before … Who were the people in the story?
How many of them had pets? What kind of trouble did the pets get into? What happened when the farmer came home early?
Age and ability appropriate questioning
Educators need to be aware of the different ages and abilities of children in order to frame questions appropriately. The child’s age
and stage of development will act as a guide for the appropriate style of questioning.
Babies and pre-verbal children mainly ask questions using body language such as pointing or gesturing. In turn, the adult
verbalises the babies question which in turn develops language and communication competence.
Toddlers under two mainly use single words to ask questions. However thay can understand simple, short questions asked of them.
Children between two and five are persistent questioners – a favourite being ‘ Why?’ The educator can introduce more complex
question as the child develops across this stage.
When the educator questions a child with additional needs, as with all children at different stages and levels of development, they
should frame their questions accordingly. Educators may need to modify specific questioning techniques to take account of a
specific disability. For example, to speak face to face with a child with a hearing impairment.
7 Encouraging and Praising
What is Encouraging and Praising and how does it enhance children’s learning and development?
Using praise to teach children what is expected of them is a relatively new kind of teaching and parenting technique. Less than
a century ago, it was commonly assumed that praise would spoil children and that criticism and disproval would strengthen
children’s character and turn them into good citizens. In reality, this method served only to imprison creative energy; damage
self-esteem and leave individuals feeling that they could not put anything of themselves into the world unless they knew for sure
it will meet with someone else’s approval.
It is no wonder we have looked for alternative ways to teach children in a more humane manner. Today, many consider the use
of praise to be ‘self-esteem building’ and it is now commonly accepted that self-esteem is the root of strong character and good
performance. Praise is undoubtedly an important and powerful form of communication.
How do I Encourage and Praise?
As a teaching technique, praise shows children that they deserve recognition, acceptance and approval. Praise can be verbal
or non-verbal. Educators use encouragement as a teaching technique to support children when attempting new or difficult
activities. Encouragement helps children persevere with a task, learn new skills or to develop positive dispositions such as respect
or co-operation.
However, there is a flip side to this argument. What we sometimes fail to realise is that, because children value the opinion of
adults so highly, frequent evaluative comments, even when positive, can foster undue dependence on the external judgement of
others, causing children to devalue their own perceptions about their competence and capabilities. Used indiscriminately, praise
loses its potency and becomes empty and meaningless.
Nevertheless, studies have shown that praise does in fact increase intrinsic motivation so we shouldn’t be afraid to use it. We do
however need to ensure that our positive comments to children are effective and non-judgemental.
Encouraging and Praising in Practice
Non-judgemental praise can be achieved through ‘reflective listening’ (also called encouragement or genuine praise). A
reflective listening comment tells the child how and what his behaviours look like regardless of the performance level.
When adults use reflective listening techniques, children feel like their behaviours and their sense of self are validated. This is built
on the idea that children deserve confirmation, not approval from adults.
• Most often, these statements begin with ‘you’ or ‘I’ and a description of what the adult saw the child doing, e.g. “I saw you carry
all the dirty paint brushes to the sink, Tom. I really appreciate your help”
or
• “You had to make three trips to the sink to get all the dirty paint brushes. I really appreciate your help”.
Other tips include:
• Name the behaviour you want to reinforce - You put the puzzle back on the shelf when you finished, now someone else can
play with it
• Focus on specific attributes of the child’s work rather than on the piece in general - You have used some beautiful
colours in your picture
• Emphasise the process, not the product - Can you show me how you made your tower so high?
• Help children appreciate their own behaviour and achievements to please themselves rather than others - You
must feel very proud of the way you shared your pencils with Sam
Encouraging and Praising the Under 3’s
There are many non-verbal ways in which the educator can encourage young babies. For example, verbal encouragement
supports emerging language competence and communication skills. When the educator responds to sounds made by the baby
by repeating them, the baby is strongly encouraged to repeat the sounds and to experiment with new sounds.
Toddlers are extremely sensitive to the reactions of adults in their environment. Therefore educators need to be especially careful
to encourage rather than to praise toddlers. As with older children, too much praise can quickly lead to the toddler becoming
dependent on the adult to approve of their performance.
There are a number of ways of offering encouragement and physical help to the under 3’s. For example:
• Moving a toy closer to the child
• Sitting beside the child to offer support when needed
• Smiling or nodding at an appropriate moment
• Clapping and cheering when the child has achieved something.
Using praise as a Behaviour Improvement Technique
It is commonly felt that children who display challenging behaviour don’t deserve praise. This is a worrying mistake. In reality, the
confidence of children with behaviour difficulties is such that they need encouragement and praise far more than other children
who are receiving it already.
People often think that the best way to change a child’s behaviour is to criticise and scold them when they misbehave – pointing
out the error of their ways, so to speak.
However, this approach has a number of drawbacks: excessive criticism can damage a child’s confidence and ability to change; it
leaves the child and adult upset; and it gives attention to the misbehaviour.
What is far more effective is for the adult to encourage examples of good behaviour that they see. There is a simple rule in
psychology that what we give our attention to grows in significance. Adults should use this rule to their advantage and notice the
times when the opposite of the inappropriate behaviour occurs.
For example if you are concerned about a child repeatedly fighting with other children, notice the times they get along with
another child, or they start to share and encourage this instead.
8 Problem-solving
What is Problem-solving and how does it enhance children’s learning and development?
Children’s lives are full of dilemmas and problems to solve. As a teaching technique, problem-solving describes how the
educator helps children to find answers to problems, questions, dilemmas and issues that children face every day. Problems
can be either physical or social. Physical problems are those relating to the physical world – How will you reach the top shelf?
How will you make a tunnel without the castle falling down?
Social problems are those relating to peers, adults or situations –Can you think of anything that will be help Mary to stop
crying? How can you tell the other children you want to join in? How will you decide what book to take home?
Problem-solving skills are the foundation of all areas of learning and development. In addition to developing mathematical and
scientific competence, learning to problem-solve will support children to develop a range of positive learning dispositions including:
• Initiative
• Self-confidence and social skills
• Responsibility
• Resilience
How do I Problem-solve?
It is a fundamental basis for all children’s learning and development that they learn how to problem-solve. To enable this, educators:
• Facilitate a problem-solving climate
• Allow time and space to problem solve
• Provide materials to encourage problem solving
• Prompt appropriate problems to solve
Problem-solving in Practice
Educators enable children to problem solve by facilitating an environment where children can plan, predict outcomes, make
decisions and reflect on the results of their actions.
Open-ended questioning techniques will help stimulate creative problem-solving. For example:
• What will we do to fix this?

• Can you think of what we will need?
• What will happen if?
• How will we find out?
Using ‘Thinking’ Language
An effective pedagogical strategy to assist problem solving is to place emphasis on using ‘thinking language’. Educators can draw
children’s attention to the importance of thinking, for example, “Let’s Stop and Think”; “That is very good thinking”; “I am going to
give you some thinking time”; “I am looking out for the best thinkers today”; and “I want you to think carefully and think back on
yesterday/last week”.
9 Documenting
What is Documenting and how does it enhance children’s learning and development?
Documenting children’s learning describes all the ways in which information is gathered and presented to build a unique and
lively picture of the child including their progress in learning and development over a period of time. The early childhood
educator gradually builds a picture of the child’s interests, strengths and competencies across a range of learning opportunities
and social contexts.
Meaningful assessment through the Learning Story Approach
Documenting children’s learning experiences in the form of a story gives the early childhood educator an opportunity to do
justice to the uniqueness of the individual child and to write with enthusiasm and humour in a way that gives a sense of who
the child is as a learner. Whilst report cards and checklists highlight what a child has mastered, the written narrative captures
conversations, unique learning moments and relationships which give a sense of how learning came about, where and when
it took place and who was involved. This type of assessment is a process rather than an end in itself, a process which can foster
and enhance children’s learning and development.
How do I Document?
The Learning Journey Portfolio

The Learning Journey Portfolio is a large folder, scrapbook, box or wallpaper book and contains a collection of observations
and ‘work’ that tells the story of the child’s efforts, progress and achievement over a period of time. The portfolio complements
meaningful assessment practice as it celebrates the child as a unique individual. A portfolio is an effective way of compiling and
presenting information that will reflect who the child is as a learner. This includes the child’s strengths, abilities and interests. Portfolios
are useful for a number of reasons as they:
• Are adaptable to a variety of contexts, for example, the age and development of the child, type of early childhood setting,
curriculum or approach to assessment.
• Capture the multi-dimensional aspects of young children’s learning and development.
• Focus on the positive – what the child can do.
• Give children a sense of responsibility and ownership over their own learning, for example, in selecting content for the
portfolio and reflecting on learning.
• Provide for meaningful, ongoing assessment which integrates assessment with teaching and learning.
• Are a practical source of information for communicating to children, parents and colleagues.
• Provide a complete and meaningful picture of the child and supports the continuation of learning when the time comes to
move to another early childhood setting or school.
Portfolios demonstrate both the place (the context in which the activity took place) and the process of learning (how learning and
development came about). The place and process of learning is documented using multiple sources and methods of collecting
information. Portfolios offer a useful means of presenting evidence of children’s learning and development for those external
agencies carrying out evaluations of practice, for example, the pre-school inspectors or assessors for a quality award.
The Learning Journey Portfolio also includes the ‘voice of the child’ through self-reflections. Conversations with children about their
portfolios engage them in the evaluation process and increase their motivation to demonstrate their increasing knowledge and
skills. This type of documentation can be revisited and photographs can be ‘read’ by even the youngest children. Sharing portfolios
with parents provides continuity of learning for the child and involves parents in their children’s education. In addition, the Learning
Journey Portfolio provides a meaningful and individual picture of the child when moving to a new setting.
The figure below provides an overview of the different components, including the different types of Learning Stories that make up a
Learning Journey Portfolio.
samples of
child’s work
(drawings, child
made books),
the child’s voice
information
written
from the child:
observations,
interests and
snapshot notes and
strengths, family
learning stories
and friends
The
Learning
information Journey
from parents Portfolio end of year
(comments, summary / record of
photos) achievement
awards or
certificates photgraphs
(friendship, (engaged in
helper, positive learning, displays
behaviour) or models)
Documentation in Practice
The Learning Journey Portfolio should:

• Be a positive record of the achievements and experiences gained during the child’s time in the early childhood service.
• Demonstrate the uniqueness of the child.
• Include as many perspectives as possible (child, parents, early childhood educator).
• Reflect the wider interests of the child and not be confined to the pre-planned experiences of the service alone.
• Highlight the child’s positive learning dispositions, skills, attitudes, knowledge and understanding.
• Strike a balance between being user-friendly and understandable for parents, and informative to follow-on early childhood
educators and teachers.
• Facilitate the continuity of learning when transferring from one setting to another.
Section 4:
g L ea rnin g
Advancin opment
an d D eve l
As se ss m en t
th rou gh
The issue of assessment in early childhood demands special consideration. In terms of assessment
practice, what works for older children or adolescents is not appropriate for younger children.
Assessment in early childhood requires understanding that young children have unique needs,
grow and change rapidly. Young children do not learn and develop in an isolated manner; nor do
they acquire knowledge or learn skills without learning other things in context. Consequently,
measuring whether children have acquired specific skills or knowledge in a ‘one fits all’ manner,
is largely invalid to the promotion of learning and development in early childhood
(Sweeney, A. Building Pictures of Learning, 2009).
section will consid

er:
rly Childhood Care
This Ea
essment in
of Ass
* The Role
d uc a tio n in Ireland Childhood
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M ea nin g ful Assessm h Le ar nin g Stories
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The Role of Assessment in Early

Childhood Care and Education in Ireland
As we become increasingly aware of the potential of early childhood education to build secure foundations for lifelong
learning and educational success, requirements for greater accountability and enhanced educational performance within the
early childhood sector have grown. One aspect of this is the requirement for more formal assessment of children’s learning and
development against childcare regulations, national quality frameworks and curricular guidelines.
Assessment practice based on the individual needs and abilities of the child is a widely recognised component of quality
practice in early childhood education in Ireland. Legislative requirements in the form of the Child Care (Pre-School Services)
(no 2) Regulations 2006 (and in particular obligations under Regulation 5), are aimed at ensuring all aspects of a child’s daily
experiences within a childcare service are planned and implemented to ensure the individual needs and interests of each
child are best met. Specific to this, Regulation 5 refers to how a service ensures adequate preparation, provision and planning
for the health, welfare and development of the child. It outlines how in order to do this, a childcare service must provide
‘appropriate opportunities, experiences, activities, interaction, materials and equipment, having regard to the age and stage of
development of the child and the child’s cultural context’ Child Care (Pre-school Services) (no 2) Regulations 2006.
Síolta and Aistear emphasise the importance of assessment as a means to inform children’s learning. For
example, Standard 7 of Síolta states ‘Planning for curriculum or programme implementation is based on the
child’s individual profile, which is established through systematic observation and assessment for learning’
(CECDE, 2006). Aistear specifically highlights the potential of assessment practice to children’s learning and
development and defines assessment as ‘the ongoing process of collecting, documenting, reflecting on and
using information to develop rich portraits of children as learners in order to support and enhance their future
learning’ (NCCA 2009).
The Education for Persons with Special Education Needs Act (EPSEN) 2004 is also highly significant for those working in early
childhood services. Where children may have a learning difficulty, the EPSEN Act highlights children’s right to an assessment by
professionals and to an Individual Education Plan (IEP) that will set out the child’s educational needs and supports to be provided.
Meaningful Assessment for early

Childhood - a special approach
Children are at their best when they are interested and motivated. Children understand and learn when things are meaningful
and real to them. Therefore, the ongoing observation and documentation of children’s actual performance whilst engaged in
meaningful learning activities and situations in their day-to-day setting is the most reliable way of building a picture of what
children can actually do.
Meaningful assessment refers to an assessment approach that is child-centred and individual to the child such as the Learning
Story Approach. Information documented as a result of meaningful assessment practice builds up a holistic and real picture
of the child and is a powerful mechanism to inform, support and enhance learning and development. This approach to
assessment views the child as a competent, active learner and reflects a broad, holistic picture of the child. It requires an
understanding of the child in context, enabling the early childhood educator to build upon learning from within the wider
context of the child’s family, home, interests and community background.
Early childhood is a crucial time for children to develop positive dispositions towards learning and towards life. Meaningful
assessment in early childhood has valuable educational potential in understanding, supporting and extending this learning.
Assessment helps the early childhood educator to understand what and how the child is learning and how to support and
enhance the child’s learning in the future. Planning and assessing day by day ensures that a curriculum for babies, toddlers
and young children is relevant and responsive to their emerging strengths, abilities, interests and needs.
Meaningful assessment practice takes place over time and in a variety of learning contexts, for example, indoors and outdoors,
alone and with others, at different times of the day and engaging with different activities. Information gathered from
meaningful assessment demonstrates the richness of what the child knows and can do, and enables the early childhood
educator to support the child to build on his/her strengths and interests. This ongoing documentation of information
gradually builds a picture of the child’s unique learning dispositions, skills, attitudes, knowledge and understanding.
The difference between checking learning and supporting learning

Comparatively speaking, there are two different approaches to assessment:
• Assessment of Learning
• Assessment for Learning
Assessment of Learning is usually summative, meaning that an assessment is carried out at the end of a term or year.
Typically there is an emphasis on comparing children, highlighting which children are doing well (in terms of predetermined
goals) and those who are not. In Assessment of Learning, there is usually no indication of what the child needs in terms of
support or future planning.
On the other hand, Assessment for Learning describes where the emphasis shifts from summative to formative. Formative
assessment happens during the learning, on a number of occasions rather than at the end. Assessment for Learning is not
about making comparative judgements; it is about informing, supporting and enhancing learning.
Formative assessment or Assessment for Learning is the most suitable means of assessing children’s progress in learning
in early childhood. However, developmental stage theory has provided a firm foundation for the viewpoint that skills and
understandings have an early stage and that the task of early childhood education is to ensure that specific developmental
skills are taught in an orderly sequence. Subsequently, the early childhood education curriculum has been informed by ideas
arising from developmental theory, which describes children’s development in universal terms, the same for every child,
everywhere, across time. This means that development has been largely viewed as a predictable process, ignoring influences
of children’s wider environment, for example, their family, prior experience and culture. This has cultivated a model of
assessment which views learning as a progression through a hierarchy of skills, for example, developmental checklists.
Few, if any, standardised group administered checklists or tests are responsive to the wide range of growth rates, abilities and
experiences of young children. Children’s backgrounds influence their dispositions, attitudes, skills, knowledge, understanding
and ways of interacting with others. The knowledge a child has about the environment, sport, books or a holiday destination is
directly related to the place of that knowledge in a particular family, social background or culture.
Checklists - a word of caution

Pre-determined developmental checklists have a long established tradition in early childhood assessment practice. At best,
child development checklists are used to gauge developmental milestones, to identify specific skill deficits (as in diagnostic
assessment), or to provide evidence of meeting curriculum goals. Checklists do not reflect the way in which young children
learn. They do not describe the process of learning. They penalise children whose experiences and strengths are different
from those of the dominant group and do not reflect the deeply reflective nature of young children’s thinking. Developmental
checklists are a method of segmenting the changes that take place as young children grow, into graspable chunks for adults
to understand. Although this is a convenient option, particularly when applied to assessment, it does not provide meaningful
information that will support the next steps in the child’s learning.
The use of developmental checklists directly contradicts a child-centred approach. This is because checklists view the
developing child as deficient, with pre-determined ‘gaps’ in their learning. This means that the areas in which the child
is ‘unable’ become the focus point for the early childhood educator. Subsequently, the child’s strengths, interests and
preferred methods of learning can be ignored, losing out on potentially the most powerful vehicle for learning – being
motivated to learn.
Assessment of the Past and Assessment for the Future

Traditional methods of assessment such as pre-determined developmental checklists can be described as assessment of the
past. This means that assessment information focuses on what has already happened. Alternatively, meaningful assessment
is assessment for the future, meaning the purpose of the assessment is to provide information to support future learning
and development. The figure below demonstrates the difference between traditional methods of assessment, for example,
checklists and meaningful assessment methods, for example, the Learning Story Approach.
Traditional Assessment: Meaningful Assessment:

assessment of the past assessment for the future
The same for all children regardless of ability, interests Individual to the child, highlights their interests,
or background strengths and abilities
Measures things that are relevant to the educator Focuses on things that are meaningful and relevant to
the child
Foregrounds specific isolated items of knowledge or Describes the child’s positive dispositions to learn and
skills like colour, shape, cutting or numbers the process of learning
Isolates the child, promotes competition and compari- Encourages collaboration between children and pro-
son between children motes a shared purpose
Makes a judgement about the child’s learning without Provides a lively picture of how and where the learn-
providing a context to the decision ing took place and who was present at the time
Measures what the child can do unaided and unsup- Highlights what the child is capable of doing with the
ported support of others
Is undertaken by one person Is undertaken in collaboration with the child, parents

and the early childhood educator
Checks learning that has taken place Informs, supports and enhances future learning.
The relationship between assessment practice

and the early childhood curriculum
A child centred curriculum goes hand in hand with meaningful assessment practice. Assessment practice is not something
that happens following the delivery of specific elements of the early childhood curriculum. Rather, assessment practice
is embedded within the early childhood curriculum to inform the provision of meaningful and appropriate learning
opportunities for children. These learning opportunities are guided by the overarching learning aims and goals of the
early childhood curriculum. The continuous use of information gathered from assessment will shape an appropriate early
childhood curriculum so that it remains challenging and responsive to the child’s needs.
Assessment is a natural part of the early childhood educator’s daily observations of and interactions with the child in a
variety of different contexts and learning situations. When stimulating experiences are provided for the child and he/she
is engaged in active learning and opportunities for assessment are plentiful.
The Early Childhood Educator:

• Observes children, listens to children, interacts with children
• Documents what children say, do and make
• Responds to children’s learning, emerging interests and abilities by providing appropriate learning opportunities
• Supports and enables children to take their learning to the next level
• Shares information (with colleagues, the child, parents)
• Plans the next steps in children’s learning.
Learning how to see children’s learning

The key to effective assessment is to observe purposefully and document examples of learning that provide rich
information about the child’s experiences. This requires the early childhood educator to become very familiar with the aims
and goals of the early childhood curriculum and in using it as a framework to plan learning opportunities for children.
When the early childhood educator documents learning and development, as opposed to a pre-determined outcome, the
main focus is on the process of learning. Important processes are involved in everyday activities, such as the baby’s response
to a new toy, the toddlers’ newfound ability to throw things or the young child’s developing interest in making things.
Regular and ongoing observation is a particularly meaningful technique as it intrudes minimally on those activities that
naturally integrate all aspects of learning and development. Early childhood educators working with young children can make
judgements based on their observations of what children do and say in a variety of different contexts and play situations,
rather than through formal assessments.
Capturing Uniqueness through

Learning Stories
The Learning Story Approach is a meaningful method of assessment that captures the uniqueness of the individual
child. Learning stories reveal a positive image of the young child as an active learner with distinctive strengths, abilities
and interests. Learning stories draw attention to the child’s positive learning dispositions, skills and attitudes and describe
learning at a particular time and place and in the presence of particular people and objects. The Learning Story
Approach considers learning as a process or a journey, which changes over time. Judgements are therefore made over a
prolonged period and involve the child and other adults.
Early childhood educators gather information about children by observing them in different situations – playing alone,
in groups, in conversation with siblings and peers and in the company of adults. The early childhood educator gets to know
each child individually and uses assessment information to plan for progression in a way that is meaningful to the child.
The Learning Story Approach promotes shared values for the child’s learning and there is an ongoing process of
communication between families and the early childhood service relating to the child’s well-being, development and
learning. This provides a more accurate picture of the child as a learner and promotes a collaborative approach involving
the child and key people in his/her life. A series of learning stories are compiled in a portfolio and used to build up a holistic
picture of the child over a period of time.
Sample Learning Story
Bathing Babies’… a learning story

