Learning

Environments
Workshop delivered by Luke Touhill and Judy Radich at Campbell
Street Childcare and Early Education Centre
Environment Makeover

What is Environment Makeover. National Quality

Standard ideas to actions?

Environment Makeover. National Quality Standard ideas to actions is an on-

line documentary that will explore the importance of the physical
environment (Quality Area 3) to a service’s achievement of good practice
across all quality areas. This project is brought to you by Early Childhood
Australia as part of the Commonwealth of Australia-funded National Quality
Standard Professional Learning Program (NQS PLP).
Environment Makeover

‘Here is Edward Bear, coming

downstairs now, bump, bump, bump,
on the back of his head, behind
Christopher Robin. It is, as far as he
knows, the only way of coming
downstairs, but sometimes he feels
that there is really another way, if
only he could stop bumping for a
moment and think of it’

Milne, A. A. (1926). Winnie-the-pooh. London: Methuen.

Environment Makeover

• Learning Environments are one of the eight key practices contained in the
Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF); Physical Environment is one of the
seven quality areas in the National Quality Standard.

• A well organised learning environment has the potential to underpin good

practice across all Quality Areas in the National Quality Standard and the
five Learning Outcomes specified in the EYLF.

• ‘An active learning environment is one in which children are encouraged to

explore and interact with the environment to make meaning and
knowledge through their experiences, social interactions and negotiations
with others’ EYLF p. 45.
Environment Makeover
A well organised environment is:
• Welcoming
• Vibrant and flexible
• Responsive to children and their changing needs, interests and abilities
• One that invites experiences, interactions, risk taking, discovery,
connections to nature, conversations, play and collaboration
• One that has a sense of place and purpose for resources, materials and
experiences
• Consistent and predictable
• Well resourced and well maintained
• Interesting and engaging (absorbs children in complex, deep learning
experiences rather than shallow or superficial experiences)
• Contains open-ended, complex materials that can be used in many ways
and can be used again and again without becoming boring
• Contains a balance of experiences/types of experiences.
Environment Makeover
Environment Makeover

What is in a space, a room

or a yard, and how it is
arranged can affect the
behaviour of people; it
can make it easier to act
in certain kinds of ways,
harder to act in others …

Kritchevsky and Prescott

Environment Makeover

Arranging space
Breaking up the space with clear pathways and clear play
spaces produces more focussed and productive play. Children
are able to play in small to medium sized groups, without
unnecessary interruption or encroachment by others.

Try to avoid creating a ring of activity areas or learning centres

around the edges of the room. This arrangement usually fails to
clearly define play spaces, allowing each to spill into the other,
and the open space at the centre tends to invite unfocussed or
aimless wandering.
Environment Makeover
Environment Makeover

Provide a consistent environment

Resist the urge to constantly change the layout of your room

or playground without good reason. A consistent and
predictable environment helps children to feel a sense of
belonging and attachment as well as allowing them
opportunities to practice using materials and equipment.

‘connections and continuity between learning experiences …

make learning more meaningful’
(EYLF, p. 33)
Environment Makeover

Think about what you expect children to do in each

area or at each experience:
• Is there enough space?

• Are there enough materials?

• Is everything they will need easily accessible?

• What does the space look like from a child’s perspective?

Environment Makeover
Environment Makeover

Think about the kind of materials and resources

that children can access
What is natural? What is man-made? What is hard? What is soft? What is
complex? What is simple? What can only be used one way? What can be used
in many ways? What can only be used by one child at a time? What can be
used by many children or by a group of children?

‘... plants, trees, edible gardens, sand, rocks, mud, water and other elements
from nature ... invite open-ended interactions, spontaneity, risk-taking,
exploration, discovery and connection with nature ...’ EYLF, p. 16
Environment Makeover

Make use of incidental spaces to create interest

Engaging environments tend to make good use of incidental spaces –

learning opportunities are built into the environment. The result shouldn’t
be cluttered but makes effective use of all available space.

• How many things are there to do, and places are there to be in your
environment?

• If you didn’t set up anything for the day what would children find to do
in your space?

• Are there enough spaces for different kinds of activities? Quiet and
noisy? In a group or by yourself?
Environment Makeover
Environment Makeover

The environment and relationships

The environment is a key enabler of relationships - how

our environment is set up helps to determine how, and
what kind of, relationships will happen within it.
Environment Makeover

‘Because social development is seen as an

intrinsic part of cognitive development space is
planned and set up to facilitate encounters,
interactions and exchanges among children.’

