In this episode Sarah Mason from The Hill Primary School, Astrea Academy Trust, shares with us the journey she and her team have been on in developing their learning environment in line with understanding the way children’s brain develops. This was part of the Brain-SET Learning Environments project which Astrea Academy Trust embarked on, looking at classroom design through the lens of children's brain development. This year-long project focused on enabling children to feel emotionally secure and ready for learning, by looking at classroom design in terms of lighting, noise, the use of colour, furniture layout and more. The overall aim was to really bring calm into children's lives, which is particularly important for areas of disadvantage which Astrea Academy Trust schools work within.  To find out more about the project, see videos and photos of the environments and hear practitioner interviews, visit: https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/projects/astrea-academy-trust-project Episode break down: 00:00 – Understanding the Brain-SET project 03:50 – The effect of lighting on the children 05:05 – Being in tune with the environment 06:20 – Aligning the environment with the needs of the brain 10:30 – Understanding the ‘why’ behind your practice 14:20 – Are we providing enough calming zones outdoors? 18:10 – What is ‘way-finding’ 21:00 – Sustained focused play 24:00 – Intrinsic vs extrinsic motivation 26:00 – The impact of the project on educators For more episodes visit The Voice of Early Childhood website: https://www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com