Name: Mia Chambers
Date: 10th November 2012
Learning context: Group activity -bathing babies at the water tray
Assessment Method: Observation
Adult: AS
Story: the story of learning is:

A new baby has just joined Mia’s extended family. At group time the previous day, Mia asked ‘can we bath the babies
tomorrow?’ The children were asked to bring in some old shampoo bottles, towels, combs and brushes.
When Mia arrived in the morning she was excited to see the water tray prepared for the activity. She chose a doll from the
home corner, undressed it and got started straight away!
Throughout the activity she was completely self-absorbed – she purposefully played alongside the other children – only
interacting to share shampoo bottles and water jugs.
She constantly talked to her ‘baby’ and demonstrated caring dispositions throughout. ‘I am going to pour the water over
your head nice and easy – I won’t let it go into your eyes’ … ‘I will put the towel around you to get you nice and dry and
keep you nice and warm’.
Review: the key points of this learning story are:

• Mia was able to communicate and express an interest in acting out a real life situation
• She was purposefully absorbed in this activity
• She shared resources easily
• She demonstrated caring dispositions
Moving forward:
The new baby in Mia’s extended family has clearly sparked her imagination. Enable her to explore different aspects of a new
addition to the family through other activities such as stories, setting up a baby table containing baby items, bringing in
photos of the new baby to share at news time, inviting her new family member to visit the setting.
Group ideas:
Plan a ‘When I was a Baby’ activity with the whole group. Ask children to bring in their baby photographs to enable Mia and
the other children to reflect on how they have grown, things they did as babies etc. Involve parents by getting them to
contribute a funny story of something each child did as a baby and use this information as a ‘guess who’ activity – e.g. When
I was a baby, I …. Guess who I am?
The Learning Story – a 3 part structure

A Learning Story is a narrative story of learning, written to highlight specific key learning moments. Learning Stories are
similar to narrative style observations, but they are more structured. Early childhood educators use observations, written
like a story, to describe what the child can do, drawing attention to the child’s uniqueness and positive dispositions
to learn. A Learning Story provides a lively account of the child’s learning experiences. They can be either planned
observations (where the early childhood educator plans to assess the child’s progress in relation to a specific skill or learning
goal) or spontaneous anecdotal snapshots. Snapshot notes describe an instant ‘picture’ of the child at one specific
time. The early childhood educator records anecdotal notes about a particular child or group of children as a result of an
unplanned, spontaneous noteworthy behaviour or interaction. Learning Stories can also be presented using photographs,
a record of a discussion with the child or parent or by writing the child’s comments on his/her work (self-assessment).
Although Learning Stories can be presented in a variety of formats, they have a simple basic three part structure. This
includes a learning episode (the observation narrative, the story of learning), a summary of learning (key dispositions,
skills, attitudes, knowledge and understanding observed) and a moving forward section (further activities to inform
planning). Learning Stories are usually accompanied by photographs and the moving forward can involve the early
childhood educator, team colleagues, the child and the parent. Early childhood educators use photographs, copies of
children’s work and comments from parents to support the written narrative. Learning Stories are clear, to the point,
informative and do not have to be long.
The Learning Story – a 3 part structure
The learning episode can be:

Part 1: • A brief description of what has been observed
• The outline of a conversation with a child
Learning • A comment made by the child (child’s voice)
Story • A sequence of photographs
Part 2: The summary of learning/development includes:

• Key learning points that demonstrate progress in learning in
Review of either positive dispositions, skills, additudes, knowledge and
Learning understanding
The moving forward section describes:

Part 3: • How the early childhood educator intends to build on learning
Moving • Further activities to consolidate learning
Forward • The child’s ideas for taking the idea forward
• Ideas to include in planning.
Sample Learning Story
I Can Communicate… a learning story

Name: Conor
Date: 23rd May 2012
Learning context: Exploring in the baby areay
Assessment Method: Interactive observation
Adult: AS
Story: the story of learning is:

Conor is extremely sociable and demonstrates an ability to communicate with others in a number of ways. He pays great
attention to facial expression and makes eye contact with adults to initiate communication. He watches and imitates adults
in clapping hands and peek a boo games frequently shaking his head or covering his eyes. His language is developing into
conversation conveyed through a variety of jabber using different tones and pitches.
Conor takes great interest in what’s going on in the room and can watch adults and other children intently for several
minutes. He squeals or shouts to attract attention to himself, waits for the adult response and smiles or laughs when he gets
it. He has also perfected a ‘kissing routine’ as a means of communication which he has now worked out always results in
positive attention!
Review: the key points of this learning story are:

• Conor has formed secure relationships in the crèche
• Conor can initiate communication and respond to adult interaction
• Conor can communicate how he feels through non verbal gestures and sounds
Moving forward:
Build on Conor’s communication skills by placing him in areas of the room where he can see plenty of activity – including
outdoors. Play different types of music to stimulate a response from Conor – fast, slow, etc. Talk with Conor and involve him
in small group activities with his peers and with slightly older children.
This learning story is presented in a basic three-part structure – firstly it

outlines the story of learning, then it reviews the key learning points and
finally it provides pointers that can be used for planning.
Building meaningful Pictures

of Learning
Meaningful assessment is a powerful mechanism for learning. As we have seen, assessment in early childhood is not about
‘testing’ what a child can and cannot do, rather it is the process of ‘tuning in’ to the individual child, gathering information
about the child’s learning and development, and using the information to support and extend learning.
Documenting children’s learning describes all the ways in which information is gathered and presented to build a unique
and lively picture of the child including their progress in learning and development over a period of time. The early
childhood educator gradually builds a picture of the child’s interests, strengths and competencies across a range of learning
opportunities and social contexts. Using a varied approach (observing children in a variety of different ways, in different
places, and at different times) will build an accurate picture of the child, for example by:
• Carrying out planned observations (for example, setting tasks) and recording informal anecdotal notes (a
snapshot of a child at a particular time) can be used to capture information on all areas of learning and development.
Observations or snapshot notes can be used on their own to record a specific disposition or skill or combined with
others to form a broader learning story. Observations and notes can also be used to contribute to a child’s daily diary
or record of care.
• Engaging with children in conversation is one of the most insightful ways of gathering information about their
thoughts, interests and experiences. The early childhood educator records children’s comments, using these to assess
children’s understanding and to plan the next steps in learning.
• Helping children to think about and reflect on their own learning through self-assessment. By revisiting activities,
events and interactions, children develop understanding of and make connections with their prior and new learning.
Self-assessment gives the early childhood educator insight into areas such as the child’s self-esteem, motivation,
understanding and perception of themselves as a learner.
• Using photographs, video and audio records to tell a Learning Story and over time record progression in children’s
learning. These also allow the child, the early childhood educator and parents to reflect on and revisit learning
experiences.
• Examples of the child’s work accompanied by their interpretations and comments promote the child’s voice in the
learning and progress. Sometimes samples of work can be chosen by the child and sometimes by the child and adult
together.
• Engaging and sharing information with collegues and parents is essential to find out about children at different
times and in other places, especially in the home.
For a range of sample Learning Stories see Building Pictures of Learning and for more information on
Documenting, see Section 3: Pedagogical Techniques and Strategies.
Partners in Learning - key people in

Meaningful The aims and goals of
the assessment process Assessment supports the early childhood
curriculum are the
children to make progress
along the way learning journey you
Meaningful assessment requires a collaborative approach want to take children on
to gathering and building pictures of learning. It involves
the parent, the child and the early childhood educator. This
collaborative approach promotes shared values for the child’s A Roadmap
well-being, learning and development. Through meaningful
and respectful relationships, the child’s learning journey is for Learning The child, parents,
Learning Stories
supported and enhanced. build a picture of educator and colleagues
the child’s unique are the people
learning journey participating in the
journey
Síolta and Aistear

are the navigation
tools to guide
your travels
The Significance of the Early

Childhood Professional
A framework for holistic learning and development is provided by the early childhood educator. He/she creates an interesting
and challenging learning environment, interacts with children in a responsive meaningful way, enables learning through
trusting and respectful relationships and ‘tunes in’ to the individual child to understand and provide for the next steps in
learning. Central to the effectiveness of assessment practice is the early childhood educator’s knowledge of how children
learn. Assessment for the purposes of recognising, supporting and extending learning and development is a complex process
requiring considerable professional knowledge, skills and expertise on behalf of the early childhood educator.
It is worth remembering that although observations and learning stories provide evidence of learning, they are only
translated into assessments that support learning when the early childhood educator can appropriately interpret and
respond to the information collected. This involves judging the nature and extent of a child’s learning, the significance of
this development and how best to support the next steps. A solid knowledge of child development and the ability to make
informed judgments is then crucial to the process of assessment.
Central to the development of effective assessment practice for the early childhood educator is the continual expansion
of professional knowledge in understanding child development, how young children think and learn, and in assessment
techniques. Meaningful assessment practice is a proficiency that builds over time and is supported by both guidelines for
good practice and ongoing professional development.
The early childhood educator also plays an important role in supporting and advising parents on what they can do to
extend and reinforce their child’s learning and to identify children whose learning requires additional support due to
developmental delay and/or learning difficulties.
Valuing the voice of the Child and the voice of the Parent
The first steps in including the voice of the child and the voice of the parent is by providing a child profile booklet prior
to the child starting in the childcare service. This enables the parent and child to pass on important information about
the child’s individual interests, strengths and family background to inform the first stage in planning appropriate and
meaningful learning experiences.
Day-to-day conversations with children provide rich contexts for assessments of learning and development.
Communication skills such as questioning, encouraging and listening, play a key part in gaining information as part of
natural conversations with children.
Including the Voice of the Child

As we have seen, traditional methods of assessment did not include the child as part of the assessment process. Usually, the early
childhood educator would compile the assessment and share it with parents, however, the child was not involved. The Learning Story
Approach involves the child in the assessment process and enables him/her to see themselves as an active participant in their own
learning. The child feels that their ‘voice’ is heard and that their opinion is valued by the early childhood educator.
It is also crucial that the early childhood educator is capable of developing and using effective interaction skills during day-
to-day communications with children, since these will be necessary to ensure optimal learning and development. Some of
the ways that early childhood educators can ‘listen’ and respond to the voice of the child include:
• Truly ‘listening’ to children – this includes ‘listening’ to their body language and non-verbal gestures, ‘listening’ to
what they have to say, and ‘listening’ to what their behaviour is saying.
• Giving children the opportunity to make decisions and choices.
• Enabling children to take the lead.
• Recording children’s actual comments on pieces of creative work or adding captions to photographs.
• Taking time to discuss with children what they plan to do for the day.
• Encouraging children to talk about, record and reflect on their plans.
• Supporting children to choose and add examples of their work to their Learning Journey Portfolios.
• Encouraging children to self-assess and reflect upon their learning.

