early years alliance - Opinion

How do we ensure that we really include every child?

caroline.graham — Thu, 07 Oct 2021 11:17:05 +0000

By Juliette Moran at the Early Years Alliance

Do we believe that every child is unique?

In early years (and hopefully in the wider educational environment) we’re used to the mantra “every child is a unique child”. We ensure that, as educators, we plan for our children’s development and are clear on the direction we want to steer our children’s education. There is non-statutory guidance that supports our work and suggests what typical development looks like.

But what happens if a child doesn’t ‘present’ as typical?

In a world that changes so fast how do we ensure those children that think and react differently to expected norms, are supported and comforted and guided through this noisy, ever-changing and, at times, inconsiderate society?

Are we inclusive of all areas of that child’s life? Do we fully involve parents in their child’s learning and development, or do you think they still feel isolated at a time when they may have concerns about their child?

We are social beasts and we thrive on human contact and interaction. But some of us don’t and that makes it hard to fit in.

Who fits in with who?

But if we believe that every child is unique, why should we expect them to fit in? Do we help parents navigate their child’s world or do we try to put their child’s milestones in boxes or record them against a predetermined ticklist? Does working in this way really help us to understand the unique child? Is it really easier for us to work in this way so we can explain to parents “where their child is at”?

The revised EYFS and the non-statutory guidance Birth to 5 Matters and Development Matters gives us a huge opportunity to move away from ‘tracking’ children and focusing instead on celebrating their uniqueness. There are conversations around cultural capital and what each child’s cultural capital brings to our setting and how it can be used to boost the knowledge and experience of all.

Celebrating and welcoming difference

So why don’t we make more of the opportunities that every child brings with them?

Do we make the setting quiet and explain that not all of us like noise? Do we change the way we display things? Do we have a board for busy minds and a board for quieter minds that show a super focus on a particular activity? Do we allow our children with more sensitive needs the time to try and explain why they feel the way that they do rather than trying to work it out for ourselves?

With Covid having separated us from daily interaction with parents, do we still ensure that the whole family is supported?

Here’s the thing, if we truly believe that every child is unique why don’t we celebrate EVERY child’s uniqueness and their cultural capital?

Why don’t we hold open days or parents evening to explain to parents what we do to be fully inclusive?

It may not matter to those parents who have children that present with typical development, but it could mean the world to those parents whose children are at the beginning of their journey, in the process of diagnosis or at the end of it.

It could mean the world to a parent that is trying so hard to cope with the unexpected to know that the setting their child is in, cares as much about nurturing relationships in the wider society for the ‘grown ups’, as they do for the child’s development.

Opinion

We're proud of you and we're with you — a message to the sector from Neil Leitch

caroline.graham — Wed, 27 May 2020 11:21:36 +0000

By Neil Leitch

I hope you, your families and your loved ones are well and safe.

I wanted to write to you at what I know is a busy and, for many of you, stressful and anxious time.

I know that those who work in the early years are no strangers to having a large weight of responsibility resting on their shoulders.

You are responsible for the learning and development of young children at the most critical time of their lives. It is no exaggeration to say that your influence helps shape the paths that the children in your care will take for the rest of their lives.

But even with this wealth of experience, what is currently being asked of you by government is no insignificant thing.

You have been tasked with deciding whether or not to open your doors in the middle of a global pandemic. You have been asked to start making plans, to deal with questions from parents and to get ready to reopen your settings, with no additional financial support to date and government guidance that has all too often been slow to arrive.

The best interests of your children and families

I am conscious that it is not my place, or the Alliance’s place, to tell any provider what to do in these complicated circumstances.

Every setting - whether nursery, pre-school, childminder or out-of-hours club - is different and has its own factors to take into consideration when making this important decision. As early years professionals, you know your provision, you know your children and your families, and you know your own circumstances.

What I can say is that I’ve worked in this sector long enough to know that whether you have decided to reopen your doors on 1 June (assuming the government confirms its five tests have been met on Thursday), or to keep them closed for now, you will have done so with the best interests of your children and their families in mind – alongside, and rightly so, your own wellbeing and for those of you working with colleagues, your staff teams.

