Support Together Early Education Resources (STEER)
Slough Early Years and Prevention Service have developed a collective package of inclusive materials, practical resources and ideas to support fundamental elements of early years learning and development now and in the future.
The materials incorporate links to other useful websites and professional organisations and use modern IT so they can be accessed on many different devices making it user friendly and easy to navigate and return to.
These materials are aimed at reaching and supporting the early year’s sector, settings, schools and families with young children during COVID-19 and beyond.
Bursts for Learning
Early Years teachers, professionals and Slough Children’s Centres have created a collaborative working document to reach and support families with fun and easy home learning ideas for children 0–5years. These materials include many ideas and practical activities, videos to watch together that bring stories and activities to life and also helpful links to websites and other national organisations providing tips and advice on learning and development.
EYFS Transitions | Ready for the Next Stage of Learning
Managing the move to a new early years setting or school is very important and should be a smooth and informative process.
This good practice guide helps early year’s settings plan and manage effective transitions for children. It provides a useful action plan and many practical ideas suitable for now and in the future.
There is also a dedicated section on transition advice, strategies and resources for supporting children coming back to settings following lock down and long term absence.
Included in the document is:
• What the setting need to do to establish successful and supportive transitions
• Ideas for how they can support parents and children with the move
• The assessments that should be shared; to help meet the needs of individual children in their new school or setting.
The silver lining in these recent challenging times has been settings and schools making use of modern technology and social media to create, many new and innovative ways to support families and children.
Transitions Tool Kit
This toolkit can be used on its own or with the EYFS Transitions Good Practice Guide. It provides early years practitioners with a bank of resources and practical tips to use with children at times of change and transition. These are also suitable for families to use at home. The transitions tool kit has been designed to support early year’s practitioners for use in their own schools and settings and with families.
Social Stories
To provide practitioners and families with a bank of social stories to support children to understand the many changes they may be noticing and experiencing around them; particularly during COVID-19. Social stories are used to help a child understand a small part of their social world and how to function appropriately within it. They are particularly useful to help children with autism and those with English as an additional language (EAL) develop their social skills and social understanding.
These social stories are aimed at early year’s practitioners, schools and settings who work with young children; especially those who are autistic, have other social processing disorders and children with English as an additional language.
EYFS Assessments – Good Practice | Aide Memoire
The implementation of good practice in assessment supports a child’s continuing learning and development through providing information to practitioners to support planning and provision for their needs and next steps. This document shares important points to consider and implement as part of the assessment processes at different stages of a child’s time in an early years setting.
Some of the points are also helpful at the time of transition and support information shared in the other documents. This aide memoire is aimed at supporting early year’s practitioners and professionals who use observations and assessments in their work with young children.
Outdoor Learning
Making the most of the outdoors as a safe, fun and enjoyable learning environment has become more important in recent times to many children and their families. It is no surprise, that most children love being outside when this is a space where they can explore, challenge themselves to take risks, experience the awe and wonder of nature and have access to sensory learning opportunities.
This document shares the benefits for being outside daily; simple ideas and activities for different age groups and also guides adults on how they can support the learning and enjoyment from time outside with their young babies and children.
There is also reference to the local award winning parks and green spaces in Slough and all that they can offer when being outside is so important for safe social contact and fun.
This resource supports the early year’s sector, professionals and volunteers in organisations supporting families with young children and parents and carers and families with children 0-5 years.
Further guides and resources are under development and will be available soon.