Early Childhood PDF

International Education Agency of PNG
Early Childhood
Curriculum
Revised Edition 2006
IEA Early Childhood Guidelines
page 1
Foreword
I am pleased to introduce the draft IEA Early Childhood Curriculum.
This document is an exciting new development for the IEA. It is the first step towards a system
wide curriculum for early childhood in our schools. The document is being provided in its draft stage
to IEA schools for participation, consideration, trial and comment .We are seeking the views of the
full range of participants in our early childhood sector. Parents, classroom assistants, teachers,
principals and those who work in a training support role are asked to contribute their experience
and feedback. This input will ensure that we collectively achieve the goal of a document which is
contextual for Papua New Guinea and provides a foundation for children to become confident and
competent and move seamlessly to the school years.
In line with the IEA Curriculum for Schools this Draft Early Childhood Curriculum provides a
foundation for system wide accountability. It is grounded in the IEA key outcomes and it has been
developed within the context of the IEAs mission statement and philosophy.
The document focuses on a crucial time in a childs development. It is about the individual child. The
starting point is the learner and the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that the child brings to their
experiences. This document also acknowledges the important role of the early childhood teachers in
bringing their theoretical and practical knowledge of children together with the knowledge of
parents and family to work collaboratively in the creation of the most beneficial programs possible
for children.
Steve Mead
Executive Director
page 2
page 3
Introduction
Children are born ready to learn. During the first few years,
experiences develop childrens brains in important ways for on
going learning throughout their lives.
The foundations for language are established and significant
attitudes and dispositions towards the world are developed
The cognitive and intellectual development of children before they
enter school is critical to their future educational achievement.
Literacy and numeracy are essential to progress at school and
childrens ability to acquire these skills is influenced by the nature
of their early childhood experiences.
Research indicates the importance of the early years for childrens
well being, learning and social participation in the present and for
the future.
Studies that follow childrens progress over several years show
positive associations between quality Early Childhood Education
and achievement in literacy and numeracy in later schooling.
The most recent Competent Children at 10 report found that five
years after children move to school, Early Childhood Education
continues to play a part in their performance in essential skills, such
as problem solving, and communication as well as in core
competencies. This is a powerful legacy. The competent Children At
10 Report (Wylie C, Thompson J, and Lythe C, Competent children at

10.Families, early education and schools New Zealand Council for
Educational Research. Wellington) states the following: The aspects
of early childhood education which were particularly important,
and which emerged in our analysis of key factors accounting for
differences in childrens performance at age 10, were related to the
quality of interaction between early childhood education teachers
and the children. Childrens scores were higher if their final early
childhood education centre had:
staff who were responsive to individual children
staff who asked open-ended questions of children
staff who joined childrens play
staff who allowed children time to complete activities
staff who guided children in the centre activities
a variety of activities in different learning areas which
children could choose
experiences of co-operative and supportive work with
their peers.
lots of printed material evident and used.
page 4
The Context of the Draft Early Childhood Curriculum

Our students live in a changing world where new knowledge is
becoming more and more freely accessible to them. Their world is
increasingly complex with advances in technology, communication,
increased global mobility and migration and challenging social and
environmental concerns.
Students within IEA schools come from a rich diversity of
backgrounds both culturally and from a socio-economic point of
view.
Children from birth to eight have developmental needs and
capacities that differ from those in any other stage of their lives.
The Draft IEA Early Childhood Curriculum is therefore different in

its approach from curriculum for older children. The curriculum
covers the period from birth to school entry and recognises that
there are often wide variations in the rate and timing of childrens
growth and development and in their capacity to learn new things
in new places.
The draft curriculum also acknowledges that each child learns in
their own way, it is intended to build on a childs current needs
strengths and interests by allowing children choices and by
encouraging them to take responsibility for their learning.
The Purpose and structure of the draft document

The purpose of the document is to provide a curriculum framework
that will form the basis for an agreed curriculum and programmes
in early childhood settings in IEA schools.
Distinctive patterns will come from:
Cultural perspectives. Students within IEA schools
represent a diverse group of Cultural heritages.
Structural differences such as in sessional or full day
programmes.
Different resources which are available in urban and

regional settings.
Differentiated school fee structures.
The ways in which the local community participates.
The age range of the children in the programme.
The IEA Early Childhood Draft Curriculum Guidelines:

Are based on the IEA key outcomes which are that each child will...
... be self-directing
One who is self-confident, has high self esteem and personal integrity with a positive vision for self and the future
... communicate effectively

One who confidently conveys and received information, instruction, ideas and feelings appropriately and effectively in a
range of different cultural, language and social contexts
behave ethically
One who exhibits appropriate morals, manners and virtues in a range of social and cultural settings
... work collaboratively

One who develops good relationships with others and works in co-operative ways to achieve common
... analyse and solve problems

One who accesses a range of information sources appropriate to the resolution of complex issues and applies strategies with
accuracy and thoroughness.
page 6
Structure
The essential Learning Areas are:
Personal Social and Emotional Development
Communication, language and Literacy
Mathematical Development
Knowledge and Understanding of the World
Physical Development
Creative Development
The six areas are designed to help teachers plan the learning
environment, activities and experiences. They also provide a frame
work for the draft curriculum.
It is important to remember that this does not imply that all of
young childrens learning is divided up into areas. One experience
will often provide a child with opportunities to develop a number
of competencies, skills and concepts across several areas of learning.
The draft curriculum reflects the holistic way children learn and
grow and takes up a model of learning that weaves together
intricate patterns of linked experience and meaning rather than
emphasising the acquisition of discreet skills.
Outcomes
The goals establish expectations for most children to reach by the
time they enter school. They provide the basis for planning
throughout early childhood, so laying secure foundations for future
learning. By the end of their early childhood experience some
children will have exceeded the goals; others will be working

towards some or all of the goals.
Stepping Stones
The stepping stones are not age-related and the number varies
between and within areas of learning. It is most likely that three
year old children will be best described by the earlier stepping
stones and the later stepping stones and indeed the goals will
describe the 4-5 year old. It is important to remember however that
although these stepping stones are presented in a hierarchical order
where possible, not all children conform so neatly to this sequence
of learning. Some will have achieved confidence in some of the later
stepping stones but not the earlier ones. Some stepping stones will
appear to have been achieved very quickly, others will take much
longer.
As children move from one stepping stone to another they take with
them what they have learned and continue to practise refine and
use their previous learning so that learning becomes consolidated.
Early Childhood is a period of momentous significance for all
people growing up in (our) cultureby the time this period is
over, children will have formed conceptions of themselves as
social beings, as thinkers, and as language users, and they will
have reached certain important decisions about their own abilities
and their own worth
Donaldson, M., Grieve, R., and Pratt, C Early Childhood Development and
Education: Readings in Psychology. Oxford: Basil Blackwell 1983
page 7
Creative
Development
Knowledge and
Understanding
of the World.
analyse and
solve problems
Communication,
Language,
Literacy.
work
collaboratively
Physical
Development
behave
ethically.
Learning Areas
Personal, Social
and Emotional
Development
communicate
effectively
be
self directing
IEA Curriculum Key

Outcomes
IEA Early Childhood Draft Curriculum: Structure
Mathematical
Development.
Learning Goals
page 8
Play
Well-planned play, both indoors and outdoors, is a key way in
which young children learn with enjoyment and challenge. In
playing, children behave in different ways: sometimes their play
will be boisterous, sometimes they will describe and discuss what
they are doing, sometimes they will be quiet and reflective as they
play.
explore, develop and represent learning experiences that

help them make sense of the world;
The role of the practitioner is crucial in:
be alone, be alongside others or cooperate as they talk or

rehearse their feelings;
planning and resourcing a challenging environment;

supporting childrens learning through planned play
activity;
extending and supporting childrens spontaneous play;
extending and developing childrens language and
communication in their play.
Through play, in a secure environment with effective adult support,
children can:
practise and build up ideas, concepts and skills;

learn how to control impulses and understand the need
for rules;
take risks and make mistakes;

think creatively and imaginatively;
communicate with others as they investigate or solve
problems;
express fears or relive anxious experiences in controlled
and safe situations
page 9
The Theorists
There are three main developmental theorists whose work has had
considerable influence on early childhood education programmes
around the world.
Jean Piaget (1896-1970)

Piaget was a Swiss biologist who:
observed that children actively construct their own
learning through activities.
observed patterns in how childrens play developed and
described stages that he believed all children passed
through.
believed that the child explores, imitates and repeats
things for a purpose.
believed that the mind of a child does not stand still but is
a little like a see-saw. On the one end are the things the
child absorbs. At the other end of the seesaw new
information is moved around to see how it can be fitted
into the information the child already has acquired. When
new information fits with existing information Piaget
would say that the child is able to assimilate it. When
new information challenges existing information Piaget
would say that the child has to accommodate the new
information.
observed assimilation bringing about equilibrium for
the child and accommodation bringing disequilibrium.
observed children seesawing between equilibrium and

disequilibrium as they encounter and gradually make
sense of new information.
Showed clearly how important play is to a childs
development
Stated that: as a child is driven to learn it is important to
put them in an environment of rich choices creates
situations where the child can play/work on what is
meaningful for him/her.
Lev Seminoch Vygotsky (1896-1934)

Vygotsky was a Russian anthropologist who:
observed the social context in which children develop.
put great emphasis on social interaction; he saw the child
being shaped, encouraged and defined by the people who
cared for, played with and taught the child.
believed learning needs support, guidance and modelling
to make it happen; children cannot do it by just being
offered an environment and left to find their own way in
it.
proposed that childrens learning occurs with in their
zone of proximal development; in other words,
childrens learning occurs when they are working in an
area where they have some knowledge and know there is
page 10
something more. Striving towards that outer edge of

knowledge means extending-pushing themselves to
learn.
observed how experts drew the children into socially
meaningful activities by ensuring the children could
participate at their own level. Later this process of
structuring an experience so that a child could participate
was labelled scaffolding. This metaphor comes from
construction and suggests a moveable support system
that can be removed as it becomes unnecessary.
Urie Bronfenbrenner (1917- )

Is a Russian Psychologist who is currently the Jacob Gould
Schurmann Professor Emeritus of Human Development and Family
Studies and of Psychology, Cornell University.
Bronfenbrenner .believes that:
children are shaped by their experiences within their

family, their cultural and their social networks.
children develop by having warm, close relationships
especially with a person or persons who have an
enduring, irrational involvement and commitment in
care and joint activity with the child.
a game of table tennis illustrated his views. This game of
ping-pong is a reciprocal relationship between two
people who are crazy about each other.
maintains that children learn best in a partnership; an
equal power structure, where the power is gradually
handed over to the child and where learning and
development is dependent on this relationship.
created an ecological model that extends beyond the child
with in the family. He goes on to place the family with in
a community, the community with in the wider world
and so on.
page 11
An approach: Reggio Emilia

Reggio Emilia is a small and historic town in Northern Italy. During
the last quarter of the twentieth century Reggio Emilia became
internationally famous for its provision for young children under
six years of age. It has been a focus of growing interest in the world
of early childhood educators attracting visitors from around the
globe. The experience of Reggio Emilia, in providing challenges to
accepted practise in many countries, is widely acknowledged.
In the Reggio Emilia approach:
the local early childhood educators have drawn together
all the ideas of Piaget, Vygotsky and Brofenbrenner into a
unique approach.
teachers have an image of the child; as born already a
great person who is strong, powerful, rich and
competent.
children are interested in constructing their own learning
and they are the negotiators.
works on the basis that children cannot learn on their
own or in solitude.
children build their ideas and develop theories of their

own (it is an emergent curriculum).
values each child but sees them in relation to other
children, family and teachers; it is a three way
partnership.
learning is most often carried out in groups as projects
where the teacher as a colleague is used as a resource
person and a group facilitator.
project work is very much about taking notice of the
environment and making visits into the environment.
the role of the teacher is critical. This person will
encourage the child to reflect what they already know
and to wonder about what happens next or why
something went a certain way.
ideas are discussed in a group to pool ideas and
encourage further thinking.
adults create expectations to keep interest and motivation
high.
believes that children learn best in social and cultural

interactions between child, teachers and family.
page 12
Principles for Early Years Education

