NATIONAL EARLY CHILDHOOD

CARE AND EDUCATION (ECCE)

CURRICULUM FRAMEWORK

MINISTRY OF WOMEN
AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
 
 

Contents Page No
Background for the ECCE Curriculum Framework…….................................................2

SECTION I: Foundation of Early Care and Learning

1. Introduction……………………………………………………………………………………………4
1.1 Growing Up in India…………………………………………………………………………4
1.2 Vision for an Indian Child…………………………………………………………………..6
1.3 Rationale for ECCE…………………………………………………………………………8
1.4 Theoretical Foundation……………………………………………………………………..8

2. Objectives of Early Childhood Care and Education…………………………………………......10

3. Principles of Early Learning and Development…………………………………………………...10
and its implications for Practice
4. Curricular Issues and Concerns……………………………………………………………………14
4.1 Multilingualism………………………………………………………………………………14
4.2 Inclusion……………………………………………………………………………………..16
4.3 Multi- Age Grouping………………………………………………………………………..17
4.4 Gender Equality…………………………………………………………………………….18
4.5 Harms of Early Formal Instruction………………………………………………………..20
4.6 Preparing ECCE Teachers/Caregivers…………………………………………………..21
4.7 School Readiness…………………………………………………………………………..23

SECTION II: Goals of Early Care and Learning

5. Domains of Development……………………………………………………………………………25
5.1 Birth – Three Years…………………………………………………………………………25
5.2 Three -Six Years…………………………………………………………………………….27

6. Pedagogical Approaches to Principles of Programme planning………………………………...30

7. Guiding Principles of Programme Planning………………………………………………………..32
7.1 Birth to Three Years: Focus on Care and Stimulation…………………………………..32
7.2 Suggestive Developmentally Appropriate Practices for Birth to Three years………..36
7.3 Three to Six years: Focus on Care, Early Learning and Readiness…………………..38
7.4 Suggestive Developmentally Appropriate Practices for Three to Six years………….41

SECTION III: Programme Planning and Practices

8. Early Learning Environment…………………………………………………………………………43
8.1 Setting up and Early Years Classroom…………………………………………………...44
8.2 Learning/ Activity Centres………………………………………………………………….45
8.3 Displays on Walls…………………………………………………………………………...48
8.4 Furniture and Mats………………………………………………………………………….48
8.5 Shelves and Storage……………………………………………………………………….48
8.6 Grouping……………………………………………………………………………………..48
9. Essential Learning and Play Material………………………………………………………………49
9.1 Indoor Materials……………………………………………………………………………..50
9.2 Outdoor Materials…………………………………………………………………………...52
10. Planning………………………………………………………………………………………………..52
11. Assessing Children’s Development and Learning………………………………………………...57
11.1 Why Assess Children’s Work………………………………………………………………58
11.2 What to Assess………………………………………………………………………………59
11.3 When and How to Assess………………………………………………………………….59

12. Role of Caregiver/ECCE Teacher…………………………………………………………………..62

13. Partnership with Parents and Families……………………………………………………………..62
14. Supportive Essentials………………………………………………………………………………...65
16. Glossary of terms……………………………………………………………………………………..66
17. References and Resources………………………………………………………………………….67
18. Annexure………………………………………………………………………………………………68

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Background for the Early Childhood Care and Curriculum Framework

The programme at the early childhood stage helps to ensure opportunities for holistic
learning and growth. The ECCE programme needs to be determined by children’s
developmental and contextual needs, providing for more need based inputs and an enabling
environment. Given this need for an individualised approach, it was believed that a common
‘curriculum’ would not be appropriate for all. However, over the years it has been observed
that the practical realities are different and most of the ECCE programmes on offer currently
do not have developmentally appropriate programmes for the young child. The vacuum
created by a lack of curriculum framework has resulted in its being filled with either a
minimalist programme or the downward extension of the primary stage curriculum leading to
overburdening the child which can have a negative impact on the child’s learning potential.

To ensure optimal development for all children, there is a need to create a planned
curriculum framework, encompassing developmentally appropriate knowledge and skills, with
flexibility for contextualization and diverse needs of young children. A curriculum framework
is also required to ensure that important learning areas are covered, taking care of all the
developmental needs of the young child. It also facilitates adoption of a common pedagogical
approach to ensure a certain level of quality and address the widespread diversity in the
ECCE programmes available for the young children in India.

The purpose of this framework is to promote quality and excellence in early childhood
education by providing guidelines for practices that would promote optimum learning and
development of all young children and set out the broad arrangement of approaches and
experiences rather than detailed defining of the content. A cautious approach is being
adopted to not provide a detailed curriculum/syllabus which would be prescriptive and
‘delivered’ to the young children in a ‘straight jacketed manner’. The Curriculum Framework
calls attention to the common principles and developmental tasks, at the same time,
respecting the diversity in the child rearing practices and contextual ECCE needs.

Each programme is expected to develop its own curriculum to meet the needs of its children,
their families, the specific setting, the linguistic culture and the local community. However, the
programmes should be based on the curriculum principles and guidelines laid down in this
framework.

This Framework is a dynamic document and would be continually reviewed and evolved in
the light of emerging needs. Also, with the adoption of the framework, case studies of
emerging best practices will follow and learning from them would further strengthen the
framework.

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This Framework is firmly focussed on the needs of the child and should lead to improved
child care and developmentally appropriate environment for children, leading to a positive
impact on quality of learning and increased attainment of learning outcomes for children
participating in ECCE programmes. Furthermore, this framework focuses on providing
guidelines for child care and early educational practices. The other components for the
holistic ECCE programme such as nutrition, health and hygiene, protection and care are to
be ensured by cross reference from related policies and instruments as mentioned in the
National ECCE policy.

The National ECCE Curriculum Framework comprises of broadly three sections.

• Section I consists of introduction, vision for an Indian child, rationale and theoretical
foundation for ECCE. The objectives of early childhood education; pedagogical bases
and principles of early learning are laid out.
• Section II comprises of details of the goals for different domains of development, i.e.
physical, language, cognitive, socio-emotional and creative and aesthetic
appreciation, to be fostered to ensure holistic development of children under six
years. It comprises of suggested developmentally appropriate practices for different
age groups.
• Section III focuses on implementation details such as principles of programme
planning, stages of programme planning, role of parents and caregivers/ECCE
teachers, essential play materials and assessment procedure etc.

Structure of the
Document

Section I Section II Section III

Foundation of Early Goals of Early Care and Programme Planning

Care and Learning Learning and Practices

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 SECTION 1:
FOUNDATION OF EARLY CARE
AND LEARNING

Courtesy : Shreeranjan, Suchit Nanda, Tapaswini Sahu

 
 

1. Introduction

The first six of life are critical years of human life since the rate of development in these years
is more rapid than at any other stage of development. Global brain research also informs us
about the significance of early years for brain development.

Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) makes a positive contribution to children’s long
term development and learning by facilitating an enabling and stimulating environment in
these foundation stages of lifelong learning.

Parents as caregivers are critical in providing a stimulating learning environment to the child
and the first two and a half to three years need not be in a formal learning environment. The
National Curriculum Framework acknowledges the significance of involvement of parents,
family and community.

The National Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Curriculum Framework for all
children below six years of age is aligned with the Government’s vision of ECCE as spelt out
in the National Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Policy. The National ECCE
Curriculum Framework is informed by the Position Paper on ECCE (National Curriculum
Framework, NCERT, 2005) and the curriculum detailed there under.

The purpose of this framework is to promote quality and excellence in early childhood care
and education by providing guidelines for child care and early educational practices. The
framework is intended to be a guiding document for ECCE service providers across all
regions. It wishes to support to early years professionals, service providers, ECCE
teachers/caregivers, communities and state governments in providing rich early stimulation
and learning experiences for children from birth to pre- primary years. This document may
also be of interest to families of young children too.

1.1 Growing up in India

India has a tradition of valuing the early years of a child’s life, and a rich heritage of cultural
practices for stimulating development and inculcating “sanskaras” or basic values and social
skills in children. In the past this was delivered primarily within joint families, through
traditional child caring practices which were commonly shared and passed on from one
generation to another. However, there have been changes in the family as well as social
context in the last few decades.

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Families and communities represent vast geographic, social, cultural, linguistic, and
economic diversity within the country. Children also differ in their physical, emotional, social,
and cognitive capacities. Urban and rural communities offer different types of opportunities
and face distinct challenges in providing good quality early care and learning experiences to
children. Socio –economic status as well as social and cultural diversity characterize the
nature of family life and the context for growing up in India.

Each child requires a safe and nurturing environment to develop optimally. Children with
special needs and their families need assistance and information regarding prognosis and
early intervention in order to support optimal development of children. Other families may
also, face stresses that can compromise their ability to support their children’s early learning
and need support services to assist families in their critical role as primary caregivers.

Discrimination and inequities based on gender, social identity, disability and other
exclusionary factors is prevalent in the society that adds to the above problem. The issues
need to be addressed proactively to ensure universal access to integrated services towards
fulfilment of right to free, universal pre-primary education. Regardless of income, social
status, geographic isolation, and other potential barriers, all children deserve and have a right
to inclusive and equitable opportunities to build on their unique strengths.

In recent times many children are receiving early education and care outside the home in
child care centres, preschool programs, and other community-based early learning settings.
Whether children receive early education and care in the home or the community, it is
important that their early learning experiences draw on the unique strengths of their
relationships with their families. The diversity in social contexts and family structures needs to
be appropriately addressed in order to bring balanced parenting, including inputs from
fathers, mothers and other caregivers in the family through enabling provisions in
programmes. Strengthening capabilities of families, communities and services to ensure
quality care and education for children in the early years is therefore a priority for India.

Thus, Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) encompass the inseparable elements of
care, health, nutrition, play and early learning within a protective and enabling environment. It
is an indispensable foundation for lifelong development and learning, and has lasting impact
on early childhood development. It is imperative to accord priority attention to ECCE and
invest in it since it is the most cost effective way to break the intergenerational cycle of
multiple disadvantages and remove inequity. Investing in ECCE will undoubtedly lead to long
term social and economic benefits.

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1.2 Vision for an Indian Child

The National ECCE Policy visualizes nurturance and promotion of holistic development and
active learning capacity of all children below 6 years of age by promoting free, universal,
inclusive, equitable, joyful and contextualised opportunities for laying foundation and attaining
full potential.

The vision for an Indian child reflects our beliefs about children and childhood and what is
possible and desirable for human life at the individual and societal levels. While putting
forward a shared image of a child, full of potential, it is accepted that children differ in their
strengths and capabilities, there is diversity in views about childhood and children, and that
not all children have the same opportunities to develop their potential. However, a strong
image of the child can motivate people to promote children’s individual strengths, and to
address conditions in children’s environments that constrain opportunities to engage fully in
early learning. This curriculum framework supports the creation of a shared image of an
Indian child that can guide our efforts to promote early learning at the local, state and national
levels.

It views children as happy, healthy and confident; each child with unique identity, grounded in
their individual strengths and capacities; and with respect for their unique social, linguistic,
and cultural heritage and diversity. As children grow and learn, they explore, enquire, make
discoveries and apply their understanding to become self regulated lifelong learners.
Furthermore, they are sensitive to diversity, are communicative, caring and creative in their
relationship with people and environment.
Our young children strive to be:
• Happy and healthy
• Inquirer
• Confident
• Communicative
• Creative
• Caring
• Open-minded
• Resilient
• Sensitive to diversity
• Respectful
• Mindful
• Life-long learner

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1.3 Rationale for ECCE

The first six years of life are critical since the rate of development in these years is more rapid
than at any other stage of development. Research in neuro-science confirms the importance
of the early years in a child’s life particularly since 90% of brain development has already
taken place by the time a child is six years of age. Research also indicates that the
development of brain is influenced not only by health, nutrition and quality of care but also the
quality of psycho-social environment the child is exposed to in these early years. (Figure 1).
A psycho-socially deficit environment or emotional neglect can lead to negative
consequences for a child’s development, which may even be irreversible. This places a very
large percentage of children from poorer or marginalised families, ‘at risk’, in terms of their life
chances and opportunities. Supportive ECCE services enable to bridge the gap that can lead
to more positive long-term outcomes for individuals and society than later interventions.

Figure 1: Trajectory of Development

Source: No Wolves Along the Way: towards a national ECD model in Kyrgyzstan, Hugh McLean & Rakhat
Orozova, UNICEF, 2009)

Scientific research also indicates that within the span of the early childhood years, there are
certain ‘sensitive periods’ or ‘critical periods’ for development of some cognitive, linguistic,
social and psychomotor competencies (Figure 2). These have significant implications for
planning of a framework for children’s learning and development.

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Figure 2: Sensitive periods for Early Development

Source: Adapted from Nash, Early Years Study, 1999, Shankoff, 2000

Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) makes a positive contribution to children’s long
term development and learning by facilitating an enabling and stimulating environment in
these foundation years of lifelong learning. Therefore, it becomes important to provide a
framework for planning for each sub-stage within the early childhood continuum up to the age
of six years.

A good learning programme at the early childhood stage helps to ensure appropriate
opportunities for holistic learning and development particularly in these sensitive periods.
Early intervention is of particular significance for children with developmental delays, infants
with disabilities and children growing up in impoverished environments, by counteracting
biological and environmental disadvantage, since plasticity in the brain allows circuits in the
brain to organise and reorganise, in response to early stimulation.

1.4 Theoretical Foundation

Philosophers have speculated about the nature of childhood and the process of socialisation.
Western thinkers like Rousseau, Froebel, Dewey, and Montessori, have been pioneers in the
movement of early childhood education. While Dewey emphasized on the wonderful learning
opportunities everyday experiences provided and believed that the child's own instincts,
activities, and interests should be the starting point of education, Froebel believed that action

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and direct observation were the best ways to educate children. Their ideas have opened the
way for sensorial and practical activities forming the curricular content. Their insights into the
importance of exploration and play, art, rhythm, rhyme, movement, and active participation of
the child led to the inclusion of these elements in classroom dynamics.

Indian thinkers have also been guided by their observations concerning young children and
their findings about the child’s interest in activities using different materials. Gandhi, Tagore,
Aurobindo, Gijubhai Badekha, and Tarabai Modak were the first Indians to conceptualise a
child-centred approach to the care and education of young children. They were of the view
that education must be imparted in the child's mother tongue and should be connected with
the child's social and cultural environment and the community should be actively involved in
the learning process. Since language is the true vehicle of self-expression a child can freely
express its thought in mother tongue/vernacular language.

In more recent times, scholars in Developmental Psychology and Child Development like
Piaget, Bruner, Vygotsky, Urie Bronfenbrenner and Gardner have further emphasised, based
on their research, play and activity as the child’s natural modes of learning and that children
living and learning in multiple social and cultural contexts influence children’s learning and
development. While Piaget emphasised that children constructed their knowledge by
assimilating the experiences and then accommodating within their own understanding and
that children are adjusting and using new information constantly to make sense of
perceptions and experiences. Vygotsky viewed that children are actively engaged in social
and cultural experiences and there is active interaction between children and more
experienced others in the process of learning and development. Further Jerome Bruner
proposed that children represent information and knowledge in their memory in three different
but interrelated modes such as action-based, image based and language/symbol based.

