Communication friendly spaces

Under 5 magazine featured an article by Elizabeth Jarman, an education consultant who was commissioned by the Basic Skills Agency to develop the toolkit. The article suggested key considerations to help make settings communication friendly spaces. These are summarised briefly below.

• Supporting learning - think about how the environment and educational pedagogy are connected and how they support each other.
• Space - the need to maximise the space in the setting arranging areas differently to offer different focuses e.g. quiet areas.
• Noise - how is the setting arranged in terms of noise levels, if there are quieter spaces, and if rearranging the layout could reduce noise levels.
• Light - the importance of natural light, and how artificial light might be used.
• Colour - how different colours can have effects e.g. cool colours making a room more calming and seem more spacious.
• Over-stimulating - think about displays, their purpose and positioning, and how children can access resources easily without being overwhelmed by too much choice.
• A matter of perspective - with a thorough understanding of how language develops, practioners should observe what children are doing, to plan a successful communication friendly space, thinking of things such as what the space is like from a child's point of view.

(Under 5, April 2007)