Effective education requires both a relevant curriculum and
teachers who understand and are able to implement the curriculum
requirements.
Effective education requires Teachers who understand that children
develop rapidly during the early years; physically, intellectually,
emotionally and socially.
Children are entitled to provision that supports and extends
knowledge, skills, understanding and confidence, and helps them to
overcome any disadvantage.
Teachers should ensure that all children feel included, secure and
valued.
They need to build positive relationships with parents in order to work
effectively with them and their children.
Early years experience should build on what children already know

and can do.
It should also encourage a positive attitude and disposition to learn.
No child should be excluded or disadvantaged because of ethnicity,

culture or religion, home language, family background, special
educational needs, disability, gender or ability.
Parents and teachers should work together in an atmosphere of
mutual respect within which children can have security and
confidence.
To be effective, an early years programme should be carefully
structured.
There should be three constant elements:

provision for the different starting points from which
children develop their learning, building on what they
can already do;
relevant and appropriate content that matches the
different levels of young childrens needs;
planned and purposeful activity that provides
opportunities for teaching and learning, both inside and
outside.
There should be opportunities for children to engage in activities
planned by adults and also those that they plan or initiate
themselves.
Children do not make a distinction between play and work and
neither should teachers. Children need time to become engrossed,
work in depth and complete activities.
Teachers must be able to observe and respond appropriately to
children, informed by a knowledge of how children develop and
learn and a clear understanding of possible next steps in their
development and learning.
Well-planned, purposeful activity and appropriate intervention by
teachers will engage children in the learning process and help them
make progress in their learning.
For children to have rich and stimulating experiences, the learning
environment should be well planned and well organised. It
page 13
provides the structure for teaching within which children explore,

experiment, plan and make decisions for themselves.
Effective learning and development for young children requires
high-quality care and education by teachers.
Effective education requires teachers who understand that children

develop rapidly during the early years physically, intellectually,
emotionally and socially.
D Shipley; Empowering Children
Effective education requires both a relevant curriculum and

teachers who understand and are able to implement the curriculum
requirements.
Key Resources
The list below contains the resources which, most directly
informed the IEA draft Early Childhood Curriculum
Qualifications and curriculum Authority; Curriculum
guidance for the Foundation Stage. London. Great
Britain (2000)
Hamer, J& Adams, P. The New Zealand Literacy

Handbook. Dunmore Press. Palmerston North, New
Zealand
Ministry of Education. Quality in Action. Learning
Media Wellington, New Zealand (1998)
Ministry of Education, Te Whariki, Learning Media

Ltd. Wellington, New Zealand (1996)
Ministry of Education. The Quality Journey. Learning

Media Ltd. Wellington New Zealand (2000)
NSW Department of Community Services; NSW

Curriculum framework for Childrens Services. Sydney
Australia, (2001)
Penrose, P. Take Another Look 2nd Edition New Zealand

Play centre Federation. Auckland New Zealand
(1998)
Lambton Kent District School Board; The Early Years

Program, LKSB Ontario, Canada; (1998)
McGee, C Teachers and Curriculum Decision- Making.

Dunmore Press. Palmerston North, N.Z.
The list below is a very selective list of the research material:

Abbott, Lesley& Nutbrown Cathy; Experiencing Reggio
Emilia. Open University Press Buckingham Great
Britain 2001
Queensland Studies Authority. Draft Early Years

Curriculum Guidelines. QSA Brisbane Australia
(2003)
page 14
Learning Area: Personal, Social and Emotional Development

Successful personal, social and emotional development is
critical for very young children in all aspects of their lives and
gives them the best opportunity for success in all other areas
of learning.
It is crucial that settings provide the experiences and support
to enable children to develop a positive sense of themselves.
To give all children the best opportunities for personal, social
and emotional development, teachers need to pay particular
attention to:
establishing constructive relationships with

children, with other teachers, between teachers and
children, with parents and with workers from other
agencies.
finding opportunities to give positive

encouragement to children, with teachers acting as
positive role models.
planning opportunities for children to work alone
and in small and large groups.
ensuring that there is time and space for children to
focus on activities and experiences and develop
their own interests.
planning activities that promote emotional, moral,
spiritual and social development alongside
intellectual development.
planning experiences that help children develop

autonomy and the disposition to learn.
providing positive images in, for example, books
and displays that challenge childrens thinking and
help them to embrace differences in gender,
ethnicity, religion, special educational needs and
disabilities.
providing opportunities for play and learning that
acknowledge childrens particular religious beliefs
and cultural backgrounds.
planning for the development of independence
skills, particularly for children who are highly
dependent upon adult support for personal care.
providing support and a structured approach to
achieve the successful social and emotional
development of vulnerable children and those with
particular behavioural or communication
difficulties.
Learning
This area of learning is about emotional well-being, knowing
who you are and where you fit in and feeling good about
yourself. It is also about developing respect for others, social
competence and a positive disposition to learn.
page 15
Children learn to trust Teachers when they have consistent

key adults to relate to and when they receive consistent
responses and feel valued because adults engage in their play,
support their interests and converse with them.
Children will develop a sense of belonging in an environment
in which they can predict the shape of the day and its
rhythms. They respond well to appropriate and real
responsibilities such as planning the environment, tidying up,
serving snacks and taking messages.
Effective learning involves

Children feeling safe and secure and able to trust
the teachers that works with them.
Children learning from opportunities to form
positive relationships in a setting that supports
mutual respect and understanding which celebrates
and acknowledges differences.
Children learning from adults as guides and role
models in the setting, and so develop antidiscriminatory attitudes.
Gaining a knowledge and understanding of their
own culture and community helps children develop
a sense of belonging and strong self image.
Each child having a culture defined by their
community and more uniquely by their family. Role
play provides an effective environment where
children can explore their own culture and
appreciate the similarities and differences in those

of others.
A positive self-image and high self-esteem gives
children the confidence and security to make the
most of opportunities, to communicate effectively
and to explore the world around them.
Children learning in a setting about different kinds
of relationships. They identify a particular partner
to work or make a play scenario with and another to
sit and chat with. Being with the same adults and
children within the setting gives children time and
opportunity to develop relationships that promote
social competence.
Children sharing their experiences with peers and
teachers, they need to encounter empathy and
active listening. By sharing emotions and responses
during activities and experiences, they develop
sensitivity to the needs of others and begin to learn
about the value of and need for trust, honesty,
support and reliability.
A positive disposition to learn growing from
experiences that children enjoy and can control, are
interesting and aid success. Such experiences
encourage feelings of competence and selfconfidence. They motivate children to learn and
carry on learning.
Allowing children to think about and practise ways of solving
problems helps them to gain confidence in themselves as
problem-solvers, to develop the problem-solving habit and to
feel capable of responding to self-chosen challenges.
page 16
Step 1
Stepping
Stones
Show curiosity.
Have a strong exploratory impulse.
Have a positive approach to new
experiences.
Teachers
Role
Interact with children in support of their

interests and allow them to learn from
their mistakes.
Observe children engaged in self-chosen
activities and use this in planning.
Provide manipulative and open-ended
materials that appeal to childrens
senses.
Plan activities in new ways and through
different materials, for example using
coffee bean husks to explore flow.
Step 2
Step 3
Show increasing independence in

selecting and carrying out activities.
Show confidence in linking up with
others for support and guidance
Display high levels of involvement in

activities.
Persist for extended periods of time at
an activity of their choosing.
Take risks and explore within the
environment.
Value, support and encourage

independent learning.
Make materials accessible to children.
Teach children to use and care for
materials and then trust them to do so
independently.
Provide activities that encourage

children to ask questions, seek answers,
take decisions and solve problems.
Provide opportunities for self-chosen
activities and for choices within adultinitiated activities.
Provide experiences, activities and
materials that are challenging but
achievable.
Give children opportunities to complete
activities to their satisfaction.
Outcome PSE1
Continue to be interested,
excited and motivated to
learn
Be confident to try new
activities, initiate ideas and
speak in a familiar group
Maintain attention,
concentrate, and sit quietly
when appropriate.
page 17
Step 1
Stepping
Stones
Teachers
Role
Separate from main carer with

support.
Ensure key teachers are familiar to

the children.
Set up a comprehensive settling-in
programme.
Listen to parents views on their
childs development and any
concerns they have.
Create positive relationships with
parents and offer them information,
and support.
Give children opportunities for
contributing their experience,
knowledge and ideas and
acknowledge and respond to them.
Plan an environment that is
accessible and welcoming to all
children.
Step 2
Separate from main carer with
confidence.
Have a sense of belonging.
Show care and concern for self.
Talk freely about their home and
community.
Encourage children to cope with their

own needs, supporting them where
necessary.
Give opportunities to form stable
relationships with adults and with
peers in spontaneous and planned
groups.
Encourage children to talk about
their own home and community life,
and to listen carefully as other
children talk about their own
experiences.
Step 3
Have a sense of self as a member of
different communities.
Express needs and feelings in
appropriate ways.
Initiate interactions with other people.
Support childrens growing ability to

express a wide range of feelings
orally.
Acknowledge childrens feelings and
work with them to resolve conflicts.
Observe children to ensure
interventions are appropriate and
timely.
Use appropriate language, such as
May I tell you about ...? and What
are you doing?
Outcome PSE2
Respond to significant
experiences, showing a
range of feelings when
appropriate
Have a developing
awareness of their own
needs, views and feelings
and be sensitive to the
needs, views and feelings
of others
Have a developing respect
for their own cultures and
beliefs and those of other
people.
page 18
Step 1
Stepping
Stones
Feel safe and secure and demonstrate a

sense of trust.
Seek out others to share experiences.
Relate and make attachments to
members of their group.
Teachers
Role
Respond promptly and with interest to

childrens news discoveries and
information
Provide stability in staffing and in
grouping of the children.
Have consistent and appropriate
expectations of all children, that take
account of their development and
culture.
Establish routines with predictable
sequences of events.
Provide time, space and materials for
children to collaborate with one another
in different ways, for example: building
constructions, solving problems, sharing
confidences.
Provide a role play area resourced with
materials reflecting their family lives and
communities.
Step 2
Demonstrate flexibility and adapt their
behaviour to different events, social
situations and changes in routine.
Demonstrate a positive attitude to

change.
Recognise and exploit opportunities for
children to practise and demonstrate
flexibility in response to change.
Prepare children for changes that may
occur in the routine.
Step 3
Outcome PSE3
Value and contribute to own wellbeing

and self-control.
Give children practice in resolving social

conflict
Provide activities that involve turn-taking
and sharing.
Support children in linking with others
with openness and self confidence, for
example, to seek help.
Form good relationships

with adults and peers.
Work as part of a group or
class, taking turns and
sharing fairly, understanding
that there needs to be
agreed values and codes of
behaviour for groups of
people, including adults and
children, to work together
harmoniously.
page 19
Step 1
Stepping
Stones
Begin to accept the needs of others,

with support.
Teachers
Role
Set, explain and maintain clear,

reasonable and consistent limits so
that children can play and work,
feeling safe and secure.
Help children to manage their own
behaviour
Give children time to develop
understanding of rules and how they
can contribute to creating a
community.
Share with parents the rationale of
boundaries and expectations to
achieve a joint approach.
Step 2
Show care and concern for others,
for living things and the environment.
Demonstrate concern and respect for

