Creating the perfect early years education environment

Creating a purposeful early years’ education environment, centred around helping younger children to develop and flourish, involves a number of key considerations.

Ensuring the learning environment itself, including the outdoor space, is equipped with age-appropriate equipment and resources is a good starting point. As early years’ educators, we also need to ensure that the learning space incorporates a variety of different interactive learning activities for every child. Success and engagement also depend on making sure that practitioners know each child and understand their personality and interests.

Construction areas where children can work collaboratively to build a house, or a trap to catch a “baddie” can be particularly appealing. Creating a “home corner” is another great way to encourage learning through play, because children will be familiar with everyday items and rooms around the home such as a kitchen where they can role-play while making breakfast or cooking dinner.