• Recognising emerging interests and providing the appropriate resources to enable them to explore this interest.
• Ensuring that each child’s interests are reflected in curriculum planning.
To maximise the potential of these conversations for assessment, it is essential that early childhood educators draw on
a variety of interaction strategies and methods of communication, including the early childhood educators ability to
encourage children to think more deeply and ‘tease out’ their ideas. Also, the early childhood educator’s ability to engage
and guide the child, for example, thinking together to help children make sense of experiences, learn from them and
exploring alongside children to find things out rather than providing immediate answers.
Including the Voice of the Parent

Parents should be involved in the assessment process as soon as they register their child in the childcare service. One of the
best ways of informing parents about assessment procedures is through an introductory information session for new parents
at the beginning of the year. This process is assisted by providing parents with a clearly written Assessment for Learning Policy
and an Information Leaflet outlining the rationale for the assessment approach employed by the childcare service.
Informing parents about their child’s progress in the childcare service is a key responsibility of the early childhood educator.
Regular and respectful communication between the early childhood educator and parents will enable parents to understand
the benefits of meaningful assessment to their child’s learning and development. Parents may feel apprehensive that their
child will be subject to inappropriate ‘testing’ in the early childhood setting. It is essential that the early childhood educator is
able to communicate to parents the difference between assessment of learning and assessment for learning.
The voice of the child’s parents can be easily included by encouraging parents to view and make contributions to their
child’s Learning Journey Portfolio. This can be in the form of occasional brief written accounts of how they feel their child is
progressing, a flavour of the things he/she shares about pre-school or any worries the child may have. Alternatively, the early
childhood educator can offer to record a brief comment voiced by the parent and add this to the child’s portfolio on the
parents’ behalf.
1. The ongoing observation of children’s actual performance, whilst

engaged in meaningful learning activities, is the most reliable way of
building a picture of what children can actually do.
2. The Learning Story Approach is a meaningful method of assessment
that starts with a positive image of the young child as an active learner
Rem with distinctive strengths, abilities and interests.
not ember 3. Documenting children’s learning describes all the ways in which
to f information is gathered and presented to build a unique and lively
orge
t...
picture of the child including their progress in learning and development
over a period of time.
4. Although observations and learning stories provide evidence of learning,
they are only translated into assessments that support learning when
the early childhood educator can appropriately interpret and respond to
the information collected.
5. To maximize the potential of meaningful assessment, it is crucial that the
early childhood educator is capable of using effective interaction
skills during day to day communications with children.
Section 5:
d R efl ec tin g
Plann in g a n ce
io na l P ra ct i
on P ro fess
Responsive curriculum planning focuses on finding strategies to help educators search for, support,
and keep alive children’s internal motivation to learn, and their spontaneous explorations of people
and things of interest and importance to them. This begins with meaningful observations and
documentation of individual children’s learning and development. Planned learning opportunities
should not be static. Flexibility, adaptation and change are critical parts of the learning process in
early childhood education. Once an interaction with a child or small cluster of children begins,
the educator has to be ready to adapt his or her plans and actions to meet the “momentary” needs
and interests of each child.
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Using assessment information

- planning the next steps in learning
Information gained from assessment practice is only beneficial when it is put to good use. The planning process
involves the full staff team thinking about and discussing what children are learning and deciding how this learning
can be supported and enhanced. Each key person is responsible for ensuring that useful information about children is
included in medium and short-term plans. This use of assessment information ensures that activities remain meaningful
and appropriate for each child’s interests, strengths and stage of development. It is worth remembering that planning
documents should remain flexible, allowing the children’s changing interests and responses to learning to be incorporated
over time.
Good planning should:

• reflect activities that orient the educator to the role of facilitator of learning rather than the role of “director” of learning
• assist the educator in understanding the needs of each child (notes on individual interests)
• prepare the educator to communicate effectively with other adults in the child’s life.
Differentiation - meeting the needs of

the individual child
Differentiation is not a methodology or series of steps; it is a philosophy
that is central to the ethos of the Early Childhood Service.
What is differentiation?
Curriculum differentiation is a broad term referring to the need to tailor teaching environments and practices to create
appropriately different learning experiences for different children. Differentiation is one of the means by which children of all
abilities and learning styles can access and learn from the structure of a common curriculum shared with their peers. It involves
the modification and matching of curriculum objectives, teaching and assessment methods, learning activities and resources to
children’s individual abilities, educational needs and learning styles in a social learning context.
Successful differentiation requires that educators value the achievements of all children and recognise the right of all children
to be socially included in school and community lives while acknowledging that children learn in different ways. Educators also
need to maintain positive, open minds about possibilities for learning at all stages of children’s development. These attitudes are
essential for teaching all learners, for example, ‘typically’ developing children, unusually able children, children with behavioural
difficulties, children with different social, cultural, emotional and economic experiences, children with autism, children with
dyslexia, children with visual, hearing and physical disabilities and children with language and developmental delay, including
those children who have Down Syndrome.
The main elements of differentiation include learning content (what children are learning, appropriateness to need and ability),
the learning process (how learning is achieved) and the learning environment (how the learning environment is structured).
Planning for Babies and Toddlers

An essential component of planning is attention to a responsive learning environment and specific attention to how
environments should be changed. The planning of learning environments is particularly important to infant-toddler
development and more so than specific lessons or specific activities. The environment must be seen as part of the curriculum,
creating interest and encouraging and supporting exploration. Research has shown that much of how infants and toddlers
learn best comes not from specific adult-directed lessons but from educators knowing how to maximise opportunities for
each child by providing a well planned play-learning environment.
Planning for Children with Additional Needs

An Individual Education Plan (IEP) can benefit a child who needs additional support in a particular area of learning or
development either over a short time or longer term. This may be required as a result of behavioural difficulties or over a
longer term to provide supports for specific learning needs.
An IEP is a comprehensive record of the child’s learning needs, goals and progress that is developed by professionals
and parents in partnership. It is concerned with the priority needs of the child, and the resources and learning strategies
required to work towards meeting those needs.
Using observations and information gathered about the child, an IEP is compiled, which aims to overcome the child’s
difficulties as far as possible. The early childhood educator, in partnership with the child’s parents and other professionals
where appropriate, sets targets for the child and reviews progress at agreed intervals. Reviews of the IEP should be carried
out as appropriate. It is essential to nominate a key person within the team as the Special Educational Needs Coordinator in
order to monitor and co-ordinate this process.
The Planning Process

Planning is usually organised over three different time frames – long term, medium term and short term – all of which
link and follow on from each other (see The Planning Process). Plans include a broad overview of learning themes for the
year (long-term), specific learning aims and goals for the duration of the plan, including information specific to individual
children (medium-term) and details of how the indoor and outdoor environment will be organised, children’s needs and
who is responsible for particular activities (short-term).
The Planning Process
Long Term Plan (broad overview of year)

• Early childhood curriculum ethos
• Overarching aims for each learning theme
• Planned events and celebrations
• Expected closures
Medium Term Plan (4-6 weeks per item)

• Specific learning aims and goals
• Learning activities/opportunities
• Children’s individual interests/needs
• Events, outings
The Planning
System Short Term Plan (weekly)
• Include most recent ‘moving forward notes
from learning stories
• Specific learning goals for a week
• Learning activities indoors and outdoors
• Specific early childhood educator
responsibilities
• Weekly evaluation
Personal Learning Plan (4-8 weeks)

• Individual strengths, interests
• Targets set for duration of IEP
• Input from parents and strategies to be used
• Progress
• Review date
Using Aistear’s themes to plan

children’s learning
Aistear’s learning and development themes are holistic
– meaning all aspects are interconnected and mutually
dependent. The use of Aistears four learning themes
to plan a curriculum for young children will provide a
balanced framework for all aspects of children’s learning
and development.
Listening to what children say and incorporating their

interests into planning, actively involves them in the
planning process. This can be achieved by planning
a holistic theme or special interest topic which
incorporates specific learning goals in relation to Aistear’s
four themes - Well-being, Identity and Belonging,
Communicating and Exploring and Thinking.
• Well-being is about children being confident, happy

and healthy.
• Identity and Belonging is about children
developing a positive sense of who they are, feeling
that they are valued and respected as part of a family
and community.
• Communicating is about children sharing their
experiences, thoughts, ideas and feelings with others
with growing confidence and competence in a variety
of ways and for a variety of purposes.
• Exploring and Thinking is about children making
sense of the things, places and people in their world
by interacting with others, playing, investigating,
questioning and refining their ideas.
Special interest topics linked to the overall aims of the

early childhood curriculum can be used to provide a
framework or structure for a medium-term or short-
term plan. For example, Identity and Belonging is one of
Aistear’s learning themes. The topic plan on ‘Where We Live’ can be used to provide meaningful learning experiences as part
of Aim 2: Children will have a sense of group identity where links with their family and community are acknowledged and
extended.
The ‘Where We Live’ theme medium-term plan includes the following:

• Aistear’s four curriculum themes
• The specific learning goals planned under each curriculum theme (taken from Aistear)
• Brief notes gained from assessment practice to consolidate/support children’s next steps in learning
• A flexible, interconnecting framework of learning and play activities for weeks 1-4.
•
Medium Term Plan - Where We Live / Moving House

The overall aim of the topic is to use ‘Where we live’ as a focus for a holistic theme which integrates the four learning themes
in a meaningful, fun way.
Date Well-being Identity and Communicating Exploring and