others, living things and the
environment and talk about issues.
Help children to understand that
name calling is hurtful and
unacceptable.
Collaborate with children in creating
explicit rules for the care of the
environment.
Step 3
Outcome PSE4
Show confidence and the ability to

stand up for own rights.
Have an awareness of the
boundaries set and behavioural
expectations within the setting.
Be alert to injustices and
demonstrate that they are addressed
and resolved.
Listen to children respectfully when
they raise injustices and involve them
in finding a best fit solution.
Understand what is right,

what is wrong, and why.
Consider the
consequences of their
words and actions for
themselves and others.
page 20
Step 1
Stepping
Stones
Teachers
Role
Show willingness to tackle problems

and enjoy self-chosen challenges.
Demonstrate a sense of pride in own
achievement.
Provide a positive atmosphere where

achievement is positively valued.
Observe childrens strengths and
encourage children to take the
initiative in their learning.
Step 2
Step 3
Take initiatives and manage

developmentally appropriate tasks.
Operate independently within the

environment and show confidence in
linking up with others for support and
guidance.
Consider if and when to intervene to

support and guide children.
Encourage children to solve
problems and support them through
the process by clarifying the problem
with them.
Encourage children to turn to each

other for assistance in solving
problems.
Encourage children to find, use and
return materials for themselves.
Encourage children to see adults as
a resource and as partners in their
learning.
Give children with special
educational needs and/or disabilities
appropriate support in gaining access
to materials.
Outcome PSE5
Dress and undress

independently and
manage their own
personal hygiene.
Select and use activities
and resources
independently.
page 21
Step 1
Stepping
Stones
Teachers
Role
Make connections between different

parts of their life experience.
Provide activities and opportunities

for children to share experiences and
knowledge from different parts of
their lives with each other.
Develop positive relationships with
parents.
Step 2
Show a strong sense of self as a
member of different communities,
such as their family or setting.
Create a feeling of openness so that

children are able to learn from one
another and from each others family
experiences.
Anticipate the best from each child
and be alert to their strengths.
Step 3
Have an awareness of, and show
interest and enjoyment in, cultural
and religious differences.
Have a positive self-image and show
that they are comfortable with
themselves.
Strengthen the positive impressions
children have of their own cultures
and faiths and those of others.
Ensure that materials and images
used and displayed are accurate and
non-stereotypical.
Give children opportunities to be
curious, enthusiastic, engaged and
tranquil, so developing a sense of
inner self and peace.
Outcome PSE6
Understand that people

have different needs,
views, cultures and
beliefs, that need to be
treated with respect.
Understand that they can
expect others to treat their
needs, views, cultures and
beliefs with respect
page 22
Learning Area: Communication Language and Literacy

Communication, language and literacy depend on learning
and being competent in a number of key skills, together with
having the confidence, opportunity, encouragement, support
and disposition to use them.
This area of learning includes communication, speaking and
listening in different situations and for different purposes,
being read a wide range of books and reading simple texts and
writing for a variety of purposes.
To give all children the best opportunities for effective
development and learning in communication, language and
literacy, teachers need to pay particular attention to:
providing opportunities for children to
communicate and build up relationships with
adults and each other;
incorporating communication, language and
literacy development in planned activities in each
area of learning;
giving opportunities to share and enjoy a wide
range of rhymes, music, songs, poetry, stories and
non-fiction books;
giving opportunities for linking language with
physical movement in action songs and rhymes,
role play and practical experiences such as cookery
and gardening;
planning an environment that reflects the

importance of language through signs, notices and
books;
providing opportunities for children to see adults
writing and for children to experiment with writing
for themselves through making marks, personal
writing symbols and conventional script;
providing time and opportunities to develop
spoken language through conversations between
children and adults, both one-to-one and in small
groups, with particular awareness of, and
sensitivity to, the needs of children for whom
English is an additional language, using their home
language when appropriate;
planning opportunities for children to become
aware of languages and writing systems other than
English, and communication systems such as
signing and Braille;
early identification of and response to any
particular difficulties in childrens language
development.
Learning
The development and use of communication and language is
at the heart of young childrens learning.
page 23
Learning to listen and speak emerge out of

nonverbal communication, which includes body
language such as facial expression, eye contact,
bending the head to listen, hand gesture, and taking
turns.
These skills develop as children express their needs
and feelings, interact with others and establish their
own identities and personalities.
The ability to communicate gives children the
capacity to participate more fully in their society.
They do so with adults who understand what they
say through developing close relationships with
them in an affectionate atmosphere.
Parents most easily understand their very young
childrens communications and can often interpret
for others. At first, all learning arises from physical
action and the gathering of experience through the
senses. Therefore, children learn best when
activities engage many senses. Initially their
attempts to communicate will be non-verbal. As
language develops, thought becomes less
dependent on action. Non-verbal messages remain
an important form of communication throughout
life.
In play, children are given the chance to imagine
and to recreate experience. As they explore
situations, events and ideas, for example building
with blocks or making a journey on vehicles, they
improve their competence with language through

social interaction, repetition and consolidation.
Language is developed further and links made with
literacy if, for example, in the above types of play,
children are also encouraged to look at maps and
plans and relevant reference books.
As they play, children will practise doing and
saying things that they are not really able to do,
such as making a journey in space. They can capture
their actions in drawing, early writing or painting,
and retell events to friends, teachers and parents.
They are learning that pictures and words are
symbolic ways of preserving meaning. Young
childrens learning is not compartmentalised. They
learn when they make connections between
experiences and ideas that are related to any aspect
of their life in the setting, at home and in the
community Young children also learn best when
they are happy and confident. A love of books and
stories, rhymes and poems and a growing interest
in rhyming, alliteration, sounds and words, depend
on mutual pleasure and enthusiasm in planned and
incidental work.
Everyday situations such as getting dressed,
shopping, walking or driving to the setting provide
rich contexts to encourage conversation and to
extend the use of language. Childrens
surroundings offer natural opportunities to look at
and learn about printed language, such as on food
packets, road signs and labels.
page 24
page 25
Step 1
Stepping
Stones
Teachers
Role
Use words and/or gestures, including

body language such as eye contact
and facial expression, to
communicate.
Provide opportunities for children that

encourage them to use gesture to
communicate.
Talk with children to make links
between their gestures and words:
You have bumped your leg and I can
see from your face that it is hurting
you.
Step 2
Step 3
Use simple statements and questions

often linked to gestures.
Use intonation, rhythm and phrasing
to make their meaning clear to
others.
Have self-confidence to speak to

others about wants and interests.
Use simple grammatical structures.
Ask simple questions, often in the
form of where or what.
Use talk to gain attention and initiate
exchanges.
Use action rather than talk to
demonstrate or explain to others.
Initiate conversation, attend to and
take account of what others say, and
use talk to resolve disagreements
Encourage children to express their

needs in words and adopt common
social conventions.
Provide experiences that encourage
learning through the whole body, eg
climbing, cooking, clay and painting
and support childrens actions with
language, eg, Youre going up and
now you are coming down.
Respond in words that extend and
model the childs communication. Eg:
child: Dog in bath , adult: Yes, thats
right, the dogs in the bath. Theyre
going to get all the mud off him.
Provide opportunities for children
whose home language is other than
English to use that language.
Encourage conversation and help

children to respond to the
contributions of others in role play
and other activities.
Look at books and talk about objects
in everyday situations such as going
to the shops or putting away toys.
Encourage conversation with others
and model appropriate conventions
taking turns, waiting until someone
else has finished, listening to others
and using expressions such as
please, thank you and can I ?
Provide time for children to initiate
discussions from shared experiences
and texts.
Give time for children to decide what
they want to say and how to say it.
Outcome CLL1
Interact with others,

negotiating plans and
activities, and taking turns
in conversation.
page 26
Step 1
Step 2
Stepping
Stones
Listen to favourite nursery rhymes,

stories and songs.
Join in with repeated refrains,
anticipating key events and important
phrases.
Respond to simple instructions
Listen to others in one-to-one/small
groups when conversation interests
them.
Listen to stories with increasing

attention and recall.
Describe main story settings, events
and principal characters.
Question why things happen, and
give explanations.
Teachers
Role
Take time to listen to children and

take account of what they say in your
response to them.
Choose stories with repeated
refrains, use story props that
encourage looking and give focus.
Choose action songs with looking
and pointing and songs that require
replies and turn taking.
Give clear directions, for example,
Come and sit down, please.
Help children deal with directions
involving more than one action, for
example, Put the cars away, please,
then come and wash your hands.
Use stories with props or puppets

which encourage naming and
thinking about how people think and
feel.
Comment on what is happening
during activities, for example, Your
hands are sticky with the glue, arent
they? Do you remember when we
made the bread yesterday? That was
a different kind of sticky.
Provide practical experiences that
encourage children to ask and
respond to questions, for example
pulleys, and wet and dry sand.
Step 3
Initiate a conversation, negotiate

positions, pay attention to and take
account of others views.
Give time and opportunities for

children to have conversations with
each other.
Provide models of language for
negotiating, for example, May I ...?,
Would it be alright ?, I think that
and Will you ...?
Outcome CLL2
Enjoy listening to and using

spoken and written
language, and readily turn to
it in their play and learning.
Sustain attentive listening,
responding to what they
have heard by relevant
comments, questions or
actions.
Listen with enjoyment, and
respond to stories, songs
and other music, rhymes
and poems and make up
their own stories, songs,
rhymes and poems.
page 27
Step 1
Stepping
Stones
Use familiar words, often in isolation,

to identify what they do and do not
want.
Use vocabulary focused on objects
and people who are of particular
importance to them.
Teachers
Role
Take part in childrens play, modelling

appropriate vocabulary.
Introduce new words in the context of
activities.
Engage childrens interest in words
from stories, poems and songs.
Recognise the special additional
needs of children with sensory or
communication difficulties, making
use of their preferred means of
communication.
Step 2
Build up vocabulary that reflects the
breadth of childrens experiences.
Begin to experiment with language
describing possession.
Extend childrens language, and
model the correct use of words.
Show interest when children use
words well to communicate and
describe their experiences.
Step 3
Outcome CLL3
Extend vocabulary, especially by

grouping and naming.
Use vocabulary and forms of speech
that are increasingly influenced by
experience of books.
Encourage children to sort, group
and sequence in their play use
words such as last, first, next, before,
after, all, most, some, each, every
Encourage language play, for
example through stories like
Goldilocks and action songs that
require intonation.
Extend their vocabulary,

exploring the meanings
and sounds of new words.
page 28
Step 1
Stepping
Stones
Teachers
Role
Use isolated words and phrases

and/or gestures to communicate with
those well known to children.
Talk with and listen to children,

responding to what they say.
Introduce children to the language
they need to communicate within
their daily experiences.
Step 2
Begin to use more complex

sentences
Use a widening range of words to
express or elaborate ideas
Help children expand on what they

say, introducing and reinforcing the
use of more complex structures.
Provide new vocabulary to
understand and explain events.
Step 3
Link statements and stick to a main
theme or intention.
Consistently develop a simple story,
explanation or line of questioning.
Use language for an increasing
range of purposes.
Confidently talk to people other than
those who are well known to them.
Model language used for a range of
purposes, for example requesting,
explaining, sharing and instructing.
Be aware of the range of purposes
for which children talk, and plan
opportunities for each to be
developed.
Model language appropriate for
different audiences, for example a
close friend or a visitor.
Model use of social conventions,
while responding sensitively to social
conventions at home.
Outcome CLL4
Speak clearly and audibly

