Why 0-2 and 2-4 age split?

As all our families know we are working towards being a Curiosity Approach setting. One important aspect of our ethos and pedagogy (approach to teaching) is allowing the child to be the centre of their learning journey and giving them as much independence and autonomy in this as possible whilst also being mindful to scaffold their learning, adding new language and modelling play and interaction.

Opportunities for leadership and peer learning - Vygotsky, a renowned influence on early education, described the zone of proximal development as: ‘... the distance between the actual development level as determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through problem-solving under adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers.’ In simple terms... a child can do certain tasks, skills, problem solve to a certain level independently, there are then certain tasks, skills, problems to solve that they cannot do... the Zone of Proximal development is the zone of learning the child can progress through with scaffolding from either an educator or a peer who can complete these certain tasks, skills, problems. With this in mind this gives us a wealth of advantage to create mixed age groups of 0-2 year olds and 2+ year olds in terms of creating a growth mindset within the children, scaffolding learning from both more advanced peers and educators and diversifying even further their learning experiences.

Greater access throughout the day to all areas of our provision. The Baby Bears children will be using their "living room", "messy room" and outdoor provision equally throughout the nursery day. The big bears children will be using the upstairs play space in the setting, the messy room at the rear of the building (Atelier - see two pages ahead) and the front and back gardens throughout the entire day with choice to access all areas of provision through the whole nursery day for both baby bears and big bears.

Individualised learning - The children will be given even greater scope to explore concepts of their own interest. Something we have worked hard toward over the past 12 months is moving away from "school readiness" and working towards prioritising allowing and facilitating the children to develop strong foundations to start their school lives. We endeavour to develop their ability to self- regulate their emotions, through co-regulation, work on developing the children's social interaction skills, ability to problem solve and think critically and feel confident in their sense of self.

Minimising transitions - having up to a 1.5/2/2.5 year cycle within the same group gives a more stable educator-child experience. As our educators get to know your children and form those strong, positive attachments, as the educators get to know their interests, fascinations, schemas and how they learn the children become more and more comfortable and hence can reach a greater level of involvement in their learning through play with fewer transition periods creating a greater sense of family which is the centre of what we try to capture in our Three Bears Community.