Characteristics of Effective Learning: Enabling Environments audit

Enabling Environments: what the adult could provide Resources are stimulating, accessible and open-ended so they can be used, moved and combined in a variety of ways. Resources are relevant to childrens interests. Playing and Exploring Indoor and outdoor space and resources are flexibly arranged to enable children to explore, build, move and role play. Practice is strong Practice needs developing Development points

The spaces are visually calm and orderly; noise is limited so engagement children can concentrate. First hand experiences and challenges are appropriate to the development of the children planned for. Children have uninterrupted time to play and explore. New and unusual experiences linked to their interests are provided for children to explore and become deeply involved in. Children are curious and show signs of deep involvement that is intrinsically self-motivated. Active Learning motivation Children have time and freedom to become deeply involved in activities. Children can maintain focus on things that interest them over a period of time. They are helped to keep ideas in mind bt talking over photographs of their previous activities. Significant activities are left out instead of routinely being tidied away. Children have opportunities to contribute to and make decisions about their environment.
Ellingham Primary School

Enabling Environments: what the adult could provide There are opportunities for children to find their own ways to represent and develop their own ideas. Children do not just reproduce someone elses ideas. There are opportunities for children to play with materials before using them in planned tasks. Play is the key opportunity for children to think creatively and flexibly, solve problems and link ideas. The enabling conditions for rich play are established e.g. space, time, flexible resources, choice, control, warm and supportive relationships. There are recognisable and predictable routines to help children to predict and make connections in their experiences. Routines are flexible, while still basically orderly. The linked experiences that are planned follow the ideas that children are really thinking about. Mind maps are used to represent thinking together. A learning community has been developed which focuses on the how and not just on what we are learning.

Practice is strong

Practice needs developing

Development points

Creating and Thinking Critically thinking

Ellingham Primary School