We will continue our fight for you

And I can also say this: we at the Alliance are still with you, supporting you every step of the way. This is a new and unprecedented situation for us as an organisation too, but we have worked hard to ensure that we are able to give you the best possible support, guidance and advice we can around the clock, to ensure you have all the information you need to make a decision on what is right for your provision – and rest assured that we will continue to do this going forward.

We will also continue to campaign on behalf of the early years wherever and whenever it is needed, whether that be fighting for better financial support, better access to necessary resources and equipment, or simply equal treatment to that of schools. We have never been afraid to speak out for the sector, and now is certainly no different.

I know that these are stressful times and it is easy to get disheartened, especially when it feels like the sector only gets a fraction of the recognition it deserves. Please know that we at the Alliance know how hard you are all working – whether that be efforts to reopen your settings safely to your families, or to continue supporting them in other ways while you remain closed – and we are so proud to represent such a committed, passionate and dedicated sector.

I hope you have all had some time to reflect on everything you have done over the past few weeks and months, and what a key role you are playing in your local communities and beyond. For those of you planning to open next week, I hope you are looking forward to seeing your families again, and seeing in person how your children have grown and developed over the past few months. For those of you remaining closed, I’ve no doubt that you will be keeping in close contact with your families in other ways and ensuring they continue to get the support they need.

Thank you all so much for all you are doing, and continue to do.

With kindest regards,

Neil Leitch
Chief executive, Early Years Alliance

Useful links

Operating during the coronavirus outbreak and beyond (includes FAQs about reopening)

Coronavirus: Business Advice - common questions

Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and Early Years Entitlement funding FAQs

Opinion

Learning to embrace EdTech in the early years

caroline.graham — Mon, 14 May 2018 17:16:03 +0000

By Rose Luckin, Professor of Learner Centred Design and Director, EDUCATE London

If technology has not made it into your pre-school setting yet, then it soon will. It’s not just about the whiteboard and the lone computer in the corner of the room. In the future, all children will be learning with hand-held devices, loaded with numerous learning applications.

Technology is rapidly changing the way that teachers teach, and children learn, and this is as true of pre-school settings and nurseries, as it is of any other sector in the education system.

As a pre-school, nursery or childminder practitioner (or the parent of a young child) you can’t have failed to notice how the youngsters in your care relate to technology. Instinctively they know how to swipe to the left to look at pictures in the picture gallery of your phone or where to find the store to install the latest game. It’s amazing to watch. It just doesn’t seem to faze them, does it?

We won't be replaced by robots

This lack of fear is something we need to harness. Not only is knowledge of technology vital in itself, but how we use it to learn requires better understanding by educators and parents.

Much of the discussion about the use of educational technology (EdTech) centres on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and whether it will one day replace human practitioners.

People find this concept both intriguing, and frightening. If you believe, as I do, that education is about more than just the mechanics of learning then we need not worry about robots taking the jobs of educators any time soon.

While a machine can keep going and won’t feel ill or tired as we humans do, young children will always need the caring, nurturing input of the adults who care for them, and who understand their needs as no robot ever will.

Learning to harness the potential of technology

But this advanced technology is here to stay so we must decide what to do with it.

From learning to tell the time, to grasping the basics of reading and maths, technology can help bring these aspects of learning to life, making it motivating and exciting, and allowing children to experiment on their own as well as with their early years teachers.

Educational technology has enormous potential and, yes, that can be scary. But we control the machines and tell them what to do, not the other way round.

At the EDUCATE project, we are creating opportunities and conditions for entrepreneurs and innovators to develop educational technology (EdTech) that is useful and fit for purpose. We help them to turn their brilliant ideas and concepts into something real and tangible, revolutionising how practitioners work in their settings, and how children learn.

Our cohorts so far have done amazing work on developing technology in early years literacy, numeracy, the learning of English by EAL learners, personalised approaches linking teaching to a child’s needs and helping you, the professionals, with assessment and tracking progress – leaving you with more contact time to spend with the children in your care.

We are open to your expertise

Our programme is based at the UCL’s Institute of Education and, with our partners, we offer practical and business advice, clinics and training on how to conduct research into ‘what works’ and how to utilise and understand existing research evidence. We believe this aspect of our work is unique among EdTech programmes and it underpins everything we do – we see little point in developing these products if you don’t think they’re fit for purpose.

This is where we need your help and expertise as pre-school practitioners.