with confidence and control
and show awareness of the
listener, for example by their
use of conventions such as
greetings, please and
thank you
page 29
Step 1
Stepping
Stones
Use action, sometimes with limited

talk, that is largely concerned with the
here and now.
Step 2
Step 3
Talk activities through, reflecting on

and modifying what they are doing.
Use talk to give new meanings to
objects and actions, treating them as
symbols for other things.
Use talk to connect ideas, explain
what is happening and anticipate
what might happen next.
Use talk, actions and objects to recall
and relive past experiences.
Begin to use talk instead of action to

rehearse, reorder and reflect on past
experience, linking significant events
from own experience and from
stories, paying attention to sequence
and how events lead into one
another.
Begin to make patterns in their
experience through linking cause and
effect, sequencing, ordering and
grouping.
Begin to use talk to pretend
imaginary situations.
Outcome CLL5
Use language to imagine

and recreate roles and
experiences.
Use talk to organise,
sequence and clarify
thinking, ideas, feelings
and events.
page 30
Teachers
Role
Use talk to describe what children are

doing by providing a running
commentary, Oh I can see what you
are doing you have to put the milk in
the cup first. Can I have some more
please?
Use talk to anticipate or initiate what
children will be doing, for example,
while cooking, talk through each
stage in the process, We need some
eggs, and use the shared talk to
anticipate the activity,
Lets see if we can find some in
here.
Talk to children about what they have
been doing, and help them to join in,
for example, You have been making
a model and you told me it was
going to be a tractor. Show me where
the driver sits. Whats this lever for?
Provide models of problem-solving

language
Talk through to modify actions, for
example, Well, that didnt stick so
what else can we use? We could try
the paste, but I dont know if it will
stick wood together.
Encourage children to use objects to
represent a variety of things, for
example, in role play, making a car,
Well need a steering wheel, What
shall we use for a gear lever?
Play alongside children, using words
and actions to represent objects, for
example say, Mm Id like some more
cake, while pretending to cut a slice
and pass it.
Prompt childrens thinking and
discussion through involvement in
their play, for example, Do you think
they can all get in the car? And
whats this one for? Whos going to
live in the house? What is going to
happen now?
Set up shared experiences that
children can reflect on, for example
visits, cooking or stories that can be
re-enacted.
Help children to predict and order
events coherently by providing props
and materials and encouraging
children to re-enact using talk and
action.
Set up displays to remind children of

their experiences, using objects,
artefacts, photographs, books.
Provide opportunities to reflect on
and recount past events and stories.
Encourage story-making, using wellknown characters and themes.
Provide for, initiate and join in
imaginative and role play,
encouraging children to talk about
what is happening, and act out the
scenarios in character.
Ask children to think in advance how
they will accomplish a task. Talk
through and sequence the stages for
example in making soup, We peel
the vegetables before we chop them
up.
Encourage children to categorise and
order things, for example in games
with bricks, in puzzles, when sorting
out snacks or putting things away,
and in role play.
Use materials that work, for example
water wheels, batteries and bulbs,
and construction materials, so that
children can predict and explain
processes and outcomes.
Use stories to focus childrens
attention on predictions and
explanations, eg, What will she have
to do now? Why did the boat tip
over? and general patterns, eg what
happens to good and wicked
characters at the end of stories.
Encourage children to see patterns in
experiences and events.
page 31
Step 1
Stepping
Stones
Enjoy rhyming and rhythmic activities.

Distinguish one sound from another.
Teachers
Role
Provide opportunities for rhythmically

moving to music, for example
skipping, rocking and dancing. Teach
children rhyming songs, some with
actions. Make up alliterative jingles,
for example, Busy bees buzz about.
Encourage listening to distinguish
sounds, for example noticing different
songs of birds or noises in the street,
and games guessing which object
makes a particular sound when hit
Encourage children to imitate sounds
with their voice, for example farm
animals, ee-aw, a pneumatic drill,
ddddddd
Know that certain English speech
sounds may not be used in childrens
home language(s), and ensure that
children have opportunities to hear
sounds clearly, modelled as part of
everyday activities.
Step 2
Show awareness of rhyme and
alliteration.
Recognise rhythm in spoken words.
When singing or saying rhymes, talk
about the similarities in the rhyming
words. Make up alternative endings
and encourage children to supply the
last word of the second line, for
example Hickory Dickory boot, the
mouse ran down the -----
When making up alliterative jingles,
draw attention to the similarities in
sounds at the beginning of words and
emphasise the initial sound, for
example mmmmummy,
shshshadow, K-K-K-Katy
Step 3
Outcome CLL6
Continue a rhyming string.

Hear and say the initial sound in
words and know which letters
represent some of the sounds.
Play games that help children create
rhyming strings of real and imaginary
words.
Talk to children about the letters that
represent the sounds they hear at the
beginning of their own names and
other familiar words. Incorporate
these in games.
Hear and say initial and

final sounds in words, and
short vowel sounds within
words.
Link sounds to letters,
naming and sounding the
letters of the alphabet.
Use their phonic
knowledge to write simple
regular words and make
phonetically plausible
attempts at more complex
words
page 32
Step 1
Stepping
Stones
Teachers
Role
Listen to and join in with stories and

poems, one-to-one and also in small
groups.
Show interest in illustrations and print
in books and print in the environment
Begin to be aware of the way stories
are structured.
Find opportunities to tell and read

stories to children, using props and
actions.
Talk to children about characters and
their feelings about the story, and
encourage discussion and
comparison with people from their
own experience. Make reference to
the characters in books during other
activities.
Encourage the children to use the
stories they hear in their play
Create an environment rich in print
and the opportunity to add to it.
Create an attractive book area where
children and adults can enjoy books
together.
Step 2
Have favourite books.

Handle books carefully.
Suggest how the story might end.
Take children to visit a local library

and/or encourage the librarian to visit
the centre. Discuss with children the
characters in the books being read.
Encourage them to predict outcomes,
think of alternative endings and
compare plots with own experience.
Introduce children to books and other
materials that provide information or
instruction.
Carry out activities using instructions,
eg reading a recipe to make a cake.
Talk about books, using appropriate
vocabulary, eg page ,cover, back,
front, author, illustrator and word.
Compare the appearance and
direction of English print with those of
other languages
Help children to acquire the concept
of a word by, eg, playing with words,
using names and labels and pointing
them out in the environment and text.
Step 3
Know information can be relayed in
the form of print.
Hold books the correct way up and
turn pages.
Understand the concept of a word.
Enjoy an increasing range of books.
Begin to recognise familiar words.
Know that information can be
retrieved from books and computers.
Read stories that the children already
know, pausing at intervals to
encourage them to read the next
word.
Encourage children to recall words
they see frequently, for example own
and friends names, open and
school.
Use books, other reference material
and computers with the children to
answer their questions and provide
instructions
Continue to model writing for different
purposes, talking about the writing,
particularly the way it is organised.
Outcome CLL7
Explore and experiment

with sounds, words and
texts.
Retell narratives in the
correct sequence, drawing
on language patterns of
stories.
Read a range of familiar
and common words and
simple sentences
independently.
Know that print carries
meaning
and, in English, is read
from left
to right and top to bottom.
Show an understanding of
the
elements of stories, such
as main character,
sequence of events, and
openings, and how
information can be found
in non-fiction texts to
answer questions about
where, who, why and how.
page 33
Step 1
Stepping
Stones
Draw and paint, sometimes giving

meanings to marks.
Teachers
Role
Encourage children to draw and paint

and talk to them about what they
have done.
Provide opportunities for children to
see teachers using writing for a
purpose, for example lists, messages
and reminders.
Include opportunities for writing in
role play and other activities.
Encourage activities in which children
will need, and therefore experiment
with, writing, for example labelling
contents on the outside of a bag,
leaving a message
Step 2
Ascribe meanings to marks.
Write poems and short stories in front

of children, asking for their
contribution.
Make books with children of activities
they have been doing, using
photographs of the children as
illustrations.
Encourage children to use different
forms of writing, for example lists,
cards, stories and instructions.
Step 3
Begin to break the flow of speech
into words.
Use writing as a means of recording
and communicating.
Act as a scribe for children. After they
say the sentence, repeat the first part
of the sentence, say each word as
you write.
Talk to children about your writing
and involve them in the process, for
example by enlisting their help in
putting recipe instructions in the
correct order.
Encourage children to use their
ability to hear the sound at the
beginning of words in their writing.
Outcome CLL8
Use their phonic
knowledge to write simple
regular words and make
phonetically plausible
attempts at more complex
words.
Attempt writing for
different purposes, using
features of different forms
such as lists,
stories and instructions
Write their own names and
other things such as
labels and captions and
begin to form simple
sentences, sometimes
using punctuation.
page 34
Step 1
Stepping
Stones
Teachers
Role
Step 2
Step 3
Engage in activities requiring hand

eye coordination.
Use one-handed tools and
equipment.
Draw lines and circles using gross

motor movement.
Manipulate objects with increasing
control.
Begin to use anticlockwise

movement and retrace vertical lines.
Begin to form recognisable letters.
Provide activities that give children

the opportunity and motivation to
practise manipulative skills, for
example cooking and playing
instruments.
Teach children the skills they need,
for example cutting with scissors, and
plan opportunities for them to practise
those skills.

explore shapes and direction using
the whole body, for example by
playing games involving moving in
circles, forwards and backwards.
Provide opportunities for large
shoulder movements, for example
helping children to fix ribbons to the
end of sticks to swirl in the air,
throwing, batting balls suspended on
rope, dancing, making patterns and
painting.
develop fine motor control by, for
example, pouring water into tiny
cups, finger games and setting out
cutlery.
Model large anticlockwise and upand-down letter movements, for

example using sky writing, drawing in
sand or sawdust and painting.
Encourage children to practise letter
shapes as they paint, draw and
record, for example the sun or
caterpillars, and as they write, for
example, their names, the names of
their friends and family or captions.
Encourage children to hold pencils
and small tools efficiently.
Provide a variety of writing tools and
paper, inside and outside.
Provide opportunities to write
purposefully by, for example, placing
notepads by phones or making a
reservation list in the caf.
Outcome CLL9
Use a pencil and hold it

effectively to form
recognisable letters, most
of which are correctly
formed
page 35
page 36
Learning Area: Mathematical Development