Belonging Thinking
Learning Aims Learning goals: Learning goals: Learning goals: Learning goals:
• Handle transitions and • Have a sense of who they are, Express themselves creatively Demonstrate a growing
changes well. describe their backgrounds and imaginatively using non understanding of themselves
• Respect themselves, others and strengths verbal communication and others in the community
and the environment • Share personal experience • share feelings, thoughts Make marks and use drawing,
• Develop and nurture their about their own family and and ideas painting and model making to
sense of wonder and awe. come to know about diversity • emergent writing and early record objects, events and ideas
• Become reflective and think of family structure, culture and reading • develop a sense of time, shape
flexibly background Use books and ICT for fun, to • match, compare, order, size
• Be active citizens. • See themselves as part of a gain information and broaden • draw, paint, make models
wider community their understanding of the • build awareness of symbols
world • recognise letters, numbers.
sing songs, listen to stories,
learn rhymes.
Child notes
– across 4 weeks
Jamie: Week 1 • Explore the wide variety Plan with children and gather • Make ideas board to • Add building materials to
support Where we live of homes people can live information on where they represent various homes construction corner: wood,
Jamie with in through discussion, my live and the type of home they uses collage of magazine/ building blocks, cardboard
transition home posters, books and live in e.g flat, house, caravan. newspaper pictures boxes, Styrofoam blocks.
of moving photos. Let children decide on what • Introduce books: My home • Make a fiddle board of door
house this • Look at an estate agent the imaginary corner should is a ..., Use the V-tech book knobs, door bells, brass
month. website and talk about the represent e.g. a housing estate, with the follow the path numbers and letterboxes.
different kinds of houses. home corner or caravan. home story. • Discuss big buildings/small
Ellie: extend How much do houses cost? • Disccussion – what do you buildings/ tall buildings/small
on her • Why do we live in houses? know about where you live? buildings.
interest on • Creative- make a graph • What other kind of houses can
exploring displaying who lives where – people live in – e.g. igloos/
height and e.g. how many live in a .... tents/apartment blocks/
size through • How many live in the wooden houses etc.
housing country/town/village?
theme.
Mark: build Week 2 • Who lives in my house? • Ask parents to bring in photos • Use circle time discussion • Concepts of height through
on interest Who and What • How many people? How of where we live. to explore the various homes: which houses have
of trucks is in my house? many pets? • Photocopy and make into structures we live in, explore stairs, which are tallest? Build
through use • Who lives outside and who lotto/picture matching game associated language stairs using blocks in home
of removal lives inside- why? • Name the things you like best concepts: detached, two corner.
truck. • What makes up our home? about where you live ... storey etc • Make individual home cut outs
Roof, walls, doors etc. • How long have you lived • Who lives closest to you – along home corner wall of
Shane: • Rooms inside, garden/ there? How many houses have who lives furthest away? each child’s home (apartment
showing balcony/porch/yard. you lived in? Use maps to investigate and block, bungalow, two storey)
a keen • How do you care for find out. • How many rooms?
interest our home indoors and • How do we know where • Which room is the biggest/
in using outdoors? people live? – finding smallest?
pencils and addresses – e.g. telephone • What shape are the rooms?
writing his directory, computer. Windows and doors?
own name, • Books to be added to book • Provide mark making materials
extend to corner: “Moving house”, “ The to create house signs,
use of house lost Teddy” estate signs, door numbers,
numbers addresses.
and • ‘I have moved’ postcard
addresses of
houses
Child notes
– across 4 weeks
Week 3 • What happens when we • Invite “Happy to Help” moving Books to be added to book • Provide mark making materials
Moving house move house? Explore company to bring lorry to corner: “Moving house”, “ The to create house signs,
emotions of moving home service, lost Teddy” estate signs, door numbers,
• Discuss the important • Who’s moved house before? addresses.
people in our lives • Add boxes and wheelie trolley • ‘I have moved’ postcard
• My new bedroom: explore to home corner for ‘moving
what I’d bring to my new home’
house, what makes me feel
happy and safe
Week 4 • What is a neighbour? Close What buildings are close to • Discuss the use of addresses • Group creative – make a
My Community neighbours and far away where I live – post office, for people, post, deliveries building from cardboard boxes
neighbours depending church, library, swimming pool, being able to find us – paint it and give it an name.
on where you live – town, community centre, schools? • Make your own phone book • Drawing maps of where we
country. of friends using photos and live
• Neighbours – who do you addresses. • Discuss the places we like to
live beside? How can we visit.
help our neighbours?
Medium Term Plan - On the Farm

The overall aim of the topic is: On the Farm
Well-being Identity and Communicating Exploring and

Belonging Thinking
• Make strong attachment • Express their own ideas, • Express themselves • Engage, Explore,
& develop warm and preferences & needs, & have creatively & imaginatively experiment & use new
supportive relationships these responded to using non-verbal physical skills-manipulate
with peers, family & adults • Know what members of communication. objects/materials
in community. their family & community are • Interact by listening, • Learn about natural
• Develop and nurture sense positively acknowledge & discussing & taking turns in environment, features,
of wonder & awe Care for welcomed. conversation. materials, animals, plants
the environment • See themselves as part of • Use books and ICT for and own responsibilities.
• Respect life & know it has a wider community & know fun, gain info, & broaden • Recognise patterns & make
meaning and purpose about local area understanding of world connections between new
• Understand the different roles • Listen and respond to a learning and what they
of people in the community y variety of types of music, already know.
sing songs, make music • Make marks and use
using instruments. drawing, painting & model
making to record objects,
events, ideas.
Child notes
– across 4 weeks
Chloe: support Week 1 • What is a farm and who • Circle time: Experiences/ • Identify farm animals from • Animal sounds- (listen and
Chloe with What is a farm, lives on it? knowledge about farming- printed photographs/toy imitate)
her interest who lives on • Where the animals live on discuss & note interests/ animals • Develop interest area-
of caring for the farm? the farm knowledge. • Make graph of favourite discussion of what we
animals • How the animals are cared • Newsletter: give to parents on animals need to develop it- animals
for theme covering, songs/rhymes • Recall activity of animals- needs, farm resources,
Ben: enable • (discussion using photos- covered and how they can use recognition and feely bag vehicles etc
Ben to take barns, fields, sty etc) at home and support theme • ICT-Animals on the farm • Keeping animals safe-
the lead on ICT • Introduce various animal during the month – photos • Story-Big Red Barn explore how to keep them
activities print and texture fabric of children at farm, sharing • Songs Old Mc Donald, 5 little safe- use lollipop sticks to
in and outdoor-woolen, information if any are farmers ducks. make models/ pictures of
leather, cow print, fluffy etc • Dress up animal costumes fencing.
Sarah: build on Week 2 • How to care for the animals- • Encourage parents to send in Animals on the farm-online • Tasting/touching activity
Sarah’s interest What the clean, warm, fed- consider farm produce from home for animation with veg
of cooking animals give us care during seasons interest table/discussion- dairy Animal puppets • *allergies/preferences noted
and exploring • Chicken coops-egg laying products, wool, vegetables etc Use the various large fabric •
food. • Cows-milking parlour/ • Meat that comes from animals- pieces to express themselves • Discuss additions needed to
sheds/fields favourite, least favourite. through animal characters- interest area-can we make
Tom: showing • Pigs-in sheds/outdoors Discuss any farm foods in with and without sound cd. them?
a keen interest lunch box/crèche lunch The Giving Farm poem-(what •
in making • *allergies/preferences noted animals give us) • Explore butter making using
enclosures, Story-Big Red Barn cream and bottle-(shake
strengthen Songs Old Mc Donald, 5 little to form)
through ducks.
creative
activity.
Week 3 • Planting crops/vegetables • Share ideas on their view on • Dairy farmer video-ICT • Vegetable picture prints
The role of the and care of them farmers role-note through • Explore animal sounds, • Additions/Changes to the
farmer • Dairy/Livestock/Crop drawing and documenting have discussion on Interest area-from home,
farming words used, can be used as preference of farm outside, made-changes
• Props-outdoor, sponges, display of consultation on wall animal, has it changed • Prop box indoor-outdoor
basin, water, cleaning • Do children know any farmers- or remained same from (hay *allergies, gloves,
tractors/barn from pallets- discuss roles graph-why? hats, plastic food, basket,
brushes /dust pans/brushes • Prepare for visit to farm-safety, • Story-Little Red Hen, Big buckets, willies
etc expectations, listening skills Red Barn • Plant Vegetables-carrots,
etc. • Song-Old Mc D, 5 little onions, tomatoes etc
ducks, Farmer wants • Rubber glove activity-milk
a wife. cow
Week 4 • Farmer visiting service- show • Use children’s clothes as a • Digital camera-to record • Anything we can bring back
How the farm photos of his/her farm and discussion of how clothes are video off farm and turn for our interest area?
helps us produce that is sold- where made using animal materials take to take photos of • Make vegetable soup and
he sells it- supermarket, • Visit to the farm their favourite things- homemade bread.
roadside stall, farmers document as photos • Pictures/models of favourite
market, butchers etc. are being taken by things from farm-take their
individual children. farm photos/ quotes as
• Make a shopping list of inspiration.
things the children can
buy that the animals
give us.
• Video- From the farm to
the fridge.
Medium Term Plan - Babies and Toddlers

The overall aim of the topic is to use ‘This is me’ as a focus for a holistic theme which integrates the four learning themes in a
meaningful, fun way.
Well-being Identity and Communicating Exploring and

Belonging Thinking
• Make strong attachments and • Appreciate the features that • Use a range of body • Growing understanding of
develop warm and supportive make a person special and movements, facial themselves and others
relationships with family, unique expressions and early • Make connections between
peers and adults • Have a sense of ‘who they are’ vocalisations to show learning and what they
• Discover, explore and refine • Feel valued and see feelings and share already know
gross and fine motor skills. themselves and their interests information • Express feelings and
• Gain increasing control reflected in the environment • Interpret and respond thoughts through
and co-ordination of body • Experience learning to non-verbal music,play,language,creative
movements opportunities that are communication by experience
• Demonstrate a sense of based on personal interests others • Develop confidence and
mastery and display learning and linked to their home, • Explore sound, pattern, independence
dispositions community and culture. rhythm and repetition in
language
• Show confidence in
trying out new things
Child notes
– across 4 weeks
Aimee: Support Week 1 • Ask parents for up-to-date • Use photographs provided by • Hello Song: use babies • Painting - Hand & Foot prints
settling in from photos of babies in their parents to personalise various names • Take photos of babies
home – crèche home environment, with areas such as nappy, sleep, • Modelling facial participating
parents/siblings/grandparents pigeon hole for children’s expressions and gestures • In play
• Introduce treasure basket ‘My personal items. - smiling, peek-a boo. • Support babies by using
Home’ variety of materials • Explore children’s individual • Hold ‘conversations’ with mirror play
from children’s home to features using mirror play babies/toddlers
support gross motor skills eg:
wooden spoon
• Make comfort objects
available when necessary.
Kate – Support Week 2 • Use photographs to create • Introduce books eg: mirrors, • Group activity: mu- • Making mobiles - all about
Kate to wall displays at babies eye pop up’s sic time, introduce me
enhance gross level • Collage of babies interests shakers, drums, • Messy play - gloop, spoons,
motor skills • Treasure Basket - introduce • Spend individual time with symbols bowls
additional small items, clothes Babies/toddlers • Outside play –
pegs, curtain rail rings etc. exploring sound of
wind chimes and
reflections in CD’s
Megan Week 3 • Explore family photos of • Finger/toe puppets- the wiggle • Song: finger, toes, • Sand play wet /dry - group
–Encourage all children in baby room game/this is me hair & nose play
Megan’s -use photographs to initiate • Outside play - providing • Use facial expres- • Introduce different textures
enjoyment communication with babies experiences so that babies can sions as a response and smells to the treasure
of music and naming family members interaction with peers older to sounds baskets
movement • Introduce variety of bottles children
eg; shakers , coloured water
Week 4 • Use caring routines to spend • Promote babies • Action song using • Trip to the park
How the farm individual time with babies communication – smile, expressions and • Exploring space outdoors
helps us and toddlers – singing, talking, gurgles etc gestures - Bye bye , • Outdoor sounds/smells.
paying individual attention to • Introduce reflect toys - babies happy , sad etc.
the baby/toddler. have a sense of themselves • Play different sounds
• Scaffold babies and toddlers – calming, fast etc.
developing skills and
movements – sitting/crawling/
waking/climbing etc.
However, the topic of the plan only provides a starting point and does not necessarily reflect the entire content of the
medium-term plan. The learning goals, rather than the topic itself, are the main focus of the medium-term plan. This
open-ended approach allows greater flexibility to follow children’s individual interests as they arise.
Short-term planning is where the strongest link between assessment and planning is forged. The early childhood
educator uses information gathered through compiling Learning Stories to include brief notes on the week plan relating
to specific children. This provides detail to short-term week plans and allows for continuation and progression in children’s
learning and development.
The Post Office theme week 1 plan includes the following:

• Areas of the learning environment
• Learning aims for each area
• Flexible activities for each day of the week
• Reminder notes relating to specific children
• An evaluation section to complete at the end of the week, including notes for the coming week.
Sample Week Plan: Week 1 - Post Office Topic
Play Activity Learning Aims Mon, Tues, Wed Wed, Thurs, Fri Children
Messy Play Explore weight, volume, size, Introduce weighing scales Making parcels from dough – Kate – colour/pattern
texture used in post office to sand shiny parcels, glitter parcels,
Compare parcel weights/size tray, bumpy parcels, adding bows,
Make wallpaper paste for string
wrapping paper
Creative Play Creative expression, decision Design wrapping paper Make post box Kara – picture book
making, designing, pattern, Wrapping parcels Writing, sticking, cutting Nora – get well card
emergent writing
Imaginative Play Interact, build relationships, Role play Post Office and Role play Post Office and Tomas – involve in setting
respect others resources resources up interest area with PO
Work cooperatively, develop People in PO – Customer, People in PO – Customer, resources
understanding, Postmaster, Postperson Postmaster, Postperson
Express emotions and feelings
Construction Play Develop imagination, creativ- Planning to make post vans Large wooden blocks Eoin – take lead in plan-
ity and exploration, physical – compile list of resources to Different sized cardboard ning on paper
skills, self-confidence, inde- bring from home. boxes,
pendence Draw large plans Postman puzzle
Small Group Taking turns in conversation, Circle time -The Post Persons Discuss – what happens in Liam - involve in small
Activity sharing experiences, Job the PO group discussion
thoughts, ideas Game - Guess whats in the Looking at coins, scanning
understand themselves and parcel paper money,cheques
people in the community,
using ICT
Large Group Gross motor skills, creativity, Stories – Mums Special Parcel Music and Movement – Pass Nora –reassurance during
Activity imagination, model making, Postman Pat and the Lost the Parcel large group activities
talking and listening, interest Parcel Meeting the Pre-School
in books and stories, social Postman
interaction
Outdoor Play Collaboration, turn taking, I dropped a letter game Making post vans from boxes Eoin – involve in outdoor
control body movements, Parcel treasure hunt Driving post vans! project making post van
confidence, motivation
End of Week
Evaluation
and notes for
coming week.
Planning to Plan
It is helpful to follow a number of steps when planning learning opportunities for children:
1. Start with the children

From the ‘moving forward’ section of learning stories, think about the children’s strengths, interests, abilities and needs.
2. Agree a theme/activity
• Have I involved the children and staff team in the choice of theme/activity?
• Does the theme/activity incorporate a range of individual interests and needs?
3. Think about resources

• What resources/equipment do I need?
• Do I need to refer to guidelines on interactions, partnerships or play?
• Is there anything additional which I can source or borrow?
• Are sufficient numbers of staff available to provide the level of support/supervision required?
4. Compile theme plan (medium-term)

• Use Aistear’s four learning themes to broadly state learning goals for the plan
• Highlight children’s interests/needs relating to the topic
• Plot a broad outline of appropriate activities both indoors and outdoors
• Include any planned outings, events
5. Transfer information to week plan

• Details of how the indoor and outdoor environment will be organised, children’s needs and who is responsible for particular
activities
• Do not do this in advance for the four weeks, instead do this week-by-week to allow for children’s input and responses.
Reviewing and evaluating planned

themes and activities
Once the topic has been completed, it is important to reflect on how successful it was in engaging children and building on their
existing learning and development. This information is drawn from the assessment recordings of children participating in different
aspects of the plan. Early childhood educators can also evaluate the plan in terms of how it met learning aims and goals.
Evaluation of themes/activities should be carried out on a regular basis and documented as part of the plan. This is a team
responsibility. Staff should discuss the activities carried out, complete an evaluation column or sheet, and attach it to the
plan for evidence of practice and for future reference. This discussion, together with the Key Person notes on individual
children, will provide the starting point for follow-up activities.
The following prompts help when evaluating and reflecting:
• Were the children interested and engaged in the topic?

• Did the topic meet learning aims/goals?
• Did the children and early childhood educators enjoy it?
• Were there opportunities for all children to participate?
• What went well, what did not go well, how would you alter the activities, what additional resources could you use?
• Did the topic digress into other areas? Would you need more time/less time?
• Are there opportunities for children to transfer learning and does it link easily with a further topic or extension topic?
• What did parents think of the topic and how were they involved?
Enabling Children to Plan and Reflect

on their Learning
Research and practical evidence shows that we can promote the
development of thinking and reasoning in young children in early
childhood by providing two curriculum components—planning
and reflection. Both are thoughtful activities that encourage
children to consider what they are doing and what they are
learning. They also promote a broad range of other language,
thinking, social, and creative competencies.
Young children are capable of making thoughtful decisions about their

behaviour and keen observations about their environment. They have
insight into their desires, form mental images of the past and future, and
attempt to explain their behaviour and that of others. Metacognition
(higher-level thinking and problem-solving skills) develops
when children are encouraged to reflect, predict, question and
hypothesise.
When we engage children in planning, we encourage them to identify their goals and consider the options for
achieving them. For example, they might consider what they will do, where they will do it, what materials they will use, who
they will do it with, how long it will take and whether they will need help. Planning thus involves deciding on actions and
predicting interactions, recognising problems and proposing solutions and anticipating consequences and reactions.
Early childhood educators know the importance of developing memory skills in young children. They might ask children to
remember something they learned earlier in the day or to recall an event that occurred earlier in the week. Reflection, however,
is more than memory or a rote recitation of completed activities. Reflection is remembering with analysis. When we engage
children in reflection, we encourage them to go beyond merely reporting what they’ve done. We also help them become aware
of what they learned in the process, what was interesting, how they feel about it and what they can do to build on
or extend the experience. Reflection consolidates knowledge so it can be generalised to other situations, thereby leading to
further prediction and evaluation. Thus planning and reflection, when used through active learning, are part of an ongoing cycle
of deeper thought and thoughtful application.
Early childhood educators can help children exercise these capabilities by following a range of strategies as follows:
• Strategies to promote children’s abilities to plan

• Strategies to promote children’s abilities to reflect
Strategies to promote children’s ability to plan

1. Make planning a regular part of the daily routine
Planning should be a regular daily activity so children will automatically
begin to think in terms of what they want to do and how to carry it out.
Do it at the same time(s) each day, for example, after morning greeting.
You can plan with children in small groups or pairs, as well as individually,
making sure each child gets to express his or her intentions. In fact,
children benefit from planning in small groups because the thoughts and
elaborations of others often spark their own ideas. In addition to these
set times, however, reflection can and should happen whenever children
are actively engaged in learning. Educators can encourage children to
ponder the ‘what’ and ‘why’ of their actions at a time that makes reflection
especially relevant and meaningful to them.
2. Make sure children can see the areas and materials in the room when they are planning
Visibility is important for younger planners whose mental representations are limited. Even older planners cannot keep in mind
all the possibilities of a well stocked room. Tour the room before or during planning and point out new materials or things the
children have not used for a while. Avoid high shelves or other barriers that block a full view. Being able to see everything not
only enhances planning, it also means children will incorporate a wider variety of materials into their ongoing play. When they
encounter a problem carrying out their plans, they will also have a better idea of the alternatives available to help them solve
it. Knowing what is in the room also minimises the chance that children will plan activities they cannot carry out with existing
materials. If they do, however, this presents an opportunity for you to say something like, “We don’t have any arm casts. What
could you use instead to wrap your doll’s broken arm?”
3. Ask children meaningful open-ended questions

Questions about what a child did should be asked sparingly and only to obtain information that is not trivial or already known.
Open-ended queries such as “What happened when you added the third block?” will invite more observation on the part of the
child than something obvious like “Did you add another block?” Questions that begin with “How did you . . . ?” or “Why do you
think . . . ?” also encourage children to reconstruct and create meaning from their experiences.
4. Listen attentively to children’s plans

Share conversations with children, don’t direct them. By paying attention to their words and gestures, you will learn about their
ability to anticipate and think about the details of their plans. Then you can choose the most appropriate support strategies to
help them elaborate their ideas and consider the options for implementing them.
5. Support, accept and extend children’s plans

Do not force children to express their plans in a certain way. If they gesture (for example, bring you a book), don’t insist they
verbalise their idea before being allowed to proceed. Accept the gestured plan, but reflect it back in words to make sure you’ve
understood the intention and to supply the vocabulary they can use when they are ready (“You want me to read you this book,
The Snowy Day.”) Don’t negate a plan or offer children an alternative to their plans. This defeats the whole purpose of encouraging
them to express their own intentions. Avoid the temptation to say, “You’ve gone to the house area every day this week. How
about painting in the art area for a change?” Instead, observe what interests the child in the house area and think of ways to
extend it into different areas.
6. Encourage children to elaborate on their plans

Children at all stages of planning can be helped to extend their ideas. For beginners, try simple follow up questions “What will you
need to do that?” Comments about what children are doing may elicit more details than questions. In your eagerness to assist
younger children, don’t overlook opportunities to scaffold older children’s’ learning. Encourage them to give details about where
they will work, the materials they intend to use, the sequence of their activities and the outcomes they expect to achieve.
7. Record children’s plans

When you record their plans, children get the message that their ideas are valuable. For example, you might label a drawing a
child has made or make a note when children describe what they will do and how they will go about it. Write the child’s name
on the plan. Documentation— including writing, drawing, and photography—helps children become more conscious of the
process and value of planning. They are more likely to think through and elaborate on their ideas as they formally record them.
Children can also review their documented plans as they reflect on their experiences and compare their intentions with the actual
outcomes. Written accounts—as well as other forms of documentation— are also something concrete you and the children can
add to the Learning Journey Portfolio and share with their families.
8. Use encouragement rather than praise

Another way to support planning is to avoid praising children’s ideas. If you say “great idea” on one day or to one child, you may
inadvertently convey disapproval if you forget to say those words to another child or on the following day. Praise also tends to
end the conversation, cutting off the possibilities for children to elaborate their plans. Instead, use other strategies, for example,
listening, asking questions, commenting, recording their ideas—to encourage children to think about and follow through on their
intentions.
Strategies to promote children’s ability to reflect

Many of the strategies that support planning also apply
to promoting reflection. Remember too that planning
and reflection are repetitive processes. Encouraging children
to think about what they did enables them to use this
information as they plan what they will do next.
1. Interpret and expand on what children do

and say
Non-verbal children, or those with limited language, may
gesture or present materials to indicate what they did. You
can add words to their actions, checking with them for cues
to verify you understand their message. Your explanations
will provide them with vocabulary for future reflection. Here,
for example, the educator attaches sentences to the physical
re-enactment and simple words of Naomi, an older toddler:
Educator: What did you do today, Naomi?

