People Who Help Us (EYFS)

Inside People Who Help Us (EYFS)

meeting the helpers in our community, the special tools each helper uses, dressing up and pretending to be a helper, how to ask a grown-up for help and what 999 is for, and making a thank-you card for a helper we know. About 15 gentle minutes with a grown-up.

Learning objectives

• name the helpers who look after us when we are poorly — doctors, nurses and dentists;
• name the helpers who keep us safe — firefighters, police officers and lifeguards;
• notice the everyday helpers around us — teachers, postal workers, refuse collectors and vets;
• match helpers to the special tools they use, and try their jobs through pretend play;
• know how to ask a trusted grown-up for help, learn what 999 is for in a calm, reassuring way, and practise saying thank you.

Activities in this book

1. Play 1 — Who Helps Us?

   chat about each helper first — have you ever met a doctor, a firefighter or a vet? Then choose your answer together.

2. Play 2 — Helpers & Their Tools

   look around your home for pretend tools — a toy phone, a torch, a teddy to bandage. Real playing makes the learning stick!

3. Play 3 — Pretend to Be a Helper

   join in! Be the poorly teddy, the caller on the toy phone, or the pet who needs the vet. Your child leads, you follow.

4. Play 4 — Asking for Help & 999

   keep this calm and cosy. The message is simple: helpers are kind, grown-ups are there for you, and 999 is only for big emergencies.

5. Play 5 — Say Thank You to a Helper

   a wobbly crayon 'thank you' from a four-year-old can make a helper's whole week. Post it, hand it over, or stick it on the fridge!

Suggestions for teaching

• Start with real life. Point out helpers you meet — the postal worker at the door, the refuse collectors on bin day, the dentist at check-up time.
• Chat, don't quiz. Wonder aloud together: "Who would help a poorly cat?" Let your child think and answer in their own time.
• Play it out. Pretend play with dressing-up bits and toy tools is exactly how Reception children learn about jobs and communities.
• Keep 999 calm and simple. It is a number grown-ups ring in a big emergency so that helpers come — reassuring, never scary, and not for playing with.
• Model gratitude. Say thank you to helpers together so your child sees kindness in action.