Mathematical development depends on becoming confident
and competent in learning and using key skills.
opportunities to observe, assess and plan the next

stage in childrens learning;
This area of learning includes counting, sorting, matching,

seeking patterns, making connections, recognising
relationships and working with numbers, shapes, space and
measures. Mathematical understanding should be developed
through stories, songs, games and imaginative play, so that
children enjoy using and experimenting with numbers,
including numbers larger than 10.
relevant training to improve teachers knowledge,

skills and understanding.
To give all children the best opportunities for effective

mathematical development, teachers need to pay particular
attention to:
many different activities, some of which will focus
on mathematical development and some of which
will draw out the mathematical learning in other
activities, including observing number sand
patterns in the environment and daily routines;
practical activities underpinned by childrens
developing communication skills;
activities that are imaginative and enjoyable;
help for those children who use a means of
communication other than spoken English in
developing and understanding specific
mathematical language;
Number
Numbers can be used as labels. For example,
houses and other buildings have numbers to help
people find them in a street, cars and other road
vehicles have registration numbers, and buses have
numbers that indicate their routes.
Children may see numbers being used when a
television channel is selected, the video recorder is
programmed or food heated in the microwave. At
an early stage, children notice where numbers are
used, begin to recognise their form and learn some
number names.
Counting involves saying the number names in
order, matching the numbers to objects counted,
knowing that you say one number for each object
you count, and knowing that when you count, the
last number you say gives the number of objects in
the group. Children will later see that counting
involves knowing that the number in a group is the
same even if the objects are counted in a different
order.
page 37
Calculating
The act of calculating at this stage is all about using
numbers in practical contexts, being able to talk
about numbers in everyday life and beginning to
make logical deductions about these numbers. It
involves comparing numbers of objects (leading to
subtraction), combining numbers of objects
(addition),sharing objects equally between some
children or grouping objects in, say, twos or threes
(division) and adding groups of the same number of
objects(multiplication). The objects referred to here
may be actual objects such as bricks or pencils, but
could also be events such as a number of jumps or
sounds.
Shape, space and measures
The words shape and object in this section apply
to two-dimensional or three-dimensional objects or
shapes. Experiencing the properties of shapes is
much more important than the naming of shapes
(triangles, cubes, etc), although some mathematical
names may be introduced.
Shape
Awareness of shape involves recognising
similarities and differences and distinguishing
properties of shapes. It involves, for example,
exploring which will roll and which will sit flat on
a table, saying how many sides or corners a shape
may have or knowing what shape the faces of a 3D
shape are. It also involves being able to identify and
name some familiar shapes in the environment, for

example noticing that some windows are squareshaped, plates are round or circle shapes, cans of
beans are cylinders and packets of cornflakes are in
boxes or cuboids.
Space
Awareness of space involves handling shapes and
fitting them together. Children will use shapes to
build models in imaginative play and they will
move objects in different directions or along
pathways. They will arrange shapes to create
pictures and patterns, and this might involve using
suitable alternatives when they run out of a shape
two triangles that fit together to replace a square,
for example. They will talk about what they are
doing and can be encouraged to use some shape or
positional language. They might be able to follow
directions that involve positional language, such as,
Put the teddy bear in the box, please, or Youll find it
on the shelf by the books.
Measures
Understanding measure develops from activities
such as packing, filling and emptying bags and
other containers or making something to fit, such as
cutting string for a makeshift belt when dressing up.
Measuring involves being able to compare sizes and
quantities. Sometimes this can be done directly, for
example when finding the longest zip fastener in
the collection. Where direct comparison is not
possible, measuring involves using some kind of
page 38
measure. For example, to compare their hat sizes,

each child might cut a strip of paper so that the ends
just touch when it is placed around their head, and
then compare strips. In other situations, they might
need to use a unit of some kind in order to measure
the objects or amounts. Units can be uniform nonstandard units, for example interlocking cubes,
sticks of the same length, cups of water or buttons
of the same size.
In the longer term, children will learn about
measuring time. There are two aspects involved
with the concept of time. One is about marking
specific moments in time, for example, We all go
home at 12 oclock, or Today is Tyrells birthday.
Children will also learn about the order of some
routine events, for example, We always have a
story when weve had our snacks. The other aspect
of time concerns the passage of time, that is how
long it takes to do something.
Children will become familiar with ideas such as
morning/afternoon, day/night and learning about
landmark times in the day if these are discussed
during the course of the childrens day. At this
stage, telling the time is not an appropriate activity,
but as with other types of measuring, children can
compare short periods of time with uniform nonstandard units. For example, they might try to finish
tidying before the sand timer runs out or they might
cycle twice around the playground before it is time
to give the bike to someone else.
Learning
Childrens mathematical development arises out of daily
experiences in a rich and interesting environment .For
example, Bethsheba and Jabron are playing in the toyshop that
is stocked with a range of toys, a calculator and a till with lots
of plastic Kina coins. Paper and pencils are available and the
children have written some labels, though the numbers are not
recognisable to others. They are joined by the teacher, who
asks if the shop is open. The children ask what she wants, and
she says, A doll with long hair, please. Jabron picks up the
nearest doll and offers it. Bethsheba says, No, that's got short
hair. She wants this one, and picks a doll with long hair. The
teacher thanks her and asks how much it costs. Rebecca looks
at the label and says, Five Kina. The teacher offers four coins
and asks, Is that enough? Bethsheba counts the coins and says,
I want another one. When the teacher gives her another coin;
she puts them in the till. For example, a group of children play
a game in which the teacher plays the monster muncher, who
takes a number of linking cubes from a child while they shut
their eyes. Each child has 10 cubes, and if they workout how
many are missing, the monster muncher gives the cubes back.
Zhane has seven left and says, Youve taken two. Here are two,
says the teacher, Have you got 10 now? No, says Mipil, No,
it's only nine, you must have taken three! There you are, says the
teacher, giving her another cube. Seven and three make 10
altogether. Joshua has seven left, counts them and then points
at the table, where the missing cubes were, saying, Eight, nine,
10 thats three! The teacher asks how he has worked it out. I
counted the spaces, Joshua says, and as other children have a
turn he urges, Count the spaces! Count the spaces! Children
page 39
may choose to play with shapes or wooden blocks, or to get

out a game and play it independently.
page 40
Step 1
Stepping
Stones
Teachers
Role
Step 2
Step 3
Outcome MD1
Say and use number
names in order in familiar
contexts.
Count reliably up to 10
everyday objects.
Recognise numerals 1 to
9.
Use developing
mathematical
ideas and methods to
solve practical problems.
page 41
Step 1
Stepping
Stones
Compare two groups of objects,

saying when they have the same
number
Step 2
Step 3
Outcome MD2
Show an interest in number

problems.
Separate a group of three or four
objects in different ways, beginning to
recognise that the total is still the
same.
Sometimes show confidence and

offer solutions to problems.
Find the total number of items in two
groups by counting all of them.
Use own methods to solve a
problem.
Say with confidence the number that
is one more than a given number.
In practical activities and

discussion, begin to use
the vocabulary involved in
adding and subtracting.
Use language such as
more or less to compare
two numbers.
Find one more or one less
page 42
Model language that may not be as

familiar to children as more, such as
same as, less or fewer.
Teachers
Role
Create opportunities for children to

separate objects into unequal groups
as well as equal groups.
Pose problems as you read number
stories or rhymes, for example, How
many will there be in the pool when
one more frog jumps in?
Model and encourage use of related
mathematical language, for example
share, some, each, more, less,
fewer, same as and number names
up to five, then 10.
Pose more complex problems, for

example sharing a number of things
when there will be a remainder.
Show interest in how children solve
problems and value their solutions.
Encourage children to count how
many altogether. Move two groups
close to each other if necessary.
Encourage children to record what
they have done, for example by
drawing or tallying.
Reciting number names from starting
points other than one, to help
children count on.
Ensure children are secure about the
order of numbers before asking what
comes after or before each number.
Play games where a number of
objects are hidden from a group and
children guess how many.
Model and encourage use of
mathematical language, eg count,
count on, how many, altogether,
add, one less and number before.
than a number from one to

10.
Begin to relate addition to
combining two groups of
objects and subtraction to
taking away.
page 43
Step 1
Stepping
Stones
Show an interest in shape and space

by playing with shapes or making
arrangements with objects.
Show awareness of similarities in
shapes in the environment.
Observe and use positional
language.
Use size language such as big and
little.
Step 2
Show interest by sustained

construction activity or by talking
about shapes or arrangements.
Use shapes appropriately for tasks.
Begin to talk about the shapes of
everyday objects.
Step 3
Sustain interest for a length of time
on a pre-decided construction or
arrangement.
Match some shapes by recognising
similarities and orientation.
Use appropriate shapes to make
representational models or more
elaborate pictures.
Show curiosity and observation by
talking about shapes, how they are
the same or why some are different.
Find items from positional/directional
clues.
Describe a simple journey.
Order two items by length or height.
Choose suitable components to
make a particular model.
Adapt shapes or cut material to size.
Select a particular named shape.
Begin to use mathematical names for
solid 3D shapes and flat 2D shapes
and mathematical terms to describe
shapes.
Show awareness of symmetry.
Order two or three items by length.
Order two items by weight or
capacity
Outcome MD3

greater, smaller,
heavier or lighter to
compare quantities.
Talk about, recognise and
recreate simple patterns.
circle or bigger to
describe the shape and
size of solids and flat
shapes.
Use everyday words to
describe position.
Use developing
mathematical ideas and
methods to solve practical
problems.
page 44
Use shape and positional language

such as, Can you see a shape like
this?, What could fit inside this box?
or Tell me which shape biscuits
you like?
Encourage children to talk about the
shapes they see and use and about
how they are arranged.
Tell stories about journeys, plan real
journeys or talk about journeys made
together, for example the places
passed on a visit down the road.
Model the language for shape,
position and measures in
discussions, for example ball shape,
box shape, in, on, inside, under,
longer, shorter, heavy, light, full
and empty.
Teachers
Role
Organise the environment for shape

matching, for example use pictures of
different bricks on their containers to
show where they are kept.
Value childrens constructions by
displaying them or taking
photographs.
Provide a range of boxes and

materials for models and
constructions such as dens, indoors
and outdoors.
Use shape and position language, for
example, Which shape will fit here?,
Is this a square as well? or Which
shape could we use for the wheel?
Provide examples of the same
shape in different sizes.
Encourage imagery, for example ask
children to imagine what might be
inside a box and help them to focus
on both shape and size.
Ask silly questions, for example
show a tiny box and ask if there is a
bicycle in it.
Model and encourage use of
mathematical language and
discussion, for example same
because, different because,
curved, have corners ,circles,
squares, taller/shorter.
Encourage children to extend
provision and participate in new
arrangements such as redesigning
the home corner or the garden.
Play hide the shape, revealing
shapes a little at a time and at
different angles. Ask children what
they think the shape is, what else it
could be or what it could not be.
Ask for shapes, using their
mathematical name and by
describing properties, for example, I
want a shape with four straight sides
and four corners or Has anyone got
a square I could use?
Be a robot and ask children to give
you instructions to get to somewhere.
Let them have a turn at being the
robot for you to give instructions to.
page 45
page 46
Knowledge and Understanding of the World

In this area of learning, children are developing the crucial
knowledge, skills and understanding that help them to make
sense of the world. This forms the foundation for later work in
science, design and technology, history, geography, and
information and communication technology (ICT).
To give all children the best opportunities for developing
effectively their knowledge and understanding of the world,
teachers need to pay particular attention to:
activities based on first-hand experiences that
encourage exploration, observation, problem
solving, prediction, critical thinking, decision
making and discussion;
an environment with a wide range of activities
indoors and outdoors that stimulate childrens
interest and curiosity;
opportunities that help children to become aware
of, explore and question issues of differences in
gender, ethnicity, language, religion and culture
and of special educational needs and disability
issues;
adult support in helping children communicate and
record orally and in other ways; supplementary
experience and information for children with
sensory impairment.
Learning
Young children are finding out more and more about the
world they live in and the people they encounter. Children
acquire a range of skills, knowledge and attitudes related to
knowledge and understanding of the world in many ways.
They learn skills necessary to this area of learning
by using a range of tools, for example computers,
magnifiers, gardening tools, scissors hole punches
and screwdrivers.
They learn by encountering creatures, people,
plants and objects in their natural environments and
in real life situations, for example in the shop or in
the garden. They learn effectively by doing things,
for example by using pulleys to raise heavy objects
or observing the effect of increasing the incline of a
slope on how fast a vehicle travels.
They need to work with a range of materials in their
activities, for example wet and dry sand, coloured
and clear liquids, compost, gravel and clay.
They will begin to understand the past by
examining appropriate artefacts such as toys played
with by their parents when they were children.
Understanding design work will come from using a
variety of joining methods and materials.
page 47
Children gain information from adults by imitating

their behaviour and through explicit teaching, for
example with regard to health and safety in the use
of tools and hygiene in cooking. Their range of
vocabulary can be increased through hearing new
words being used appropriately by adults
Effective Learning involves