Lella Gandini, The Hundred Languages of Children

Challenge and risk-taking
National Quality Standard 3.2

The environment is inclusive, promotes competence, independent exploration and

learning through play

What elements and features in the physical environment invite open ended
interactions, spontaneity, risk taking, exploration, discovery and connection with
nature...?

Element 3.2.1
Outdoor and indoor spaces are designed and organised to engage every child
in quality experiences in both built and natural environments

‘Assessors may observe ... learning environments with appropriate levels

of challenge where children are encouraged to explore, experiment and
take appropriate risks in their learning’
Challenge and risk-taking
Risk vs Hazard
‘A risk
‘A riskisissomething that
something that is possible
is possible to negotiate
to negotiate and may be and may be
appropriate
appropriate forforparticular
particular situations
situations and children.
and children.

A hazard is something that is inherently dangerous and needs to be

remedied, such as a climbing structure with sharp edges or loose
A hazard is something
boards that could seriouslythat
injureischildren
inherently dangerous
needs
if they play on it.’ and
to be remedied, such as a climbing structure with sharp edges
Deb Curtis, What’s the risk of no risk?
or loose boards that could seriously injure children if they play
on it.’

Deb Curtis, What’s the risk of no risk?

Environment Makeover
Environment Makeover
Environment Makeover

What do we want to achieve?

• A learning environment that encourages children’s

engagement, curiosity, problem solving, independent
exploration and appropriate risk taking.
Environment Makeover

What do we want to achieve?

• A learning environment that encourages children’s
engagement, curiosity, problem solving, independent
exploration and appropriate risk taking

• An adequate level of resourcing to support a rich and

engaging program

• A learning environment that encourages children’s

engagement, curiosity, problem solving, independent
exploration and appropriate risk taking
Environment Makeover
What do we want to achieve?
• An adequate level of resourcing to support a rich and
engaging program

• A daily timetable and routines that support children’s

engagement and learning, and provides better opportunities
for in-depth and meaningful interactions between educators
and children

• A learning environment that encourages children’s

engagement, curiosity, problem solving, independent
exploration and appropriate risk taking
Environment Makeover

What do we want to achieve?

• An adequate level of resourcing to support a rich and
engaging program

• A daily timetable and routines that support children’s

engagement and learning, and provides better opportunities
for in-depth and meaningful interactions between educators
and children

• Sustainable practices embedded into the daily program.

Environment Makeover

Think about indoors and outdoors, and the group of

children you work with:

• What kind of learning would you like to see your children

engaged in in each space?
• What kind of environment would support that learning to
happen?

• What kind of things could you do to support that learning to

happen?
Environment Makeover
Things to think about:
• How you organise your space currently and how you might do it differently?

• How much time do children have to engage in experiences and with materials?
Are there ways you could create longer periods of time for children’s play (both
indoors and outdoors)?

• Think about the materials and resources you have. Which do you find promote
the most meaningful learning? What would you like to have to support learning
further?

• What kind of challenges or risk taking experiences would be appropriate for the
age group that you are working with?

• How much of your time are you able to spend fully engaged with the children – in
conversation, in learning, in shared thinking and problem solving? Try to notice
how often this occurs over the next week. What are the other pressures that keep
you from being able to engage with children’s learning?
Environment Makeover
References
Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority. (2011). Guide to the National Quality
Standard. Sydney: Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority.

Curtis, D. (2010). What’s the risk of no risk? Child Care Exchange, March/April,

Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations. (2009). Belonging, being,

becoming: The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia. Canberra: Commonwealth of
Australia.

Gandini, L. (1993). Educational and caring spaces. In, C. Edwards, L. Gandini, & G. Forman (Eds.).
The hundred languages of children: The Reggio Emilia approach to early childhood education.
Norwood, NJ: Ablex.

Kritchevsky, S. & Prescott, E. (1977). Planning environments for young children - Physical space.
Washington, DC: NAEYC.

Milne, A. A. (1926). Winnie-the-pooh. London: Methuen.

Rinaldi, C. (1998). The space of childhood. In, Ceppi, G. & Zini, M. (Eds.). children, spaces,
relations: metaproject for an environment for young children. Reggio Emilia: Reggio Children.
 For further details and resources on the Environment
Makeover. NQS ideas to actions, please visit the NQS PLP
website

http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/nqsplp/environme
nt-makeover/