Our EYFS Philosophy

Reggio Emilia

DBIS EYFS has adop ted the overarching principles taken from the Reggio Emilia approach to early childhood education. The Reggio Emilia approach derives its name from its place of origin, Reggio Emilia, a city located in northern Italy. Shortly after the Second World War, the parents of this region collaborated with Loris Malaguzzi, a lifelong educator, innovator and creative philosopher, to find a unique system of early childhood education. The Reggio Emilia approach is based on the principles of respect, responsibility and community.

There is an expression from the Reggio Emilia approach that ‘a child has a hundred languages’. This expression symbolically describes all the languages of learning. These can be displayed through innovation, nature, construction, fantasy, art, music, dance, building, writing, talking, signing, science, body and soul. The languages of learning are used to help children develop knowledge, make connections and understand the world around them.

Guiding Principles

Image of the Children

The Reggio Emilia philosophy believes in the rights and opinions of each child. A child is a competent, capable and natural learner who has the desire for knowledge and life and is always ready for challenges.

The Role of the Teacher & Other Adults

The teacher and supporting adults play a critical role by being the child’s partner and by co-constructing learning possibilities. In order to further the learning process, the teachers listen, observe, inquire, document, work together and reflect upon the experiences of the children.

The Environment as the Third Teacher

The learning environments throughout our school are thoughtfully planned to ensure they are inviting places for the children to learn. The Reggio Emilia philosophy believes that the environment in which your child explores is the third teacher; therefore, time is invested to carefully plan these environments to allow powerful learning to take place all the time. Materials in the classroom inspire the children to think critically, and they support our children’s independent expression of thought.

Documentation

Each moment of your child’s day is filled with meaningful experiences and thoughtful interactions. In order to understand the children and the way they learn, our teachers work diligently to document all aspects of the learning process. Whether it be online learning journals, child-specific observations or the children’s artwork, all moments are considered parts of the process and are made visible in the classroom for revisiting and reflection. Teachers and children alike are able to view the children’s thinking and learning processes through documentation. Our child-directed, Reggio Emilia-inspired environments and our inquiry-based approach to teaching and learning come together to promote personalised learning experiences for our children in the EYFS section of our Primary phase.

The Characteristics Of Effective Learning

From the day they are born, children are powerful learners. They can develop strong behaviours, habits and dispositions that will support them throughout their learning journey and help them to self-regulate both cognitively and emotionally. It is our job as adults to foster these attributes and characteristics in each child as they grow and control their processes of thinking and learning.

In EYFS, our environments are carefully planned to ensure the children are able to develop these characteristics.

The three characteristics of effective learning are:

Playing & Exploring – Children investigate and experience things and ‘have a go’.

Active Learning – Children concentrate and keep trying even if they encounter difficulties, and they enjoy achieving what they set out to do.

Creating & Thinking Critically – Children have and develop their own ideas, make links between ideas and develop strategies for doing things.