Practical activities
Interaction with each other and with adults and
other children, for example when sensitively
intervening in their role play or exploring different
materials. Children respond to teachers enthusiasm
for planned activities, and this may prompt their
inquisitive questioning. They gain knowledge from
each other in incidental interaction, for example
when talking about their different experiences of
celebrations at home. They copy each other, for

example in trying out new ways of making their tall
constructions stable. Children also show each other
how to do things, for example how to use a map, a
tool or a computer program.
Children need opportunities to gather information
to satisfy their curiosity. They do this in many ways,
for example by asking questions of adults, of each
other and of themselves. This personal questioning
may be evident in their behaviour, for example
choosing to sit quietly, thinking about what they
need before collecting resources and beginning a
design activity. They also gather information by
looking at books, using CD ROMs, audio and visual
reference material, pictures, photographs, maps,
artefacts and products and by talking to visitors and
making visits.
page 48
Step 1
Stepping
Stones
Teachers
Role
Show curiosity and interest by facial

expression, movement or sound.
Provide interesting and attractive
resources and learning environments,
to stimulate childrens curiosity.
Encourage and respond to childrens
signs of interest and extend these
through questions, discussions and
further investigation.
Familiarise children with surroundings
and the natural world using, for
example, sensory trails, visits to
shops, exploring the setting and
looking at pictures, books and videos.
Step 2
Show curiosity, observe and
manipulate objects.
Describe simple features of objects
and events.
Give time for exploratory play, for
example stirring cornflower mixture,
digging in the garden, taking apart
and putting together objects from
construction kits.
Model descriptive vocabulary and
encourage its use.
Encourage close observation, for
example by drawing the
surroundings, natural or made
objects.
Visit and/or use photographs of the
local area to identify features, for
example library, church, or market.
Give opportunities to take part in
events, for example celebrate the
opening of a new building, and plant
an anniversary tree.
Step 3
Outcome KUW1
Examine objects and living things to

find out more about them.
Discuss reasons that make activities
safe or unsafe, for example hygiene
,electrical awareness, appropriate
use of senses when tasting different
flavourings, smelling plants, feeling
textures of materials, listening to
sound or careful use of tools.
examine objects to understand
textures, shape and material.
Encourage children to talk about their
findings, ask questions and speculate
on reasons.
Investigate objects and

materials by using all of
their senses as
appropriate
Find out about, and
identify, some features of
living things, objects and
events they observe.
page 49
Step 1
Step 2
Stepping
Stones
Explore objects
Show an interest in why things
happen and how things work.
Sort objects by one function.

Talk about what is seen and what is
happening.
Teachers
Role
Provide and encourage children to

play with and talk about collections of
objects that have similar and different
properties, for example natural and
made, size, colour, shape, texture,
and function.
Provide a range of materials and
objects to play with that work in
different ways for different purposes,
for example egg whisk, torch, other
household implements, pulleys,
construction kits and tape recorder.
Encourage children to sort objects by

different criteria, for example things
found on a walk or tools in the design
area, as they set tables or organise
storage of collections of clothes in the
home corner.
Talk about tools and their effects and
objects and how they work, for
example a washing machine at
home, a teapot or a water wheel.
Step 3
Outcome KUW2
Notice and comment on patterns.

Show an awareness of change.
notice and discuss patterns around
them, for example rubbings from
grates, covers, bricks, tree bark.
Discuss events that occur regularly
within the childrens experience, for
example, daily routines, celebrations.
Examine change over time, for
example growing plants or looking at
photographs of children since birth,
and change that may be reversed, for
example melting ice
Look closely at
similarities, differences,
patterns and change
Ask questions about why
things happen and how
things work.
page 50
Step 1
Stepping
Stones
Teachers
Role
Investigate construction materials.

Realise tools can be used for a
purpose.
Provide for and support children in
the use of a range of construction
materials, including construction kits
containing a variety of shapes, sizes
and ways of joining.
Praise initiative in improvising with
materials and objects.
Introduce children to appropriate
tools to work on different materials.
Model the language of designing and
making, for example join, build and
shape.
Step 2
Step 3
Join construction pieces together to

build and balance.
Begin to try out a range of tools and
techniques safely.
Construct with a purpose in mind,

using a variety of resources.
Use simple tools and techniques
competently and appropriately.

construct for their own purposes.
Provide ideas and stimuli for children,
for example photographs, books,
visits, close observation of buildings.
Teach and support use of a range of
tools, for example scissors, hole
punch, stapler, glue spreader, rolling
pin, cutter, knife, grater, and
encourage children to use correct
names of tools
Give children opportunities to

practise using an increasing range of
techniques and tools and provide a
variety of materials.
Discuss purposes of design and
making tasks.
Teach joining, measuring, cutting and
finishing techniques and their names.
Make links with childrens
experiences to provide design and
make opportunities, for example a
ladder for Tyrone or a wall with a soft
landing for Humpty Dumpty
Outcome KUW3
Build and construct with a

wide range of objects,
selecting appropriate
resources, and adapting
their work where
necessary.
Select the tools and
techniques they need to
shape, assemble and join
materials they are using.
page 51
Step 1
Stepping
Stones
Show an interest in ICT.

Stimulate all childrens interest in ICT
and other technology. Help children
to become aware of technology
around them in the setting, local
environment and home, for example
washing machines, street lights,
telephones, cash registers and
burglar alarms.
Teachers
Role
Step 2
Know how to operate simple
equipment.
Teach simple skills of using
equipment, for example switching on
and off.
Help children understand how things
work by giving them opportunities to
take apart and reassemble, for
example telephones and radios.
Build on ICT skills children develop at
home
Step 3
Outcome KUW4
Complete a simple program on the

computer and/or perform simple
functions on ICT apparatus
Teach and encourage use of ICT in
the setting, for example tape recorder
and headphones, digital camera,
suitable open ended software such
as a paint programme, a word
processing programme and
programme that enables children to
record their voice and music on the
computer. Young children need
modern powerful computers that
work well.
Provide opportunities in role play
areas to use ICT.
Introduce the correct language in
conversations, for example the
names of technological equipment
and the operations performed on
them, such as eject, double click,
rewind and crash
Find out about and

identify the uses of
everyday technology and
use information and
communication
technology to support
their learning.
page 52
Step 1
Stepping
Stones
Remember and talk about significant

things that have happened to them.
Encourage role play of events in
childrens lives
Talk about and show interest in
childrens lives and experiences.
Model the use of language of time in
conversations, for example
yesterday, old, past, now and
then.
Teachers
Role
Step 2
Step 3
Outcome KUW5
Show interest in the lives of people

familiar to them.
Begin to differentiate between past
and present.
Encourage discussion of important
events in the lives of people children
know, such as their family.
Encourage children to use the
vocabulary of time in discussions.
Sequence events, for example
photographs of children from birth.
Use stories that introduce a sense of
time and people from the past.
Make books of events in settings, for
example, cooking Kaukau, building a
climbing frame, constructing a bus,
learning about a festival.
Observe changes in the environment,
for example or as a building
extension is built.
Provide long-term growing projects,
for example sowing seeds or looking
after chicken eggs
Find out about past and

present events in their
own lives, and in those of
their families and other
people they know
page 53
Stepping
Stones
Teachers
Role
Step 1
Step 2
Show an interest in the world in which

they live.
Comment and ask questions about

where they live and the natural world.
Notice differences between features
of the local environment.
Arouse awareness of features of the

environment in the setting and
immediate local area, for example
make visits to shops or park.
Provide play maps and small
worldequipment for children to create
their own environments
Introduce vocabulary to enable

children to talk about their
observations and to ask questions.
Use appropriate words, for example
park, town, village, countryside,
road, path, , house, flat,
market, temple and church, to
help children make distinctions in
their observations.
Use stories that help children make
sense of different environments.
Step 3
Outcome KUW6
Observe, find out about

and identify features in the
place they live and the
natural world.
Find out about their
environment, and talk
about those features they
like and dislike.
page 54
Step 1
Stepping
Stones
Teachers
Role
Step 2
Express feelings about a significant

personal event.
Describe significant events for family

or friends
Be ready to listen to children wanting

to talk about significant events and
give them time to formulate thoughts
and words to express feelings.
Introduce language that describes
emotions, for example sad, happy,
angry, and lonely, in conversations
with the children when they express
their feelings about special events
Use group times to share events in

childrens lives.
Model careful listening and ask
questions that show respect for
childrens individual contributions.
Explain the significance of special
events to children.
Support children in finding
appropriate ways of preserving
memories of special events, for
example making a book, collecting
photographs, tape recording, drawing
and writing.
Step 3
Outcome KUW7
Gain an awareness of the cultures

and beliefs of others.
Introduce children to a range of
cultures and religions, for example
tell stories, listen to music, dance, eat
foods from different cultures and use
resources in role play that reflect a
variety of cultures, such as clothes
,cooking implements, vegetables,
badges, symbols, candles and toys.
Look at pictures and videos of the
cultures of children within the setting
and other cultures outside childrens
experience
Begin to know about their

own cultures and beliefs
and those of other people
page 55
page 56
Learning Area: Physical development

Physical development in the foundation stage is about
improving skills of co-ordination, control, manipulation and
movement. Physical development has two other very
important aspects. It helps children gain confidence in what
they can do and enables them to feel the positive benefits of
being healthy and active.
Effective physical development helps children develop a
positive sense of well-being. To give all children the best
opportunities for effective physical development, teachers
need to pay particular attention to:
planning activities that offer appropriate physical
challenges;
providing sufficient space, indoors and outdoors, to
set up relevant activities;
giving sufficient time for children to use a range of
equipment;
providing resources that can be used in a variety of
ways or to support specific skills;
introducing the language of movement to children,
alongside their actions;
using additional adult help, if necessary, to support
individuals and to
encourage increased independence in physical
activities.
Learning
Young childrens physical development is
inseparable from all other aspects of development
because they learn through being active and
interactive.
Young children use all their senses to learn about
the world around them and make connections
between new information and what they already
know .Children will develop physical skills if they
have sufficient time to persist and learn from their
mistakes.
Confidence and self-esteem grow when children are
successful, whether it is in riding a scooter,
pedalling a car or moving to a favourite piece of
music. Children need to develop control over their
bodies and the way they move.
Natural materials, such as a fallen tree or piles of
leaves, can provide inexpensive resources that
involve all of the senses, but careful assessment is
needed to make sure they are safe to use.
Large-scale movements, such as climbing over,
under, through, around and between, and similar
small-scale movements with tools and equipment
provide opportunities for children to learn and
practice new words and ideas in practical situations.
page 57
Effective Learning Involves