We want to hear from you if you’re a potential entrepreneur with an idea for a EdTech product or service that can be applied to a pre-school or early years setting. Perhaps you’re an entrepreneur in the making and have already developed a EdTech idea which is being used with the youngsters in your nursery or pre-school.

We would also like to team up with you if you’re willing to trial some of the ideas our cohorts are working on, in your setting. Among our current programme participants, for example, we have companies working on products relating to the teaching to phonics, as well as games aimed at parents to prepare children for starting school.

By trialling their ideas, you would be playing an important, pioneering role in shaping the development of EdTech and its use in early years.

To find out more about the EDUCATE project or to discuss your idea, please email us at educate@ucl.ac.uk.
EDUCATE is hosting a week-long conference into EdTech in June and we would like early years and teaching professionals to join us on our practitioner day. Find out more at London Festival of Learning,

Opinion

How can we make the transition between the EYFS and Year 1 easier?

sarah.evans — Mon, 09 Apr 2018 10:11:55 +0000

Jessica Gosling, founder of Step to Pre-school, has years of experience teaching in both the early years and primary schools, in the UK and internationally. In this blog, she talks about her differing experiences of working with both the early years and primary cirriculums, and how an understanding of child development and the EYFS can help professionals working with young children to ease their transition between the two.

Can the differences between the pedagogy of EYFS and Year 1 be reconciled?

I have now travelled along my career path beginning in KS1 before moving to the early years, then back to KS1 again. After having time ‘out’ to raise my daughter - and partially due to enjoying her early years so much - I wanted my career to re-commence in early years.

However thinking back to when I worked in the early years, I recalled a close colleague’s concern:

"I just don’t know what to do here… am I doing it right?"

And she left to return to Primary. Then, the comment didn’t bother me. I was enjoying myself and was happy for the first time in my career. However, her statement would enter my thoughts again later in life. What I did not realise back then, was that this is a concern of many teachers entering EYFS without specialized training: "Am I doing it right?"

I struggled through my first teaching role in Year 1. Working with children fresh out of Reception, I drowned in the stress of how to squeeze them into the academic ‘boxes’ they were required to be molded into. Trying to get them ‘trained’ to sit still in circle times. Play was slotted in the day briefly as earnt ‘golden time’ only, which I endeavoured to include three times per week. The school was highly pressured in terms of high grades and for that I felt lessons had to be structured and outcomes based. Play was a mystery, what would be the guarantee that they’d learn anything from play, that it would help them to reach the expectations? For me play in the classroom was to release the pressure of the ‘proper’ lessons of the morning. I ‘let them play’ whilst I struggled to wade through mountains of paperwork, emails and marking.

However, I became more frustrated, as did the children. This new school day structure of enforced teacher-led lessons… battling to get through a huge curriculum and achieve almost unobtainable goals - was like walking down a mountain in skis. I felt exasperated with the children and they too manifested stress through fidgeting, distracting and being distracted, and struggling to remain focused.

"...the teacher could hold the role of facilitator offering guidance, successfully extending the child through meaningful interactions..."

So when contemplating returning to Early Years once again, that original question re-emerged.

How do I do it right?

I set about learning as much as I possibly could about EYFS in practice, especially in terms of curriculum, enabling environments and interactions. EYFS pedagogy is so different to Primary. It’s obvious to me now that my Year 1 class should have experienced a great deal of play-based learning before I ‘imposed’ the full curriculum on them. I now know that my classes in the early years were far too teacher-led. A different pedagogy and curriculum, daily structure, environment and teacher’s role. How is it that Primary teachers can teach in early years when the ethos is entirely different?

The curriculum is far more child-led and centred. This intrigued me, as a Primary trained teacher I could not see how child-led play could constitute learning. What was the teacher to do? Through my reading I discovered the teacher could hold the role of facilitator offering guidance, successfully extending the child through meaningful interactions and/or resourcing. These ‘new to me’ methodologies, such as Reggio Emilia, grabbed and held my interest. When working with children in Primary of course there were interactions, but these were swayed by an objective or outcome. But what if there was a different, ‘better’ way? What if children learnt better through their own interests in which a practitioner did not plan but instead, responded to. This is what effective EYFS interactions seemed to provide. So I set out trying to find out how best to do this in my own business, Step to Pre-school HCMC.

