Harry and the mud slide

Three year old Harry is going on a trip with his nursery to the woods. He has a language delay often finds social interactions with other children difficult. He can find changes in routines hard. The practitioners support him to get the most out this time spent outdoors. There's lots of messy play, risk taking and physical play involved.

Good for looking at

• Send - language delay
• Risky play
• Messy play
• Mud
• Water
• Learning outdoors
• Forest school
• Language
• Communication
• Physical development
• Enabling environments

Three year old Harry is going on a trip with his nursery to the woods. He has a language delay often finds social interactions with other children difficult. He can find changes in routines hard. The practitioners support him to get the most out this time spent outdoors.

What do you notice about:

• What Harry is interested in?
• What he tries to communicate during his play?
• What Harry is learning?
• What the adults do to support and tune in to Harry?
• What effect the environment and materials have on his play?

Recognising

What did you recognise about:

• How Harry is learning? Did you see any evidence of the characteristics of effective learning?
• The areas of learning and development that were covered through his play activity?
• The adult’s role – how they support Harry, particularly his speech and language?
• The importance of the environment and the materials?

Responding

What would you do next?

• How could you extend Harry’s learning?
• How might you communicate Harry’s experience to his parents/carers?
• Did watching the clip help you notice any particular strengths or weaknesses that you might have when trying to support children’s specific needs during their play?
• Could you suggest a way of encouraging this kind of play in your own setting? What might the barriers be? Are there ways around them? Do you know enough about risk assessment to be confident about developing this kind provision?

Links

Pen Green Centre - A Celebratory Approach to SEND Assessment in the Early Years	Visit Link
National Portage Association - Home visiting service for preschool children with SEND and their families	Visit Link