EDUCAT ION
the classroom. Children may enjoy a real fire as part of Forest School, learn how to climb trees and handle smaller – but fully functioning – woodwork tools. Four and five year olds at St Mary’s Junior School are adept at using woodworking tools – including scaled-down saws – recently making their own little money boxes. “They’re taught how to use them from the beginning,” says St Mary’s Kerry Owens. Soft skills, including speaking (and performing) in public are also part and parcel of day-to-day life for these young children. At OIS, there’s a big emphasis on helping children develop good behaviour, kindness, good manners and teamwork. “Younger children have the older ones as role models and they will have a ‘buddy’ in the older years,” explains Marie Ransome. At St Mary’s, every Reception child has an individual line to say in the annual nativity play. “We always are astounded by how important it is for that early confidence,” says Kerry Owens. “It’s not just about what you say, it’s where you come in, working with other people, producing this team effort. We often find that the children we’d least expect are the ones who stand up there and put their heart and soul into it.” The school also encourages every pupil who learns an instrument – even complete beginners – to perform in public, the earlier the better. “It is a big thing to stand up and perform. It’s really important to understand that you’re not just learning these things to practise,
“The importance of imagination, creativity and having freedom to explore”
practise, practise. You’re learning for a reason, for example, practising to perform at the teatime concert.” Involving children in decisions about their learning, and understanding the reasons behind what they’re doing, is a key part of the educational process, explains Marie Ransome. “At OIS, there is a big emphasis on ensuring the children love learning and are happy. It’s about valuing the process, rather than the end product. With craft work, for example, it’s the children who lead the creative process and suggest ways to make the picture or item better. It’s not something made to a predesigned template.” Given the success of early years practitioners in Cambridgeshire’s schools, should there be more effort to acknowledge their success and even incorporate some of their techniques elsewhere in school, rather than taking away all the nice, cuddly stuff pretty much as soon as children have celebrated their fifth birthdays?
“People recognise in early years the importance of imagination, creativity and having freedom to explore and build a love of learning,” says Peter Woodroffe, deputy chief executive officer of the Independent Schools Association. “What tends to happen later on is that they are stuffed behind desks and forced to write in books, because people are desperate to get them prepared them for the 11+ so they get into the best senior schools, so they get the best GCSEs and A-levels, and so they get into the best universities. Whether that’s actually the best thing or not is strongly argued.” Schools are, he says, looking at different approaches for older children, where, instead of always leading from the front, teachers are increasingly learning facilitators, encouraging and supporting children and giving them a greater sense of ownership over their education. And, if they’re in need of inspiration, our area’s early years providers will be happy to guide them. l
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