As you navigate the first weeks of this Spring Term, you may be contemplating reducing, or even removing Continuous Provision in KS1 (Key Stage One: Year One and Year Two) settings. Perhaps it had been temporarily included as part of Transition, to support children with settling in and to adapting to the National Curriculum but now you think it is no longer needed as your children are ‘ready’ to sit still? Or maybe an already overfull timetable has no space left for child-led learning, once you work out how you are going to cover everything you have left to get through? There may even be expectations from School Leaders to implement a more formalised approach. But before the resources are put away and the extra tables brought in, let’s consider what we risk removing from our children when we take away the resources and experiences that they have become familiar with, and remove the potential for the provision to embed and enrich learning across the curriculum.

Before deciding to change your practice, we would recommend that you revisit your vision for learning in Key Stage One. To support you with this, take a look at the blog Taking Continuous Provision beyond the EYFS which highlights the myriad of benefits Continuous Provision can bring to Key Stage One classrooms and the impact on learning.

You may also find our Senior Leader Reflection Tool on Key Stage One helpful in shaping strategic conversations on practice beyond the early years!

If you are planning to remove or reduce continuous provision, to introduce your children to a more formal approach, then ask yourself why you would take away those learning resources and experiences that your children have spent a term becoming proficient at? Why expect them to return in January and transition to an environment that no longer reflects them, their interests or their strengths?

Reflections on Continuous Provision in KS1:

If solely used for the purposes of Transition, Continuous Provision in KS1 might be viewed as an extension of the EYFS. But whilst it should build on the principles of the EYFS, provision in Y1 and Y2 should be carefully planned to reflect Key Stage One expectations and outcomes.

When deciding which areas to include, we need to make sure we consider the following:

• Which resources are available for the children to use?
• How best can you organise the resources to maximise their learning potential?
• What learning experiences will each area offer your children?
• What opportunities for recording opportunities does each area support?
• How will the adult(s) support, challenge and extend children’s learning?

Continuous Provision is not enough on its own to ensure children achieve success of course. But done well and supported by committed, skilled adults, it gives children a place where their thoughts, ideas and interests are truly valued, and individual strengths recognised and celebrated.

Think back to the holiday and the time you spent playing games with family or friends, ‘helping’ your own children play with their toys: play (and Continuous Provision) – it’s not just for Christmas.

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