James Tunnel is the Director of NurseryNook, a specialist Early Years coaching and consultancy company. He is a coach, consultant and trainer, as well as a former teacher, and has over a decade of experience in education. His expertise is in curriculum, loose parts, schema play and purposeful provision.
Designing an early years environment should begin with a deep understanding of the community and culture it serves, rather than replicating aesthetics seen online or in catalogues. It is emphasised that educators must consider children's "play diets," funds of knowledge, and local community experiences to avoid imposing their own assumptions onto the provision.
While creating visually appealing environments is valid, aesthetics should not override the educational purpose of a setting. James advocates for a balance between a space looking nice and working for children by sourcing beautiful resources that also serve clear learning functions.
"Settings that lean too heavily into the aesthetics, mostly because I've seen pictures online of really beautiful settings and they copy that style, learn eventually that there's a mismatch here to what the children need. But settings that ignore it and perhaps have utilitarian, completely white walls, harsh lighting, I think they also recognise that actually, it's not a comfortable place to sit, it's not a comfortable place to be. So we need to find that balance."
James Tunnell, Director, NurseryNook
Organising provision into broader zones (e.g. a movement zone combining construction, maths, Small World, and loose parts) rather than strict, separated areas supports deeper, more connected learning. Allowing children to move resources freely across spaces mirrors how adults naturally use their own environments.
When introducing unfamiliar resources, children need carefully bridged steps between what they already know and the new experience, rather than being left to explore without context. Jumping straight to a new resource without preparation can lead to destructive exploration, which is a natural but manageable response.
"Exploration is a fantastic resource, it's a fantastic thing that we, as human beings, use to make sense of things. It's a sensory experience; we pick things up, we shake it, we smell it, we sniff it, we have a go and see what happens. But it's destructive, which is why when you put those china cups out they get smashed, because children are just learning what happens if I do this. And that's perfectly normal, but what we can do is we can think, 'Okay, what's the jump between what they don't know and what they do know?' The jump to china cups from the plastic tippy cups is huge. What can I do to break these little steps up into smaller steps?"
James Tunnell, Director, NurseryNook
Loose parts provision is most effective when built gradually from resources children already understand, such as Play-Doh, sand, water, and construction blocks, before introducing more abstract materials like pine cones or dried oranges. Starting with what is familiar and co-exploring alongside children helps establish open-ended play.
Continuous provision should stay consistent throughout the year to allow children to develop deep, sustained learning, with enhancements layered on top to introduce novelty. Rotating resources in and out risks producing only superficial breadth of learning and undermines children's ability to build on prior knowledge.
Educators should feel empowered to critically evaluate any adopted pedagogy and personalise it to their specific cohort, rather than applying it wholesale. Even within shared curricula or chains of nurseries, each setting should be filtered through the lens of its own community and children's needs.
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