Resources

The Cambridge Early Years Programme is designed to be as flexible as possible to allow you to use whatever resources you have available. In this section we provide some guidance on the types of resources that may be particularly useful in your early years setting.

A play-based approach to early years education has benefits for all contexts of development: physical development, language and communication development, cognitive development and social and emotional development. Resources such as toys, games and books are more than just resources for children’s free play. They should be carefully chosen to provide stimuli for age-appropriate, child-centred learning opportunities.


What resources to choose

Choose resources that:

  • children can use safely. You can find out more in ‘A safe learning environment’.
  • provide a range of creative opportunities, for example, open-ended resources such as boxes, pieces of fabric or natural items such as stones and shells that can be used however the child chooses. Avoid resources that constrain children’s imaginations.
  • empower children, allowing them to make choices, use the resources independently without adult supervision and take responsibility for them. Children should, for example, learn how to use resources safely and put them away after use.
  • provide opportunities for developing more than one skill at a time. Construction blocks, for example, help to develop fine motor skills, enable children to express themselves creatively and provide opportunities for mathematical learning.
  • promote collaborative activities that support children’s social development 
  • promote and develop children’s own interests
  • provide opportunities for children to interact and explore with different senses
  • are durable enough to withstand children’s interactions and exploration, and can be easily kept clean
  • are inclusive, allow for different development rates, promote children’s own cultural identity and also diversity. Avoid resources that create or reinforce stereotypes and define particular roles or activities.
  • build on and extend children’s knowledge by challenging their thinking and skills, for example, resources that allow children to test their ideas, pose questions, repeat their previous experiences, and stimulate their learning. 


Everyday resources

Progression of children’s learning and development is your starting point for planning activities. Many valuable teaching and learning activities do not require special resources. Here are some examples:




Resources to support specific learning statements

Some resources are necessary to support learning relating to specific learning statements. Here are some suggestions for three curriculum areas. This is not exhaustive and there may be other resources that you are aware of for these and other areas of the curriculum.




Books

Click on the image below to find out why books are so important for your children:



When you choose books to share with your children and to include in your early years setting library, we recommend that you consider the following:

  • A wide range of age-appropriate books to promote children’s interest in books and reading.
  • Books that include positive messages about diversity and inclusivity of all kinds, for example, gender, race, culture, special needs, family.
  • Dual language books, representing your children’s different home languages.
  • Poems, rhyme and repetitive texts which encourage children to join in and support development of literacy skills.
  • A mixture of non-fiction and fiction texts.
  • Books with motivating topics for your children that also reflect their real-life experiences, for example, going to the doctor.
  • Books in different formats, for example, digital texts with static content, digital texts with interactive content, or audio texts.
  • Picture books that encourage children’s storytelling.
  • Decodable books for E2 and EY3 that reflect their phonics learning and that children can begin to read independently.


Outdoors resources

Outdoor space gives children more opportunities to explore. It enables them to move around more freely and develop their gross motor skills, hand-eye coordination and balance. It is beneficial to have outdoor space adjoining your setting so that children can make choices about when to go outdoors and when to stay inside. Remember that many indoor resources can be taken outside. This extends the way you can use your resources as they can be used in a different way, for example, rolling or moving cars in sand, soil or grass is different to using them on a smooth floor, and children can use large paintbrushes to paint walls or fences with water.

Click on the image below to find more suggestions for outdoor resources:


Fine motor skills resources

Although gross motor skills are often better suited to outdoor activities, there are many opportunities to develop fine motor skills indoors and outdoors. Fine motor skills are important because they enable children to become independent in self-care activities (e.g. dressing, eating) and provide the muscle control needed to hold a pencil and write.

Click on the image below to find some suggestions for fine motor resources:



Creative resources

Resources that inspire children’s imaginations and creativity are diverse and often unpredictable. For example, children might decide to use a skipping rope as a snake or include leaves they have found outside in their artwork. Children need the freedom to choose their own resources in their pretend play and creative expression. Expressing ideas creatively is beneficial to all areas of development, including to encourage communication, social interactions and problem-solving.


Games and puzzles

Games and puzzles are useful resources for developing problem solving and reasoning skills, and often fine motor skills. Some suggestions for games and puzzles include:

  • Jigsaw puzzles
  • Puzzles where shaped pieces are placed into shaped holes
  • Puzzles that involve navigating an object from one point to another
  • Matching games
  • Items for comparison and sorting. For example, different sized toy animals, different coloured shapes, shopping items, leaves, stones or shells.
  • Collaborative games. For example, games that involve construction or balance, simple games with numbered boards to support development of number sense.


Digital technology

Digital technology can be a useful tool in an early years setting. Ideally, technology should enable children to be authors as well as consumers, for example, using age appropriate:

  • drawing software
  • design software that enables children to create a design that can then be physically constructed off-screen
  • programming software which children can use to move an object from one point to another
  • audio and visual recording devices that children can use to record their activities and to inform their reflections on an activity.

However, you should not overuse technology. Technology does not always support key areas of children’s learning and development, for example, gross motor skills, communication skills, social skills. Digital technology should only be used when it adds value to a child’s learning and development.