A day connecting ECE and the NE classroom 30/10/17

Main differences between ECE and primary class room?

The ratios of adults to children, the physical environment, a classroom is contained an ECE centre is open and children can come and go as they please. Small spaces are not working for a play based curriculum as the movement is not as fluid and cannot cater to the come and go needs of a child leaning their own play.  The journey is the focus in ECE and in the primary classroom the focus is much more on the destination and getting people to the finish rather than working though the journey. Early childhood is strength and interest based where as a primary class is looking at areas of weakness and how we can improve those. Our curriculums both state that we must focus on prior learning and strengths and so therefore we can use this as evidence to why we use play based learning and how important it is to highlight these strengths and use them as our base board for learning.


Play based learning is harder to show the achievements at an academic level as the learning is shown in key competencies and social growth.

How do we share knowledge between the two providers?

There is simply not enough shared knowledge as most of children arrive as unknown quantities and we have to try to figure this out during the transition visits. Big Question How can we make this knowledge more easily shared, what can we do to get this information clearly shared in a way that is honest and gives pertinent information.

We must look at what the learner sees as their strengths and use this learning as a platform for growth in the school environment. 

The visions of the two curriculums are very similar and provide a great base to grow confident, connected children of the future. Te Whariki appears to be more holistic and encompasses the whole child and their overall growth.

Curiosity is interwoven throughout Te Whariki, my planning in the primary setting needs to be informed by this to ensure that curiosity is a main focus. The key competencies really mirror Te Whariki and are so important to maintain as a focus in the junior classrooms. 

The above picture looks at how we can utilise the key comps as a growth progression from TW. This needs to come before and with any academic learning as its meeting a child's basic needs for the day in order for them to be ready to learn.

STP 2.3 &6.3