In other words he explained how this was possible through the concept of the spiral
curriculum which involved information being structured so that complex ideas can be taught
at a simplified level first where children learn more through concrete experiences, and then
re-visited at more complex levels later on. Therefore, topics would be taught at levels of
gradually increasing difficultly (hence the spiral analogy).

Their basic tenets are that learning is an active and interactive process in which children
learn through play and through interaction between children and more experienced others.
Children are actively engaged in their social and cultural experiences, they constantly adjust

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and use new information to make sense of perceptions and their experiences. Most
importantly play leads to learning and development in children.

Based on the insights and philosophies of these practitioners and thinkers, early childhood
care and education programmes should be based on an understanding of the patterns of
development and learning that define the essential nature of childhood.

2. Objectives of Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE)

The aim of Early Childhood Care and Education is to facilitate optimum development of the
child’s full potential and lay the foundation for all round development and lifelong learning.
While parents and home have the main responsibility of the welfare of the child, a strong
partnership between the community and the ECCE centres is important for the well being of
the child and in achieving the following objectives.

Broad objectives of the Early Childhood Care and Education programme are to:
• Ensure each child is valued, respected, feels safe and secure and develops a positive self
concept
• Enable a sound foundation for physical and motor development of each child- as per each
child’s potential
• Imbibe good nutrition routines, health habits, hygiene practices and self help skills
• Enable children for effective communication and foster both receptive and expressive
language
• Promote development and integration of the senses
• Stimulate intellectual curiosity and develop conceptual understanding of the world around by
providing opportunities to explore, investigate and experiment
• Enhance development of pro-social skills, social competence and emotional well being
• Develop sense of aesthetic appreciation and stimulate creative learning processes.
• Imbibe culturally and developmentally appropriate behaviour and core human values of
respect and love for fellow human beings.
• Enable a smooth transition from home to ECCE centre to formal schooling
• Enhance scope for overall personality development

3. Principles of Early Learning and Development and its Implications for Practice

The principles and practices relevant for learning and development in the early years are
based on the insights and observations of thinkers and evidences from researches. Each
of the principle elaborates specific ideas and at the same time they are all interconnected
like the domains of development. The practical implications for each of the principle will
also be influenced by the culture and individual prerequisites.

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3.1 Development and learning takes place in all domains, development in one domain
influences the other domain: Children are thinking, feeling and interacting human
beings and it is important to address all domains for their development. Changes or
development in one domain facilitates or hinders the development of another domain.

3.2 Children’s development and learning follows a sequence in which later acquired
abilities (skills and concepts) build upon what children already know and apply. In
the first few years of life the growth, change and development mostly follow a predictable
pattern; however the way these changes are demonstrated varies in different context and
culture. Knowledge of known sequence of development enables in developing early
stimulation activities and curricular planning for children.

3.3 Child Development and Learning are characterized by individual variation: While
learning and development follows a predictable pattern there may be individual variation
in the normative course of development as well as uniqueness of each child as an
individual. No two children, even within the same family are the same. Each child has an
individual pattern and timing of growth and development as well as individual styles of
learning. Each individual child has his/her own strengths.

3.4 Children develop holistically and benefit from experiential learning: This simply
means that children learn best through active exploration using the senses such as touch,
taste, smell and manipulation to build perceptual skills. Children should be actively
interested and engaged in their learning with a high sense of motivation and positive
disposition to explore and build skills across various domains.

3.5 Learning begins from birth: From birth onwards children are mentally and physically
active. They learn through all their senses and stimulations. Early care and stimulations
whether positive or negative have a cumulative impact on children’s development. Since
care and early stimulation promotes brain development and leads to the forming neural
connections, it is imperative that children are provided with optimal stimulation in the early
years and prevent cumulative deficit in the long run.

3.6 Development and learning result from a continuous interaction of biological

maturation and experience. A child has genetic endowments which may predict healthy
growth, but inadequate nutrition in the early years of life will keep this potential from being
fulfilled. On the other hand if the child is suffering from an inherent condition, then the
detrimental impact learning and development can be minimized through systematic,
individualized intervention. With this perspective in mind, it is important for early
childhood educators to maintain high expectations and employ all their knowledge, inge-
nuity, and persistence to find ways to help every child succeed.

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3.7 There are critical periods in development: Research evidences reveal that some
aspects of development occur most efficiently at certain points in the life span. For
example the optimal period for oral language development in children is in the first three
years of life, peer social skills are developed effectively during 3-5 years of life etc. Thus
it is important to use these “windows of opportunity” and ensure that the children get the
needed environmental inputs and supports for a particular kind of learning and
development at its “prime time” for desired outcomes.

3.8 Children’s learning reflects a recurring spiral that begins in awareness, and moves
to exploration, to inquiry, and finally, to application: Any new learning by children
begins with awareness, which is generated from their experiences with objects, events, or
people and ends with utilization, where children are able to use what they have learnt for
multiple purposes and apply their learning to new situations. At this stage children start
exploring the next level of information and the spiral continues. Children with disabilities
show a great degree of individual variations and the curriculum should make suitable
adaptations to ensure that children are provided developmentally appropriate materials
and experiences.
 

3.9 Children learn and develop in a stimulating/nurturing/supportive/protective

environment: During the early years of life, children move from sensory or behavioural
responses to symbolic or representational knowledge. They learn within a social context
and from meaningful interactions with other children, adults and materials around them.
Throughout the early years, adults must provide a nurturing environment and play
significant roles in helping children learn to develop empathy and cooperation, cultural
socialization and self-regulation, language acquisition and communication, peer
relationships, self concept and identity formations.

3.10. Development and learning is largely influenced by the social and cultural
context of the children. Development and learning of children happens hand in hand
and it largely depends on the influence of the child’s family, immediate environment, the
community and at a broader level the society. Every culture has its own norms,
structures and behaviours and more so each culture has its own way of interpreting
children’s behaviour and development in its own way. Educators must be sensitive how
their own culture has shaped their thinking and also consider the multiple environments
in which different children live and how they need to be considered while making
decision for children’s development and learning.

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3.11 Children’s have curiosity and desire to learn: Children are curious and have an
innate desire to learn. Children observe what happens, talk, discuss and reflecting on
their findings, stretch their imagination for possibilities, ask questions, and formulate
answers. While exploring and learning young children construct their knowledge and
understanding of the world, they learn as well as from teachers, family members, peers
and older children, and from books and other media. To enable these ECCE
teachers/caregivers must use multiple teaching strategies in meeting children’s different
learning needs.

3.12 Children learn through play: Play is central to the child’s well being and development.
Children’s spontaneous play provides opportunities for exploration, experimentation,
manipulation and problem solving that are essential for constructing knowledge. Play
contributes to the development of representational as well as abstract thought. Children
engage in various kinds of play, such as physical play, language play, object play,
pretend or dramatic play, constructive play, and games with rules. This further influences
their motivation, disposition and approaches to learning. Developing positive approaches
to learning goes a long way to determine later academic success in life. Adults must
provide opportunities for children to explore, play and apply.

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4. Curricular Issues and Concerns

4.1 Multilingualism

Language plays an important role in communication, exchange of information, development

of reading skills, reading with comprehension, and, in later years, academic success. Yet little
attention is being paid to language acquisition and experiences in ECCE programmes.
(ECCE Position Paper)

Language acquisition and teaching of language is a multifaceted issue in a multilingual

country like ours. Even though young children are not formally taught language, language
acquisition is part of the overall development of children physically, socially, and cognitively.
Any single Indian language used as a medium of interaction in preschools/ ECCE centres
poses problems for children coming from different language backgrounds and dialects,
especially in towns and cities. It is a challenge for the ECCE teacher/ caregiver to cope with
different languages at the same time in an early childhood setting. Furthermore, children who
come to preschools or ECCE centres in their area or even enter directly into a primary school
that uses the state language totally unfamiliar to them face significant challenges. It is
observed that such children face tremendous difficulties in various parts of the country, often
resulting in their inability to read with comprehension the state language even after Class V.
This is compounded by the sense of failure and inadequacy which may ultimately force them
out of the educational system altogether.

The linguistic diversity of India poses a number of challenges for early childhood educators;
however if leveraged in a systematic way it also provides a range of opportunities to provide
a rich environment for the child.
• The medium of interaction in the ECCE centre should be home language or mother
tongue. However, there may be more than one language as mother tongue, which may
pose problems for children coming from different language backgrounds and dialects. It is
therefore important to allow as many languages as are in the classroom to be used for
expression. We know that language is closely linked to child's identity and emotional
security. Therefore, it is important to encourage different languages for expression by
children in the ECCE centres.
• Research is now establishing that children can learn many languages in the first six
years. Therefore, while promoting mother tongue, there is also merit in utilizing ECCE as
an opportunity to provide exposure to school language, so that children enter school
better prepared. However, this should be done in a phased manner. Children should be

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encouraged to be proficient in their mother tongue/ home language first and then the
formal school language (regional language or English) should be introduced.

• There is a widespread and growing demand for English at the preschool level, since it
is seen as the path to upward mobility and achievement. The majority of parents from all
classes, occupations and regions have an explicit desire for their children to learn
English. However, teaching through child’s mother tongue/ home language, is
internationally recognised as the most appropriate way of working with children in the
early years of concept formation. Children who attend ECCE programmes conducted in
their own mother tongue face fewer problems of comprehension as compared to children
whose mother tongue is different from the medium of instruction. When the child is
comfortable and proficient with the mother tongue/ home language first, it supports
developing proficiency in the second language later. However, it is crucial that when the
school language (which may be regional language or English) is introduced, the ECCE
teachers/ caregivers must continue to convey a positive attitude about children’s first
language (mother tongue/ home language). There is also an urgent need for community
awareness and parental education initiatives so parents can be made aware of what is
developmentally appropriate for their children. Parents and families should be provided
materials with information on dual/ multiple language learning and on the importance of
home language.

• Multilingual classroom: ECCE perspective, or a developmental pedagogy, would

suggest that language should be learnt by processes in the following order: ‘Listen–
speak–read–write.’ In the early years, the focus is on listening and speaking as the major
activities in the classroom, facilitated through free play with peers. Teachers should also
attempt to learn a few words and phrases of the child’s home language. In a multilingual
classroom, children should be encouraged to express themselves in their own language
and to pay attention to and learn from each other. This is a natural and easy process in
play situations. Multilingualism and children’s learning abilities are not the issue here, but
rather the ability of the educational system to address the issue and find the appropriate
solutions.

• Training support: It is a challenge for the ECCE teacher/ caregiver to cope with different
languages at the same time in an early childhood setting. ECCE teachers/ caregivers
must be trained on supporting children to continue to develop proficiency in their mother
tongue/ home language, especially if it is not the language spoken by the majority of

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children. ECCE teachers/ caregivers require ongoing professional development and

resources to support parents’ use of mother tongue/ home language and
bilingual/multilingual language acquisition at home.

4.2 Inclusion

In India, a learner with special education needs is defined variously in different documents,
and over a period of time the approach of the Government has shifted from the medical
model of care to a more child’s rights model of accepting diversity and making it inclusive.
‘Inclusion in the early years’ implies that children with disabilities should have access to
mainstream early learning environments which should accommodate them with a child-
centred pedagogy capable of meeting their individual needs (Singh, 2005). Since segregated
services for children with disabilities have historically been based on the ‘medical model’
approach to disability which explains children’s needs in terms of ‘deficit’ and ‘cure’ (Oliver,
1996), it has, by its nature, been limiting in terms of opportunities and outcomes, and
perpetuated negative attitudes towards disability. With very few special education early
learning centres available (particularly in rural India) inclusion must be adopted, in letter and
spirit by ECCE.

The basic premise of inclusive education is that children be treated equally rather than be
segregated based on their individual, educational, social, emotional or physical impairments
While a learner may have special education needs [SEN], and may need differentiated inputs
to be able to learn concepts in a given area, it is critical to identify areas of strength of the
child that can be built upon. Therefore the child must have a space where he/she can
exercise these faculties and develop them to optimum level possible.

The defining features of inclusion that can be used to identify high quality early childhood
programs and services are access, participation, and supports. When envisioning an
inclusive environment for children where an individual’s needs are catered to, the challenges
involve both infrastructure and personnel. However many of these challenges can be
managed if there is a clear commitment to the philosophy of inclusion and the right of every
child to learn with his/her peers. It is therefore necessary to make all ECCE programmes
sensitive and responsive to the special needs of children, including training of, ECCE
teachers and caregivers in identification of needs of the children with disabilities, use of age-
appropriate play and learning materials, making adaptations in the physical environment and
counselling of parents.

16 
 
 

• The identification of SEN of children at an early age is crucial to helping them cope
with challenges in later life. Thus, the sensitization, orientation and training of parents,
caretakers and other stakeholders become imperative.

• Having the staff trained and dedicated to this process of inclusion becomes
mandatory. From curricular perspective it is important to understand the significance
of early identification and intervention, make the curriculum flexible and accessible,
make adjustments in the physical environment to ensure it is barrier free, make the
curriculum accessible to children with differing impairments, develop appropriate
assessment and evaluation procedures, capacity building and empowering all
stakeholders to address attitudinal barriers. This process also sensitises typical peers
to accept and learn to respect diversity

• Prevention efforts for families of ‘at-risk children’ should focus on strengthening the
family and building on the family’s positive attributes. The desired results of inclusive
experiences for children with disabilities and their families include a sense of
belonging and membership, positive social relation-ships and friendships, and
development and learning to reach their full potential.

4.3 Multi-Age Grouping

In an ECCE centre there may be teachers who struggle with ways to meet the needs of all
the learners in their classrooms. Alternately there may be some children who struggle with
learning, others who perform well on their developmental tasks, and the rest fit somewhere in
between. Each child has its own pace of learning. Within each of these categories of children,
individuals also learn in a variety of ways and have different interests. However the
curriculum used is most often driven by ‘one size fits all’ approach and with the expectations
that all children will achieve the standards by the end of the academic year.

In response to this situation most often ECCE teachers and caregivers would use the
concept of ‘differentiation’ to meet the varying needs of their learners. At its most basic level,
differentiation consists of the efforts of ECCE teacher/ Caregiver to respond to variance
among learners in the classroom. An ECCE Teacher / Caregiver may approach
differentiation by (1) content—what the child needs to learn or how the child will get access
to the information; (2) process—activities in which the child engages in order to make sense
of or master the content; (3) products—culminating projects that enable the child to

17 
 
 

rehearse, apply, and extend what he or she has learned in a topic; and (4) learning
environment—the way the classroom/ ECCE centre works and feels.

There is ample evidence that children are more successful in school and find it more
satisfying if they are taught in ways that are responsive to their readiness levels, interests
and learning profiles (Tomlinson, 2000). So it may be helpful for children work sometimes
with like-readiness peers, sometimes with mixed-readiness groups, sometimes with children
who have similar interests, sometimes with children who have different interests, sometimes
with peers who learn as they do, sometimes randomly, and often with the class as a whole.

In the above context, Multi-age grouping refers to "a class grouping in which students of
different ages and identified age levels are grouped together in a single classroom for the
purpose of providing effective instruction" (Miller, 1995, p. 29). The multi-age environment is
deliberately created for the benefit of children, not because of economic needs or declining
enrolment. The intention is to allow children of various ages and abilities to progress at their
own individual pace rather than according to specified objectives for a particular grade level.