I have now finished my early years practise and I am taking time to write up my dissertation. I have accepted a new role in August as a Year 1 teacher, with a very supportive school which is sympathetic to the transition from early years. When I received the news, it felt comfortable and unsettling at the same time. Returning to the known… always a good feeling after a career break from a school. But at the same time, this was a year group I had struggled with in the past. So I reflected on what I have come to learn and understand since my last experience of teaching with children of this age, and I feel I can now more adequately support children in Year 1. Some of the objectives I've created for myself, based on my new knowledge and experience of the EYFS, may also be helpful for other teachers looking to support children at this important time. In no particular order:

I will ensure I follow the child’s lead and provide play activities which support their learning. Previously when play was offered in Year 1 I hadn’t thought about the learning outcomes and how if I observed the children, I could further enhance their learning. I will put in place dedicated child-initiated play times.
Short and/or reduced circle times. With young children I quickly understood that they learnt best when they were highly motivated and in less formal environment. I will endeavour to practise key ideas as we explore them outside of a circle.
Provide opportunities to give the children a ‘voice’. To respond to a child's motivations, a teacher must know what they are. I feel much more aware of this as a necessary step in their learning. I would like to ensure that I hear every child’s ‘voice’ as often as possible. The ‘voice’ can also come from watching them with close observations, so I can see and understand their motivations. Working with young, non-verbal children has fine-tuned my skill in this area.
Ensure that the Early Learning Goals are addressed and mastered before we move on to a Primary curriculum. I will ensure children who have not reached these goals have planned experiences where they can work on them.
More freedom – I will gradually work on structure, moving gently towards the Primary Curriculum so each child can develop into more formal learning at their own unique pace.
Establish links with parents so I can understand my classes' social, historical and cultural backgrounds. Working together with parents' has been one of the key outcomes of my small-scale research study for my dissertation.

I hope through this, as well as of course support from my colleagues and a curriculum which relates to young children, I can excel with the cross-over from Early Years to KS1.

Jessica Gosling is the founder of Step to Pre-school and has years of experience teaching in both the early years and primary schools, in the UK and internationally.

Want to know more about this topic? Check out the Alliance's SMARTpd pack Moving On Up! - Managing Transitions in the Early Years

Where next?

Child-centred and led learning – dispensing with the circle time

Opinion

Best practice

Professional development

Child-centred and led learning – dispensing with the circle time

sarah.evans — Fri, 26 Jan 2018 16:48:59 +0000

Jessica Gosling, founder of Step to Pre-school, has years of experience teaching in both the early years and primary schools, in the UK and internationally. In this blog, she talks about how her recent experiences of running a stay-and-play parent and toddler group has brought new opportunities for learning, and how children are never too young to engage in child-led learning through play.

Today I had an epiphany. One of a few in fact, which has come in my current practice. I have opened my own Early Years parent and toddler class, where I specify the maximum students, the resources, the environment and, for my part, the interactions.

I am currently researching how best to facilitate optimal learning for very young children, paving the way for my development and understanding. In fact it’s a little bit ‘I’ but a lot of collaboration with the participants in my sessions.

Prior to working in this setting, I had been a teacher, with a minimum of eighteen but often as many as twenty-eight children to keep on task, ensure they were learning what they should - what I had been told they should. Always in this fast-paced environment, it was what’s next? What’s next…? On overdrive in my head and vocalized by my children. At this feverish pace, I felt I did not observe the children as I should, or really get to ‘know’ them. The first parent’s meeting would take place and yes I could talk about how I had tested the number recognition and so and so could count to twenty… but what did I really know about them?

"...yes I could talk about how I had tested the number recognition and so and so could count to twenty… but what did I really know about them?"

My current setting, I’ve come to realise, has been about learning from others. The class size is small, between 6-8 children with one parent or carer per child. I have encouraged carer feedback which has been fantastically helpful in improving the sessions. I received feedback which I knew already, but I was dissapointed that I had failed to change. However, I needed someone to say something, to make the change.

Let me explain. The session comprised of two circle times, at the beginning and end. This is how a pre-school setting I had attended with my daughter had scheduled their circle times. Traditionally, in teaching, a lesson has a ‘starter’ and a ‘plenary’. However with my group of little ones, the children often did not want to sing and dance in that second circle time and would show me this by leaving the circle. Stuck on what I had observed and practiced for years, I had acknowledged it but had not changed the schedule. I tried to bring the children in the circle or pick them up to dance with me (as other parents also did). Children, being fabulous, would humour us but would often suck their thumbs, lean their heads into their carer’s shoulders.

