Nursery with no toys (but lots of fun)
A NURSERY school has boosted children’s play – by getting rid of all their toys.
Staff say the ‘back to basics’ experiment has stimulated creativity among the children, improved their communication and decluttered the rooms.
And they are calling for the ‘amazing’ month-long trial, which is coming to an end, to be made permanent.
The nursery’s head Matt Caldwell said he was inspired by similar schemes in Germany which replaced plastic toys with everyday items such as bottle tops, egg boxes, corks, pine cones and pots.
He started the trial after talking to staff and parents at Ilminster Avenue Nursery School in Bristol, which has 230 children aged two to four and special education needs classes for children up to seven.
He admitted that in the beginning ‘some of the kids were asking for their toys back’, but said: ‘The others haven’t missed it as much as the staff thought they would.’ He added: ‘It is all about getting back to basics and proving you don’t need lots of shiny, expensive, electronic, plastic things to have fun and be a child.
‘People have noticed more communication between children, more socialising, more creativity.
‘When you strip away everything you see what looks children’s like.’ imagination genuinely Mr Caldwell said the backs of old electrical items such as computers had been taken off to help children understand how they work. When asked which of the new ‘toys’ they liked best, he said: ‘I don’t think you can beat a good old cardboard box.’