Research shows that multi-age groupings benefit both younger and older students in the
classroom. According to Dr. Lilian Katz, "Mixed-age grouping resembles family and
neighbourhood groupings, which throughout history have informally provided much of
children's socialization and education. The intention of mixed-age grouping in early childhood
settings is to increase the heterogeneity of the group so as to capitalize on the differences in
the experience, knowledge, and abilities of the children”. Moreover, children learn from each
other and from older children- thereby facilitating cooperative learning skills.

In rural areas multi-age grouping is more often a pragmatic response to the needs of
communities, where it is practical to set up a single Anganwadi/ ECCE centre for a village or
settlement. Various reasons such as insufficient students of a similar age, places with limited
physical or human resources may seem viable to have a multi-age grouping in the ECCE
centres.

4.4 Gender Equality

The early years lay the foundation for gender socialization. Gender Socialization is a process
by which individuals learn to act in a particular way and mostly conforming to the societal
beliefs, values, norms, attitudes and examples. Early gender socialization starts at birth and
is a process of learning socio-cultural roles according to one's gender. Right from the
beginning, boys and girls are treated differently by the members of their family and immediate

18 
 
 

environment, and learn the differences between boys and girls. Even by the time children
are two year old they have absorbed the gender stereotypes in some form which is evident
because of clothing and toys chosen by adults and provided to them. As they reach
preschool age, children begin to develop their sense of self in relation to others.

Certain gender inequities can persist right from infancy through the lifespan. Gender
stereotypes may get perpetuated by family, teachers and society by having different
expectations for girls and boys. However, early childhood period also presents a crucial
opportunity to promote gender equity right from the start and facilitate the development of
gender-sensitive attitudes and beliefs.

ECCE interventions can promote gender equity by compensating for gender biases in
nutrition, health care or stimulation that may occur in the home. (Arnold, 2004:10). A gender
sensitive curriculum needs to ensure that gender stereotypes are broken. In the early years it
is important:
• Adults are there to support, protect and involve children in approaches and activities
that help them develop their minds, their bodies, their social skills and behaviours.
• Caregivers should not perpetuate gender stereotypes. Instead, they should be
encouraged to have equal and appropriate expectations of boys and girls and
promote equal opportunities for them. They can provide opportunity to explore the
children’s thinking about gender and help children expand their understanding of
gender.
• ECCE teachers /Caregivers have had gender training and know how to routinely do
gender analysis. This equips them to see gender bias in the community and to
actively keep it out of the classroom. Girls and boys receive equal attention and
respect. It is ensured that during the day the tone of voice and comments given, wait
time provided for answering questions, feedback provided, opportunity in classroom
tasks are same for both boys and girls. As a result, they learn to value themselves
and others equally. Equal treatment sends messages that each child is worthy and
valued regardless of her or his sex or other differences.
• Facilitate as much active learning as possible through play and other activities which
are free of gender bias. Stories, songs, activities and facilitation aids should depict
girls and boys in the same roles and men and women in all professions. Both women
and men should appear as leaders, heroes and problem solvers etc.
• Girls do some things that boys don’t do and some things more or less than the boys.
So boys and girls have different ideas, experiences and behaviours. However,
preschoolers enjoy imitating adults and role plays are good ways for them to show the

19 
 
 

different things they do and know. Girls like to pretend to be boys or fathers and boys
like to role play female roles. While enacting they understand the other sex and
teachers/caregivers can explore what feelings girls and boys have, build the comfort
of both sexes in discussing their feelings too. As the educator treats each child well, it
may be easier to get children to listen to each other, to share and to play respectfully.

• There are few male ECCE teachers and Caregivers. Encourage male ECCE teachers
so that learners will benefit from male role models.
• The families and local community is encouraged to participate and support the
programme. Parents need to be sensitized and educated so that they can support
these practices at home. It is important here to help them understand and stop
discrimination against boys or girls.

4.5 Harms of Early Formal Instruction

Surveys have indicated that play-based, development-oriented ECE programmes as

advocated in the National Policy of Education (1986) are more of an exception than the norm.
The curriculum surveys in all major cities indicated that children as young as 3 to 5 years old
are being taught the syllabus prescribed not only for Class I but even for Class II, for which
they are neither cognitively nor physically mature enough. Children are made to give regular
tests and examinations, and are assigned regular doses of homework. Exposure to formal
instruction is causing harm to children. This is a result of misinterpretation of early care and
education.

The risks are both short term and long term; the short-term risks include the manifestation of
stress and anxiety symptoms among children and the long-term risks include far-reaching
effects on the children’s motivational, intellectual, and social behaviour.

The above findings resonate with what is termed as ‘damaged disposition hypotheses’. Lilian
Katz’s theory of learning dispositions (1985) describes the child’s ‘natural tendency’ or
‘emotional attitude’ to learning. Katz considers learning dispositions as ‘relatively enduring
habits of mind or characteristic ways of responding to experience’. Both the fostering and
assessment of positive attitudes or ‘dispositions’ to learning experiences are viewed by Katz
as the basis of the curriculum for early childhood education. An important feature of children’s
dispositions is that they are environmentally sensitive—meaning they are acquired,
supported, or weakened by interactive experiences in an environment with significant adults
and peers. However early formal instruction, structured curricular practices, repeated
negative outcomes, in the form of criticism from adults or the inability to achieve tasks
successfully, can lead to feelings of ‘helplessness’. We often focus on knowledge and skills

20 
 
 

and the cognitive domain and give little consideration to feelings and dispositions. As a result
the disposition to learn, make sense of experiences, being reflective, inquisitive, inventive,
resourceful, full of wonder and perhaps puzzlement is damaged at a very early age.
• When ECCE Teachers/Caregivers display curiosity and creativity and value the same
dispositions in children, these are likely to flourish in the classroom.
• ECCE Teachers/ Caregivers can influence parents’ perceptions of their children’s
dispositions, address to parental concerns in terms of dispositions.

4.6 Preparing ECCE Teachers/Caregivers

The staffs running an early-childhood care and education programme is the single most
important factor in determining the quality of the programme, and yet it is the most neglected
aspect of the educational system (ECCE Position Paper). Preparation of ECCE teachers,
training, coaching and ongoing support which is very crucial, is hardly emphasised. ECCE
teachers/ caregivers are either unprepared or inadequately prepared; the courses are
obsolete and devoid of practical hands on training. Currently, what is offered as training for
the staff varies tremendously in terms of the duration of training, methodology, and exposure
to theory and practice. On one hand, there are university and government recognized
courses with fixed curricula and duration and some standards set for trainers and
organisations. On the other hand, there are private institutions which run their own courses
with no standards for curricula or duration, producing individuals who are unable to develop
healthy programmes for young children. There is clear absence of any induction programme
or continuous professional development and ongoing support available for teachers.
• Given the variations in duration is dire need for standardization and for providing
better professional development opportunities to ECCE teachers/ caregivers in all
sectors. Teachers should undergo and complete a course with hands-on supervised
training period, working with young children in classroom settings of in ECCE centres.
• Provide ECCE teacher/ caregiver does require ongoing training (through regular,
onsite mentoring support) and professional development to build the skills required for
an ECCE professional.
• Curriculum for teacher education in ECCE should cover the entire developmental
continuum from birth to eight years, to provide fuller understanding of child
development and the early child care and education practices.
• The selection of teachers should ideally be made from the local community or area.
These individuals should have undergone training in Early Childhood Education and /
or Child Development or have a degree in Primary Education. They should also
display suitable personal characteristics that are conducive towards working with
young children. The nurturing and teaching style of the ECCE teachers/caregivers

21 
 
 

has a strong influence on children’s motivation and learning. Therefore, it is crucial

that the ECCE teacher/ caregiver have the capacity and temperament to build a
warm, caring relationship with young children.
• In the context of involvement and active partnership of the community members
women and men from the local community, having a good understanding of the
socio cultural context can be chosen to support the teachers in the preschool centres.
She can be provided induction and intensive training and support to address the
developmental needs of the children. More so they can take the role of local resource
person who provides valuable information to women, adolescent girls and other care
givers on issues related to health, child care and earl learning. Women from the local
community are considered as potential change makers in this process.

• For this reason, the teacher-child ratio and group size are important planning
considerations. The younger the group of children, the more important it is to have
adequate numbers of staff in the classroom. Appropriate staffing patterns will vary
according to the age group of the children, the type of activity, and the inclusion of
children with special needs. Appropriate teacher-child ratios encourage the bonding of
children and teachers.

22 
 
 

4.7 School Readiness

Typically school readiness is understood or rather has been based on the assumption that
there is a predetermined set of skills and abilities that all children need before entering
primary school. Most specifically in India it is assumed that children entering primary schools
would have achieved the basics of reading, writing and arithmetic (commonly known as 3Rs).
In India a large number of children are first generation learners and come to school without
social, academic or language readiness. Across the country learning levels in first few grades
are low which may be symptomatic of this issue. It is well known that as more and more
children enter school, there are high incidences of drop outs, repeating grades, enrolling too
late or too early, and thus failing to learn. As a result educational disparities are ever
increasing.

One need to recognize that child’s early learning, growth and development is
multidimensional, cumulative and is influenced by individual, social, cultural, and contextual
factors/variations. A recent study (CECED, 2013) in India has revealed that phonetics,
communication skills and cognitive activities such as sequential thinking and classification
are areas needing attention. However, any discussions or conclusions regarding school
readiness or what we expect children to know and do before entering school will be guided
by three basic factors:

• the diversity of children’s early life experiences as well as inequity in experiences;

• the wide variation in young children’s development and learning; and
• the degree to which school expectations of children entering kindergarten are
reasonable, appropriate, and supportive of individual differences ( NAEYC, 1995)

The concept of readiness includes much more than children’s readiness. School readiness is
currently defined by three interlinked dimensions: a) ready children; b) ready schools; and c)
ready families and communities. ‘Children are not innately ready or not ready for school.
Their skills and development are strongly influenced by their families and through their
interactions with other people and environments before coming to school’, (Maxwell & Clifford
2004). Children, schools and families are considered ready when they have gained the
competencies and skills required to interface with the other dimensions and support smooth
transitions of children from home to ECCE centre and subsequently to primary school. Each
of the aspects is elaborated below.

23 
 
 

Ready Children
9 Children are eager to learn, thereby enabling a smooth transition to a primary school environment.
9 Children learn in their mother tongue/ first language as a prelude to and complement bilingual and
multilingual education.
9 Children who enter school without having mastered specific skills or little or no ECCE experiences,
primary curriculum should include child-initiated as well as teacher supported activities, and should
emphasize hands-on, integrated learning to boost their school readiness.
9 Comprises of building readiness for reading, writing and numeracy.
o Reading readiness is developing familiarity with print material, developing vocabulary and ability
to handle books.
o Writing readiness involves fine motor development, understanding directionality and finding
meaning in writing.
o Number readiness includes pre-number concept, categorization, classification, sequential
thinking, seriation, problem solving and reasoning (shapes, colour).
Ready Schools
9 Children have access and opportunity to develop their behaviours and abilities across the domains
of development
9 Schools accept that children learn at different pace.
9 Schools may be transformed to accept and accommodate different kinds of learners.
9 Effective kindergarten-primary programs meet children where they are and take extra care to help
make meaningful connections with each child’s home, culture, and community
9 Curriculum in kindergarten and the early grades builds on prior learning and the skills that children
learn and practice are embedded in meaningful experiences.
9 Ensure smooth transition from ECCE to primary school through different strategies (such as training
ECCE and primary school educators together, integrated curricula and options that bridge ECCE
programmes with primary schools)
9 Teachers must know how to teach young children and have the resources to do so.
Ready Families
9 Supportive parenting and stimulating home environment is one of the strongest predictors of school
performance during primary years and beyond. In the ECCE programmes home based/ centre
based stimulation for mother and child is imperative to bring in parental involvement, address to
their beliefs, attitudes and commitment.
9 Enable parents and family members to reading books, playing games, singing narrating stories and
conversing with children.
9 Ensure parental commitment to enroll their children at the right time for getting timely intervention.

All the dimensions are equally important and must work together to ensure the transition is
smooth for the child, family and the school system.

24 
 
 
 SECTION 2:
GOALS OF DEVELOPMENT
AND LEARNING

Courtesy : Shreeranjan, ICDS Meghalaya, Suchit Nanda

 
  

5. Domains of Development

Every child is a unique individual and has skills and abilities that can be further enhanced and
developed. A good early childhood care and education programme respects the different
pace of development of all children and ensures that the child develops physically, socially,
emotionally, morally and intellectually to their full potential. Thus, the main aim of providing
quality care and education during the early years is to enable the child to develop as a
holistic individual and realise his/her potential to the fullest in all the areas of development.
Development of the child is classified under six main areas of development. The curriculum
must address the following interrelated domains of holistic development through an
integrated and play based approach which focuses on development of life skills.

5.1 Birth- Three Years

Sensory and Perceptual Development:

¾ Development of the five senses through visual, auditory, olfactory and kinaesthetic
experiences
¾ Learning to control and coordinate their reflexes
¾ Coordination of sensory perceptions and simple motor behaviours
¾ Display awareness of location and spatial relationship

Physical, Health and Motor Development:

¾ Developing coordination and control of large motor muscles
¾ Developing strength and coordination of small motor muscles
¾ Integrating the movements of many parts of their body
¾ Developing a sense of balance in movement
¾ Adequate nutrition and sound health status
¾ Begin to display personal hygiene skills
¾ Recognise the importance of safety rules

Language Development:
¾ Begin to develop active listening skills
¾ Use expressive and receptive communication skills
¾ Develop vocabulary and use language to engage in conversations.
¾ Develop verbal and non-verbal communication skills
¾ Display emergent literacy skills (preparing children to read and write): such as
identify and differentiate sounds, phonological awareness; print awareness and
concepts; recognition of letters; letter- sound correspondence; building words and
sentences.
¾ Display the use of prewriting skills ( scribbling, marking, drawing, etc) for variety of
purposes 25 
 
  

Cognitive Development:
¾ Development of object permanence ( know that objects have substance, maintain their
identities when they change location, and continue to exist when out of sight)
¾ Development of perceptual categorization based on how things look, feel, and taste
¾ Development of memory for objects, people and events
¾ Begin to develop vocabulary and skill related (comparing, classification, seriation; space,
quantity, length, counting etc)
¾ Develop skills related to observing, reasoning and problem solving
¾ Explore the physical, social and natural environment by manipulating objects, asking
questions, making predictions and developing generalization

Development of Creative and Aesthetic Appreciation:

¾ Begin to represent objects, events and ideas in the form of drawing,
clay modelling and other art forms
¾ Develop expression, enjoyment and disposition for music and
movement

Personal, Social and Emotional Development:

¾ Display awareness of their abilities, preferences and characteristics

¾ Development of self concept; self control; self help skills;
¾ Develop initiative and curiosity; independence and autonomy;
¾ Display awareness of behaviour and its effects
¾ Display increased attention span, engagement and persistence in daily activities
¾ Emergence of pretend play and use of objects as representation
¾ Develop friendship with peers, show cooperation and participate in group activities
¾ Development of attachment, and emotional bonding with adults
¾ Develop empathy, learn to control feelings and express emotions in relevant manner

26 
 
 

5.2 Three- Six Years

Sensory and Perceptual Development:

¾ Demonstrate the use of different senses ( sight, hear, feel, taste, smell) to guide
movements and recognize objects
¾ Awareness of space and direction, distance, quantity etc.

