foundation phase considerations

Considerations on how to provide a rich and quality environment through planning a range of learning opportunities for pupils, that supports their all-round development and well-being.

This list will be updated regularly.

Updated 12.08.20

● The evidence shows our youngest learners are in the least at risk group. We also know our early years’ educational practitioners are experienced in caring for the needs of young children and will apply professional judgement doing the right thing for children, parents and staff. Continuing with a child centred approach means we will have a high-quality delivery of the Foundation Phase with personal and social development and well-being at the centre of our Foundation Phase philosophy for our youngest learners. We recognise that provision and learning experiences may not be exactly the same as it was in March. However, you can still achieve the same learning outcomes with safe modification and adaptation of learning spaces and resources.

● The return to operations has an important significance for early years learners who are at a critical stage of cognitive development which supports their approach to learning. Schools should ensure they are fully supported in this development, given the implications for later learning. The ethos, approach and pedagogy of the Foundation Phase remain critical, and can be applied to all learners in the early years and Key Stage 2.There is a need to ensure schools are provided with the right framework so that our youngest children get the very best start to their educational life, and one that they can build on for the future.

● Practitioners may consider a blend of approaches that include problem solving, creative and critical thinking and provision can be adapted to ensure that children are able to access a breadth of learning experiences. A clear vision for learning and the significance of the learning environment are critical to access experiences which allow younger children to apply, extend and consolidate their skills.

● Minimise contact between individuals wherever possible. For younger learners the emphasis will be on separating groups and maintaining distance will be difficult.

● Consistent groups help reduce the risk of transmission by limiting the number of learners and staff in contact with each other to only those within the group. It is accepted that learners and especially the youngest learners, may not be able to socially distance from staff or from each other and consistent groups provide an additional protective measure.

● Where children are old enough they should be supported to maintain distance and not to touch staff and their peers where possible.This will not be possible for the youngest learners and for those with complex needs.

● Staff responsible for younger learners should remain with set groups rather than interchange between different/a number of groups. All staff should adhere to the social/physical distancing measures as far as possible with younger learners.

● Many things can be mitigated by hand washing before and after an activity. Clean hands thoroughly, more often than usual. Young learners and those with complex needs should continue to be helped to clean their hands properly.

● If non-symptomatic children present behaviours which may increase the risk of droplet transmission (such as biting, licking, kissing or spitting) or require care that cannot be provided without close contact, they should continue to receive care in the same way, including any existing routine use of PPE.

Resources

● Audit resources in each Area of Provision, balancing issues of manageability with the purpose the resource serves.

● For individual and frequently used resources such as pencils and pens it is recommended that staff and learners should have their own items that are not shared. Consider giving pupils a bag of resources for their use throughout the day and a tray of items to use in practical experiential learning activities.

● Classroom based resources can be used and shared within the contact group; these should be cleaned regularly along with all frequently touched surfaces.

● If resources are shared between contact groups, equipment should be cleaned frequently and meticulously or rotated to allow them to be unused and out of reach for a period of 48 hours (72 hours for plastics) between use by different contact groups.

● Having different sets of equipment and resources for different groups of children in nursery, if possible, will also help minimise transmission, particularly where more than one group of learners needs to access the same space during a single day – for example, in schools with morning and afternoon nursery provision. This would reduce the amount of cleaning needed to be undertaken during the change-over period with the focus then being on fixed furniture, larger equipment and high touch points.

Resources to take home:

● Learners and staff can take books and other shared resources home, although unnecessary sharing should be avoided, especially where this does not contribute to learners’ education and development similar rules on hand washing, cleaning of resources and rotation should apply to these resources.

Outdoors

● Using the outdoor space is essential and highly advised as part of the recommended guidance to effectively support social distancing, and also to minimise the risk of transmission and supporting health and well-being.

● Use outdoor learning areas as much as possible through play based experiential learning, connecting with nature, to develop a range of skills e.g. literacy, numeracy, creative, physical and personal and social skills .

● Consider your outdoor environment - Where possible, environments should provide children opportunities to play/work alone and together as well as play games or with different resources to develop their physical skills. The more varied the landscape the more challenges the child will have.

