Continuous Provision at Saltdean

At Saltdean Primary School, teachers working in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 use a Continuous Provision model to facilitate learning across the curriculum. Our staff work hard to provide a rich and varied learning environment for children to explore. Together, we have created an atmosphere of curiosity, creativity, collaboration and independence that is having a lasting impact on each child's educational journey. 

What is Continuous Provision?

Continuous Provision is an educational approach that aims to provide children with a consistently available, well-organised, stimulating environment that encourages them to explore, investigate and make their own choices about their learning.

All our classrooms from Reception to Year 2 are divided into well planned zones that directly link to particular areas of the curriculum or development areas. Within each zone of provision there is a core range of resources that children can use all of the time, throughout the whole year. Our carefully planned continuous provision enables the children to learn and practice life skills, challenge their thinking and embed key concepts. 

Teachers work together to carefully plan and resource our provision areas to support children's learning, development and interests. Children independently engage in self-directed exploration, working towards defined goals. 

The use of continuous provision allows our youngest children to learn to take responsibility for their learning and gives them plenty of opportunity to demonstrate our school values.

Belonging, Resilience, Integrity, Consideration and Curiosity all lend themselves perfectly to this model. 

Our Vision

 All children will become independent learners who use their initiative to solve problems. They are curious and inspired. All children communicate effectively and negotiate with their peers. By the end of Year 2, they are well equipped to take the skills they have learnt into the next stage of their school journey. 

Our Intent

 Research, and our own experience, tells us that a rich and stimulating learning environment reaches the widest audience.  ‘Adult led learning without child led learning privileges the children who relish the more formal situation.’  (Fisher, 2020) Since adopting a continuous provision approach in Key Stage One, the transitions from one year group to the next have been smoother for the majority of children. Over the last few years, we have been committed to building on our superb early years practice to provide children with an increased independent play-based learning style in Key Stage 1. We continually review our practice to ensure it is of the highest quality. We strive to ensure that all children are being given the best possible opportunities to maintain high levels and progress and achievement. 

Every day our children are given the opportunity to be designers, artists, architects, historians, scientists, authors, story-tellers, geographers, mathematicians and researchers! 

What does Continuous Provision look like at Saltdean?

 We recognise that not all subjects can be taught through continuous provision. Some subjects need discrete teaching. These include phonics, handwriting, English, maths and foundation subject teaching inputs. All these subjects however, can be enhanced through provision. Children have the opportunity to take what they have learned in discrete lesson time and rehearse it during continuous provision time. 

Our classroom environments are set up with the following zones:

• Book corner
• Enquiry (science and exploration)
• Block and mall world
• Message Centre (mark making and writing)
• Workshop (paint, craft and junk modelling)
• Snack station (self-selection)
• Small construction area
• Maths
• Calm Corner

Each year group has an outside space that they can access regularly throughout the week. 

Our Reception children spend their first year in school learning how to effectively navigate the zones of provision. They learn good etiquette for sharing a space and follow the motto 'Choose it, use it, put it away!' Class teachers and Teaching Assistants model good practice and move learning forward through co-play and conversation. Teachers enhance their provision zones regularly to inspire the children, follow their interests or make links with curriculum learning. 

As children move into Year 1, they should already be experts in navigating a provision-minded classroom. Play Projects (Greg Bottrill) are introduced to support children in becoming more independent when moving their learning on through play. They create projects about whatever inspires them, but teachers also use this approach as a way to inspire the children with their curriculum learning in both core and foundation subjects. 

As the children begin Year 2, challenges are introduced that children need to complete during the week. This allows them to work on their time management skills and make their own decisions about when to complete the task. Children also complete activities to revisit prior learning as well as leading their own learning through 'Play Project' themes. We also introduce independent journals to allow children to begin to document their own independent learning. 

While children are engaged in continuous provision time, teachers run 'Tutor Tables' where they work with small groups of children to embed discrete learning and provide tailored support and feedback. Teaching in small groups allows all children to be supported with their specific targets and provides them with real time feedback on their learning which allows misconceptions to be addressed before they become habit.  

Impact

Our children will leave Key Stage one as independent learners. They will use their initiative when problem solving and communicate effectively with their peers.

They will demonstrate Belonging through the responsibilities they are given to keep their classrooms zones tidy and well organised.

They will demonstrate Resilience as they work on self-selected projects as the week progresses, and feel a sense of pride in sharing what they have achieved independently. 

They will demonstrate Integrity as they learn how to manage their time throughout the week to meet the goals set out by teachers. They are trusted to develop their independence and pro-activeness. 

They will demonstrate Consideration as they learn to negotiate with their peers and as they navigate their classroom spaces. They will tidy up after themselves and clean resources when they have finished. 

They will demonstrate Curiosity as they are given long periods of uninterrupted provision time where they can develop their skills and move their own learning forward through research and exploration. 

Our Key Stage Two team have been inspired by the independence of the children. They have been keen to find out more to ensure that their more formal classroom practice still allows children to continue to develop these life skills right through to Year 6. 

Further Reading

Below we have linked some books that have helped us on our journey so far. Some provide inspiration for the approach while others provide practical solutions and support. If you want to find out more about this approach, the following sources would be a great place to start exploring.

Books

• Bottrill, Greg Can I go and Play Now  Corwin UK; Second edition (2022)
• Bottrill, Greg School and the Magic of Children Corwin UK (2020)
• Fisher, Julie Moving onto Key Stage One: Improving Transition into Primary School Open University Press; Second edition (2020) 
• Bryce Clegg, Alistair Effective transition into Year One Featherstone Education (2017)

Websites

https://earlyexcellence.com/ - an organisation specialising in supporting the development of best practice and provision in the Early Years and Key Stage One.