Giving children plenty of time to explore
experiment and refine movement and actions at
their own pace.
A safe well planned and resourced learning
environment.
Supporting other areas of learning through physical
activity.
Individually, children learning and improving skills
such as hopping or skipping as they play alone or
alongside peers.
Children having opportunities to improve social
communication skills when physical activities
involves others such things as throwing and
catching or rolling and capturing a hoop.
Similarly, developing skills in cutting and sticking
give children more confidence and success in
designing and making models and objects.
Re-enacting a story to music or with props enables

children to express feelings and to practise different
emotional responses.
Large and small movements provide opportunities
for children to see things from different
perspectives such as from the top of a climbing
frame, in a tunnel or below a box, to feel different
sensations such as hanging upside down, turning
over a bar or squeezing a tube of glue, to hear
different sounds such as thuds, slides and swishes,
and to smell differences such as the grass and safety
surfaces, paints and cooking.
Children who practise and succeed in filling
containers in the water tray will handle drinks more
successfully and have the confidence to, for
example, pour out their own drinks. Children will
also improve their ability to take care of themselves,
for example dressing, going to the bathroom or
washing hands, if they are encouraged to be
responsible for meeting their own needs.
Energetic bursts of running improve childrens

understanding of speed and strength.
page 58
Stepping
Stones
Step 1
Step 2
Step 3
Move spontaneously within available

space.
Respond to rhythm, music and story
by means of gesture and movement.
Can stop
Move freely with pleasure and

confidence.
Move in a range of ways, such as
slithering, shuffling, rolling, crawling,
walking, running, jumping, skipping,
sliding and hopping.
Use movement to express feelings.
Adjust speed or change direction to
avoid obstacles.
Negotiate space successfully when
playing racing and chasing games
with other children.
Go backwards and sideways as well

as forwards.
Experiment with different ways of
moving.
Initiate new combinations of
movement and gesture in order to
express and respond to feelings,
ideas and experiences.
Jump off an object and land
appropriately.
Outcome PD1
Move with confidence,

imagination and in safety
page 59
Teachers
Role
Provide safe spaces, undertake risk

assessment, create zones for some
activities, explain safety to both
children and parents.
Plan time for children to explore
space available and their own
potential for moving within it.
Give as much opportunity as possible
for children to move freely between
indoor and outdoor spaces.
Be alert to the safety of children,
particularly those who might
overstretch themselves.
Ensure children wear appropriate
clothing while being sensitive to the
requirements for modesty in some
cultures and religions.
Talk to children and help them
explore new ways of moving.
Offer a range of stimuli to generate
movement, including music, songs,
action rhymes and stories.
Provide additional challenge and

stimulus through access to a range of
resources. Join in and make
suggestions where appropriate, for
example,
Can we get from here to the wall
without ?
Provide safe mirrors as children
experiment with and observe gesture
and facial expressions.
Teach safety techniques such as
getting onto the slide or picking up a
bulky object.
Teach skills which will help children
to keep themselves safe, for example
responding rapidly to signals
including visual signs and notes of
music, role play with road layouts.
Introduce language of negotiation
and co-operation, such as share,
wait, take turns, before and after
Encourage children to move both

individually and as part of a group.
Use music of different kinds and from
a variety of cultures with space, time,
opportunity and encouragement to
respond.
Encourage children to make a
response to stories and rhymes with
actions, such as The wheels on the
bus.
Teach and encourage children to use
the vocabulary of movement such as
gallop and slither, of instruction
such as follow, lead and copy and
of feeling such as anger,
excitement, anxiety and affection.
Provide props for children to hold that
encourage and support their
movement and dance
Endorse success and offer
challenges on an individual basis
without comparing childrens
attainments
Model safety consistently, for
example tidiness and mats in place,
and teach children how, for example,
to approach things safely
page 60
Step 1
Stepping
Stones
Teachers
Role
Manage body to create intended

movements.
Combine and repeat a range of
movements.
Respect individual progress and
preoccupations, allow time to explore
and practise movements.
Use observation and knowledge to
know when to intervene with fresh
challenges or when to allow children
time to perfect a new skill or explore
an idea.
Encourage children to move using a
range of body parts and to perform
given movements at more than one
speed such as quickly, slowly, on
tiptoe.
Encourage body tension activities
such as stretching, reaching, curling,
twisting and turning.
Celebrate each childs attainment by
inviting them to demonstrate it as
appropriate to others from time to
time
Step 2
Step 3
Sit up, stand up and balance on

various parts of the body.
Demonstrate the control necessary to
hold a shape or fixed position.
Mount stairs, steps or climbing
equipment using alternate feet.
Manipulate materials and objects by

picking up, releasing, arranging,
threading and posting them
Show increasing control over clothing
and fastenings
Celebrate each fresh

accomplishment of each child.
Provide balancing challenges, for
example walking along a chalk line
straight and then twisty or on a
slightly raised surface.
Plan games to encourage children to
move and then stop, for example
moving like an animal.
Teach and encourage children to use
the vocabulary of controlled effort, for
example strong, firm, gentle,
heavy, stretch, reach, tense and
floppy.
Plan opportunities for children to

tackle a range of levels and surfaces
including flat and hilly ground, grass,
pebbles, asphalt, smooth floors and
carpets.
Provide equipment that offers a
range of challenges, such as
climbing frame, scrambling net and
logs.
Provide objects that can be handled
safely, including small world toys,
construction sets, threading and
posting toys, dolls clothes, material
for collage and shapes
Encourage children to adopt a
position in which they can work
comfortably and effectively, such as
sitting, kneeling or standing at a table
or at floor level.
Give individual children opportunities
and encouragement to build up the
skills which lead to personal
autonomy, such as dressing and
undressing and using knives /forks
/chopsticks.
Outcome PD2
Move with control and

coordination.
Travel around, under, over
and through balancing
and climbing equipment.
page 61
Step 1
Step 2
Stepping
Stones
Negotiate an appropriate pathway

when walking, running or using a
wheelchair or other mobility aids both
inside and outside.
Judge body space in relation to
spaces available when fitting into
confined spaces or negotiating holes
and boundaries.
Show respect for other childrens

personal space when playing among
them.
Persevere in repeating some
actions/attempts when developing a
new skill.
Collaborate in devising and sharing
tasks, including those which involve
accepting rules.
Teachers
Role
Create space, time and safe surfaces

that will allow children to plan their
own routes, both inside and outside.
Provide real and role play
opportunities for children to create
pathways, for example road layouts,
taking the baby in the push-chair to
the home corner, going on a picnic,
taking a message from one adult to
another and acting out a story about
a real or imaginary journey.
Provide materials with which children
can improvise their own spaces and
enclosures, for example blankets and
planks.
Introduce the vocabulary of spatial
relationships, with prepositions such
as between, through and above.
Mark out boundaries for some

activities so that children can more
easily regulate their own activities.
Provide sufficient materials for
children to share, for example more
than one engine with the train track.
Provide some activities that work, or
are more fun, only when shared with
another child.
Extend skills by introducing following
and imitating games.
Be alert to sources of conflict and
help children to agree on ways to
resolve them, for example by
agreeing a time for each childs turn
on equipment
Step 3
Outcome PD3
Move body position as necessary

Show a clear and consistent
preference for the left or right hand
Talk with children about body parts

and bodily activity, teaching the
vocabulary of body parts and
positions, for example by using
action rhymes such as Head,
shoulders, knees and toes.
Provide safe mirrors with role play
and encourage children to talk about
what they see.
Observe mark making, dancing and
kicking activities so that teachers can
be aware of childrens dominant foot
and handedness.
Provide a range of left-handed tools
for children who need them,
especially left-handed scissors.
Show awareness of space,

of themselves and of
others
page 62
Step 1
Stepping
Stones
Step 2
Show awareness of own needs with

regard to eating, sleeping and
hygiene.
Often need adult support to meet
those needs.
Show awareness of a range of

healthy practices with regard to
eating, sleeping and hygiene.
Observe the effects of activity on
their bodies.
Encourage children to ask for help,

and provide the help sensitively.
Talk to children about why you
encourage them to, for example, rest
when they are tired
Create opportunities for moving

towards independence, for example
having hand-washing facilities safely
within reach or children making
decisions for themselves, such as
choice of food.
Recognise and promote
understanding that foods from a
range of cultures and religions can be
enjoyable and form a healthy diet.
Plan so that children can be active in
a range of ways
Teachers
Role
Step 3
Outcome PD4
Show some understanding that good

practices with regard to exercise,
eating, sleeping and hygiene can
contribute to good health
Help children to understand the
thinking behind the good practices
they are encouraged to adopt.
Be sensitive to varying family
expectations and life patterns when
encouraging thinking about health.
Ensure that children who get out of
breath have time to recover.
Be aware of specific health difficulties
among the children in the group,
such as allergies.
Promote awareness by talking to
children about exercise and its effect
on their bodies
Recognise the importance

of keeping healthy and
those things which
contribute to this
Recognise the changes
that happen to their
bodies when they are
active
page 63
Step 1
Stepping
Stones
Operate equipment by means of

pushing and pulling movements.
Teachers
Role
Ensure that equipment is appropriate

to the size and weight of children in
the group.
Plan to make equipment available
and accessible to all children for the
whole of the day or session, if
possible.
Meet needs that are not likely to be
met outside, for example because of
the lack of safe outdoor play space in
homes and the local community.
Step 2
Step 3
Construct with large materials such

as cartons, long lengths of fabric and
planks.
Show increasing control in using
equipment for climbing, scrambling,
sliding and swinging.
Use increasing control over an object

by touching, pushing, patting,
throwing, catching or kicking it.
Retrieve, collect and catch objects.
Regularly check resources for safety,

for example ensuring fabric is clean
or planks are not splintered.
Provide a wide range of resources,
including small wheeled vehicles,
small-world toys, bean-bags, balls
that do and do not bounce, miniature
resources in role play areas, hoops,
sticks, bats and skittles.
Model collaboration in throwing,

rolling, fetching and receiving games.
Encouraging children to play with one
another once their skills are
sufficient.
Create groupings of children who can
support and learn from one another.
Ask open-ended questions such as,
How far can your ball go? which can
lead children towards estimating and
recording
Outcome PD5
Use a range of small and

large equipment
page 64
Step 1
Stepping
Stones
Engage in activities requiring hand

eye coordination.
Use one-handed tools and equipment
Step 2
Step 3
Outcome PD6
Demonstrate increasing skill and

control in the use of mark-making
implements, blocks, construction sets
and small world activities.
Understand that equipment and tools
have to be used safely.
Explore malleable materials by

patting, stroking, poking, squeezing,
pinching and twisting them.
Manipulate materials to achieve a
planned effect.
Use simple tools to effect changes to
the materials.
Show understanding of how to
transport and store equipment safely.
Practise some appropriate safety
measures without direct supervision
Handle tools, objects,

construction and
malleable materials safely
and with increasing
control.
page 65
Provide a wide range of activities that

give children the opportunity and
motivation to practise manipulative
skills, for example cooking, playing
instruments.
Observe closely to establish the
position in which children have best
control.
Teach children the skills they need,
for example cutting with scissors, and
plan opportunities for them to practise
those skills.
Teachers
Role
Ensure equipment is of good quality,

well maintained and well presented.
Promote progression in mark-making
by providing paper and brushes or
pencils in a range of sizes and
offering children fresh challenges as
appropriate.
sometimes use all their fingers or the
whole hand, for example with fingerpaint or corn flour, and sometimes
use just one finger, for example when
making patterns in damp sawdust or
sand.
Encourage use of fingers and writing
and drawing implements to both
follow and create patterns.
Introduce the vocabulary of direction,
including where appropriate
clockwise and anticlockwise
Encourage use of large and small

arm movements with left to right, top
to bottom movements. Large
movements can be used with, for
example, chalk boards, painting trees
and fences with water, using big
brushes or rollers.
Provide a wide range of materials
including clay and more than one
kind of dough.
Give opportunities to explore before
using tools.
Offer additional resources tools,
techniques, other materials if a
satisfactory result cannot be
achieved.
When children want to achieve a
specific result, encourage them to
talk through in advance what they
plan to do and why, so that the
teacher can assist as necessary, and
encourage children to reflect on what
they have done.
Introduce and encourage children to
use the vocabulary of manipulation,
for example squeeze and prod, and
the language of description, for
example spiky, silky, lumpy and
tall.
Model and teach safe practice and
allow children increasing
responsibility, under supervision, for
carrying out the practices they have
been taught
page 66
Learning Area: Creative Development

