The task I have been set is to produce a booklet for a child care and education student, it is to explain how a setting can provide a positive environment for children. By creating this file I will learn myself, a lot about how settings can create a positive and stimulating environment for children The setting I will be focusing on is a school nursery in a seaside town. The building is a large Georgian house and the nursery is situated on the ground floor.
To provide a positive environment in the nursery, the daily routines are planned, so it suites the children’s needs, and the activities carried out are done with best interest for the children’s learning and development. The staff work as a team and ensure that there is a high standard of hygiene and safety by cleaning all tables before and after being used, they also clean everything that the children come into contact with regularly.
The staff also maintains a happy, relaxed atmosphere and parents are made to feel welcome, they are invited in when bringing their children to and from the nursery and they are told about what their children have been doing at nursery. There are a variety of displays in the nursery, both of the children’s own work and of artefacts books and pictures, which are changed regularly to prevent them looking old and tattered, by having these, it helps to create a happy and bright atmosphere.
If a display is of children’s work, every child will have a piece of work on display, this promotes equal opportunities practice, and it will also boost their self-esteem. The nursery is set out so that the children can play happily and safely. The nursery is laid out in such a way that any child can gain from it. For example if a child has poorly developed gross motor skills, there is a lot of space for them to be able to move around.
The lay out also affects the atmosphere in a nursery, if thought out well, it can make an old hall feel quite inviting. In order to meet the required health and safety regulations, fire exits are clearly marked and free from obstructions at all times. There is plenty of space between furniture for easy movement. Fire procedures are told to everyone who uses the building, and fire drills occur regularly. As stated in the Health and safety at work act 1974″All establishments should have written emergency procedures…
an accident book for accurate recording of all incidents requiring first aid. ” (BABIES AND YOUNG CHILDREN PG 79) Emergency procedures are written and clearly displayed in more than one place. There is an accident book so that all incidents can be recorded; it is regularly reviewed to see if there is a particular area for concern. Children are encouraged to act sensibly and are regularly told what is expected of them in the setting.
There are strict procedures for dealing with spillage of bodily fluid; for example gloves are always worn and it is discarded of appropriately. All members of staff ensure that any door or gate that leads outside is closed, and any visitors to the setting are asked to fill in a visitor’s book. Children love to explore, so staff in the setting try their best to make everywhere the children can get to, as safe as possible to avoid accidents. Most importantly responsible adults constantly supervise the children.