Physical Health and Motor Development:

¾ Developing coordination and control of large motor muscles
¾ Developing strength and coordination of small motor muscles
¾ Demonstrate the use of body with proper sense of space and direction
¾ Coordination of fine muscles with dexterity; eye hand coordination
¾ Developing sense of balance, physical co-ordination
¾ Recognize different food and demonstrate healthy dietary habits
¾ Display healthy habits, personal care and hygiene. Display ability to follow
safety rules, make choices and avoid danger

Language Development:
¾ Develop Listening and Comprehension skills
¾ Use expressive and receptive communication skills
¾ Develop effective verbal and non-verbal communication skills
¾ Develop vocabulary and use language for a variety of purposes.
¾ Display emergent literacy skills and love for reading (preparing children to read and write):
such as identify and differentiate sounds, phonological awareness; print awareness and
concepts; recognition of letters; letter- sound correspondence; segmentation, building
words and sentences and early writing.
¾ Demonstrate interest and ability in writing
¾ Develop competency in home language while acquiring beginning proficiency in language
of school transaction and/ or English, if needed.

27 
 
 

Cognitive Development:
¾ Development of various concepts including pre number and number concepts and
operations (knowledge and skills related to comparing, classification, seriation;
understanding of and vocabulary related to space, quantity, length and volume, one to
one correspondence; counting etc),
¾ Predicting patterns and making estimations in measurement; data handling;
¾ Develop skills related to sequential thinking, critical thinking, observing, reasoning and
problem solving;
¾ Explore the physical, social and natural environment by manipulating objects, asking
questions, making predictions and developing generalizations.
¾ Differentiate between events that happen in past, present and the future
¾ Develop knowledge of relationship between people, places and regions

Development of Creative and Aesthetic Appreciation:

¾ Representing objects, events and ideas in the form of drawing, clay
modelling and other art forms
¾ Develop expression, enjoyment and disposition for music and movement
¾ Demonstrate creativity and inventiveness with materials

Personal, Social and Emotional Development:

¾ Development of self concept; self control; life skills/ self help skills;
¾ Develop initiative and curiosity in new experiences and learning
¾ Developing a sense of independence and autonomy;
¾ Display awareness of abilities and preferences, appreciates similarities and differences in
people and awareness of behaviour and its actions
¾ Displays relevant and appropriate habit formation, increased attention span, engagement
and persistence in daily activities
¾ Develop interpersonal skills with respect to peers, family, teachers and community
¾ Display behaviours of cooperation; compassion; social relationships; group interaction;
pro- social behaviour; expressing feelings, accepting others feelings
¾ Develop the ability to adapt and control emotions

28 
 
 

Physical, 
Health & 
Motor 

Creative and  Sensory & 
Aesthetic  Perceptual 
Appreciation  Development 

Personal &  Cognitive 
Socio‐  Development 
Emotional 

Language 
Development

Fig 3: Domains of Development

The ECCE programme should ensure ‘holistic development’ of the child and reflect the
inseparable nature of care and education by comprehensively addressing the need for care,
nutrition, health and well-being of young children and parent counselling along with
supporting the development of all domains. The holistic development approach is vital for
provision of interconnected and interconnected activities covering all domains of
development while keeping diverse needs of children in mind.

29 
 
 

6 Pedagogical Approaches to Principles of Programme Planning

The Early Childhood Care and Education Programme recognise that children learn best
through play and learning by doing. Children of this age group are naturally curious to explore
their immediate world using their senses. Anyone who has spent time observing young
children will have noticed that they are in constant interaction with their environment, they
want to touch everything they see. All that matters to children is Play, Play, and Play.
Furthermore children learn by doing, by experiencing and actively participating in the learning
process. Thus the ECCE curriculum adopts a play and activity based approach in which the
learning processes are based on the needs, interests, abilities and social context of the
children for whom it is planned. The methodology in this approach is largely based on
creating a stimulating learning environment for the child through planned activities/ tasks
which are joyful, and involve active thinking/learning by the child. Children are visualised as
active beings who construct their own knowledge and the process of teaching –learning is
one of co-construction of knowledge, with adults as facilitators.

What is Play?
Play for a child is natural, spontaneous, enjoyable, rewarding and it is self initiated. While
children do not engage in play for its learning outcomes, yet it has been shown that play prompts
growth and development.
In recent times play has been considered as a behavioural disposition that occurs in describable
and reproducible contexts and is manifested in a variety of observable behaviours. (Fein &
Vandenberg,1983). There are majorly four types of play such as
Functional Play: Children use their senses and muscles to explore and experiment with
materials and learn how things go together. It satisfies children’s need to be active and to
explore.
Constructive Play: Children learn use of different materials, put things together based on a
plan, develop and use strategies of reaching their goal.
Dramatic or Pretend Play: Children take on a role, pretend to be someone else and use real or
pretend objects to play out a role. Children re-enact they have experienced or watched earlier,
use words and gestures and show the role they are playing.
Games with Rules: Children gradually learn to play with others, control their behaviour and
conform to a structure of preset rules. However the focus is more on enjoyment rather than
winning or losing and cooperative and collaborative games in which children play with each
other than against each other.

What is an activity?
A good activity is a
• Part of a well planned series of experiences identified by the teacher for the child for
a particular learning area/areas and not an isolated learning experience.
• Where child is actively engaged physically and mentally.
• Challenging enough for the child so as to help her/ him practice and apply here/his
skills and knowledge in a variety of ways, across many situations.
• Enables children to learn in a joyful and interesting way.
30 
 
 

Keeping the above perspectives in mind the curriculum in early childhood is defined as an
organized framework that includes three components (Bredekamp & Rosegrant, 1992, p. 10):
• Context: This component is the setting, the environment in which stimulation and
learning takes place.
• Content: This component is the subject matter of the curriculum, the goals and
objectives for children’s learning.
• Processes: This component is the pedagogy of learning, how ECCE
teachers/caregivers interact with children, creates opportunities for learning and the
ways in which children achieve the goals and objectives of the curriculum.
Each of these components, to be implemented well, requires knowledge of how children
develop and learn at each stage of development; their individual strengths, interests, and
needs; and the social and cultural contexts in which they live (Bredekamp & Copple, 1997, p.
9). These dimensions of learning, known as developmentally appropriate practice, guide all
aspects of teaching and learning. When ECCE teachers/Caregivers understand
developmentally appropriate practice, they can use this information to guide children’s
learning.

Early Childhood Care and Education is….. Early Childhood Care Education is
• A balanced play and activity based • NOT a syllabus bound program for
program which provides a stimulating teaching 3R’s nor ‘a song and a
environment for the language, rhyme and go home’ approach.
intellectual, social emotional and
physical development of the child.
• NOT a teacher centred programme
that follows formal classroom
• A child centred program catering to approach as in school
individual children’s learning and
emotional needs through individual,
• NOT a program for formally ‘teaching’
small and large group activities and
reading, writing and arithmetic, which
one to one communication.
is to be done in primary.

• Lays the foundation for the

development of reading, writing and • NOT a downward extension of the
number work. Primary Grades
• A school readiness programme which
‘readies’ children for learning to
read, write and do arithmetic later. • NOT a programme which demands
unquestioning obedience or exercise
• A programme which indirectly strict classroom discipline
promotes self control and thereby
inner discipline in children through • NOT a programme to conduct tests to
interactions. know how children are learning and
developing.

Source: V. Kaul, Early Childhood Education Programme, NCERT

31 
 
 

7. Guiding Principles of Program Planning

Keeping the vision of holistic and integrated development of the child, with focus on care
and early learning at each sub-stage of the developmental continuum and the
interrelatedness of the domains of development there is a need to have separate section for
Birth to three years and 3-6 years as far as the specifics are being laid out.

In the life cycle approach to care and learning, in the first three years of life focus is on a
nurturing, stimulating and protective environment with appropriate child care. Supporting child
development in primary care involves strengthening resilience and protective factors and
decreasing the number, duration, and severity of risk factors. Children between three to six
years need care, protection as well as planned play based programme for all round
development with more of free play, but some guided, adult – child, child to child interaction
and opportunities for holistic development of all domains of development. As children move
towards their pre primary years focus would be on developing their school readiness skills
and concepts. The National ECCE Policy lays down the features of the substages as follows:

• Birth to three years – survival, safety, protective environment, health care, nutrition
including infant and young child feeding practices for the first six months, attachment
to an adult, opportunity for psycho-social stimulation and early interaction in safe,
nurturing and stimulating environments within the home and appropriate child care
centres.

• Three to six years – protection from hazards, health care, nutrition, attachment to an
adult, developmentally appropriate play-based preschool education with a structured
and planned school readiness component for 5 to 6 year olds.

The programme should be relevant to individual and societal needs. The age demarcations
are indicative and the activities have to be planned and adapted according to the
developmental level of the children.

7.1 Birth – Three Years: Focus on Care, Stimulation and Interaction

Care refers to the behaviours and practices of caregivers (mothers, siblings, fathers, and
child care providers) to provide the food, health care, stimulation, and emotional support
necessary for children’s healthy growth and development. Not only the practices themselves,
but also the ways they are performed with affection and with responsiveness to children are
critical to children’s growth and development (Engle 1997).

32 
 
  

Care practices and resources can be improved through actions of different sectors, including
health, early child development, community development, women’s income generation, water
and sanitation, and the environment. Caring practices and resources vary tremendously by
culture, and even by groups and communities within cultures. There are differences in how
each culture attempts to meet the needs of their young ones. Understanding care practices
and resources for care would help adults identify the practices and resources that are
important, relevant and essential for their ecological setting.
However, as humans we are much more similar than we are different. Children’s basic needs
for food, health care, protection, shelter, and love are the same in all cultures. The focus for
children from birth -3 is not on what they must learn but rather on how they need to be cared
for.
A fundamental aspect of early childhood care is that infants and toddlers need safe
environments that give them opportunities to be active using all of their senses. In addition to
complete nutrition and adequate health care and hygiene, they need interaction with adults,
preferably the same adults, day after day, so that they can confidently explore and
experience the world that responds to their growing abilities.

The nurturing and interacting style of the primary caregivers at home, and in out-of-home
programmes at the ECCE centres, have strongest influence on children’s motivation and
learning. Certain principles and processes that guide effective care and stimulation practices
at home as well at the ECCE centre is delineated below.

Care, Stimulation and Interaction at Home

• Traditional customs often provide warmth and support for young children. Infant massage,
touching, holding, talking to the child while breastfeeding and other feeding times must be
practiced to create bonding and attachment between mother and child.

• Parents and family members may understand the child rearing approach taken in the child
care centre and extend the care and stimulation practices at home.

• Provide a variety in interactions in which make time for children to play together without much
caregiver input (free play time), time alone if wanted, and time with caregivers in regular
activities.

• Prevent and protect children from child abuse and violence as children who are exposed to
aggression and who have been victimized are likely to repeat these roles later in life.

• Have men take the responsibility towards health and nutrition of women and children.

• Be alert to signs of listlessness, low activity level or delayed achievement of developmental

milestones, find out the reason and take actions accordingly.

• Storytelling plays a significant role in facilitating language development in the early years. The
tradition of narrating local stories and folktales to children should be encouraged at homes.

• Both mothers and fathers work as a team to facilitate their children’s language development
(which could include two or more languages). 33 
 
 

Care, Stimulation and Interaction at the ECCE Centre

• Ensure that setting is supportive of children's existing culture, socio economic background,
individual needs, etc.

• Have consistent routines from day to day to offer a good balance of predictability and with
scope for variety and different experiences in familiar, comfortable settings.

• Display children's artwork, photographs of family and friends to encourage and motivate
them for greater participation and develop self confidence

• Children learn from games, play and guided imitation. Children understand simple adult
speech, and can learn the give and take of conversation. Choose topics of conversations
and play materials that interests the age group, those materials which have scope for
manipulation and creation.

• Ensure that activities in all developmental areas are integrated in a daily schedule –
physical and gross and fine motor co-ordination, language development, socio emotional
experiences etc.

• Provide guidance to very young children to attain reasonable eating and sleeping habits,
cooperation with family or group needs, and socially acceptable ways of dealing with
  frustration and conflict.

  • Have books and learning materials in the mother tongue/ home language of children, even if
they are developed locally. This is important to raise the status of the languages spoken by
  children and their families and encourages bi- and multilingualism.

  • Be aware of their children’s signals and needs, interpret them accurately, and respond to
them promptly, appropriately and consistently.
 
• Involve parents to bring relevant local and family culture to the care environment, which
 
helps young children transition from home to the care setting.
 
• Children under age 3 are intuitive, sensitive to the attitude and responses of adults who
care for them. To make children comfortable and feel secure it is important to have
 
consistent caregivers with whom they have an emotional bond.
 
• A child-centred and responsive approach requires that each child gets the time he or she
  needs without pressuring the child to respond verbally. However, non-verbal communication
should be interpreted by the caregiver and expressed in words.
 

34 
 
 

   

35 
 
 

7.2 Suggestive Developmentally Appropriate Activities during Birth – Three Years

Approximate Birth to 3 months

Age
What Children Do What Children Need/ What Care Givers Provide for
• Protection from physical danger
• Learn about the world • Adequate nutrition (through exclusive breastfeeding is best)
through all their senses • Adequate health care (immunization, oral rehydration therapy
• Track people and as required, hygiene)
objects with eyes • An adult with whom to form an attachment
• Respond to faces and • An adult who can understand and respond to their signals
bright colours • Things to look at, touch, hear, smell, taste
• Reach, discover hands • To be held, sung to and rocked
and feet • Opportunities for infant massage as it promotes health
• Lift head and turn benefits, and encourages bonding
toward sound
• Cry, but are often
soothed when held
• Begin to smile
• Begin to develop a
sense of self
Approximate 4 to 6 months
Age
What Children Do What Children Need/ What Care Givers Provide for
All of the above, plus
• Smile often • Opportunities to explore the world, play with a variety of
• Prefer parents and objects
older siblings • Appropriate language stimulation
• Repeat actions with • Focus on Health, nutrition and early psycho social stimulation
interesting results through free play and a lot of adult child interaction.
• Listen intently and Egs.(infant games, traditional songs & syllables, access to
respond when spoken variety of play materials, individualized adult attention and
to interaction, opportunities to explore, early introduction to
• Laugh, gurgle, imitate stories, infant books, drawings etc.) in safe, spacious and
sounds clean environment
• Explore hands and feet • Play and interact with children frequently to stimulate their
• Put objects in mouth cognitive, language, social, and motor development.
• Sit when propped, roll • Exposure to music and rocking.
over, scoot, bounce • Calling child by name to develop self-identity.
• Grasp objects without
using thumb
Approximate 7 to 12 months
Age
What Children Do What Children Need/ What Care Givers Provide for
All of the above, plus
• Remember simple • Respond to the child’s nutritional requirements by providing
events appropriate quantity and quality of food.
• Identify themselves, • Introduction of supplementary foods
body parts, familiar • A safe environment to explore
voices • Conducting variety of activities with children and giving space
• Understand own name, to explore according to one’s innate interests.
other common words • Developing self-confidence through providing enough
• Say first meaningful opportunities to explore, touch, taste, smell and respond to
words the environment.
• Explore, bang, shake • Cleaning children and washing their hands at regular
objects intervals to promote good hygiene and inculcate healthy
• Find hidden objects, put practices.
objects in containers • Regular and constant positive interaction with children to

