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The enabling interest area I'm going to focus on is the "cozy corner". An enabling interest area is a place where children can feel safe, involved, and have opportunities to explore and make choices. When environments support children's freedom of movement and choice as they transition between different activities other than just from indoor play to outdoor play. To make sure my enabling area is a welcoming environment for children I will:

Create an environment that is warm, welcoming and nurturing and facilitates a sense of belonging

Ensure the activities and environment meet the needs of all the children who attend, from very young babies to older children

Consider how you can ensure all children feel welcomed and valued. Some ideas include fostering close collaboration with parents by including family photos on display boards, singing songs sung in the family home, and providing a comfortable welcoming area with places for a parent to sit with staff and their child

See reference 1.

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According to Bowlby, he proposed the attachment theory which explains why newborn babies are so attached to their mothers. I felt like Bowlby suited my enabling interest area because children can form an attachment to the cozy corner as it gives them a sense of a home feeling cuddling up in the blankets and pillows. there are four stages to Bowlby's attachment theory, pre-attachment: During those first few weeks the infant exhibits many actions to get the attention of the caregiver. This can include crying and smiling, which will illicit immediate action from the primary caregiver, attachment in making: If the mother is responsive to the infant’s needs, then a sense of trust is established. The infant learns that the primary caregiver can satisfy their basic biological needs, clear-cut attachment: The infant has a firm understanding of who to depend on when in need and shows a strong preference for that person over all others. Strangers will create a fear response in the infant that includes strong protest and distress. The infant is very likely to refuse being held by others and will resist being held by anyone other than the mother and formation of reciprocal relationships: This may lead to the formation of multiple attachments, including secondary caregivers such as the father, relatives, or babysitters.

See Reference 2:

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3. Bronfenbrenner's Theory of Social Intelligence  

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3. Bronfenbrenner's Theory of Social Intelligence  

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Bronfenbrenner's theory is organized into a series of five different systems. The five main elements of Bronfenbrenner's theory are the microsystem, mesosystem, ecosystem, macrosystem, and chronosystem. The macrosystem: which consists of the cultural beliefs, attitudes, and social environments that children are exposed to, focuses on how cultural components impact a child's development. The macrosystem differs from the previous ecosystems because the macrosystem refers to the pre-existing society and culture in which the child is developing rather than the different settings of a single developing child. The exosystem: Bronfenbrenner created the ecological systems theory, which includes the exosystem. This theory was first developed in the 1970s.

Other formal and informal social organizations are included. The microsystems are still influenced by the exosystem even though it is not in direct communication with the child. The mesosystem: A person's individual microsystems do not function independently in the mesosystem, instead, they are linked and have influence over one another.

Interactions between the child's several microsystems form the mesosystem. For example, consistency in both environments is achieved through open communication between a child's primary and secondary caregiver. The microsystem: The events in a child's immediate surroundings that come into direct contact with them make up the microsystem, which is the beginning of Bronfenbrenner's theory. It includes the child's immediate relationships and surroundings. A child's microsystem can include, their parents, siblings, classmates, teachers, and neighbors.

See reference 3.

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4. Compliance with the settings policies and procedures and health and safety requirements 

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4. Compliance with the settings policies and procedures and health and safety requirements 

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There are many relevant policies and procedures in ELC settings but the two I will mainly focus on that are in place for a cozy corner are The Regulations 2016 and the Safeguarding policy in the setting I'm attending for my work placement. Regulation 20: Facilities for Rest and Play states that "You must recognize that appropriate indoor and outdoor facilities within services are important for the developmental health and wellbeing of children. These facilities should be organized so that they engage every child in the learning environment, and promote safe physical play and activity for children of different age groups and capabilities". Regulation 21: Equipment and Materials states that "As the registered provider, you must ensure that there is enough suitable furniture, play and work equipment, and materials available on the premises of the pre-school service". See reference 4.

The Safeguarding policy in my setting states that "Listowel Childcare undertakes to promote the general welfare, health and full development of children and protect them from harm of all kinds, in line with articles 19 and 34 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Listowel Childcare also undertakes to protect the personal integrity, safety, and well-being of each child in the Crèche in line with the provisions of the Children First Act 2015. Listowel Childcare has and will develop policies for: Recruitment, selection, and employment of staff and Safeguarding procedures.

Listowel Childcare is committed to ensuring that staff is trained in the recognition of signs of abuse and on how to report those signs. Listowel Childcare is committed to engage in ongoing quality improvement activities and is committed to developing positive relationships with Parent / Guardian and families. Listowel Childcare has a commitment to the empowerment of all children to describe and express their feelings in an acceptable manner.

The manager will have a copy of the Children’s First Act 2015 on the premises and will ensure that it is available to be read by all members of staff, volunteers, and trainees. The name and phone number of the Designated Officer in TUSLA, and information on local family support services, is available in the crèche. Candidates for positions within Listowel Childcare, whether paid or voluntary, shall be recruited as set out in current Employment and Equality Legislation.

Candidates will be asked to provide two written references which will be checked, in person and in confidence. As per the National Vetting Bureau Act 2012-2016, all employees will be vetted prior to commencing in Listowel Childcare.

The manager will ensure that at least 2 members of staff attend the Safeguarding training provided by TUSLA and appoint a named person whose role it is to receive all Safeguarding concerns. We will actively encourage all employees to take advantage of such training.

Crèche Manager Carol Wren Guiney is the Designated Liaison Person (DLP) here at Listowel Childcare.

Listowel Childcare is committed to always having the recommended ratio of adults to maximize the positive development of children and to comply with good practice in the prevention of abuse.