Anyway, a parent had shared this issue with me. Her child preferred to look at the animals on the walls than join in the dancing. As I was introducing teeth brushing after snack at the end of the session, I thought this a good time to adjust the session. With snack including stories and teeth brushing, this was - in my view - long enough for children to be seated. Thinking the issue through, I decided to include the songs in the first circle time.

"More and more, as I have time to reflect and alter my practice, I am amazed by the ability of young children to show us the way to help them learn."

However, as the children were enjoying games, it was obvious in my first session that to start singing and dancing after playing several games in the circle would just be too long for children to be kept back from activities and free-play. As a responsive practitioner (and one keen to keep any adult-directed teaching to the minimum) I did not want to lose their focus, so I did not use the songs.

I felt a little disappointed about this. I knew some of the children loved the songs and dancing. Toward the end of the session, I looked around the room and noticed one child bending her knees, dancing and smiling. Her carer was singing a song to her. I rushed over with speaker and a song and we began dancing and singing. As I looked around the room, the children in free-play were looking over and came to join in, smiling and laughing. There was my answer, and presented by a child. Dancing and singing doesn’t need to be contained in a circle time. Why not do it when children are motivated, then if they choose to join in they can. She showed me what I needed to ‘see’. More and more, as I have time to reflect and alter my practice, I am amazed by the ability of young children to show us the way to help them learn. We just have to have the time, space, energy and inclination to ‘see’ it.

Jessica Gosling is the founder of Step to Pre-school and has years of experience teaching in both the early years and primary schools, in the UK and internationally.

Best practice

Opinion

Case studies

Reporting back to the bad old days

sarah.evans — Tue, 09 Jan 2018 13:18:57 +0000

Alliance chief executive Neil Leitch shares his thoughts on the recent 'Bold Beginnings' report from �°��ϲʹ��, as well as the negative sector response to that report, and the discussions it sparked around the 'schoolification' of the early years. This article originally appeared in Early Years Educator magazine.

Last month, �°��ϲʹ�� released its first report on the teaching of the school system's youngest children since Amanda Spielman became chief inspector in January last year. At best, it was a missed opportunity.

�°��ϲʹ��'s report, Bold beginnings: the Reception curriculum in a sample of good and outstanding primary schools, produced 12 key findings based on visits to 41 schools in one term. The report provides a commentary on what is working and what is not working in the teaching of reception classes. It concludes with 15 recommendations; eight of which are split evenly between the Department for Education (DfE) and �°��ϲʹ��; five for primary schools to implement; and two for initial teacher education providers.

The release of the report made national news. The headlines, of reception classes 'failing' a third of children, who leave for Year 1 not knowing how to sit properly or hold a pencil, sparked an animated debate in the educational press and social media -and no wonder. The report's implication was clear - education in reception is failing a significant minority of schoolchildren and leaving them unprepared entering Key Stage 1.

The contents of the report, and indeed the sector's response, were perhaps to be expected, given the evidence submitted by Amanda Spielman to the Education Select Committee in November. During the session, the chief inspector was asked why she thought the gap in children's educational outcomes persisted even as 9-in-10 providers were rated as good and outstanding: "Our view is that the looking-after-children side of things [in the early years] is very good. The education side is not so good." This proved controversial, but notably, she later clarified that this comment was directed at reception classes, not providers in the early years. The report built on this theme, suggesting that �°��ϲʹ�� regards the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), which - it is important to remember- covers learning across both the early years and reception, is in need of an overhaul.

For the past nine years, the EYFS has encouraged learning through play and promoted a child-centred approach to early years provision. While any such framework should always be subject to regular review, for the majority of early years settings, the EYFS provides a valuable basis on which to ensure they are delivering care and education to high quality. And yet, despite its high opinions of the delivery of the framework for those working in nurseries, pre-schools and childminding settings, the report's recommendations seem to call for a radical and contradictory departure from this approach when it comes to reception classes.

"Instead of learning-through-play being championed and informing the first years of a child's school education, we face the opposite - a push towards a more formal curriculum, sooner rather than later."