● Schools should ensure outdoor playground equipment/resources should be more frequently cleaned.

● Sanitise equipment after use by the group and individual handles after each use eg bikes, scooters etc.

● If possible, provide an outdoor hand washing facility. This could be a jerry can of warm water with a bucket underneath, soap dispenser, disposable hand towels and bin.

Water

● Small scale water exploration – e.g. bowl in a tyre, large plastic tubs, mixing bowl

● Using the water tray with anti-bacterial soap will cover the hygiene aspect as well as continuing to allow the children to play in water.

● Rotate the resources. Clean resources between contact groups.

Sand

● Items that can’t be easily cleaned such as sand in sand trays can be quarantined and rotated between contact groups.

● Multiple smaller areas of provision can be created e.g. sand in small tray, sand in tyre/suitcase/box/plastic tub

‘’If a provider’s risk assessment demonstrates that sand pits could be used by just one small, consistent bubble of children that does not change during the day or on consecutive days, and no one outside the bubble would come into contact with it and the sand is replaced frequently, a provider may determine they could use sand pits in a controlled way that managed risk in their setting. Providers should ensure that if children do use the sandpit they should wash their hands thoroughly before and after use’ (National Children’s Bureau June 2020)

Dough

● Playdough is a great sensory resource. However, it is known that this material can harbour germs and the first instinct could be to remove it completely, but playdough can still be used if you provide children individual bags/air tight containers of playdough.

● Within the contact group the children could create the playdough mix themselves allowing them to be a part of the process.

● After each session the children re-bag their individual playdough and take the cutters and equipment to be cleaned where they can be added to a ready-made solution/cleaned.

Loose Parts

● There are many loose parts that can still be used in schools, that can either be easily cleaned between contact groups, stored away for 72 hours between uses, or recycled after they have been used.

Building

● Children should be able to access different materials to build with e.g. recyclable junk materials Lego, building blocks, cardboard boxes, materials, ropes etc can all be provided and either cleaned or rotated using the 72 hour rule, if used by different contact groups.

● If recyclable materials are donated, clean or quarantine materials before used.

● Cardboard boxes of all different sizes can provide children with many play opportunities.

Blocks

● Blocks are usually made with solid wood with a cleanable finish. Clean all surfaces with soap and water as recommended. Do not use excessive water, and dry surfaces immediately. Leaving water or cleaning agent on the surface may damage the finish. Do not immerse in water. Disinfectants can be used on wooden surfaces.

Display boards

● Soft backed display boards (e.g. felt board) on A frame furniture may present some challenges for cleaning. They could be covered with plastic sheeting.

Wicker baskets

● Wicker baskets are more challenging to clean and will need to be quarantined after use, alternatively use plastic, easy to clean containers e.g. recycled containers

Soft toys/soft furnishings/dressing up clothes

● Remove soft furnishings/toys/clothes e.g. pillows, bean bags, rugs, toys unless they can be washed and thoroughly cleaned.

Role Play

● Consider alternative equipment, or limit resources in order for all items to be cleaned or consider other role play provision e.g. ‘mini me figures’ in small world/block, de-constructed role-play with large cardboard boxes.

Transition

● This September schools and funded non-maintained settings will have the added responsibility of transition for more new learners than usual, with summer term children that have not yet started. In addition, existing learners will need to re-transition due to the length of time they have been away and some learners will also transition from settings to schools.

● Schools and settings should follow their normal transition processes, where possible, to ensure a positive, and safe, experience for our youngest learners within the overall aim of all children accessing education as soon as is practical.

Parental involvement

● Within nursery provision there is often a greater level of parental involvement than at any time in a child’s educational journey. In addition to drop-off and collection of children, parents sometimes help their children to settle in and staff may well undertake home visits before children start. Schools and settings will need to balance this engagement with the need to minimise overall levels of contacts. Consideration should be given to how this is done when undertaking risk assessments. If a home visit is required it should be undertaken outside, for example in the garden of the premises where the child resides, to ensure 2 metre physical/social distancing can be maintained from the school staff member and the child and their family.