36 
 
 

• Sit alone promote development of language, imagination,

• Creep, pull themselves manipulation, concepts with activities like clapping, peek-a-
up to stand, walk boo, push and pull toys, rolling hands, reading picture books,
• May seem shy or upset singing lullabies and rhymes etc…
with strangers • Opportunities to hear stories, be read to
• Establishing bonding and warm relationship with children and
building trust by giving lots of love, care and affection and
praising child’s achievements
Approximate 1 to 2 years
Age
What Children Do What Children Need/ What Care Givers Provide for
In addition to the above:
• Imitate adult actions • Health care must also include deworming if required
• Speak and understand • Support in acquiring new motor, language, thinking skills
words and ideas • A chance to develop some independence
• Enjoy stories and • Help in learning how to control their own behaviour
experimenting with • Opportunities to begin to learn to care for themselves
objects • Opportunities for play and exploration
• Walk steadily, climb • Play with other children
stairs, run • Read to/tell stories daily
• Assert independence, • Provide opportunities to establish contact and engage with
but prefer familiar other children and adults to promote a sense of self and
people social development
• Recognize ownership
of objects
• Develop friendships
• Solve problems
• Show pride in
accomplishments
• Like to help with tasks
• Begin pretend play
Approximate Age 2 to 3 years
What Children Do What Children Need/ What Care Givers Provide for
In addition to the above:
• Opportunities to children to dress themselves, use toilets,
wash hands, brush teeth, comb hair etc.
• Providing children with objects that encourage sorting,
• Enjoy learning new matching, imagining, pushing, pulling etc.
skills • Naming body parts and other common objects in and around
• Learn language rapidly child’s environment.
• Are always on the go • Provide opportunity to make choices and engage in different
• Gain control of hands tasks
and fingers • Giving opportunities to learn, think and understand from
• Are easily frustrated concrete to abstract.
• Act more independent, • Opportunities to listen and articulate short stories and rhymes
but are still dependent , indulge in imaginative play and simple problem solving
• Act out familiar scenes activities
• Identifying and giving special attention to ‘at risk’ children.
Developmental screening of all children is essential to
provide critical intervention that allows opportunities for
children’s development
• Early identification of impairments/disabilities and initiating
medical intervention and parent counselling and parent
training to provide necessary stimulation is necessary for
supporting children with disabilities and developmental delay
Source: Adapted from Kaul, 2009,NAEYC, 1985, 1995 and Donhue- Colletta (1992)

37 
 
 

7.3 Three – Six Years: Focus on Care, Early Learning and School Readiness

The pluralist and culturally diverse society of India, made of numerous regional and local
cultures, necessitates a flexible and contextual approach to ECCE. It also demands
sensitivity on the part of the educator to link the ECCE programme to the child’s culture and
take the existing experiential knowledge of the child as the base for the ECCE programme. A
developmentally appropriate programme for this age group considers the following aspects
with its components while planning the curriculum.

Context
• Early childhood initiatives that are strongly rooted in the children’s homes and
communities are more likely to be effective. Ensure that it reflects responsiveness to
family/ home values, social and cultural background, their immediate environment, the
learning and experience already with them.

• Provides a flexible class arrangement to allow for change from large group to small group
activities or from quiet to more energetic activities.

• Display in which every child can find something of her/his own which she/he can identify
with and thus feel proud of.
• Periodic change of display which arouses curiosity of the children and stimulates them to
talk and discuss with each other.
• Learning/ Activity corners are established places in the ECCE centres with resources that
keep changing according to the themes/topics in focus and provides opportunity to
explore according to the skills that need to be developed and practiced
• Provides flexibility in being responsive to children’s strengths, needs and interests or
should allow for changes based on immediate learning situation.

• Ensure parent and community involvement in planning and implementation of ECCE

programmes

38 
 
 

Content

• Curriculum goal and objectives guide the learning process and observation of the children.
• Both long term and short term planning is designed for effective implementation of the
programmes.

• Choose topics/themes related to the child’s self, relationship with people and understanding
of the world around.
• Children learn in many different ways and thus ECCE teacher needs to plan a variety of
experiences or activities for the children.

• Learning opportunities should be interconnected, linking learning experiences across

developmental domains in a meaningful context, reflecting the real life context of the
children
• The activities should be age and developmentally appropriate and contextually relevant for
the children attending the programme.
• Children learn in a spiral and not in a linear way make it necessary for teachers to provide
opportunities to children through materials and activities, to revisit concepts introduced
earlier again and again, for a deeper understanding. The experiences should progress from
simple to complex, concrete to pictorial to abstract.

• Adaptations and accommodations are necessary for supporting young children with
disabilities e.g. activities and play materials may be modified to meet individual needs.

39 
 
 

Process
• The duration of the ECCE programme should be 4 hours. The program should provide for some
rest period during the day and if it is of longer duration, as a full day programme, then a nap time
is to be ensured.

• The attention span of young children is 15-20 minutes; therefore the duration of activities should
be around 20 minutes, with additional time allotted for winding up and initiation of the next
activity. However, the programme should allow space and flexibility for need based variations.

• Routine fosters a sense of security in children. Therefore some routine should be followed in the
daily programme.

• There should be a balance between structured and unstructured; active and quiet; outdoor and
indoor; self-directed and adult initiated learning opportunities and individual, small group and
large group activities which are related to the child’s environment , are enjoyable and
challenging for children.

• Depending on the nature of learning task, grouping may be done on the basis of interests and
styles of learning of children, ability levels of children and age of children.

• When the child is comfortable and proficient with the mother tongue/ home language first, it
supports developing proficiency in the second language later. Children, who develop proficiency
in using their home language to communicate, get information, solve problems and think, can
easily learn to use a second language in similar ways. Therefore, children should be
encouraged to be proficient in their mother tongue/ home language first and then the formal
school language (which could be the regional language or English) should be introduced.
Continuous, consistent, and rich exposure to both languages is important for full bilingual
development.

• ECCE teachers/caregivers must actively seek parental support by showing them how they can
work with their children at home to reinforce the learning experiences that take place in centres.

• Family members must be included and encouraged to be involved in programme activities and
governance. Family members must be involved in their child's learning experiences at the early
childhood care and education centre.

• ECCE centre-community joint ventures have a positive impact that helps in supporting the
school staff, students, and families in the development and implementation of healthy school
initiatives. Its helps in accessing resources and services that is available.

40 
 
 

7.4 Suggested Developmentally Appropriate Activities for 3-6 years

Approximate 3 to 5 years
Age
What Children Do What Children Need/ What Care Givers Provide for

• Enjoy learning new • Opportunities to develop fine motor skills

skills • Hands-on exploration for learning through action
• Learn language • Providing children with objects that encourage sorting, matching,
rapidly imagining, pushing, pulling etc.
• Are always on the go
• Gain control of hands • Opportunities to children to dress themselves, use toilets, wash
and fingers hands, brush teeth, comb hair etc.
• Are easily frustrated • Naming body parts and other common objects in and around
• Act more child’s environment
independent, but are • Giving opportunities to learn, think and understand from
still dependent concrete to abstract.
• Act out familiar
scenes • Encouragement of language through listening to music, talking,
• Have a longer reading, singing
attention span • Opportunities to listen to stories, learn rhymes, indulge in
• Act silly, boisterous imaginative play, ask questions, do simple problem solving,
• Talk a lot, ask many experiment to promote active and interactive learning and
questions generally have a ‘feel good’ experience for a positive self image
• Want real adult things • Emergent literacy activities like phonological awareness,
• Keep art projects exposure to environmental print; sight vocabulary; experiential
• Test physical skills writing by creating pretend and real letters and by organizing
and courage with scribbles and marks on paper
caution • Experimentation with pre-writing and pre-reading skills
• Reveal feeling in
dramatic play • Opportunities for self-expression (drawing, painting, work with
• Like to play with clay or mud), encouraging creativity
friends, do not like to • Encourage Rhythmic movement
lose
• Share and take turns • Opportunities to learn cooperation, helping, sharing
sometimes • Opportunities for taking responsibility and making choices
• Encouragement to develop self-control, cooperation, persistence
in completing projects
• Support for their sense of self-worth and pride in
accomplishments
• Activities which will develop a positive sense of mastery

• Identifying and giving special attention to ‘at risk’ children.

Developmental screening of all children is essential to provide
critical intervention that allows opportunities for children’s
development
• Early identification of impairments/disabilities and initiating
medical intervention and parent counselling and parent training
to provide necessary stimulation is necessary for supporting
children with disabilities and developmental delay

• Continuous opportunities, more free but some guided, for adult –

child, child to child interaction and interaction with play materials
and environment through a variety of individual, small group and
large group activities.

41 
 
 

Approximate 5 to 6 years
Age
What Children Do What Children Need/ What Care Givers Provide for
In addition to the above:
• Have a longer attention • Increasing ratio of adult guided vs. free play activities, and
span more of large group activities and focused more on
• Talk a lot, ask many specific school readiness, with increasing complexity in all
questions of above.
• Want real adult things • Reading Readiness: e.g. picture –sound matching,
• Naturally curious, and shapes, phonetics; increasing vocabulary; verbal
have an incredible expression, developing bond with an interest in reading
capacity and desire to through picture books, storytelling, charts etc
learn. • Writing Readiness: e.g. eye hand coordination, interest in
• Explore and experiment writing, left to right directionality
through their senses as • Math: Develop skills in sorting and classification
they discover the world according to one or two attributes, seriation, pattern
around them identification/ pattern making , reasoning, problem solving,
• Keep art projects forming concepts: pre-number, number concepts,
• Test physical skills and observing and describing shape and space concepts
courage with caution using appropriate vocabulary, counting objects, counting
• Reveal feeling in groups and comparing groups using the terms more,
dramatic play fewer or same; understanding of computation
• Like to play with friends, • Physical and Motor development : Build body awareness,
do not like to lose strength and coordination through locomotor activities like
• Become independent running, walking etc.; stability activities like jumping, beam
and gain more self balance walking etc.; manipulative skills like catching,
control throwing, kicking etc.; and movement and physical fitness
activities
• Creativity and aesthetic appreciation: Use imagination and
creativity to design and perform music and dance.
• Social Emotional- Positive self identity, confidence and
independence, manage own feelings and needs.
• Children’s whose • Caregivers who know when to seek help and how to
growth is faltering, at provide a caring and loving environment.
any age • Extra time from caregivers, playing and talking, and
• Child does not respond massaging the child’s body.
to stimulation and • Encouragement to play and interact with other children.
attention

Source: Adapted from Kaul, 2009,NAEYC, 1985, 1995 and Donhue- Colletta (1992)

42 
 
 SECTION 3:
PROGRAM PLANNING
AND PRACTICES

Courtesy : Shreeranjan
 
 

8. Early Learning Environment

In planning for an effective Early Childhood Care and Education Programme it is

important to make sure the environment includes and caters to the many learning styles
of young children. Children between the ages of two to six acquire knowledge in ways
that are considerably different from the way older children learn. Children during the early
years learn best through direct sensory encounters with the world. They acquire
knowledge by manipulating, exploring, and experimenting with real objects. We can say
that they almost exclusively learn by doing and hands-on experiences. The indoor and
outdoor play areas form the physical environment for facilitating learning for the children.
These must provide opportunities for children to explore discover and learn in safe
environment.

• The indoor environment should be planned keeping in mind the interests and
developmental needs of young children. A large indoor space can be divided into
learning/activity corners with an appropriate arrangement of shelves and furniture. It is
of utmost importance to keep in mind that the quality of the physical classroom space,
along with the materials provided, affects the levels of child involvement and the
quality of interactions between adults and children.
Further details on organizing the preschool classroom are provided in the following
section.

• The outdoor environment plays an equally important role in the development of

children as it provides a space for play, exploration and social interactions. It is
mandatory that all children have the opportunity to engage in daily outdoor physical
activity. A specific time must be set aside every day for break time and for outdoor
play/activities. This time can be used for free choice of play on the climbing and
playground equipment, for more structured activities involving physical movement and
balance, and for practical activities such as working in the gardening patch, digging
and planting, etc. The sand and water play area can be in troughs with wheels to
enable both indoor and outdoor play. It is important that the learning materials are
modified for children with special needs.

43 
 
 

8.1 Setting up an early years classroom

The ECCE classroom arrangement must be flexible, which can be adjusted to lesson
plans and activities, such as large groups for singing, storytelling and smaller groups for
activities like drawing, blocks and for individual play. It should also have learning/activity
‘corners’, such as creative corner, book corner, game corner, so that the children can
play according to their interests and choose their activity. An example of optimal
utilization of classroom space which allows flexibility is given below:

• Classroom arrangement during large group activities (e.g. circle time): During the
morning circle time, leave enough space between the children. This way the children
who come late will be able to join the circle easily and participate in the activities with
minimal disruption.

Puzzles Story and

and block picture
corner books
corner

Drawing Dolls/
and Dramatic
painting play corner
corner

• Circle time: During this time, the children sit in a circle, along with the ECCE teacher.
Circle time may be used for engaging the children in a discussion, reading a book or
singing songs/ rhymes etc. Sitting in a circle allows all children to face each other
clearly. The teacher sits on the same type of chair/ mat as the children, which
conveys that the ECCE teacher is a facilitator rather than a director.

• Classroom arrangement during small group activities: The classroom should

allow for the ECCE teacher to engage children of a particular age group in small
group activities. During this time, other children can play independently in one of the
four corners (free play). The children should be encouraged to choose a corner of
their own interest as this will motivate them to be engaged in the learning process.
Meanwhile, in the small group, the ECCE teacher can focus on facilitating activities or
discussions that are somewhat challenging and need guidance from an adult. In this
way, the space in the ECCE centre can be used efficiently by dividing the children into

44 
 
 

one large group and four small groups. It should be ensured that the ECCE teacher
can observe all children in each of the corners from where she might be working with
a group of children

• Free play: It is important to give children some opportunities to engage in free play.
When children have the opportunity to choose what to play with, they follow their
interests and usually remain engaged in activities for long periods of time (15-20
minutes) and require minimal teacher supervision. Such opportunities help children to
make simple choices, a skill that is needed for problem solving. In addition, as they
remain focused in such activities for a longer duration, it helps to increase their
attention span.

8.2 Learning/Activity Corners

A physical space is divided into interest areas in an ECCE setting where children can
explore, make things, experiment and pursue their own interests. Separate interest
areas or learning corners are established places in the classroom with resources that
actively engage children and may change according to the theme/ topics. Young
children learn a great deal by interacting with objects in their surroundings. They are
naturally curious; they love to explore and experiment with objects and learn from such
experiences.
The important learning corners that need to be set up in a preschool classroom are: dramatic
play corner, reading/ story books corner, puzzles and block corner and drawing/ painting
corner. The other corners such as the creative art corner, writing corner, science corner and
music corner could be included and set up on a rotation basis in the classroom.