Among the suggestions were that the teaching of reading, including systematic synthetic phonics, should be the 'core purpose' of reception, and that children should be 'taught correct pencil grip and how to sit correctly at a table'. The report questions whether teachers are doing enough to ensure children have a good grasp of maths, calling on teachers to 'attach greater importance to the teaching of numbers'.

Perhaps the most revealing recommendation is the suggestion that primary schools ensure they 'devote sufficient time each day to the direct teaching of reading, writing and mathematics, including frequent opportunities for children to practise and consolidate their skills'. This, in particular, draws on an idea that surfaces repeatedly throughout the document - and most feels like �°��ϲʹ�� championing a move to a formal, 'schoolified' teacher-led classroom - learning through practise and repetition, and a focus on increasing alignment with the Key Stage 1 curriculum.

My fear is that such a narrow focus on literacy and numeracy will deprive children of the broad, varied education they need. Children are unique, complex and changing every day - education in the early years should reflect and harness that. Early years providers and reception teachers should be confident in delivering child-focused education, which acknowledges how broader skills, such as physical, personal, social and emotional development, are vital in building a solid foundation on which children can develop a lifelong love of learning.

This first early years report from a new chief inspector was an opportunity to challenge the orthodoxy of a government increasingly dogmatic about literacy, numeracy and testing. Unfortunately, that chance has been missed. Instead of learning-through play being championed and informing the first few years of a child's school education, we face the opposite - a push to move towards a more formal primary curriculum sooner rather than later, and all the stress and expectation that comes with it being passed on to our youngest children.

Neil Leitch, chief executive, Pre-school Learning Alliance, for the Early Years Educator magazine.

Read the original issue of EYE which this article appeared in here (£)

Opinion

Policy

To Study or Not to Study?

sarah.evans — Fri, 22 Sep 2017 12:20:48 +0000

Jessica Gosling, founder of Step to Pre-school, has years of experience teaching in both the early years and primary schools, in the UK and internationally. In this long read, she explains why she chose to further her studies with a Masters in Early Childhood Education, what she thinks the value of these kinds of qualifications are for practitioners, and the importance and value of learning through play.

I am a qualified Primary teacher, specialising in Key Stage 1. Yet Primary just does not equate to Early Years pedagogy, as far as I see it. Primary training did not prepare me whatsoever for the very complicated and specialised teaching required in the Early Years. So I have come the long way round to continue my studies. Had I been asked directly following the P.G.C.E. would I consider a Masters in Education, the reply would have been a resounding negative. However, following my first two-year placement in an international Early Years environment, I was sure I needed to fill in the gaps of my knowledge.

"I missed the interactions, child-led sessions and the joy of Early Years teaching. I knew I wanted to return to Early Years"

Following my placement in an Early Years environment, I returned to Key Stage 1. I was working within a demanding school in terms of academic results, so play was cut short and excluded in the school day. I felt the pangs when I entered the Early Years classroom - I missed the interactions, child-led sessions and the joy of Early Years teaching. I knew I wanted to return to Early Years so I sought online training, however, I was covering ideas I already knew. And I was left dissatisfied.

So – why a Masters in Early Childhood Education?

After several years raising my daughter I felt I once again had the energy and interest to study. It had been 8 years since I finished my P.G.C.E. I wanted to be an Early Years teacher when I returned to work. Furthermore, I wanted to understand my daughter better. So I enrolled on a distance learning MA Childhood Studies and Early Years. Thankfully this was a part-time option, as I was a full-time mum with only 9 hours per week with my child in day-care. It was a big decision, I was concerned that I would be too far removed from academia and perhaps not cut out for studying anymore, as my daughter was my priority now.

However, from day one I was addicted. I craved knowledge again and suddenly so much made sense to me. Working within the kindergarten, I could 'see' what I could not see before. I understood episodes of play and could effectively support and extend them. It sounds corny but this knowledge literally opened my eyes. This extended to my home. I was aware of when to interact with my daughter and when not to interfere in her play. I focussed on play (and am still focussing in this area) within my Master's study as this is the area I feel is the most complex to understand. Specifically, how play represents learning and how can it be incorporated within an objectives focussed curriculum. Slowly I am finding the answers to these questions. I'm coming to see that objectives should mostly remain within teacher-led activities, where child-led play should remain that way, at times without teacher interference. In child-led play teachers can scaffold learning, however they must be very aware that they do not deviate from the child's goals.

