Pedagogy is about learning, teaching and development, influenced by cultural and social values. Pedagogy is underpinned by a strong theoretical and practical base.
We know that children learn best when they are active and busy. They also learn and develop at different rates personal to themselves. Society expects our children to be competent, capable individuals who achieve well.
For young children to take part in and enjoy their world, they need to gain a wide range of knowledge, understanding and skills. If we believe that a young child's concern is to an active busy learner, trying to make sense of the world around them in order to take part and enjoy it, we can say they are learning all of the time from all their experiences.
Learning is about trying things out, about experimentation and being curious about possibilities. A play based early years curriculum should support the natural curiosity and creativity of children, helping them to develop confidence and resilience.
One of our responsibilities as practitioners who work with children is to reflect on our own thinking and consider how it impacts on children's learning and experiences.
Children are born curious and with an inquiring nature. All children need access to well thought out experiences which will help them develop their inquiry skills to be successful and competent learners. Inquiry is about being curious and persistent. For young children it is about finding out things for themselves and being able to come to a self-satisfying answer, often with gentle support from a key person. It allows a child to appreciate when they have learned something and to know this for themselves. The sense of achievement in inquiry learning is a key motivator to learn more.