Resources

PracticalToolkitsFoilPlay

Create the best learning environments for your children by using these resources and learning how to improve and gain ideas for your practice.

Selected for their specific relevance to the EYFS and their creative pedagogic qualities, we have hand picked high quality, relevant and practical early years resources to be used by all of our members.

Our resources are packed full of creative ideas including:

- Practical toolkits for self directed practice
- Creative and cultural ways of video and music making
- Guides to outdoor and family play
- Guides to international creative and cultural projects, and many more...

Here are some practical resources and toolkits that are packed full of creative ideas. Most are free to download: 
Art in the Early Years Guide and DVD
This resource will help practitioners to extend children's learning through enhanced sensory development, exploration, experimentation and discovery through creation. The resource includes a 77 page colour guide book, and a DVD to compliment the book.
Artists in Creative Education
The core purpose of Artists in Creative Education is to create a transnational guide for artists to work in primary schools, with a particular emphasis upon developing the skills and understanding necessary to work creatively in schools in disadvantaged areas. The guide is available in English, Dutch, German and Swedish.
Beyond Twinkle, Twinkle, Using Music with Infants and Toddlers
Rebecca Parlakian and Claire Lerner discuss the key aspects of music in early development in the engaging paper.
Children as artists: Learning together series
Cathy Myer explores first hand experiences, new skills and what children need to become artists.
Close Encounters with Culture
This booklet from Renaissance North West will help you see some of the wonderful EYFS learning and development that can come from young children engaging with objects and art works in museums and art galleries.
Collaborative Video Making
This video provides a departmental view on why classrooms should be establishing blogs. It includes audio with examples of the technologies discussed, including examples of teacher blogs.
Community Playthings - Birth to Three Guide for Designing Spaces
This booklet, written with input from Ann Langston, focuses on room layout and equipment choice for planning child-centred indoor areas, but outdoor space is indispensable. Most of the principles apply outside as well, and often equipment can be moved outdoors.
Creative Connections - A guide to creative collaboration
Creativity is a positive power for change among children and young people. By introducing creative practitioners into the learning environment, it’s possible
to inspire children, to stimulate new
ideas, improve communication and build
confidence.
Creative Development in EYFS
The department for children, schools and families gives information as to the requirements for creative development in EYFS.
Design for Fun: Playgrounds
This publication by Marta Rojals Del Alamo looks at a wide range of innovative playground solutions which provide a variety of pleasing environments and aesthetically pleasing public spaces.
Designing and Planning for Play
Designing and Planning for Play has been published to encourage local authorities to make greater use of creativity in designing spaces that allow children to use their imagination, with natural play design.
Developing and Supporting Family Learning in Museums and Galleries
A resource for museum and gallery staff who want to develop their work with families, for family learning practitioners who want to work with museums and galleries and for early years practitioners whose work overlaps with family learning. Use the typology provided to identify the family learning you already provide, to identify actions for improving practice, and to plan family learning sessions.
Early Years Creativity - Toolkit
Two projects in Sussex have been examining creativity in early years through working with artists and bringing them into settings to work alongside practitioners and children. This publication takes you into the heart of these projects, showing you examples of artists working in settings and giving you top tips for trying out these approaches yourself.
Early Years Creative Cookbook
CapeUK's ‘Early Years Creative Cookbook’ in partnership with Earlyarts and Calderdale Council’s Early Years Team; inspires early years settings, professionals and practitioners across the country to engage in similar creative approaches.
Empowering Young Children in Art Museums: Letting Them Take the Lead
This article outlines a number of art museum programmes that have encouraged children as guides during school and family visits, and discusses the benefits of these programmes – for both the children and their adult companions. By Katrina Weier, Queensland University of Technology, Kelvin Grove, Australia.
Engage in the Foundation Stage
A research programme exploring the contribution that galleries and artists can make to the new Foundation Phase curriculum in Wales. Access the project overview, case studies and the 'How Red Is Red?' toolkit for art in the early years.
Enquiring Minds
Enquiring Minds explores how students' ideas, interests and experiences can inform the content, processes and outcomes of teaching and learning in schools. The Enquiring Minds guide provides detailed information about the Enquiring Minds philosophy, a description of the project, and practical advice and tips about how to use the Enquiring Minds approach in the classroom.
Everyday Activities to Encourage the Development of Children 0 - 2 Babies
A parent fact sheet published by the NDNA.
Exploring Expressive Arts and Design within EYFS
Earlyarts Director, Ruth Churchill Dower, presents her thinking on how to approach the Expressive Arts and Design area of Learning in the revised EYFS at the Nursery World Conference 2012
ICT in the Early Years Foundation Stage
Find out how you can plan for ICT so that it underpins each principle of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS). Also, access presentations, videos, books, and training and support materials to help you develop effective uses of a variety of technologies within your settings.
I Made a Unicorn
A guide to open-ended or free-flow play with blocks and simple materials. Children of all ages should have abundant time for active free-flow play, during which they take initiative, think imaginatively and build friendship. A wealth of open-ended play – with simple materials – can set children on the road to being confident individuals with a lively interest in life.
I Spy a Picture Book
This booklet for families is packed full of useful ideas that you can use at home every day. It contains fun, simple activities to help your child develop speaking, listening, reading and writing skills ready for school.
Play Based Learning
No play, no learning - know play, know learning. A unique Australia-based website with irresistible ideas for play-based learning designed to inspire and assist parents, tertiary students of early childhood teaching and teachers who follow a developmental curriculum.
My Learning - Learning with Museums in Yorkshire
Free learning resources from museums, libraries and archives in Yorkshire, including interactives, audio, images, downloads, videos, and quizzes.
Play and the revised EYFS
The free booklet and PowerPoint training details how children’s play naturally fulfils the revised EYFS, and cross-references that play to the statutory guidance.
Playground Ideas
A great collection of images from a group constructing playgrounds in various locations using found materials such as car tyres.
Playnotes - Early Years Outdoors
Playnotes offer information and advice on the best ways and all the wonderful reasons to work with early years children outdoors.
Reflect and Review, The Arts and Creativity in Early Years
Written by Belloli, J. and Woolf, F. (2005). This paper provides evaluation guidance for early years practitioners on creativity and the arts in early years settings. Designed particularly for the voluntary, independent and private sector, it focuses on building understanding of the arts and creativity, recognising achievement and reviewing current practice and provision.
Remida
Remida is an Italian cultural project that represents a new, optimistic, and proactive way of approaching environmentalism and building change through giving value to reject materials, imperfect products, and otherwise worthless objects, to foster new opportunities for communication and creativity in a perspective of respect for objects, the environment, and human beings. The center distributes materials to teachers as well as to educational and cultural associations, senior citizens' centers, sheltered workshops for the disabled, recreation centers, and so on. Remida also promotes and organizes workshops and training courses, seminars, exhibits, and conferences.
Work That Matters
This guide is for teachers. It explains how to design and run projects for students that egin with an enquiry and end with a tangible, publicly exhibited product.
The Makaton Charity
Makaton is a language programme using signs and symbols to help people to communicate. It is designed to support spoken language and the signs and symbols are used with speech, in spoken word order.