Evenning Ladies, here is my listening to the children input, I’m sorry if I have waffled.
As a setting we try to create an environment that is calm and nurturing, by doing this we hope this encourages every child to feel safe and secure. BY creating this environment we aim to give the children the confidence to find their voice and be heard by adults and their peers. Staff always ensure that they are available and ready to listen. Staff get down to the child’s level and try their best to allow the child to speak, before responding. Sometimes this is difficult not to jump in and speak for them or question and is something that we all struggle with at times and find ourselves biting our tongues, we are only human after all! We use in the moment planning at our setting and our play is led by the child, but as part of our daily routine we do group circle and story times, but the activities or story is chosen by the children so they have an input into their adult directed learning. In a way we listen to the children through the child led play as it is their choice what they play with or engage in. As an adult we are their to listen and respond as and when directed or invited by the child. In the moment planning can have its downfalls as sometimes I find that children can be engaged in the same play for long periods of time which is brilliant, but can be difficult when we are trying to get observations or wow moments as we find ourselves not wanting to repeat what we send to their parents.
Our setting is attended by children from a wide range of cultural backgrounds. As the staff in the setting all have a British cultural background we like to listen to the parents about their cultural beliefs and we feel it is important try to celebrate these alongside our own. By doing this we hope to make our families feel more welcome in our setting and want them to feel like they are apart of a wider family network.
It is important as a setting we allow the children to have a voice and be heard. As well as having a wide range of cultural backgrounds we are also set in an area of high social deprivation. Making it even more important for the children to have a voice and to be heard as they may not always have this opportunity at home. So it is vital that we listen to the children and allow them to share their personal views, opinions and ideas and to let them know that this is ok and that they can be different to what their friends say and think.
