Introduction
Anyone go to childcare in the 80’s? No? Just us?
Well you’ll have to take our word for it – today’s childcare and early learning centres make our collective personal experience of care look like the dark ages.
In previous blog posts, we have noted the importance of the environment as the ‘third teacher’ (Hebert, 1998; Moore & Sugiyama, 2007; Weinstein, 1987), however working out what is a gimmick versus what is pedagogically and developmentally appropriate is not always easy.
Physical activity
There is a considerable body of research on the link between environments, levels of physical activity and obesity in children. With obesity rates for preschool aged children aged birth to 3 years being about 20%, nutrition and levels of physical activity are important areas of focus (Smith et al, 2016; Brown et al, 2017). Furthermore, a strong correlation has been identified between physical activity and activity-based teamwork, and children’s ongoing ability to manage stress and adversity.
Safety
Centre operators need to think about obvious risks, including:
- fence heights
- trip & fall hazards
- choking hazards
- runaway cars (you would be surprised how often people accidentally hit the accelerator instead of the brake)
They also need to think about less obvious risks, including:
- poisonous plants (check your plants people!)
- spiders and snakes
- potential allergens in paint (egg in children’s paint is something to watch out for)
- air pollutants
- environmental noise (eg. traffic)
It’s also worth noting that an ‘interesting’ play environment is associated with lower rates of accident and injury than more sterile learning environments (Creaser, 1985). An ‘interesting environment’ offers ‘opportunities for challenge, excitement, learning and development’ (Frost, 1985). It’s probably not a surprise for parents that boring environments can encourage more dangerous play.
Child protection
Have you noticed that some parts of your childcare centre look like a fish bowl? Perhaps there are parts of the centre with windows that don't ordinarily have windows, like cot rooms and toilets?
Those windows are there for a reason. First and foremost, they facilitate supervision of children throughout the centre’s spaces. It’s also best practice for adults not to be alone with children in an area where they cannot be observed by another adult. It’s sad that this is necessary, but it is – and the ability to observe and supervise adult interactions with children at all times is one of the major advantages that long day care has over other forms of care.
Learning
The physical environments in an early learning centre should be designed to ensure safety and promote learning. Learning, in turn, happens through play which offers opportunities for social interaction, self-awareness and the formation of personal identity (Tayler, 2015).
There isn’t enough research available on the connection between the discrete elements of the physical environment and subsequent learning outcomes in young children. However, fundamentally, the centre environment should offer children:
- Adequate building quality (i.e. water tight, to avoid the presence of contaminants like mould)
- Centre layouts and spaces that reduce levels of ‘chaos’ (excessive noise, overcrowding etc)
- Adequate lighting
- Comfortable climate
- Availability of key material and learning resources
(Ferguson et al, 2013)
Time spent in nature or with natural materials can be something of an antidote to overcrowded and noisy learning environments (Ferguson et al, 2013). Steps can also be taken to reduce noise with acoustic panelling, and the creation of small quiet spaces to which children can retreat (Ferguson et al, 2013).
In a nutshell...
Physical environments in early learning centres need to do more than merely reflect current design trends. They need to be safe and to set the stage for learning, play and quality interactions with Educators.
For more information about Futuro and our approach to high quality early learning, please visit our website: www.futuro.nsw.edu.au, email us at enquiries@futuro.nsw.edu.au or call us on 1 300 388 876.
(Photo by Hannes Egler on Unsplash)