45 
 
 

• Reading and story books corner: Young children need to have the opportunity to
touch, feel, and smell the books. When exposed to books, they begin to identify the
front and the back of the book and learn how to turn pages. After reading a story in
the class it is helpful if the ECCE teacher leaves a copy of the book in the book
corner. Thus children have the opportunity to revisit the book and take an active
interest as they begin to understand what this book is about. After some exposure
children begin to bond with different books, sometimes they have a “favourite book”
based on their favourite story or the pictures in the book. It is essential for children to
interact with books as they acquire a number of pre-literacy skills through such
experiences. A variety of children’s books, children’s magazines and books made by
children in the classroom should be in this corner. These can include large board
books, picture books, local folk tales, simple story books, theme related books,
comics, newspapers etc.
• Dramatic play corner: Children often enjoy pretending to be a teacher, a parent, a
policeman or a doctor. While this may seem to be just a child’s fantasy, it is an
important mechanism for children to learn. By acting out what they see in their
environment, they strengthen their memory. Also, this is a way for children to solve
problems and engage in perspective taking. The materials here can include: various
kinds of dolls, doll-sized furniture and clothes, doll-sized cooking utensils (pots,
dishes, spoons etc), pretend food (vegetables or fruits made of clay), dress- up
clothes (e.g. scarf, cap, stole, jacket, small sari, long pieces of cloth etc.), combs and
a mirror.

• Puzzles and block corner: By playing with blocks, children begin to learn about
shapes, sizes, and colours. They may compare the blocks, arrange them in some
shapes (e.g. railway track), or create elaborate three dimensional structures. Blocks
motivate children to think in creative ways as they build different kinds of structures.
Moreover, sometimes children build a structure cooperatively, which requires them to
communicate with each other and work as a team. This corner should have blocks of
different colours, shapes and sizes. Puzzles, matching cards, lacing strings or lacing
cards, threading strings and beads should also be included. Include small toys such
as cars, trucks, animals, people figures and other toys that relate to children’s current
interests and objects from the environment.
• Creative art corner: Through drawing, painting and working with clay children begin
to understand that real life objects and events can be represented in many ways. This
fosters symbolic thinking, which is an important pre-writing skill. In addition, these
activities provide opportunities to exercise fine motor muscles of the fingers and the

46 
 
 

hands, which prepare them to write. The materials in this corner can include: different
types of paper, crayons, pencils, washable markers, slates, different coloured chalks,
pieces of fabric, paints, brushes, tape, play dough or clay, rolling pins and boards, old
newspaper and magazines for collage and ice-cream sticks.
• Writing corner can provide children with opportunities to develop their early literacy
skills. Children should be allowed to experiment and activities in this corner should not
be directed. This corner should have materials that encourage children to explore
writing such as different varieties of paper in different sizes, note books, note pads,
thick pencils, stamps and stamp pads, punchers, string, envelopes, etc.
• Science corner need not be a permanent corner in the classroom as children learn
scientific concepts and skills in other areas of the room as well. We know that young
children learn best through play and investigation. This corner may be equipped with
materials that focus on only one topic at a time for example ramps and wheels,
magnifying glass, shells, plants, seeds, magnets and iron filings, weighing scales and
weights, measuring tapes, or any other locally available materials.
• Music corner should provide the children with a comfortable space to relax in. It may
be equipped with a tape recorder and a variety of music including rhymes on CDs /
tapes, if possible. This corner may have materials such as ribbons or scarves for the
children to use to promote creative movement. This corner must also encourage
children to experience and explore the sounds of different instruments, such as bells,
singing bowls, flutes, tambourines, string instruments and other local musical
instruments.

Points to keep in mind:

• All the materials should not be displayed at once, as this will be too overwhelming for
the children. Consider changing the materials in each corner after every two weeks.
Children need time to practice but if the materials are never changed they will get
bored and will lose interest in the corner.
• Keep active, noisier centres (blocks and constructions) at a distance from quiet ones
(reading, games and toys).
• All corners should be labelled using words and illustrations alongside and stating how
many children can work there at a time by drawing stick puppets such that children
can ‘read’ it.
• All containers in each corner should be labelled and similar labels should be put on
the storage shelves showing children where the materials need to be stored. Once

47 
 
 

children finish working with a specific material, s/he over time and with support, can
participate in cleaning up and caring for the materials.

8.3 Displays on the walls

It is essential to display children’s artwork and projects on the wall. This helps children to
remember the activities in which they participated and fosters their self-esteem, as they
feel their work is valued. Parents also feel proud of their children and take a more active
interest in their education when they see their children’s work displayed in the centre. All
displays should be at children’s eye level.

Other pictures displayed on the walls must relate directly to the current curriculum in the
classroom, such as the theme of the month. It is best to label pictures as this helps young
children understand that written words can be used to represent objects, which in turn
helps them to understand the purpose of reading and writing. Pictures can also include
those of the children in the class or the community in which they live.

8.4 Furniture and mats

If there is furniture in the classroom, it must be child-sized, so children are comfortable
sitting and working on them. It should have rounded edges and height of furniture should
be such that children can sit comfortably and use their hands freely. Furniture is not
essential for preschool classrooms. Colourful mats can be used to mark the sitting area. It
is important to consider the texture when selecting mats. Children must feel comfortable
as they sit on the mat and focus on their tasks.

8.5 Shelves
Shelves should be low in height and hold manipulative toys, puzzles and other learning
materials for children to explore. Children must have easy access to these resources.
Storage shelves and/or low room dividers can be used to separate learning corners to
clearly mark boundaries.
Establish ‘traffic patterns’ of movement for entering the room, putting belongings in a
specific space, access to bathrooms and sink areas and moving from one area to
another.

8.6 Grouping
An effective ECCE programme should use appropriate grouping practices. It is well
known from research that a multi grade as well as mixed-age grouping is on the whole
more appropriate for young children. In classroom environments, teachers have the

48 
 
 

flexibility to use grouping that ranges from individual work, to small and large group work,
as well as whole class engagements to facilitate learning.

• Individual / multi age groups and ability: If the children in the class are more or
less of a similar age, consider grouping them according to their developmental needs
and abilities. Offer a range of activities for each group that caters to individual children
and their educational needs.

If a class has children with different ages, consider dividing them into groups
according to their ages. Let each group of children work together. The curriculum
should be planned to meet the developmental levels of each age group. Consider
each child. Observe, collect and record significant data that provides you with
information that highlights their strengths and needs. The next step is to plan and set
goals for individual children.

• Individual, small and large group interactions: While planning the day and
activities, make sure to balance quiet individual time with large and small group
interactions. Individual time might include the choice of free play in quiet centres such
as the reading, writing or the puzzle centre. Group time is often energetic and noisy.
Songs, rhymes, finger plays, dramatics, science, math and physical activities can be
used during group time. Group times should fit into the whole curriculum and support
themes and projects. Plan opportunities for group interactions both in the indoors and
outdoors settings. Balance it with active and quiet activities. A large group quiet time
might include a story read aloud session. Small group interactions might include
children working together in the creative centre on a collage or in construction work in
the block centre.

The ECCE learning environment should be planned creatively and imaginatively. While
planning specific activities, remember to include the development of the whole child. A
well thought out and planned activity can involve several aspects of development.

9. Essential Learning and Play Material

In early childhood stage, a child learns through interacting with immediate environment
hence environment should be stimulating which have a variety of materials to arouse and
sustain the child’s curiosity, interest and promote his learning. Any preschool care and
education centre should have adequate and varied supply of play equipment and
materials which is developmentally and age appropriate.

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• Developmentally appropriate play materials to foster all round development should be

available at the ECCE centre

• The materials should be safe, clean and in good conditions. Sufficient quantity should
be available to work in small groups and it should be easily accessible to the child.

• The materials should promote gross and fine motor development and help the child to
discover and explore including constructing and reconstructing. It should promote
sensory exploration and social interaction along with creative expressions through
arts, painting, etc.

• The materials and teaching strategies should be differentiated on the basis of

children’s needs and context. Materials which can be adapted for meeting diverse
abilities and multi-purpose usage should be given preference. Strategies such as
simplifying directions, use of concrete materials/examples, sequencing learning
tasks from easy to hard, repeated opportunities to practice skills and adapting
materials by increasing stability (by utilising Velcro), accessibility ( e.g. developing a
hand splint to hold materials,), visual clarity or distinctiveness (adding contrast or
specialized lighting) etc can be adopted

• The materials should be differentiated on the basis of child use, teacher use and
home use. Materials which can be adapted for multi-purpose usage should be given
preference.

• Teachers should be encouraged to develop learning materials using resources

available. Parents, local toy makers, craftsperson and other community members may
be involved to create play materials for children.

• Naturally occurring materials may be adapted and used for different purposes.

Some essential learning and play materials are

9.1 Indoor Material

o Blocks for constructive play

o Manipulative toys
o Material for imaginative play /Dramatic play material – dolls, puppet, masks, kitchen
sets, mirrors, old spectacle frames, purses, old shoes, weighting scales, clock etc
o Material to develop Language skills – Books and picture books, storing telling aid-
puppet, etc, story cards, sound board, conversation cards, flash cards, picture

50 
 
 

dominoes, collection of rhymes and stories, visual discrimination and auditory and
visual association, slates, chalks, crayons, blackboard, drawing paper, etc
o Material to develop cognitive skills – sound boxes, visual discrimination cards, touch
cards, feel bag, food items of varying kind to develop sensory skills and materials in
the environment, cards, picture jigsaw and self correcting puzzles for matching,
sorting, arranging, classifying, problem solving, memory and sequential thinking to
develop cognitive skills
o Musical and art material for creative expression such as paints, crayons, sketches,
pencil, paint brushes, cotton, threads, clay, knife, papers, scissors, cloth, gum and
fevicol, bead, etc. Any open ended material that can be used by children in a variety
of ways
o Nature as learning material.
o Indigenous play materials and teacher made learning materials using available
resources

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9.2 Outdoor Materials

Play equipment like climbers, swings, sports field, sports equipment, bicycles, jump
ropes, balls, movable items (boxes, plastic crates), storage shed to build balancing,
jumping, climbing, swinging, swaying, cycling, etc

Materials like large or small balls, old tyres, rings, etc for throwing, catching, kicking,
rolling, etc

Sand and water play arrangement with sand pit, mugs, spoons, cups, bucket, sieves,
strainer, etc.

10. Planning
Effective planning is an essential prerequisite for an ECCE programme. The following
elements of planning are imperative for effective transaction in the ECCE centres.

• Long term planning is concerned with children’s entitlement to broad and balanced
curriculum addressing the long term goals of all domains of development. It should
cover the length of time that children spend in an ECCE setting. In the ECCE centre it
could mean from 6 months to 6 years. Considerations need to be given to whether the
planned programme covers all the essential elements of the given curriculum and
how other aspects of importance to the setting are to be included. In the education of
children under 6 years, all areas of development are likely to be included in their daily
experiences. However, it may be that certain aspects within those areas of learning
are emphasized in different ways from one term or space of time to the next.

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• Medium term planning addresses continuity and progression from one stage in each
area of learning to the next, and from one setting or class to the next, drawing on the
long term goals, curriculum policies and principles and identifying skills, knowledge,
and dispositions to which children will be introduced over a specific period of time. It
is in this stage that the curriculum may be seen as most effectively organized by
linking the different areas of learning through themes or topics.

The most effective medium term plan draws upon the progression of concepts, skills,
knowledge and attitudes in each area of development. For example, once the children
have begun to differentiate between the number of surfaces and corners of a triangle
or rectangle what concept or understanding should be planned for next?

In developing choosing a topic/theme or an individual unit of inquiry, organized

around a central idea, the following are proposed as useful criteria.

Each unit/ theme or topic may consider the following elements:

• Engaging: Of interest to the children, and involving them actively in their
own learning.
• Relevant: Linked to the children’s prior knowledge and experience, and
current circumstances, and therefore placing learning in a context connected
to the lives of the children.
• Challenging: Extending the prior knowledge and experience of the children
to increase their competencies and understanding.
• Significant: Contributing to an understanding of the transdisciplinary nature
of the theme or topic, and therefore to an understanding of commonality of
human experiences.

Source: Making PYP Happen, IBO, 2007

• Short term planning is concerned with weekly/daily activities laid out with
differentiation and planning for needs of the specific groups and individual children. It
provides all the details of activities, experiences, resources, groupings, and teaching
strategies which are identified through ongoing observations and assessment of
young children. WHAT is to be taught is already in place at the long and medium term
planning stage and now is the time to make decisions about HOW these concepts,
skills and attitudes are to be introduced to the children in the ways that are relevant
and meaningful.

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The whole planning process may be summarized as follows:

Stages of Planning
Long Term Planning
Breadth and Balance Desirable Goals and
Evidences of Curriculum coverage Outcomes
Time frame Drawing on National ECCE
Curriculum
Framework, ECCE
policies and early
learning principles

Medium term planning

Progression and
continuity
Evidences of Concepts, knowledge, Long term plan
skills and attitudes Drawing on Principles of
Integrated and domain programme planning
specific activities
Choosing
themes/topics/ projects

Short term planning

Learning goals and
indicators of all Medium term plan
domains of Observation of children
Evidences of development Drawing on Assessment of
Activities previous learning
Support Evaluation of previous
Resources themes/activities
Assessment

Source: Adapted from Julie Fisher, 1998

Keeping the above in mind, it is suggested for a preschool programme to have the following:
1. Yearly plan
2. Weekly schedule
3. Daily routine
1. Yearly plan
One of the ways of preparing the plan for the year is to identify the theme/topic for each
month or so, along with the activities on different development domains to be undertaken.
Some of the suggested themes/ topics are:
• Identity and relationships: Myself, my family and community
• Maintaining well-being: Food, body, health, hygiene and cleanliness, safety
• Nature: plants, animals, birds, fruits and vegetables
• Physical environment: air, water, earth, universe and seasons
• Social environment: My country, festivals and celebrations, neighbourhood, transport.

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Under each of the theme, organize the goals and indicators of development and learning to
ensure that all the domains are addressed in an integrated manner. It will also help to ensure
that the activities and experiences are balanced, developmentally appropriate and enough
opportunity is available for revisiting of concepts, skills and dispositions. Activities should to
be planned for different age groups of children with increasing order of difficulty.

2. Weekly schedule
Weekly schedules should be designed by the ECCE teacher so that they are activity-based,
theme-based and age-appropriate. While drawing up a weekly schedule, it should be
ensured that the theme-related activities for all developmental domains are covered over a
course of a week.

Two sample weekly schedules are given below as a reference for planning. These are
provided as guidelines and are not to be followed rigidly. They should be adapted to suit the
specific requirements and the context of different programmes. Both the examples provide a
4 hour schedule (which includes a half-an-hour break for snacks/ meals).

Example 1
TIME MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY

Welcome

Checking Personal Hygiene

9.00 -9: 30 AM
Attendance and Prayer

Warm up physical activities like yoga, music and movement using

dholak etc
Revision of
Theme/ topic related language and communication activities - concepts of
09:30- 10:00 AM transacted
discussion, stories, rhymes, story books
during the
10.00- 10:30 AM Indoor play - free /organised week;
strengtheni
10:30-11.00 AM Snacks ng
children’s
Activities related to Cognitive Concepts and abilities abilities
11.00- 11:30 AM focussed
(may/may not be related to Theme/topic) upon during
the week
Language and Early Literacy Activities - self-expression, phonemic
11:30-12:00 AM awareness, handling story books, picture reading, letter sound
correspondence

12.00 AM - 12.30 Activities for creative expression (may/may not be related to Theme/
noon topic)

12:30 - 1.00 pm Outdoor play - free /organised

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Example 2

30 minutes 80 minutes 30 minutes 40 minutes 30 minutes

Day/ Morning circle time Free play and guided play Outdoor play Story/rhymes School
(welcome/greeting, with materials Readiness

The feeding time duration is 30 minutes. After the feeding young children will go home and the elder children will stay back.
Time prayer, Goodbye/ activities
conversation) 3-4 years 4-6 years Circle time
(40min+40min) (40min+40
min)

Conversation theme: What is Free play Exercise The Anganwadi Every day, the
animals and birds that missing? worker will children of the
1 stay in the land and in narrate the story age group of 5-
water ‘tup tap tup’. 6 years will
Free play What is stay back for
missing? - the school
readiness
2 Conversation theme Join the dots Free play Jump and walk The Anganwadi
activities
with crayons … two steps worker will read
Taking care of use animal out the story
animals and birds: pictures) ‘tup tap tup’.
building empathy
Free play Join the
dots with
crayons.