Naomi: [Points to block area.]
Educator: I saw you and Michael playing in the block area.
Naomi: [Lifts her hands high.]
Educator: You built a high tower.
Naomi: [Bangs her hands down on the table.]
Educator: Did the tower fall down? [Naomi nods.] I wonder why that happened.
Naomi: More block.
Educator: You put another block on the tower?
Naomi: Fall down.
Educator: You put a big block on top, but it was too heavy so the tower fell down.
With children who are already verbal, use body language and conversation to show you are listening.
2. Comment on what you see children doing as they play

Making comments while children are engaged in an activity serves two purposes. It encourages them to attend to
and evaluate the experience as it is happening, and makes it easier for them to recall the event later. The more specific the
comment, the more likely the child will remember and add his or her own details. For example, when the educator said “I saw you
in the writing area using the markers, ” Michael elaborated, “ I made an invitation for Tommy to come to my party. Now there are
five children and I’m five years old.”
3. Help children make the connection between their plans and their reflections
Having children recall their intentions in light of their actual behaviour helps them establish causal relationships and a sense of
efficacy and responsibility regarding their actions. You might say, “I remember you planned to make a tent. Is that what you did?”
The goal is not to hold children accountable for carrying out their plans— changing plans is perfectly acceptable—but rather to
have them think about how and why their actions did, or did not, follow their intentions. If children do change plans, going off in
a new direction or even abandoning their original idea entirely, you might ask them, “Why did you make a different plan?” or “What
made you think of doing that instead?” Again, the idea is not to force them to stick to one idea, but to encourage them to ponder
their options, preferences and problem-solving strategies.
4. Encourage children to carry over their activities to the next day

As children reflect on their experiences, they may recall problems they encountered or spin-offs they had not anticipated. These
observations create a perfect opportunity for them to try different solutions or build on newly discovered interests the following
day. You can encourage children to use their reflections in future planning in several ways. Write a note, or ask the child to draw
a picture, that will serve as a reminder. It also acts as a visual memory aid when the children make plans the next day. Finally, it
encourages children to share with educators, peers and families a description of what they have already done and their ideas for
adding to the detail and complexity of their undertaking.
The Reflective Educator

Reflective practice is now part of the toolkit of most working professionals, whatever their area of expertise. Self-reflection is not
only important for refining and improving day-to-day practice but also beneficial to individuals in terms of their own professional
development.
Continuing effective practice is dependent on the educators ability to consider ways in which they can continuously improve
quality. However, the process of reflective practice does not just happen because someone says it should. For reflection to be
really meaningful, it must begin with a shared overall aim to achieve effective early learning and positive experiences for children.
It is important to develop a whole-team approach to reflecting on action in the early childhood setting. The issues of time and
opportunity are often a factor, and educators reflect upon their work together at staff or team meetings, or in the incidental
conversations they have with colleagues throughout the day. These valuable interactions should be recognised and appreciated
as part of the reflective process, but they are only a small part.
As teams work together they share ideas, carry out plans, seek solutions to problems that arise and develop a shared
understanding of their role. The whole team must identify opportunities to reflect together so they can improve both collectively
and individually.
At the end of your day working with children, you probably do what a lot of early childhood educators do - spend time thinking
about what happened during your day. You are often too busy in the actual moment of working with children to really stop and
think about all that is going on. Is it really that important to reflect on your work?
Being reflective:
• Demonstrates that educators are actively concerned about the aims and consequences of the work they are doing
• Enables educators to monitor, evaluate and revise their own practice continuously
• Requires an ability to look carefully at practice in order to develop new skills and understanding
• Requires an open-minded attitude
• Enhances professional learning and personal fulfilment through collaboration and dialogue between educators.
What does reflection involve?

• Reflection ‘in’ action, or thinking on your feet
• Reflection ‘on’ action, or after the event
• Our own thoughts and ideas
• Our colleagues’ thoughts and ideas
• Children and parents’ thoughts and ideas
• Feedback from other partners or agencies
• The views and knowledge gained from our own experiences and that of theoretical literature
What should our approach to reflection as a team involve?

• Giving time to the process as a team
• Being clear about what it is that you are reflecting upon
• Being clear about who your partners in the reflective process are
• Consideration of the subject, making links to theory and practice
• Consideration of your current practice
• Looking for ways to improve, maintain and - most importantly - act upon what you have discovered
• Structuring your actions with timescales, responsibilities and the opportunity to reflect upon what you have achieved (or not)
• Feeding back to colleagues, reflecting upon your actions
• Making further changes or adjustments
• Being aware of the reflective ‘tools’ that are available to you, such as quality improvement tools such as Síolta
What do we want to achieve?

• Effective early learning experiences for children
• New ways of seeing familiar things
• Personal and professional development
• Continuous quality improvement
• A shared understanding
1. Information gained from assessment practice is only beneficial when it is put

to good use.
2. Planning documents should remain flexible, allowing the children’s changing
interests and responses to learning to be incorporated over time.
Rem 3. Listening to what children say and incorporating their interests into planning
not ember
actively involves them in the planning process.
to f
4. By encouraging children to plan, reflect, express intentions and evaluate
orge actions, we can equip young children with the thinking skills they need for
t... later educational success and adult life.
5. The learning goals, rather than the topic itself, are the main focus of the
medium term plan and the week plan.
6. Once the topic has been completed, it is important to reflect on how
successful it was in engaging children and building on their existing learning
and development.
Section 6:
E ffective
Promoting ions
Transit
Children, like adults, enjoy and are stimulated by novelty and change. The first day of school,
the transfer to ‘big school’, are landmarks in the process of growing up. Even when children are
apprehensive, they look forward to change ... but if change is to stimulate and not to dishearten, it
must be carefully prepared and not too sudden
(Plowden Report, 1967)
er:
will consid
This section
s in E arly Childhood
ransition
* Making T P artnerships
ing
* Building
Le arn
m atio n to Support the
for
U sing A ssessment In
* ol
itio n to P rimary Scho rly Childhood
Trans in E a
g S m oo th Transitions
* Enabli n
Making Transitions in Early Childhood

One of the most fundamental children’s rights is the right to participate and for children to have a say in matters involving them.
We have seen in previous sections, that listening to children’s views and giving them a voice to make decisions, choices and to
have their say in the learning process, is central to a truly child-centred approach. Previous sections have also highlighted that
children are active participants in the assessment process by engaging with them in conversation and through self-reflection and
self-assessment. Giving the child a voice in the transition process is another opportunity to enable children to have their say in
matters involving them. Before children move to a new environment, they have the right to know what this will involve; they have
the right to ask questions and seek explanations and the right to express their views on the arrangements.
Transition describes the situation that children experience when they move to a new setting. This can include moving from the
child’s first place of learning – the home, to a pre-school service or crèche, or from pre-school to primary school. The transition
process is essentially the ongoing process of change for children, families and educational services to facilitate children’s move
from one setting to another.
Starting school is a major transition in a child’s life. Each child approaches this change in a different way depending on the
experience and emotional competencies or ‘tools’ that they possess. As we have seen in section 2, nurturing positive learning
dispositions to learn have far greater long term impact on children’s lives than the traditionally valued components of early
learning such as knowledge (colours, shapes, numbers, letters) and skills only. A traditional view of being ‘ready for school’, may
conjure up an image of a child who comes armed with a checklist of things that her/she can do to as an indicator of readiness.
An alternative view of school readiness is a child armed with the positive learning dispositions that they need to ‘enable’
them to learn, for example, emotional and social well-being and a strong sense of self-identity. Children who have developed
positive dispositions such as strength, resilience, independence and self-confidence, will be able to call on these attributes to
support, not only transitions from pre-school to primary school, but transitions throughout their lives.
Like adults, children can be hampered in their ability to think clearly and act competently when they are feeling insecure or
vulnerable. Therefore during the actual process of transition, avoid any form of early assessment, albeit informal. Instead view the
transition period as a social learning process and an important component of supporting children during their early days in a new
environment.
Building Learning Partnerships

The parent, the early childhood educator and the primary school teacher, all play a key role in the child’s learning at the different
stages of his/her learning journey. The foundation for respectful partnerships between all parties is to acknowledge and value the
contribution made to the child’s learning and development by each individual.
The child’s learning journey begins in the home with parents and family. When the time comes for the child to join the early
childhood service, the parent passes on vital information about the child to the service. This is the beginning of a partnership
process that requires respectful relationships between all parties with a central focus on best outcomes for the child.
Likewise, when the time comes for the child to progress to primary school, in collaboration with the parent and the child, the early
childhood service has the same responsibility to pass on vital information to the primary school. The partnership now extends to
involve the child, the parent, the early childhood service and the primary school.
Using assessment information to support

the transition to primary school
When we reflect on the breadth, depth and richness of the information observed and documented over the course of the pre-
school year, it is worth remembering how vital this information is to a seamless continuation of learning when the child is
moving on to the next phase in his/her education.
Sharing information gained as a result of meaningful assessment with the new teacher will provide a unique and meaningful
picture of the child and his/her experiences in pre-school. The Learning Journey Portfolio and the variety of Learning Stories
within the portfolio, provides the child’s new teacher with an important insight into the child’s positive dispositions, attitudes,
skills, knowledge and understanding. Examples of the child’s work, self assessments and comments will reveal how the child
views him/herself as a learner. In addition, contributions from parents will enable the new teacher to understand the parent’s
perspective which will strengthen and continue the partnership into the primary school setting.
The collaborative nature of meaningful assessment can be extended to the transition process as well. The early childhood
educator, the parent and the child all have an important role to play.
• The early childhood educator ensures that the child’s Learning Journey Portfolio is complete and reflects a holistic and
accurate picture of the child. The early childhood educator will also prepare a summary of achievement and discuss this with
the child’s parent at an end of year meeting. When compiling the summary of achievement, the early childhood educator
draws upon the accumulative information within Learning Stories and term updates to provide statements under each
category or learning theme. With the approval of the child’s parent, a copy of the summary of achievement is passed on to
the primary school.
• The parent can take a copy of the child’s summary of achievement to the primary school when attending an introductory
meeting with their child’s new teacher. The brief, summative nature of this document provides a starting point for discussions
about the child, his/her interests and learning needs. This sharing of information promotes shared views and continuity in the
child’s learning and development.
• The child has developed a sense of pride in his/her Learning Journey Portfolio over the year and it has been an important
part of his/her pre-school experience. When the child has an opportunity to share the Learning Journey Portfolio with a new
teacher, he/she will be able to reflect on specific aspects of the portfolio and the teacher can show appreciation and value
towards the child’s work. This process is an effective communication and relationship building tool in the early weeks at
primary school.
Enabling smooth transitions

in early childhood
Even though pre-schools and primrary schools are organised very
differently, when children are moving from one setting to another,
it is imperative that there is collaboration and cooperation
between all parties to make transitions as smooth as possible.
This collaboration and cooperation involves enabling:

• The child to be ready to learn
• The parent to support the child’s transition
• The school to be ready for the child
Enabling the child to be ready

to learn
Young children may be required to make a variety of transitions
throughout their lives. It is essential that transitions in early
childhood are positive and supported experiences as these
experiences will form the basis of all future life transitions for the
child. The way in which children are prepared for and supported
through transitions is crucial to their ability to respond to a new
learning environment.
hool
su p p or t th e ch ild ’s transition to primary sc
Tips to them to bring it to schoo
l to show the new
Portfolio and encourage
Talk with children abou t their Learning Journey
•
teacher. e early childhood
ug hts an d fee lin gs about going to school. Th
explore children’s tho te meaningful
• Circle time can be used to nc ern s ch ild ren ha ve ab out school and incorpora
of the queries or co
educator can make a list explore their concerns.
ies in sho rt ter m pla nn ing to enable children to
activit lude photos of the
sch oo ls ch ild ren wil l be going to. This may inc
about all the differe nt ady attending.
• Build a group scrapbook ifo rm an d pic tur es of some of the children alre
playground, the un
outside of the school, the l – photos of older
st tab le of all the thi ng s they might see at schoo
t together an intere
• Encourage children to pu ygrounds, classrooms.
, sch oo lba g, lun ch bo x, uniforms, photos of pla
child ren n.
ntifying their contributio
the ch ild ren in the set ting with their names ide ir Lea rni ng
ture involving all in the
Make a group collage pic take a copy to either put
•
gra ph ed , sca nn ed an d printed. Each child can ho ol.
This picture can be photo as a reminder of their pre
-sc
y Po rtfo lio or to dis play in their new classroom
Journe to
to introduce themselves
gin g ch ild ren to pla y games where they have
such as encoura
• Include practical activities
ng s about themselves.
others and say a few thi t their school.
the pre -sc ho ol to me et the children and talk abou
ildren to come to
• Invite primary school ch surroundings, the
cti cal . En co ura ge ch ild ren to explore the physical
ool or schools if pra
• Arrange a visit to the sch
cla ssrooms.
playground, toilets and their thoughts and
d use the sto rie s to en courage children to share
g school theme an
• Use stories with a startin
feelings.
Enabling the Parent to support the child’s transition

Some parents may already have children attending primary school. However, for many parents this will be a big transition for
them too. Involve parents in preparing for transitions by providing an outline of the activities being carried out in the service
leading up to the end of the academic year.
le ad ing up to their ch ild’s transition to

Tips to su p p or t p arents
primary school
portunity to:
wi th all pa ren ts and use this as an op ry of the child’s
Arrange an end of year
me eti ng
rni ng an d de vel opment. Prepare a summa
ir child’s progre ss in lea ir own comments.
• Provide an overview of the an d giv e to the pa ren t to take home and add the
ild’s comments
achievements, add the ch parent if preferred.
ati vel y, offer to ad d co mments on behalf of the
Altern
support the child’s
y ha ve for the ch ild ov er the summer months to
ations he/she ma
• Discuss any recommend
transition to school.
rtance of this information
ati on . Explain to them the impo
t handing on ass ess me nt inf orm t booklet and ask their
• Speak with parents abou m to ha ve the ir say on the record of achievemen
learning. Invite the
to the child’s progress in l.
to the child’s primary schoo
permission to pass it on
child on walks past the
me as we ll. For example, taking the
s that they can be do ing at ho starting school, taking the
• Give them ideas of thing lib rar y tha t po rtra y a positive story of children
g books from the to summer.
primary school, borrowin ys at the pri mary school in the lead up
or spo rts da
child to concerts, plays school day, for example:
tlin ing pra ctical tip s for preparing their child for the
et for parents ou
• Provide an information she ool bag
- Recognising the ir ow n coat, lunchbox and sch
dress and tel ep ho ne nu mber
- Knowing their name, ad ten the ir co at, lunchbox and shoes
fasten/unfas
- Developing the skills to e carton, peel fruit and op
en yogurt pots
ski lls to op en a juic
- Developing the
ir own personal needs.
- Being able to see to the
Enabling the School to be ready for the child

In the same way that information sessions are held for new parents prior to their child joining the early childhood service, a similar
information session can be facilitated for primary school teachers who will be welcoming the children to their class.
od se rvice and the p rimary school

Tips fo r ea rl y ch ild ho
rents and include: hood curriculum and
on can also involve pa overview of the early child
This information sessi ser vic e pro vid ing an
the early childhood
The manager or leader of hool year.
•
aim s an d go als tha t we re the focus of the pre-sc
learning teachers to appreciate
uc tur ed . Th is inform ati on is important to enable
pre-school day is str
• An overview of how the g routines.
ren may face with changin
the challenge some child ple learning stories,
lea rne d an d the pro ces s of learning through sam
things children have
• Practical examples of the
sse ssments.
children’s work and self-a m a visual overview
dis pla yed for tea ch ers to view, as this will give the
y Portfolios can be ive on the child.
• A range of Learning Journe an d give the m an individual perspect
en pla ce
of the learning that has tak and highlight
an op po rtu nit y to spe ak with teachers informally
rs and parents will ha ve
• Early childhood educato g the transition to schoo
l.
c inform ati on tha t ma y support the child durin
specifi d the primary school,
sha rin g be tw ee n the early childhood service an
going information
• Make arrangements for on
tlin g in phase.
especially during the set
1. The foundation for respecting the work of the parent, the early childhood
educator and the teacher is to acknowledge and value each contribution
made to each particular phase of the child’s learning journey.
2. The information documented over the course of the pre-school year is vital to
provide a seamless continuation of learning when the child is moving on
to primary school.
Rem 3. The Learning Journey Portfolio provides the child’s new teacher with a
not ember wonderful insight into the child’s positive dispositions, attitudes, skills,
to f
orge
knowledge and understanding.
t... 4. Giving the child a voice in the transition process is another opportunity to
enable children to have their say in matters involving them.
5. When the child is moving from one setting to another, it is imperative that
there is collaboration and cooperation between all parties to make
transitions as smooth as possible.
Planning and Refle

c
on Professional Pra ngt i
Pro ctice
mo
Effe ting Work ,
Tra ctiv P lay is rning
nsit e y is Lea
ion P la
s
Final word...
All children deserve excellent teaching. Teaching
in early childhood is a highly skilled process where
there is no single correct way to respond to children
in order to optimise learning. It is the teaching skills
and practices of the early childhood educator that
make interactions educational. Our most basic and
fundamental role as early childhood educators is to
truly understand children - not children as a group,
but children as unique individuals all with their own
exclusive story to tell. Dig deep to find that story, listen
carefully and hear the different chapters that make up
the story, understand the story and use it to empower
children to reach their full potential as good citizens,
effective learners and ultimately as happy adults.
(Avril 2012)
Ena g
Chi bling n g L ea rn in
to Lldren va n ci m en t
earn Ad D eve lop en t
an d s se ssm
o ug h A
thr
Pedagogica
l Technique
and Strategi s
es
www.fb.coom/donegalchildcare
© DCCC Publishing 2012 ISBN: 978-1-907235-05-4

design: www.mannadesign.net

10-11 St. Columba’s Terrace, High Road, Letterkenny, Co. Donegal
Tel: (074) 9123442 Fax: (074) 9123472 E-mail: info@donegalchildcare.com
www.donegalchildcare.com

Professional Pedagogy For Early Childhood Education

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l Pedagogy

Donegal County Childcare Committee Ltd.

© DCCC Publishing 2012

Background to the Professional Pedagogy Project (PPP)............................................................................................................................... 1

Engaging with Síolta and Aistear through the PPP................................................................................................................................................... 1

Additional Resources to Support the Professional Pedagogy Project...................................................................................... 3

Prologue: National Early Childhood Policy as Mechanisms for Quality Practice..................................................... 3

Section 1: Play is work, Play is learning. ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 9

Section 2: Enabling Children to Learn ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 21

Section 3: Pedagogical Techniques and Strategies............................................................................................................................................... 29

Section 4: Advancing Learning and Development through Assessment ........................................................................ 45

Section 5: Planning and Reflecting on Professional Practice................................................................................................................ 56

Section 6: Promoting Effective Transitions......................................................................................................................................................................... 70

Donegal County Childcare

Donegal County Childcare Committee Ltd.

DCCC Mission Statement:

Engaging with Siolta and Aistear through

• The Donegal NEYAI Consortium and NEYAI Strategic Planning Group

• The NEYAI Team at Pobal

• The National Evaluation Team, Kieran McKeown and Trutz Hasse

Additional Resources to Support the Delivery

Guidance, information and practical examples of Child Well-

The delivery of the Professional Pedagogy training programme will draw

Prologue: National Early Childhood Policy

is designed to support all those concerned with the provision

Aistear is a curriculum framework for children from birth to

Early Childhood - a distinctive and unique chapter in a child’s life

Aistear: the Early Childhood Curriculum Framework

Identity and Belonging

Exploring and Thinking

• building partnerships between parents and educators

What does learning and development in early childhood look like?

In partnership with the adult, children will:

• gain increasing control and co-ordination of body movements

Identity and Belonging

In partnership with the adult, children will:

In partnership with the adult, children will:

Exploring and Thinking

In partnership with the adult, children will:

Where do I find out more ...

The Early Childhood Curriculum Framework (2009) NCCA

The National Quality Framework for Early Childhood Education (2006)

What do we know about Play and Learning in Early Childhood?

efi ts in al l area s of th e child’s well-being,

Learning and Developing Holistically

Types of Play and their Value to

What is Imaginative Play?

How does Imaginative Play benefit Development and Learning?

What is Construction (Manipulative) Play?

How does Construction (Manipulative) Play benefit Development and Learning?

What is Creative Play?

How does Creative Play benefit development and Learning?

What is Physical Play?

How does Physical Play benefit development and Learning?

Promoting a Curriculum for Play

A curriculum is a written plan that sets out:

Providing a Curriculum for Infants and Toddlers

Supporting Language, Literacy and

Supporting Children to become Readers for Life