Early Years Practitioner Guidance (Copy)

A holistic approach - a sand play example

When supporting children’s development across the Early Years Curriculum areas, it is important not to think of these areas individually. They are presented separately in the curriculum to help you get a strong understanding of each area, but children will not experience them as separate learning experiences. 

As children engage with the learning environment, with their teachers and peers, and with adult-led activities and child-initiated play, they will be developing skills and understanding from across many areas all at once. For example, playing with sand may support their learning in the following ways:

• Communication, Language and Literacy – using verbal and non-verbal language to share ideas, gaining new vocabulary, or talking about previous experiences of playing in the sand on visits to the beach.
• Creative Expression – how are they using the sand? They could be transforming it into different structures, or the sand could become the backdrop to imaginative play as they bring additional resources into their play.

• Mathematics – sand play provides lots of opportunities to investigate volume, and to understand concepts such as 'heavy and light' or 'full and empty'. It also provides opportunities for children to count.
• Personal, Social and Emotional Development – when playing with sand, children will be collaborating with their peers, sharing resources, helping each other, feeling pride in managing something difficult or dealing with a setback when the sand doesn't do what they expected.
• Physical Development – children will be experiencing lots of sensory information as well as gaining gross and fine motor skills as they fill buckets and pots, using different spoons or spades, or as they move the sand with their hands or feet.
• Understanding the world – playing with others helps children to feel part of a community, and when playing with the sand they are learning about its properties and how those properties change if it gets too wet or dry. 

While you may set up just one sand tray in the morning, your knowledge of: the curriculum areas, and  individual children’s stages of development and interests along with how you respond to your interactions with the children, will enable you to support them to encounter a range of development opportunities from a sand play activity.