Teach-Early-Years-14.1

CHILD-LED LEARNING We follow our own curriculum, with the needs of our children at the heart of everything we do. For example, we use ITMP, which is short for “In the Moment Planning”. This means we follow what the children’s interests are, extend them, offer teachable moments and extend further – continuing until our Munchkins are interested in something else or, as we say, “find a new spark”. In our forest school context, this might look like mud painting, firepit snacks or perhaps even branch whittling, using real, age- appropriate tools; led by their own interests, the children are able to take calculated risks in a completely safe and supervised environment. To ensure our Munchkins with additional needs thrive alongside their peers, we have Layla, our wonderful area SENDCo, who is there to support each setting’s own SENDCo. As a SEND parent herself who has worked in the sector for many years, Layla has boundless personal and professional experience and uses this to make sure that children who need enhanced support are actively receiving it in a way that best suits the little one in question. SUPPORT FOR ALL STAFF Munchkins is a wonderful company to work for as an early years professional. The senior management team all care deeply about everyone’s interests and goals, and are always ready to support individual staff members as well as the teams in each setting. The CPD on offer is exceptional – Linsie, our director, and Libby, our operations manager, have designed a programme of induction training which covers the Munchkins ethos, expectations of the team, the curriculum, and basic training and incorporates the full range of learning styles, to make sure it’s accessible for everyone. And the support doesn’t stop there – the door to the SLT is always open, and everyone makes full use of that. All of the Munchkins settings are special, but I must admit to being particularly proud of Dunton Park. Towards the end of November 2024, we were inspected by Ofsted for the first time and were graded Outstanding in all areas – a massive achievement for the whole team. I was so pleased to see everyone’s hard work and dedication recognised, and to give the Munchkins family something else to celebrate! Teachearlyyears.com 15 The senior management team all care deeply about everyone’s interests and goals BREAKING BARRIERS: SIGNING AS STANDARD During the Covid-19 pandemic, when our nurseries were forced to close for three months, all Munchkins staff used the time to qualify in Makaton, which we began implementing across all our settings as soon as our doors opened again. We expected a surge in speech and language delays and wanted to be ready to support children and their families through this as best we could. Makaton doesn’t replace language; it enhances vocabulary and tunes in to different learning styles by creating that visual element, which most children benefit from. For some youngsters, it is their sole or main form of communication, but by ensuring it is used daily across all our settings, we ensure that there are no communication barriers for anyone. Children who mainly use Makaton are not limited or restricted in terms of whom they can sign with, because we all understand. In this way, the introduction of Makaton has supported us in creating an environment full of equal opportunities.