Creativity is fundamental to successful learning. Being
creative enables children to make connections between one
area of learning and another and so extend their
understanding.
This area of learning includes art, music, dance, role play and
imaginative play.
To give all children the best opportunity for effective creative
development, teachers need to pay attention to:
a stimulating environment in which creativity,
originality and expressiveness are valued.
a wide range of activities that children can respond
to by using many senses
sufficient time for children to explore, develop ideas
and finish working at their ideas.
opportunities for children to express their ideas
through a wide range of types of representation.
resources from a variety of cultures to stimulate
different ways of thinking.
opportunities to work alongside artists and other
creative adults.
opportunities for children with visual impairment
to access and have physical contact with artefacts,
materials, spaces and movements.
opportunities for children with hearing impairment

to experience sound through physical contact with
instruments and other sources of sound.
opportunities for children who cannot communicate
by voice to respond to music in different ways, such
as gestures.
accommodating childrens specific religious or
cultural beliefs relating to particular forms of art or
methods of representation.
Learning
Childrens creativity develops most productively within a rich
learning environment supported by interventions of sensitive
and responsive adults.
Children will learn to respond, explore, express, communicate
their ideas and use their imagination when they have
sufficient time to explore and research their ideas, imitate
what they see, experiment with ideas and bring their own
ideas to the process.
Children need to spend some time with adults who are
themselves creative.
They will learn effectively when they encounter experiences
and resources that stimulate their curiosity and when given
opportunities to put together and take apart ideas, materials
and experiences.
page 67
The creative process is not always instant, so children need

support in taking the time necessary to work at their ideas and
to finish their work.
Children need to feel safe enough to take risks, make mistakes
and be adventurous in their creative pursuits. Giving them
help in tolerating uncertainty and discarding ideas that are not
useful will support this.
If children are to have the confidence to try innovative ideas,
they must be given time to work at their own pace.
Creative development requires children to learn to express
with all of their senses. To achieve this, they need to
investigate and communicate new ideas across the different
areas of creative development. For example, they need to be

given opportunities to explore the ways in which, through
dance and physical activities, we can think with our bodies.
Effective learning involves

Children having time to explore and experiment
with ideas, materials and activities.
Children feeling secure to try new experiences and
ways of doing things.
Children learning through all of their senses.
page 68
Step 1
Stepping
Stones
Begin to differentiate colours.

Use their bodies to explore texture
and space.
Make three-dimensional structures.
Step 2
Step 3
Differentiate marks and movements

on paper.
Begin to describe the texture of
things.
Use lines to enclose a space, and
then begin to use these shapes to
represent objects.
Begin to construct, stacking blocks
vertically and horizontally and making
enclosures and creating spaces.
Explore what happens when they mix

colours and choose particular colours
to use for a purpose
Understand that different media can
be combined.
Make constructions, collages,
paintings, drawings and dances.
Use ideas involving fitting,
overlapping, in, out, enclosure, grids
and sun-like shapes.
.Experiment to create different
textures.
Work creatively on a large or small
scale.
Outcome CD1
Explore colour, texture,

shape, form and space in
two or three dimensions.
page 69
Teachers
Role
Provide a wide range of materials,

resources and sensory experiences
to enable the children to explore
colour and texture.
Make time and space for the children
to express their curiosity and explore
the environment using all their
senses.
Extend childrens thinking through
sensitive and well-timed and well
considered comments and questions.
Be aware of health and safety issues
as children explore the environment,
explaining what is and is not safe to
touch and where it is safe to engage
in movement.
Demonstrate, teach and model skills

and techniques associated with the
things children are doing, for example
show them how to stop the paint from
dripping or how to balance bricks so
that they will not fall down.
observations and experiences, for
example smooth, shiny, rough,
prickly, flat, patterned, jagged,
bumpy, soft and hard
Make suggestions and ask questions
to extend childrens ideas, for
example, I wonder what would
happen if you used the chalk on its
side on that bumpy piece of paper?
Support children in mixing colours,

joining things together and combining
materials, demonstrating where
appropriate.
Introduce vocabulary to help children
talk about what is happening, for
example lighter, darker, thicker,
thinner and shade
Encourage children to describe their
actions and their effects
Encourage children to move and use
spaces to develop creative ideas.
Support children in thinking through
their projects, making suggestions
and offering options.
Help children gain confidence in their
own way of representing ideas.
Offer constructive feedback and help
children to begin to make aesthetic
judgements about their work. Ask
questions egs, Was that how you
wanted it to look?, Is there any part
you would like to change?,
Which bit do you like best?
page 70
Stepping
Stones
Teachers
Role
Step 1
Step 2
Join in favourite songs.

Show an interest in the way musical
instruments sound.
Respond to sound with body
movement.
Enjoy joining in with dancing and ring
games.
Sing a few simple, familiar songs.

Sing to themselves and make up
simple songs.
Tap out simple repeated rhythms and
make some up.
Explore and learn how sounds can
be changed
Imitate and create movement in
response to music.

explore the sounds of everyday
objects and musical instruments,
especially things that can be shaken
and struck.
Ensure that the music and songs
used reflect a wide range of types
and cultures, for example orchestral
music and reggae music.
Sing with children frequently.
Help children to link sound and
movement, for example making big
movements to loud music and small
movements to quiet music.
Use sound at story time, for example
beating a drum when the giant
approaches.

play instruments alongside adults,
especially things that can be played
with a hitting action.
Extend the childrens experience of
instruments and knowledge of their
names and the ways in which they
can be played.
Allow plenty of time for exploration.
Select songs for children to sing that
are within childrens pitch and have
plenty of repetition.
Allow children to hear a song many
times before asking them to sing it.
Introduce the language of dynamics,
such as fast, slow, loud and quiet
and of pitch, such as high and low.
Introduce children to a wide range of
music and dance.
Step 3
Outcome CD2
Begin to build a repertoire of songs.

Explore the different sounds of
instruments.
Begin to move rhythmically.

move to music, supporting the
interpretation of the music and
drawing their attention to the
movements of other children
Encourage children to describe their
movement, supporting this process
with the appropriate vocabulary
children to talk about the ways in
which music and dance affect them,
for example happy, sad, excited,
and afraid.
children to describe the ways in
which instruments are played, for
example plucked, bowed, blown,
hammered, hit, beaten
Recognise and explore

how sounds can be
changed, sing simple
songs from memory,
recognise repeated
sounds and sound
patterns and match
movements to music.
page 71
Step 1
Stepping
Stones
Teachers
Role
Pretend that one object represents

another, especially when objects
have characteristics in common.
Notice what adults do, imitating what
is observed and then doing it
spontaneously when the adult is not
there.
Be interested and participate in

childrens play.
Model the pretending process,
supporting childrens understanding
of the ways in which one object can
be used to represent another.
Step 2
Use one object to represent another,
even when the objects have few
characteristics in common.
Use available resources to create
props to support role play.
Develop a repertoire of actions by
putting a sequence of movements
together.
Enjoy stories based on themselves
and people and places they know
well.
Engage in imaginative and role play
based on own first-hand experiences
Ensure that there is enough time for
children to express their thoughts,
ideas and feelings in a variety of
ways, such as in role play, by
painting and by responding to music.
Provide appropriate materials, and
extend childrens thinking through
involvement in their play, using
questions thoughtfully and
appropriately
Step 3
Outcome CD3
Introduce a story line or narrative into

their play.
Play alongside other children who
are engaged in the same theme.
Play cooperatively as part of a group
to act out a narrative.
Use their imagination in
art and design, music,
dance, imaginative and
role play and stories.
Pay particular attention to children
who are less confident.
Be aware of the link between
imaginative play and childrens ability
to handle narrative.
Introduce language that enables
experiences in greater depth and
detail.
page 72
Step 1
Stepping
Stones
Teachers
Role
Show an interest in what they see,

hear, smell, touch and feel.
Use body language, gestures, facial
expression or words to indicate
personal satisfaction or frustration
Show sensitivity to childrens

expressions and the range of
different ways in which they express
themselves.
Make time for children to
communicate their responses,
listening carefully and showing
interest in what they have to say.
Allow children to work through their
frustrations, supporting them in
finding solutions to problems.
Provide experiences that involve all
the senses and movement
Step 2
Further explore an experience using

a range of senses.
Begin to use representation as a
means of communication.
Describe experiences and past
actions, using a widening range of
materials.
Be interested in childrens responses,

observing their actions and listening
carefully.
Introduce and model new vocabulary
to enable children to talk about what
they are doing.
Introduce new tools and techniques
when appropriate.
Show children that you appreciate
their creations and would welcome
them sharing their ideas with you.
Encourage children to discuss and
appreciate the beauty around them in
nature and the environment.
Step 3
Try to capture experiences and
responses with music, dance, paint
and other materials or words.
Develop preferences for forms of
expression.
Talk about personal intentions,
describing what they were trying to
do.
Respond to comments and
questions, entering into dialogue
about their creations.
Make comparisons.
Introduce descriptive language to
support children, for example rustle
and shuffle.
Support children in expressing
opinions and introduce language
such as like, dislike, prefer and
disagree.
Talk about how to listen when
someone is explaining what they
have done, and consistently model
careful listening.
Provide children with examples of
how other people have responded to
experiences, engage them in
discussions of these examples and
help them to make links and
connections.
Outcome CD4
Respond in a variety of
ways to what they see,
hear, smell, touch and feel
Express and communicate
their ideas, thoughts and
feelings by using a
widening range of
materials, suitable tools,
imaginative and role play,
movement, designing and
making, and a variety of
songs and musical
instruments.
page 73

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International Education Agency of PNG

IEA Early Childhood Guidelines

IEA Early Childhood Guidelines

IEA Early Childhood Guidelines

IEA Early Childhood Guidelines

10 Report (Wylie C, Thompson J, and Lythe C, Competent children at

The Context of the Draft Early Childhood Curriculum

The Draft IEA Early Childhood Curriculum is therefore different in

The Purpose and structure of the draft document

Different resources which are available in urban and

The IEA Early Childhood Draft Curriculum Guidelines:

... communicate effectively

... work collaboratively

... analyse and solve problems

IEA Early Childhood Guidelines

children will have exceeded the goals; others will be working

IEA Curriculum Key

IEA Early Childhood Draft Curriculum: Structure

explore, develop and represent learning experiences that

The role of the practitioner is crucial in:

be alone, be alongside others or cooperate as they talk or

planning and resourcing a challenging environment;

IEA Early Childhood Guidelines

practise and build up ideas, concepts and skills;

take risks and make mistakes;

Jean Piaget (1896-1970)

observed children seesawing between equilibrium and

Lev Seminoch Vygotsky (1896-1934)

something more. Striving towards that outer edge of

Urie Bronfenbrenner (1917- )

IEA Early Childhood Guidelines

children are shaped by their experiences within their

An approach: Reggio Emilia

children build their ideas and develop theories of their

believes that children learn best in social and cultural

IEA Early Childhood Guidelines

Principles for Early Years Education

Early years experience should build on what children already know

No child should be excluded or disadvantaged because of ethnicity,

IEA Early Childhood Guidelines

There should be three constant elements:

provides the structure for teaching within which children explore,

Effective education requires teachers who understand that children

Effective education requires both a relevant curriculum and

Hamer, J& Adams, P. The New Zealand Literacy

Ministry of Education, Te Whariki, Learning Media

Ministry of Education. The Quality Journey. Learning

NSW Department of Community Services; NSW

Penrose, P. Take Another Look 2nd Edition New Zealand

Lambton Kent District School Board; The Early Years

McGee, C Teachers and Curriculum Decision- Making.

The list below is a very selective list of the research material:

IEA Early Childhood Guidelines

Queensland Studies Authority. Draft Early Years

Learning Area: Personal, Social and Emotional Development

establishing constructive relationships with

finding opportunities to give positive

IEA Early Childhood Guidelines

planning experiences that help children develop