What
does teaching and learning really look
like in the EYFS?
Whilst observing recently in a Reception class, I was struck
by the language used by the class teacher, and this set me thinking....
After an initial whole class session on the carpet, she invited the children to
'go off and play', but wanted a small group of about six children, to work with her. The idea that children only 'learn' when an
adult is present, is wholly incorrect, but this teacher had already set most of
the children in her class off on a 'play' trajectory, where self-awareness and
discovery to share with others, was lost.
The true pedagogy of the EYFS is that children learn through play. It seems these concepts have become
polarised; children either 'learn' or they 'play'. Unfortunately, and I hope I'm wrong, but a
wind of change appears to be sprouting in the OFSTED camp, and schools where
children in EY 'sit and learn' are receiving 'good', when actually the teaching
is at best 'satisfactory' and in some cases 'inadequate'.
This poses a dilemma; one that has quietly simmered for a long time, but which
may be now coming to the boil. Do we as
teachers, stay true to the pedagogy of
EYFS, that children 'learn through play' or do we offer an ever increasing
reductive curriculum for young children, that focuses on attainment and scores?
Of course the wise amongst us knows this is not an 'either or' question.
But, as has always been the case in the teaching profession, we are
buffeted from one extreme to the other
and it is only the confident, often experienced teachers that quietly go about
their day in the firm knowledge that their children will flourish, learn and
attain.
If the classroom environment offers exciting opportunities for children to
explore and discover, they will learn.
Add to this, rigour in the form of high expectations, clear challenges
and an awareness of 'next steps' for learning, children will view the
activities they become involved with as 'playful learning' opportunities. Very
young children can be involved in their own learning (AfL)
and soon know if they are challenging themselves and 'doing their best'.
Adults scaffold and steer children's learning through high levels of
engagement, which will include episodes of direct instruction, but this is by
no means the whole picture of what teaching and learning looks like. So, children go off to 'learn' in a playful,
engaging way.