For all...

All early years and childcare professionals in England and Wales

Key points

• Continuous provision is the toys, equipment and resources that are available to the children on a daily basis both indoors and outdoors
• Children can access the continuous provision independently in order to follow their interests and engage in child initiated play activities
• Continuous provision should be made up of open ended resources which are selected to cover the seven areas of learning of the Early years foundation stage statutory frameworks (England) or the The Curriculum for funded non-maintained nursery settings (Wales)
• Effective use of continuous provision relies on careful, well thought out organisation of toys, equipment and resources.

What does this mean for me?

Quality continuous provision will support you in your role as a childcare provider, it will enable you to meet the requirements of the Early years foundation stage statutory frameworks (England) or the Curriculum for funded non-maintained nursery settings (Wales) and will provide a stimulating but secure play environment for the children in your care.

England - Early years foundation stage statutory frameworks requirements

The Early years foundation stage statutory frameworks have four overarching principles which should shape the practice in your setting.

Continuous provision can help you to follow these principles as you allow the children to self-select activities which in turn develops their confidence and independence. They can choose according to their interests, stage of development, to share with a friend or to play on their own. Continuous provision is also part of an ‘enabling environment’ for children’s play and supports the development of 'positive relationships'.

Wales - Curriculum for funded non-maintained nursery settings requirements

The Curriculum for funded non-maintained nursery settings in Wales, while not specifically discussing continuous provision, states the importance in the environment and resources on offer to suport children's learning and development.

Planning for continuous provision

Continuous provision is not about having all the toys available for all the children all of the time. This would just result in a huge pile of everything in the middle of the floor!

The provision should be planned so that what is available meets the development needs of the children in your care. It should consist of high quality and carefully chosen resources. For example, on a Monday you may care for two children age 12 and 18 months so the toys and resources available on that day would include items suitable for that age and stage.

All provision should be planned to cover the seven areas of learning within your nation specific curriculum (in England three prime areas if you are caring for younger children). The toys and resources available should be as open ended as possible; in this way they will stimulate imaginative play in the children.

Continuous provision planning sheets can be used to help identify which toys and resources are required for each day. These can be useful if you are working in a group setting or with a childminding assistant.

Managing continuous provision

In a group or nursery setting the continuous provision can be established through clearly defined areas such as the construction or book area. This is also possible in some home-based settings if you have a separate room and allows for the more permanent setting out of continuous provision.

Open shelving or storage can also be a good way of managing the provision in the home environment. Boxes or drawers should be clearly labelled with both the words and a picture of the items stored inside. This will enable the children to contribute to keeping the play area tidy and also to know what is available and where it is stored. Hooks and rails can also help to organise resources such as dressing-up. In the home-based setting curtains can be a simple way of covering up these areas once the work day is over.

Floor baskets and boxes are good for babies and younger children. These can be put away again when not required.

Reflective task

Consider your current continuous provision

• How does it cover the areas of learning and development?
• How well organised is it - do you need to add or even remove toys and resources?
• Could you make it more accessible to the children and therefore also making it easier to help put away?

Reflecting on your practice

Did you know that reading and reflecting on factsheets and practice guides, and the resources mentioned in them, all contribute to your continuous professional development (CPD)?

It is helpful to keep a CPD log evidencing what you have done, when you did it, why you did it, what you learnt, and the impact it has had on your work and the well-being, learning and development of the children in your care. Think about how you would explain the impact the CPD has had for you to a parent, a student, an inspector, or a visitor to your setting.

Remember CPD is not just about attending a training course. It can be visiting another setting, reading a relevant book, publication, or blog; attending a webinar; researching a relevant topic; taking part in discussions with peers or taking part in on line learning.  

Here are the areas of professional standards that this factsheet relates to. 

References and additional resources

England

Development Matters Non-statutory curriculum guidance for the early years foundation stage DfE publications

Early years foundation stage statutory frameworks DfE publications

Wales

Curriculum for funded non-maintained nursery settings Welsh Government

Last updated January 2024

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