3 Conversation theme Sorting- large Throw the ball in Singing different

and small grains the basket animal rhymes
How do the animals Free play
and birds help us?
Free play Sorting-
large and
small
grains

4 Conversation theme Pouring activity Free play Big bird and small Bonding with
bird books
Life cycle of a duck,
or a chicken Free play Pouring
activity

5 Life cycle of a Join the dots Jump and walk role play
butterfly : with crayon…. two steps
Picture of a Free play
Story with stick butterfly
puppets
Free play Join the
dots with
crayon.

6 Conversation theme Sorting- large Free play throw the ball in shared writing
and small grains the basket game and illustration
Life cycle of a
butterfly Free play Sorting-
large and
Story – with chalk small
drawing on the board grains

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The thematic approach to teaching and learning mentioned in these examples is described in
detail in Annexure 1.

3. Daily Routine
The daily routine is an order of events that shape a child’s day so that they can anticipate
what will happen next. In general terms, it should consist of ‘activity blocks’. The daily
schedule must meet individual needs, and therefore variations in scheduling will occur.
Daily routines should be planned in a manner such that it:
• Includes a balance of active and quiet activities.
• Provides for individual, small and whole group instruction and interactions.
• Allows for active exploration of materials within the learning environment.
• Encourages flexibility to meet children’s varying needs.
• Incorporates both indoor and outdoor activities.
• Has a balance of both child-initiated and teacher-directed opportunities.
• Has a balance of structure and flexibility.
The routine should be displayed in a location accessible to parents. It should also be posted
at children’s eye level and in a format the meets their developmental needs, such as a picture
schedule indicating the activities for the day.

Sample Daily Routine

1. Morning circle time (30 min): welcome/ greeting, prayer, conversation
2. Work with materials (80 min): free play and guided play (40 min each)
3. Outdoor games (30 min)
4. Goodbye circle time (40 min): Story/ rhymes based on identified themes
5. School readiness activities (30 min): for children aged 5-6 years
In this sample, at least an hour each day is spent on the allotted theme.

11. Assessing Children’s Development and Learning

Assessment is an essential and integral component of any ECCE programme to ensure that
the programme remains child centric and the experiences and activities are planned
according to the level of the child. Assessment is the gathering and analysis of information
about student progress. It identifies what children know, understand, can do and feel at
different stages in the learning process. It gives an insight into children’s interests,
achievements and possible difficulties in their learning from which next steps of care,
stimulation and learning can be planned. Thereby it provides a platform to support the
planning of a sound curriculum for progression in learning. In order to ensure that the

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programme is responsive to the developmental needs of the child, it is essential to maintain

their developmental and learning profile.

11.1 Why Assess Children’s Work

The purpose of assessment is to give useful information about children’s learning and
development to the adults providing the programme as also to children and their families. It
also helps ensure early identification of developmental delays, special educational needs and
particular abilities. Assessment contributes to evaluation, revision, and development of
programmes.

Principles of Assessment and Reporting

• The assessment of the children is formative, continuous and flow from the experiences
planned in the curriculum. Formative continuous assessment implies observing and
documenting the development of the child, by interpreting the evidence from the day to
day experiences of the child with the purpose of recognising and encouraging strengths
and addresses learning/developmental gaps.
• Assessment is an ongoing process involving the collecting, combining and interpreting
of information about the learners, the classroom and interaction. In the early years ECCE
teachers need to evaluate each child's progress on an ongoing basis, through
observations of their behaviour; their artwork and other products, anecdotal records,
checklists and portfolios, interactions of children.

• The younger the child, the more difficult it is to obtain valid assessments. Early
development is rapid, intermittent and highly influenced by experience. Performance on
an assessment is affected by children’s emotional states and the conditions of the
assessment.
• At this stage, assessment must be purely qualitative judgments of children's activities in
various domains and an assessment of the status of their health and physical
development based on observations through every day interactions. On no account
should children be made to take any form of test, either oral or written form.
• Home-based observations may also be conducted and parents should also be
encouraged to be a part of the assessment of young children. The current level of
performance should be rewarded to reinforce small steps of accomplishments towards
the long term goals.
• Assessment has value that goes well beyond measuring a child’s progress, and
should be used to evaluate programmes, identify staff development needs and plan
future interactions.
• Teachers must document each child’s learning in a variety of ways. This will make

58 
 
 

them accountable towards improving the programme which in turn will help them in
supporting and assisting children in achieving the learning objectives stated for the
programme. The documentation will provide administrators and the teaching staff with
valid information on how to improve the programme, incorporate changes that are
necessary, plan, organise on what to do next, what questions to ask and resources to
provide for.
• Each child’s folder should be available for parents and children to view in the centre
and should remain with the centre until such time as a child transitions to another learning
centre or into the kindergarten programme or in school. It is then that this portfolio must
be handed over to the respective family member who would then require depositing it
with the administrators of the centre or school to which the child is transitioning to.
• All parents should receive a written or verbal progress summary report of their child at
least twice a year.
 

11.2 What to Assess

The early year’s curriculum would provide the opportunity for learners to construct meaning;
acquire skills and dispositions principally through play and activity based approach. It further
ensures that the whole child is addressed and the activities focus on an integrated learning in
all domains of development. Therefore, feedback should be given on child progress and
performance in each of these areas.

Therefore, assessment of children’s learning involves the observation of children by the

ECCE teachers/ Caregivers for the purpose of improving the programme in order to help
children achieve the appropriate developmental tasks.

11.3 When and How to Assess

Continuous assessment should be an integral part of the ECCE programme. The use of
assessment to judge the effectiveness of both care and learning processes is essential to
allow ECCE teachers/ caregivers and children to identify their strengths and weaknesses and
the effectiveness of the programme. The purpose and means of assessment should be
clearly shared with parents and families too. Observation and documentation of children’s
learning is interwoven with the daily learning and helps ECCE teachers/caregivers find out
what the children already know in order to plan the next stage of learning.

Different methods and tools (for. e.g. mother and child protection card, WHO growth chart)
may be used for observation and documentation of children’s development and learning. It is

59 
 
 

essential that they are selected carefully in order to provide a range of approaches and
therefore to provide a balanced view of the child.

60 
 
  

Assessment Tools and Strategies

Ongoing Observation, Questioning and Listening to Children

All children are observed often and regularly, with the ECCE teacher/caregiver focusing on the whole class to
focusing on one child or activity, and from non-participant observing from without to participant observing where
listening and interacting with the child is required.

Systematic Procedures

Anecdotal records are brief written notes based on observations of children. These records need to be systematically
compiled and organized.
Create anecdotal records and make interpretations of how and where children spend time, their social relationships,
their use of language, modes of interaction. Information about health and nutrition habits may be recorded too.

Systematic Sampling of Children’s Activities

Choose selected samples of children’s art work, scribbling and writing conveying their ideas, photographs of their
work, video/audio recordings, dictated stories, records of group participation work etc.

Documentation Procedures

Developmental progress checklists Portfolios Summary

  Portfolio
Developmental Progress Summary Report
  Collections of children’s work that are designed to
Checklist
demonstrate successes, growth, higher order
thinking, creativity and reflection Outline children’s progress
Comprises
  lists of though narrative reports by
information, data, attributes ECCE teachers/caregivers
Portfolio maintained for each child to be kept at
or elements, criteria that
  the ECCE centre. Include
guides ECCE teachers and
caregivers to observe - Cover page with centre name and Developmental Progess
children details. Card with narratives to
- Child’s personal details along with a share with parents and
Specific developmental photograph. later to be shared with
screening checklists used - Information sheet and feedback from Primary school
for identification of parents discussing children's interests
developmental delay or and strengths.
impairments for preventive - Medical health form.
measures and referrals - Children's artwork, drawing and writing
samples
- Photographs of models made by a child
- Photographs of children at play.
- Noting of interesting discussions held
with the child.
- Ongoing developmental progress
checklist form.
  - Copies of summary progress reports
given to parents.
 

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12. Role of Caregiver/ ECCE Teacher

The caregivers/ teachers in an ECCE programme are facilitators who engage children in
multiple experiences to foster their all round development. They play the following roles:

• Observe children to identify their needs and capabilities and move with the pace of the
child’s development
• Plan developmentally appropriate, holistic and challenging activities
• Facilitate learning to meet the objectives of the curriculum
• Adapt activities to suit the learning abilities of children with disabilities. Like, a child with
visual challenge could be given multi-sensorial experiences.
• Organise supportive learning environment by taking care of aspects such as the
arrangement of the physical environment and equipment; the scheduling of activities and
events and groupings
• Develop responsive relationship with children and understand that transactions within
the classroom is a journey of mutual learning between the child and herself so that she
can continue to learn and help the children in her care
• Respect the child and the social environment the child comes from.
• Focus not only on planning and conducting activities but also on continuous processes
for interaction and relating learning to child’s environment.
• Create nurturing and positive relationships with children and among children
• Interact verbally with children in a calm, respectful and friendly manner
• Ensure social inclusion of children with disability in the ECCE classroom.
• Help in early identification and intervention for children with special needs
• Work in partnership with parents

• Develop a plan for the transition of children from Preschool to Pre-primary or Primary
programmes.

To accomplish the above the teachers need to enjoy being with young children, be
knowledgeable about children’s development and early childhood curriculum and should be
skilled at implementing the curriculum. The other significant adults in the ECCE set up are
also an integral part of the programme for the child and must contribute to the above
mentioned roles.

13. Partnership with Parents and Family

In planning for an effective Early Childhood Care and Education Programme parental
participation and involvement is equally important. The programme recommends that the
early childhood staff should form a positive partnership with parents on an ongoing basis

62 
 
 

through frequent and positive ECCE centre to home communication in the form of sharing
progress reports, holding conferences, sending personal notes, updating parents of events
and activities, etc. ECCE teachers/caregivers should actively seek parental support by
showing them how they can work with their children at home to reinforce the learning
experiences that take place in ECCE centre. If these practices are followed, it will certainly
help parents to feel more self-confident and comfortable and encourage them to become
actively involved in their child’s care and learning.

Fig 4: Parents encouraged looking at child’s portfolios and Parent Meeting at the ECCE centre

Parents have a distinct role as follows:

• Providing a nurturing, conducive and supportive environment for optimal development

and learning
• Encouraging exploration and experimentation at home and optimally utilising the ample
opportunities for incidental and lifelong learning, arising from the daily activities
• Establishing a relationship of trust and mutual respect with the teacher
• Sharing and planning their development along with the ECCE teachers/caregivers
• Participating in the open days and other events for parents and community
• Not to force formal learning and competition at this early age and respect children’s
abilities and personalities.

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ECCE Teachers/Caregivers have distinct role as follows:

• Get to know families by making initial contacts to learn about each family. Learn about
the various cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds of children and know how to
communicate with diverse families
• Initiate the building of a close and positive relationship with families in the opening
conference/meeting of the academic year and continue to provide a comfortable
environment for follow-up periodic parent-teacher meetings.
• Have a defined plan that promotes parent-teacher partnerships.
• Be available to parents and families for help and support.
• Find ways to connect with families such that there is a constant connect between the two
settings.
• Establish trust by reaching out to families through home visits, organising meetings in
less formal and intimidating settings, and using written communication that all parents
can understand. For example: send letters home to inform parents about what their child
enjoyed doing during the week etc.
• Build an environment of inclusion by inviting parents to school to have them observe
classroom sessions and give feedback.
• Parents and family members being welcomed into the centre on a regular basis either
informally or during planned events.
• Help parents increase their understanding of child development and support them in their
parenting skills. This can be done through ongoing workshops for parents and family
members that help them understand the all-round development of young children, know
about the importance of practicing a healthy lifestyle, understand what eating a balanced
diet means and the nutritional value of different foods, health checkups and immunisation
schedules, physical/emotional safety of children, handling behaviour issues etc.
• Communicate regularly with parents in a variety of ways to keep them informed about
their child's progress and upcoming school activities.

• Children's work being sent home regularly so parents and family members can see what
their child is doing in school.
• Raising any concerns about a child’s development and discussing together how to best
meet a child’s special needs.
• If necessary, recommending community specialists to provide additional help for children.
• Invite parents and family members to class and share their traditions, folk lore, music,
dance, food etc. with the children in class. Include thoughts and ideas shared by family

64 
 
 

members while planning. Ask for parent volunteers who can support and help you plan
activities.

14. Supportive Essentials

The flexible approach to curriculum adopted herein requires certain preconditions as

essentials. These are:

• An enabling and stimulating care and learning environment which has been carefully
designed and is child friendly
• Contextually and culturally appropriate curriculum content
• Developmentally appropriate learning and play material
• Activity; rhyme and story bank
• Children’s Activity Book

• Trainer’s Manual and Teacher’s Guidebook addressing adult-child interaction,

arrangement of the physical environment & equipment, preparing the classroom,
maintaining and enriching it according to the needs of the group planning of the daily
routine etc. to help teachers implement the curriculum effectively and use adaptation and
accommodation to meet diverse needs

• Training of ECCE teachers and caregivers to foster the skills of/help them become
reflective practitioners

• Supportive supervision, teacher appraisal and programme appraisal

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References and Resources

1. Bhatnagar, R (2005): Little Steps. National Council for Educational Research and
Training. New Delhi

2. CECED. (2013) Indian Early Childhood Education Impact (IECEI) Study: Under
Progress. Ambedkar University, New Delhi

3. Donahue- Colleta N. (1992). Understanding Cross-cultural Child Development and

Designing Programs for Children, Christian Children’s Fund.

4. Edwards, C. Gandini. L. & Forman. G. (1998) The Hundred languages of children.

Ablex Publishing Corp. USA.

5. International Baccalaureate Organization (2007). Primary Years Programme. Making

the PYP happen: A curriculum framework for international primary education,
Peterson House, UK

6. Kaul, V. (Unpublished). The Primary Years; Making teaching Child Centred, NCERT

7. Kaul, V. (2010): Early Childhood Education Programme. National Council for

Educational Research and Training. New Delhi

8. Ministry of Women and Child Development, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. (
2010). Mother and Child Protection Card.

9. NAEYC (1995). Developmentally Appropriate Practice in Early Childhood Programs

Serving Children from Birth through Age 8.

