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Communities

 
 Development matters Look, listen and note Effective practice Planning and resourcing
Birth-11 Months
 
  • Concentrate intently on faces and enjoy interaction.
  • Form attachments to special people.
 
  • How young babies respond to your attention.
  • The attachments babies make to special people.
 
  • Provide support for young babies when they are not with their key person, to give them manageable experiences with others, for example, ensure that others know a young baby's special characteristics and preferences.
 
  • Ask parents to share photographs of special people from home and place them where babies can see them.
8-20 Months
 
  • Recognise special people, such as family, friends or their key person.
  • Show interest in social life around them.
 
  • Differences in the ways that babies respond to and communicate with adults and other children.
 
  • Nurture babies' sense of themselves, while also helping them to feel that they belong to the group, for example, saying "This is Max's cup and there is a cup for Earl, Frankie and Lacey too".
 
  • Collect and share some stories and songs that parents and babies use at home.
16-26 Months
 
  • Are curious about people and show interest in stories about themselves and their family.
  • Enjoy stories about themselves, their families and other people.
  • Like to play alongside other children.
 
  • Young children's questions about differences such as skin colour, hair and friends.
 
  • Talk to young children about the special people in their lives.
  • Talk with young children about valuing all skin colour differences.
 
  • Give opportunities for talk with other children, visitors and adults.
22-36 Months
 
  • Are interested in others and their families.
  • Have a sense of own immediate family and relations.
  • Begin to have their own friends.
 
  • How children play, socialise and talk about family life.
 
  • Encourage children to take on different roles during role-play.
  • Support children's friendships by talking to them about their characteristics, such as being kind, or fun to be with.
 
  • Provide a soft toy for children to take home overnight, in turn. Talk with children about what the toy has done during these excursions.
30-50 Months
 
  • Express feelings about a significant personal event.
  • Describe significant events for family or friends.
  • Enjoy imaginative and role-play with peers.
  • Show interest in different occupations and ways of life.
 
  • How children respond to a significant event, such as the birth of a baby or the death of a pet.
  • The ways children recall special events such as a wedding they have attended.
 
  • Introduce language that describes emotions, for example, 'sad', 'happy', 'angry' and 'lonely', in conversations when children express their feelings about special events.
  • Use group times to share events in children's lives.
  • Listen carefully and ask questions that show respect for children's individual contributions.
  • Explain the significance of special events to children.
  • Visit workplaces and invite people who work in the community to talk to children about their roles. Wherever possible encourage the challenging of strereotypes by, for example, using a male midwife or a female firefighter.
 
  • Plan time to listen to children wanting to talk about significant events and give them time to formulate thoughts and words to express feelings. Provide the support of adults who share languages other than English with children.
  • Provide ways of preserving memories of special events, for example, making a book, collecting photographs, tape recording, drawing and writing.
  • Invite children and families with experiences of living in other countries to bring in photographs and objects from their home cultures including those from family members living in different areas of the UK and abroad.
40-60+ Months
 
  • Gain an awareness of the cultures and beliefs of others.
  • Feel a sense of belonging to own community and place.
  • Begin to know about their own cultures and beliefs and those of other people.
 
  • The interest children show in stories, music and dance from a range of cultures.
  • How children talk about the practices and beliefs of their friends.
  • How children express their attitudes such as about differences in skin colours.
  • How children respond to information about people's unfamiliar lifestyles.
 
  • Introduce children to a range of cultures and religions, for example, tell stories, listen to music, dance and eat foods from a range of cultures. Use resources in role-play that reflect a variety of cultures, such as clothes, symbols, candles and toys.
  • Extend children's knowledge of cultures within and beyond the setting through books, videos and DVDs, and photographs; listening to simple short stories in various languages; handling artefacts; inviting visitors from a range of religious and ethnic groups, and visiting local places of worship and cultural centres.
  • Ensure that any cultural assumptions and stereotypes that are already held are countered in activities.
 
  • Provide opportunities for children to sample food from a variety of cultures, such as a traditional Caribbean dish.
  • Provide books that show a range of languages, dress and customs.
  • Use appropriate resources at circle time to enable children to learn positive attitudes and behaviour towards people who are different to themselves.
  • Ensure the use of modern photographs of parts of the world that are commonly stereotyped and misrepresented.