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In consultation with staff and children I spoke to the staff in the Pre-School room first and suggested getting extra funding to give the cozy corner a make over and the staff thought this was a brilliant idea. I asked the children to all sit in a circle with me and suggested the idea to them and asked what would they like to have in their cozy corner, they said they would like bean bags, fluffy blankets, pillows, the boys wanted more dinosaur books and the girls wanted princess slippers.

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For my enabling interest area I have chosen the cozy corner, I have chosen this area to make more inclusive by adding in what the children in my setting said to me what they wanted which was beanbags, fluffy blankets, pillows, the boys wanted more dinosaur books and the girls wanted to get princess slippers.

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7. Resources and equipment required, quantities and cost

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7. Resources and equipment required, quantities and cost

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Beanbags: €170 each on Harvey Norman but are big enough to fit two children each on them, would need 5 beanbags. See Reference 6

Fluffy blankets: €7 each in Home, Store and More, would need 10 blankets. See Reference 7

Pillows: €12 for set of two pillows in Penney's, would need 7 sets. See Reference 5

Dinosaur books: €5 in Smyths and have a sale on that you get three books for the price of two, would need 5 books. See Reference 8

Princess slippers: €7 each in Penney's, would need 8 pairs. See Reference 5

Costs altogether: €1,085

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My enabling interest area is inclusive of all children because it includes products fit for boys and girls although the boys wanted more dinosaur books and the girls wanted princess slippers everything else such as the blankets, pillows and beanbags is inclusive to both genders.

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9. Potential learning opportunities themes and types of play 

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9. Potential learning opportunities themes and types of play 

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In the cozy corner children learn how to unwind and relax from playing and doing activities all day. in the pre-school room in my setting the room leader says the best time for promoting home corner is before lunch or dinner so they are calm during mealtimes and not hyper. Children learn best through circle time in the cozy corner from reading stories to their peers to listening the room leader telling the story. Children are shown that cozy corners are there as a place where they can go escape the busy classroom environment and find some peace and quiet. Children who take these kinds of pauses are more likely to develop important emotional and social development skills, such as self-awareness, feeling recognition, and self-soothing techniques. See Reference 9.

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The role of the adult in the cozy corner is to carry out risk assessments at the start of the day to ensure there are no immediate dangers or hazards that will cause harm to children. it is the adults role as well to make sure that the new products being bought for the cozy corner are age appropriate and are in place with the Health and Safety policy in the setting. the adult in the room should also be supervising the area at all times incase of risk of suffocation and strangulation with the blankets and the pillows.

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The theme of Aistear that I think the cozy corner links in with is Identity and Belonging. Children develop a sense of identity from their early years. Their identities are mostly shaped by their relationships with friends, family, other adults, children, and people of their community. Children's traits, actions, and views on others, their family, and themselves all influence how they view themselves. Having a safe relationship or a connection with a particular group people is what it means to belong. Children who have a strong sense of emotional strength, self-assurance, and the ability to overcome challenges can be found in their families, peers, and communities. The cozy corner can give children a sense of feeling like their at home such as cuddling your classmate under the blanket can be like cuddling under the blanket with whoever is the child's primary caregiver.

See Reference 10

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The first standard I would link the cozy corner to is Standard 6: Play "Promoting play requires that each child has time to engage in freely available and accessible, developmentally appropriate and well-resourced opportunities for exploration, creativity and "meaning making" in the company of other children, with participating and supportive adults and alone, where appropriate."

The second standard I would link the cozy corner to is Standard 9: Health and Welfare "Promoting the health and welfare of the child requires protection from harm, provision of nutritious food, appropriate opportunities for rest, and secure relationships characterized by trust and respect."

See Reference 11.

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13. Reflection on the personal learning on the role of the adult, curriculum and pedagogy and pedagogical practices as explored during the planning process while also including all reflective cycle headings 

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13. Reflection on the personal learning on the role of the adult, curriculum and pedagogy and pedagogical practices as explored during the planning process while also including all reflective cycle headings 

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Concreate Experience: My plan is to make the Cozy Corner in my work placement setting better by adding in new furniture such as beanbags and comfort materials such as blankets, pillows and slippers. when I went into placement I spoke with the room leader in my room and showed her my plans on what I wanted to add to the Cozy Corner, the room leader said that this was a brilliant idea that the children would love this. my expectation of the new improved Cozy Corner is that children will want to use it much more and this will increase circle time in the room.

Reflective Observation: I felt nervous when I was about to discuss my plan with the room leader as I didn't feel I had the right to change a part of the room as I'm not an employed staff member in the setting but, the room leader made me feel very welcomed with my ideas and she gave me a few of her own too such as adding more sensory cushions.

Abstract Conceptualization: My overall experience was very good from discussing my ideas with the room leader to researching where I could get all the products and the pricing as well.

Active Experimentation: What I learned from developing a Cozy Corner is to buy all products from an Irish website as Pobal would not fund if the products were being bought outside Ireland. I wouldn't have picked a different area as the Cozy Corner would be my favorite area to see children playing in as they learn so much from doing circle time there and they can also wind down after free play to relax. what I've learned from this assignment is listening to children's enabling interest area's is very important as it can contribute to developing better areas in the classroom.

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1: (Early Years Alliance , 2023)

2:  (Helpful Professor , 2023)

3: (Simply Psychology , 2023)

4: (Tusla , 2016)

5: (Penney's, 2023)

6: (Harvey Norman , 2023)

7: (Home Store and More , 2023)

8: (Smyths , 2023)

9: (Good2knownetwork, 2023)

10:(Ncca , 2009)

11: (Paula Walshe, 2023)