Since opening our first nursery in 2011 we have come along way and our approach has been developed and fine tuned over the years, and we have no doubt that it will continue to do so. We were originally inspired by the Reggio Approach from Northern Italy, which is characterised profoundly by its commitment to child led learning. Children are seen as confident and capable beings who are able to develop their own theories and test them, whilst educators research and learn alongside them. This filters through into our approach and as well as children testing their own theories and enquiries, as adults we enjoy testing our own and looking deeper into children’s patterns of learning, fascinations and questions to find an underlying common interest.<\/p>\n
Whilst we still hold the Reggio Approach close, we do not claim to be a Reggio Nursery because we believe that you cannot just take an approach from one place and exactly replicate it in another.\u00a0 We take inspiration from it and many other things – mainly our children and staff. We have added our own twists, theories and experiences along the way to develop our own ‘Little Learners Approach’.<\/p>\n
Having said that, another important aspect of the Reggio Approach which we firmly believe in is that the environment is the third teacher. Our teams lovingly set up the children’s learning spaces with attention to detail and passion. Every corner and space has a purpose, and every interaction with the environment is a learning experience for the child. Each play space is inviting and inspires children to delve deeper and provokes focus and engagement in child initiated, free play. Enhancements to the environment and adult planned activities are used to add depth and breath to the children’s self directed learning. Resources such as light boxes, projectors, overhead projectors, mirrors and shadow sheets support a calm and welcoming environment as well as add new dimensions to the children’s play and explorations and create thought provoking experiences.<\/p>\n
Whilst on the subject of resources, it is important to note that within our nurseries you wont see many typical toys, rather we value the role of natural and reclaimed materials to promote exploration, discovery, creativity, imagination, resourcefulness and curiosity. What better way to learn about the world you live in than by exploring directly with it. Natural resources such as branches, pine cones, leaves, flowers, mud, dried and fresh fruit, bark, shells etc are used throughout our environments indoors and out as our every day resources (toys). They are open ended and can literally be used for anything, but here’s a few examples:<\/p>\n
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