Experiencing conflict and fear
This year’s research focused on a class of year 1 and 2 children, rather than reception or nursery groups. There were frequent questions about how the approach would work with older groups and their greater curriculum demands, and the head teacher at Wellow was keen to experiment.
We encountered children who had already developed clear patterns of behaviour that followed their curriculum and timetable. This made it difficult for us to see and notice the children’s curiosities, their own particular interests or their schema. We decided to work with ‘Golden Time’ – a time when the children are permitted to choose their activities. The educator was interested in how much freedom it is possible to give children in this context.
