Enabling Environments

DC40018206

(Open A Nursery, 2023)

An enabling environment is a nurturing space that teaches, promotes and reinforces prosocial behaviour, self-regulatory behaviour and the skills that are required to become a productive member of society, furthermore, nurturing and enabling environments play a vital role in monitoring and reducing the chances for challenging behaviour (Biglan et al., 2012).

At its core, the term enabling environment refers to the physical, emotional and social surroundings that support children and young people’s development (Care Learning, 2024).

Importance of positive learning environments

As professionals it is important to ensure that children and young people are provided with supportive, inclusive and safe learning environments for them to thrive. For children or young people with Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND), elements of the classroom environment may present barriers to their participation and learning. These barriers may contribute to a child to presenting with behaviour that challenges as they are trying to communicate their needs (Wearmouth, 2021).

Therefore, it is the school staff who must consider the learning environment and make necessary changes and adaptions to create an enabling and inclusive environment that meets the needs of the children. There are various environmental factors that can influence the behaviour of children with SEND that are going to be explored below.

(We Care, Educators! , 2021)

Behaviour in Schools Guidance (2024)

The Department for Education (DFE, 2024) has published a Behaviour in Schools guidance that provides advice and legal duties of Headteachers and School Staff for implementation of behaviour policies that provide a safe, supportive and calm environment which is conducive to positive learning experiences for children and young people.

This guidance specifies that schools and school staff must consider children and young people with SEND when considering their whole school approach. The guidance specifies that schools with good behaviour cultures are able to provide calm environments for children with SEND which enhances their learning.

The guidance identifies that staff must prepare for any triggers of challenging behaviour for children with SEND and provide adjustments to the classroom environment where possible,this is supported by The Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practise (DFE and Department of Health and Social Care [DHSC], 2015) in which it is the duty of staff to identify areas of need and implement adaptions for children to access an equal education to their peers. Such adaptions to the classroom environment moving a child's seat or providing areas for regular breaks if required.

It is worth noting that while this guidance provides a positive guide for Head Teachers to create an individual policy for their setting, this guidance is non-statutory and it is open to interpretation from the reader. Therefore, the success of this guidance depends on the individual's interpretation of this document and their judgement on its implementation in their setting policy.

Click the above icon for the full guidance

(Clipground, n.d.)

The impact of staff and classroom management

Education staff play an integral role in creating an enabling environment for children with SEND, they are responsible for implementing the physical, social and emotional elements that contribute towards an enabling environment. This provides a calm, structured and safe environment that meet's the individual needs of the children and reduces chances for challenging behaviour to arise. However, due to the increasing number of children with complex SEND needs in Mainstream schools, staff do not feel adequately trained to assess and support the variety of needs within their classes. (OFSTED, 2022).

(Edutopia, (2019)

How staff create an enabling environment:

Follow consistent routines

Respond to individual needs

Tailored resources

Ensuring accessibility to resources

Create a sense of belonging

Facilitate group activities

Foster positive relationships

Ensure children feel safe

Encourage a calm environment.

Wise & Rogers (2016)

(My Progression, 2023)

Inclusive Classroom

It is the duty of all staff within a setting to contribute towards an inclusive environment. By creating an inclusive school environment, children have a sense of belonging and feel that they are valued. This sense of belonging can positively impact on a Child's engagement academically and socially which can reduce instances of challenging behaviour (Lever, 2011). Solomon et al. (1996) claims that individuals who feel included and valued within their classroom are more less likely to present with behaviour that may challenge.

However, when a child feels excluded from their environment, they will feel less inclined to attend school, furthermore feelings of exclusion can impact on their behaviour when they enter school, impacting their social interactions and engagement with their peers (Kettlewell, 2024).

Cheng et al. (2021) identified that individuals without a sense of belonging can feel isolated. These feelings of isolation can cause children to disengage from their learning and display challenging behaviours.

(Twinkl Trainee Teachers & ECTS, 2023)

(Hollis Montessori School, n.d.)

The features of an enabling environment in a Montessori environment:

(Dad Verb,2022)

(Bowman School, 2020)

Does Montessori's approach create enabling environments?

This approach is child centred; it meets the child's current developmental stage by enabling a child's learning to develop according to their individual characteristics. Unlike traditional classrooms, Montessori environments do not focus solely on cognitive ability, they use a holistic approach to consider the physical, social, emotional and cognitive needs of each individual child to encourage development of the whole child.

The environment is carefully planned and prepared to enable accessibility and consistency to all learners (Montessori Schools Association, 2012). Learning zones are split into subject areas that may provide more engagement for children with SEND as they are able to engage in an activity of their choice. This would not only provide enjoyment for the child, but it may also provide an element of control. When children feel in control, they are less likely to display challenging behaviours, particularly for children who have a Pathological Demand Avoidance profile in which they experience heightened sensitivity to demands asked of them (Fricker, 2021).

In the view of Montessori, practitioners play a crucial role for creating an enabling environment. The practitioner has a diverse role, they must ensure that the environment is calm and the physical environment is organised to meet child's needs while also observing the children within the setting to identify their individual needs including strengths and limitations. It is paramount that practitioners tailor the future environment and activities to meet the child's current stage of development. Through doing so, the practitioner can assess potential triggers for challenging behaviour and adjust the environment and strategies used accordingly (Montessori Schools Association, 2012).

Peers and practitioners can begin to form a supportive environment for children who display behaviour that challenges. Peers and practitioners alike can model positive social and communication skills which provide a More Knowledgeable Other for children to learn new strategies for managing their own behaviour. A More Knowledgeable Other is a theory by Vygotsky who believes that children can learn new skills through social interactions with an individual who has greater skill or knowledge (Veale, 2020).

Literature quoted in Iman et al. 2017 states that Montessori environments can positively impact social cooperation, social interaction and social-emotional skills in pre-school children. Further investigative research by Iman et al (2017) states that using a Montessori style of environment and learning positively impacts a child's behaviour by improving their emotion-regulation skills.

Limitations to a Montessori approach to enabling environments:

Although Montessori environments offer prepared learning activities, there is no clear structure for the day as the children can choose their own activities at their own pace. This unstructured environment may not suit all children with SEND , some children may struggle with transition periods such as those with Autism Spectrum Disorder who require clear and consistent routines for each day of their learning (Fleming et al, 2023). The lack of routine and scheduled transition periods can increase instances of challenging behaviour such as disengagement, avoidance, screaming and hitting (Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, 2023).

As previously mentioned, an enabling environment must be adaptable to an individual child's needs to improve engagement and promote positive behaviour, therefore it cannot be assumed that every aspect of this environment would work for every child, practitioners would need to use their professional judgement to adjust any environment to ensure it is enabling for a child.

Habsfamily (n.d)

Conclusion

An enabling environment must meet the needs of individual children to effectively support children with SEND. It is important that staff regularly review the classroom environment to assess its suitability for the children that use it.

The common theme that presents when considering an enabling environment is that it is inclusive to all children, in order to reduce instances of challenging behaviour, children must feel valued and included.

While Montessori environments are enabling for children, they are rarely considered unless within a designated Montessori school or within an Early Years Foundation Stage, however schools could implement aspects of this approach to enhance their environment to best suit it is learners.

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