10. NAEYC (1995). School Readiness: A Position Statement of the NAEYC.

11. Oliver, M. (1996) Understanding Disability: from Theory to Practice. Basingstoke:

Macmillan Press

12. NCERT (2006). Position Paper on Early Childhood Care and Education, National
Focus Group. National Council for Educational Research and Training. New Delhi

13. Rubello Britto. P. & Limlingan. M.C. (2012). School Readiness and Transitions.
UNICEF, New York, USA

14. Siraj – Blatchford ed. (1998). A Curriculum Development Handbook for Early
Childhood Educators, Trentham Publications, UK

15. Swaminathan, M. and Daniel, P. (2004): Play Activities for Child Development: A
Guide to Preschool Teachers. National Book Trust, New Delhi.

16. Tomlison, Carol. Ann (2000). Differentiation of Instructions in the Elementary grades.
ERIC Clearing House, USA.

17. WHO (2006). Child Growth Standards- Methods and Development, World Health
Organisation

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Glossary of Terms

Developmentally Appropriate Curriculum: The term “developmentally appropriate” comes

from NAEYC’s most celebrated publication, Developmentally Appropriate Practice in Early
Childhood Programs. (Bredekamp & Copple 1997) It refers to an approach to learning that is
centred on the child. To be developmentally appropriate, a curriculum must be appropriate in
three ways.

(a) The curriculum must be age-appropriate. This means that the leaning goals and
activities must be targeted to the way preschoolers typically develop.

(b) The curriculum must be individually appropriate. This means that it must meet the
particular needs and interests of each child in the classroom.

(c) The curriculum must be culturally appropriate. This means it must be consistent
with the values and beliefs of each child’s family background. Being developmentally
appropriate means that the curriculum addresses the needs of both the individual
child and the group.

Developmentally Appropriate Practice: Developmentally appropriate practice, often

shortened to DAP, is an approach to teaching grounded in the research on how young
children develop and learn and in what is known about effective early education. Its
framework is designed to promote young children’s optimal learning and development.

DAP involves teachers meeting young children where they are (by stage of development),
both as individuals and as part of a group; and helping each child meet challenging and
achievable learning goals.

Curriculum: The totality of planned learning experience provided to learners to enable them
to discover their talents, to develop their potentialities to the fullest, to enable them to
construct knowledge, and to develop their physical and interpersonal skills, cognitive abilities
and subject-matter expertise, attitudinal and emotional predispositions, character formation
and work habits, and capabilities and social and human values to function as responsible
citizens

Holistic: A holistic approach to early learning encompasses the physical, social, emotional,
intellectual, and creative development of a child. A holistic approach focuses on the
development of the whole child, rather than only concentrating on individual components.

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Annexure 1
Thematic Approach to Teaching and Learning
The theme based approach of teaching is a powerful methodology and provides the teachers
with opportunities to teach a range of skills and content by integrating curriculum areas
around themes. This method of teaching includes the interests of the children and provides
for opportunities to build on their interests. It helps them develop knowledge and skills in
meaningful ways.
Themes can be developed and implemented on the following principles:

• Building activities keeping in mind children’s interests

• Creating activities that will encourage exploration through the senses
• Giving children the opportunity to investigate and manipulate by providing hands-on
experience with real objects
• Helping children develop new knowledge and skills, based on what they already know
and can do
• Providing activities that deals with all aspects of development such as language,
cognitive, social, emotional, creative and physical
• Providing children with multiple opportunities to experience movement and physical
activity, social interactions, independence and positive self esteem
• Respecting individual differences in relation to cultural backgrounds and home
experiences children bring with them to the classroom
• Planning for different ways and opportunities to involve family members of children

Suggested significant Themes/topics/concepts

• Building and maintaining identity and relationships: Myself, my family and

community
• Maintaining well being: Food, Body, health, hygiene and cleanliness, Safety
• Natural world and environment: plants; animals and birds; fruits and vegetables

• Physical environment: air, water, earth, universe, seasons

• Social environment: My country; festivals and celebrations; neighbourhood; means

of transport, Interdependence -Care for the Environment

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Detailed weekly time table of Example 1

Time Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

slot
9.00 Welcome, prayer, personal hygiene, exercises
a.m. -
9.30 Simple warm-up exercises, simple yoga such as follows, repeating each movement 5-10 times -
a.m. 1. sit on the floor with both legs together in front and rotate feet , clockwise /anti clock wise; move legs
alternatively up-down; move toes - stretch and curl them.
2. clapping, snapping fingers, stamping feet, walking in the circle with fast and slow / soft and loud beat
of drum
3. In standing position with both arms in front rotate wrist in clockwise / anti clockwise directions; open
palm, stretch fingers and curl them inwards slowly but with strength; arms hanging by sides and move
shoulders up and down slowly

9.30 Theme related language and communication activities - discussion, stories, rhymes, story books
a.m - THEME: Myself, My Family, My Relatives and My Home
10.00 Talking about Identification Talk about Conversation Conversation
a.m. oneself and naming of the about one’s about one’s
the body parts cleanliness parents brothers and Revision of
The preschool by self- and care of sisters concepts of
teacher will talk exploration the body Ask each child to transacted
something about parts. talk about the Ask each child to during the
herself and Ask children to Ask mother - what is talk about their week;
encourage each touch their faces questions like the name of their brother/ sister strengthenin
child to say and each feature “if you do not mother, what what is their g children’s
something about of their face, wash your does mother do name of, what do abilities
herself/himself name it, and talk hair what will in the house; they do in the focussed
about its happen?’’ what do they do house; what do upon during
Ones’ name; functions. This will be with the mother; they do with their the week
where do I stay; Similarly with followed by a Similarly brother/ sister
who are there in arms, legs, story about a conversation
my family; what stomach, back… boy who did about the father This will be
do I like and do not take care followed by a
not like This will be of his body. rhyme based on
followed by a family member.
rhyme based on
body parts

10.00 Free Indoor Play Activities

a.m. -
10.30 Children select and play with material such as jig-saw puzzle, stringing beads, blocks, stacking cups, shape
a.m. boards, rings, role play

10.30
a.m. - SNACKS
11 .00
a.m.
11.00 Activities related to cognitive concepts & abilities
a.m. - (since the theme is my body, activities have be planned based on the use of the five senses and the cognitive
11.30 ability which is focussed upon through the activities is the ability to match)
a.m.
Based on sense Based on sense Based on Based on Based on sense
of sight of hearing sense of sense of of smell Revision of
touch taste concepts of
Ask children to Children will be - Take three transacted during
look around and taken outside and Place 3 Help objects with the week;
name what all they will be asked to objects in children to different smells strengthening
can see. close their eyes pairs in a recognize and ask children children’s abilities
and hear the bag and “sweet” to smell them and focussed upon
Ask children to sounds in the ask each and “salty” describe the during the week
identify two similar environment and child to find taste by smells. E.g.
objects from a identify out similar tasting flower, onion.
collection of 5 them.(ability to objects by sugar

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different objects - differentiate) touching solution

e.g. 2 beads of them ( and & salt
same colour from Children will be without solution.
a 6 beads of three asked to place seeing)
different colours. their hands on (ability to
Then place
(ability to match) their ears for one match) some
minute and then sweet and
remove them. some salty
They will be food items
asked how they in front of
felt in the two children.
situations. Ask each
child to
taste any
two food
items and
say
whether
they were
similar in
taste or
different
(ability to
match)
Language and Early Literacy Activities - self expression, phonemic awareness, handling story books, picture
reading, letter sound correspondence
11.30
a.m. -
12 “Today’s news” 1. Show the - “Today’s news” Show the children Give children
noon Ask the children children five Ask the children to five real objects (or simple picture Revision
to say one thing real objects (or say one thing their pictures) books or story of
which they did their pictures) which they did which have names books to concepts
between the time which have between the time beginning with a handle of
period of going names period of going particular sound. themselves. transacte
home yesterday beginning with home yesterday For example – Move around d during
and coming to a particular and coming to objects beginning and go to each the
school today. You sound. For school today. You with sound ‘ka’ in child and help week;
can help them by example – can help them by Hindi. Ask children the child strengthe
asking questions objects asking questions to name the objects identify ning
such as - who beginning with such as - Did you and then name the pictures, read children’s
woke you up sound ‘pa’ in brush your teeth first sound of the words, abilities
today. what did Hindi. Ask today? Did you word. construct the focussed
you eat for children to take bath? Who event based upon
breakfast? what name the dressed you up? (Show and Tell) on pictures. during
did you see on objects and Who came to drop the week
the way when then name the you today? Ask the children to
you were coming first sound of Write the bring any one
to the centre? the word. sentence stated object from the
by each child on home which they
Write the 2. Picture the board or paper like. Or ask them to
sentence stated reading - Select and stick the pick up an object
by each child on a picture which papers on bulletin form the AW. Ask
the board or has a theme board. the child to
paper and stick with some describe the object
the papers on human or in 1-2 sentences
bulletin board. animal
characters (or
other pictures).
Pictures should
be big, clear
bold and
familiar to
children.
Ask the
children to
describe what
they see in the

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picture. Ask
questions to
help them
describe.
For example,
the picture
could be one
showing a
family eating
dinner.
12:00
noon - Activities for creative expression
12.30 (these are related to Theme)
p.m.
Ask children to Ask children to Clay Modelling – Displaying Finger, thumb As per
make a make pairs. Give a small ball emotions - Ask & Hand teacher’s
free hand They have to of clay to each children to display printing. discretio
drawing of their touch one part child different emotions Demonstrate n
own selves. of their body Ask children to using their body- how to make
with the same make their own anger, fear, various birds &
body part on face or the face of happiness, joy, animals with
the other‘s any other family sorrow, excitement finger, thumb
body and member. …. and hand
dance / make Help the children printing
movement. For to decorate the
example, face using
touching their red paper for the
thumb with mouth & nose
partner’s thumb Black colour
and dancing, buttons for eyes.
Touching You can use
elbow, palm different coloured
etc….. pulses as well.

12:30 - Outdoor play - free /organised

1.00 Outdoor Outdoor Outdoor free outdoor Outdoor free As per
pm organized play - organized play play - children will organized play - play - children teacher’s
children perform - throwing and go on swings, Animal walk - will go on discretio
movements as catching a ball slide, and sand children walk like swings, slide, n
directed by the in a circle pit. different animals and sand pit.
teacher -- run,
jump, hop,
1.00 Lunch and departure
p.m. -
1.30
p.m.

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Detailed Weekly timetable of Example 2

30 minutes 80 minutes 30 minutes 40 minutes 30 minutes

Day/ Morning Free play and guided play with Outdoor play Story/ School

The feeding time duration is 30 minutes. After the feeding young children will go home and the elder children will stay back.
Time circle time materials rhymes Readiness
(welcome/ 3-4 years (40min+ 4-6 years Good Bye activities
greeting, 40min) (40min+ Circle time
prayer, 40min)
conversation
)
What is missing? Free play Big bird and small The ECCE
1 (Collect few familiar bird teacher will
Conversation objects from (Let children stand in narrate a
theme : surroundings – rows. Show them story.
animals and feathers, twigs, how to raise their
birds that stay leaves, pebbles, hands and bring Every day,
in the land etc. Show objects them up and down the children of
and in water to children and all the way, like the the age group
make sure they are movement of birds’ of 5-6 years
able to name them. wings. For ‘big’ birds will stay back
Then ask children they will have big for the school
to close their eyes movements, for readiness
and remove one ‘small’ birds they will activities.
object.) have small
What is movements.)
Free play missing? -
(described
earlier)
2 Join the dots with Jump and walk two The ECCE
Conversation crayons. Free play steps (Draw lines on teacher will
theme (Give children the floor narrate a
Taking care pictures for ‘join the 3 year olds will walk story.
of animals dots’ – butterflies, on the line
and birds: animals or birds 4 year olds will jump
building and ask them join on the line
empathy the dots.) 5 year olds will walk
Join the dots 2 steps and then
Free play with crayons. jump 2 steps on the
(described line.)
earlier)
3 Sorting- large and Throw the ball in the Singing
Conversation small grains Free play basket (Keep a different
theme (Keep two kinds of basket/ bucket and animal
How do the grains/pebbles draw a line as a rhymes.
animals and mixed up in a bowl. marker. Children
birds help us? Ask children to sort have to pick up the
out the different ball, walk to the
kinds of grains/ marker line and
pebbles and put throw the ball into
them in different the bucket.)
bowls.)
Sorting- large
Free play and small grains
(described
earlier)
4 Pouring activity Free play Big bird and small The ECCE
Conversation (This is done with bird teacher will
theme two mugs, one of (described earlier) narrate a
Life cycle of a which is half-filled story.
duck, or a with sand/ dal/
chicken water. Ask the
children to pour the
materials from one

72 
 
  

mug to another.)

Free play Pouring activity

(described
earlier)
5 Join the dots with Jump and walk two Role play
crayon. Free play steps
Life cycle of (described earlier) (described earlier)
a butterfly:
Story with Join the dots
stick puppets Free play with crayon.
(described
earlier)
6 Conversation Sorting- large and Throw the ball in the Shared
theme small grains Free play basket writing and
Life cycle of (described earlier) (described earlier) illustration
a butterfly
Story – with Sorting- large
chalk drawing Free play and small grains
on the board (described
earlier)

Note: The time allotted for each activity is 15-20 minutes; the time slots of 30 minutes allotted
in the plan include setting up, distribution of material and winding up for each activity.

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Acknowledgements

The National ECCE Curriculum Framework has drawn from the ideas, experiences and theories of many
people who have provided direction to its creation. We express our gratitude and appreciation to all of the
individuals and groups who have given a concrete shape to the National ECCE Curriculum Framework
and the Quality Standards for ECCE:

the honourable Minister, Secretaries, Joint Secretaries, Directors and other members of the MWCD who
carved a vision for Indian children

the core group members for their major contribution and leadership, from conceptualisation to the final
preparation of this framework

several individuals and groups at National and State level for their constructive feedback and suggestions

Core Group Members of the National ECCE Curriculum Framework and Quality Standards for ECCE

1. Dr Shreeranjan Chairperson, Joint Secretary, MWCD, New Delhi

2. Prof. Venita Kaul, CECED, Ambedkar University, New Delhi
3. Prof G.C.Upadhyay Rtd, Prof, NCERT, New Delhi
4. Ms Deepika Srivastava Planning Commission, New Delhi
5. Dr K. Lakshmi Director, SRC, Hyderabad
6. Dr Renu Singh Young Lives/Jamia University, New Delhi
7. Dr Adarsh Sharma Ex- Dierctor, NIPCCD, New Delhi
8. Dr Suman Sachdeva CARE, New Delhi
9. Dr. D.D. Pandey Deputy Director, NIPCCD, New Delhi
10. Dr Rekha Sharma Sen CECDR, Jamia University, New Delhi
11. Dr Vrinda Dutta TISS, Mumbai
12. Dr Mridula Bajaj Mobile Creche, New Delhi
13. Dr Zakia Kurien CLR, Pune
14. Dr Veena Mistry Ex. Pro V.C. M.S. Baroda University
15. Dr. Anubha Rajesh ICF International, New Delhi
16. Dr Geeta Verma CARE, New Delhi
17. Mr Rakesh Kumar Director, MWCD, New Delhi
18. Dr Tapaswini Sahu Consultant, MWCD, New Delhi
19. Ms Amita Tandon Education Specialist, UNICEF, New Delhi
20. Ms Natalia Mufel Education Specialist, UNICEF, New Delhi
21. Ms Meenal Sarda Education Specialist, UNICEF, New Delhi