Skip to content
Book a tour
Parent portal log-in
  • About Us
    • Our story
    • How we work
    • Our team
    • Join our team
    • Young Friends Tribe
  • Curriculum
    • A Unique approach to EYFS
    • Caring for the environment
    • Establishing a social consciousness
    • Economic Impact
  • Learning Approach
    • Family partnerships
    • Family groupings
    • Key person system
    • High-quality interactions
    • Characteristics of effective learning
    • SchemaPlay™
    • Risk benefit
    • Tuning into each child’s needs
  • Learning Environments
    • Kindergarten pods
    • Nature kindergarten
    • Nature workshop
    • Woodland garden
    • Kitchen garden
    • The growing patch
  • Core Information
    • Joining our community
    • Application process
    • Famly App and Parent Portal
    • Plant-based seasonal menu
    • SENDCo
    • Fees
    • FAQs
  • Our stories
  • Contact Us
Menu
  • About Us
    • Our story
    • How we work
    • Our team
    • Join our team
    • Young Friends Tribe
  • Curriculum
    • A Unique approach to EYFS
    • Caring for the environment
    • Establishing a social consciousness
    • Economic Impact
  • Learning Approach
    • Family partnerships
    • Family groupings
    • Key person system
    • High-quality interactions
    • Characteristics of effective learning
    • SchemaPlay™
    • Risk benefit
    • Tuning into each child’s needs
  • Learning Environments
    • Kindergarten pods
    • Nature kindergarten
    • Nature workshop
    • Woodland garden
    • Kitchen garden
    • The growing patch
  • Core Information
    • Joining our community
    • Application process
    • Famly App and Parent Portal
    • Plant-based seasonal menu
    • SENDCo
    • Fees
    • FAQs
  • Our stories
  • Contact Us
Parent
log-in
  • About Us
    • Our Story
    • How we work
    • Our team
    • Join our team
    • Young Friends Tribe
  • Curriculum
    • A Unique approach to EYFS
    • Caring for the environment
    • Establishing a social consciousness
    • Economic Impact
  • Learning Approach
    • Family partnerships
    • Family groupings
    • Key person system
    • High-quality interactions
    • Characteristics of effective learning
    • SchemaPlay™
    • Risk Benefit
    • Tuning into each child’s needs
  • Learning environments
    • Kindergarten pods
    • Nature kindergarten
    • Nature workshop
    • Woodland garden
    • Kitchen garden
    • The growing patch
  • Core information
    • Joining our community
    • Application process
    • the Famly App and Parent Portal
    • Plant-based seasonal menu
    • SENDCo
    • Fees
    • FAQs
  • Our stories
  • Contact us
  • Book a tour
Menu
  • About Us
    • Our Story
    • How we work
    • Our team
    • Join our team
    • Young Friends Tribe
  • Curriculum
    • A Unique approach to EYFS
    • Caring for the environment
    • Establishing a social consciousness
    • Economic Impact
  • Learning Approach
    • Family partnerships
    • Family groupings
    • Key person system
    • High-quality interactions
    • Characteristics of effective learning
    • SchemaPlay™
    • Risk Benefit
    • Tuning into each child’s needs
  • Learning environments
    • Kindergarten pods
    • Nature kindergarten
    • Nature workshop
    • Woodland garden
    • Kitchen garden
    • The growing patch
  • Core information
    • Joining our community
    • Application process
    • the Famly App and Parent Portal
    • Plant-based seasonal menu
    • SENDCo
    • Fees
    • FAQs
  • Our stories
  • Contact us
  • Book a tour

SchemaPlay™

Every parent, at some point, has noticed how children unwrap presents, then 10 minutes later the toy lies discarded while they play with the box.

We’ve taken that a step further, and become a ‘loose parts’ kindergarten with all the children’s activities based on an educational method called SchemaPlay™

What is SchemaPlay™

We know that children learn through their play. They use repeated patterns of behaviour called schemes that they learn from. We take notice of these behaviours and provide activities and experiences to encourage deeper learning, connections and exploration. This helps children make sense of the world of the world around them

There are several different types of scheme, covering things like making connections (joining things together), rotation (spinning things), enveloping (covering things or themselves) or trajectory (throwing things). We know that children broadly tend to play in ‘schemes’, i.e. transport, bricks and building, role play and with animals, and we link children’s patterns of behaviour to these and other interests so that they become absorbed in their learning and have high levels of involvement and wellbeing.

Learn more

Did you know?

Does your toddler throw things? We look specifically for behaviour just like this and we know this is part of natural development. You might experience throwing food at mealtimes, this of course may be really annoying but they are exploring how things feel, how quickly things fall and how they sound when they hit the floor. Not much consolation when you’re scraping banana off the walls – but when we understand how to follow children’s schemas, we can provide opportunities that allow them to explore in a creative way. Of course that doesn’t mean that mealtimes become a time to throw food, so we acknowledge that children want to throw and say that once lunch is over we can throw some balls.

Young Friends Kindergarten SchemaPlay

What does being a ‘loose parts’ kindergarten mean?

It means we have no ‘toys’!

But if that sounds a bit odd, don’t worry. There’s plenty for your child to play with. You just won’t find any pre-made, pre-determined toys here (and certainly no plastic).

Instead, the nursery is ‘seeded’ with items that your child can use for play and problem-solving in a way that interests them, developing their creativity and confidence every day.

Pre-determined toys – dolls, cars and even premade puzzles – can limit children’s creativity. But take a block of wood, some wheels and a few simple tools and an original creation can become anything and from there turn into anything!

The process and results are far more exciting for your child, and they’ll learn to explore, make, build, and problem-solve, developing self-reliance, imagination, resourcefulness and creativity.

Everything has its place, so children always know where to find things. This is important, after all, who knows when they might need some string, a pine cone or a bottle top – and for creativity to flow they will need it right there and then.

Using all these wonderful loose parts is also good for the environment, as we’re re-using and upcycling materials instead of throwing them away. Anything, from the interesting to the mundane, could form part of our plethora of open-ended equipment, so we often accept donations from our families – very handy when having a house clear out!

Young Friends Kindergarten SchemaPlay

Follow us on Instagram

Young Friends Kindergarten

89 Holland Road
Hove
East Sussex
BN3 1JP
t: 01273 735 100
e: enquiries@youngfriends.co.uk

  • Our story
  • How we work
  • Application Process
  • FAQs
  • Join our team
  • Contact us

Follow us on Social

Facebook-f Instagram Twitter
Book a tour
Parent portal log-in

© 2022 Young Friends Kindergarten

Cookie Policy

Terms & Conditions

Privacy Policy

Website by me&you

Cookie Policy

Terms & Conditions

Privacy Policy

© 2022 Young Friends Kindergarten

Website by me&you

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.OkCookie policy