Introduction

The rationale for the project was:
• To improve children’s creative experiences
• To develop practitioner’s skills and competencies in line with Froebelian principles, focusing on supporting play responsively through sensitive interventions and developing practical expertise through reflective practice.

Quality assurance processes indicated that appropriate resources and experiences were not always being provided and that interactions with children could improve to extend their thinking and further their learning and development.

Context

Realising the Ambition tells us that ‘Experiences on offer should reflect an environment of open-ended possibilities in which children can feel intrinsically motivated to explore and investigate through play’.

Clay is one of Froebel’s occupations that is not usually part of the core offer for children and is normally introduced through adult directed activity that focuses on product rather than process. Developing practitioner skills and confidence in using clay was essential to ensure that practitioners valued clay as an open-ended resource that could support all areas of the curriculum, promote creativity and enable children to develop cognitively through the acquisition of knowledge and developing skills. The project afforded the opportunity to revisit Froebelian principles consider how these could underpin and develop practice within a specific area of provision.

Methodology

The project began with an on-line training session drawing on the work of Dr Lucy Parker. This provided an overview of Froebel’s principles, gifts and occupations and the benefits of clay as an open-ended medium in supporting children’s creativity, and holistic learning and development. The critical role of the Froebelian practitioner was explored, enhancing play through valuing creativity and children’s efforts whilst ‘ensuring that the child is at the centre and leading the curriculum’ (Brown in Parker, n.d.). This was particularly important for practitioners at the beginning of their career with no prior knowledge of Froebelian practice.

A practical session provided advice for introducing clay into daily provision, interwoven with demonstration of techniques which gave participants time to explore clay for themselves, develop confidence and learn new skills. This was necessary at the outset so that practitioners could then draw on this in their work with children.

Following training, practitioners across local authority Early Learning and Childcare settings introduced clay in their nurseries. During the implementation process and over the following weeks were encouraged to document observations of children in their play and to reflect on their role as they supported the play.