Putting my studies into practice

As I progressed within the course, I began to think how I could best implement my skills and knowledge. I felt it was time to work for myself, to explore how best to provide a pre-school session. Having the confidence to set up my company came from the knowledge I had gained in the sphere of Early Years study, of believing tutor’s comments in terms of my competency and receiving marks which put me in the league of gaining a Master’s with distinction.

So I decided to return to work, supporting infants who are not yet at pre-school and perhaps need a little help getting there. As these children were very young, between 1-2 years of age, I decided to do something I had always been apprehensive about, to work alongside parents within a classroom. This is a two way learning process: I learn about their child with them and through them: the cultural and social implications, whilst my expertise provides training for parents to see the benefits of play and how they can support their child in play. The parent’s feedback is vital to improve my teaching and also eye-opening as a teacher.

Partnerships with parents are vital too

When feedback revealed a lack of understanding of the value of play, this was one area I began to rectify. I had noticed that some parents here in Vietnam couldn’t quite recognise the power of play therefore I try to demonstrate the value of play to parents. For example, it was argued that infants do not need extended free play in my sessions. We know as practitioners that within extended free play children relax and begin to become creative. So how did I counteract this opinion? Firstly, I tried to verbally give examples of the benefits of play and free play by explaining how certain activities produced certain key skills. However, there was nothing more powerful than child-led play in action.

Thankfully this occurred early, within my second session. One little girl looked through the toy cupboard and found a xylophone and stick. Seeing her delight at the noise of the metal xylophone I retrieved a wooden one, where she began to compare sounds as she played. Another child came and sat next to her and watched. She indicated she wanted to join in the activity so I quickly retrieved a third xylophone. She indicated she had no stick therefore I again retrieved one for her (noticing the reluctance of the first xylophone player to give up a valuable stick!) And then a third child showed interest. And sat without a stick. The second child acknowledged this and gave the third child a stick when she had gestured she wanted one. The first child watched and offered the same. The children sustained this activity for several minutes, watching one another, sharing sticks and listening to each other’s xylophones. And they were only one year old. I had only provided the resources as I was attentively around at the time. The children had developed the activity which had been unplanned. This, for me, represents the magic of child-led play.

"...there was nothing more powerful than child-led play in action."

Prior to my study, like some parents in Vietnam tend to think, I would have thought the children ‘just playing’ and not seen the value of this self-chosen activity. The parents were all focussed on these three children playing with one another, collaborating and totally immersed in their learning. So I feel my further study can offer a valuable service to families here in Vietnam. I feel I am bringing forward the concept of ‘Learning through Play’ as the best method to support children’s learning. The focus here in Asia is to ‘teach’ early, in teacher-led sessions and small group activities. Whilst there is a time and place for this, in short directed bursts, we know in the West that this an outmoded teaching method, if this is used as the only method of learning. Children lose focus quickly and cannot relate to the learning. As my sessions involve parents and their infant, the examples we have of quality interactions and learning through play not only benefit the child, but the adult as well. I hope little by little I can chip away at preconceptions of how children ‘should’ learn, and open the door to how children learn best.

Bringing the learning back home

A final example of the excellence of play comes from closer to home. Being a teacher I of course want to teach my daughter. My partner and I often lamented how she always needed so much attention rather than sustaining play by herself. I was always available, always trying to teach. However, she has become central to my development of activities for my class. I have begun to step back and allow her to develop her play. She helped construct ‘sensory bottles’ and I was amazed to see without direction how she worked through the issue of putting items into the bottles. You can see by the pictures what she decided to do! My course had taught me to step back during these moments and I just made sure I was on hand with resources as she asked for them. The power of play is not always interfering, but in fact letting go at times. Which I do think both parents and teachers struggle with! Instead we must provide the correct resources and opportunities, extending with conversation only when appropriate and not distracting.

Jessica Gosling is the founder of Step to Pre-school and has years of experience teaching in both the early years and primary schools, in the UK and internationally.

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Opinion

Professional development

Long read

Why partnerships with parents are vital in the fight for better funding

sarah.evans — Tue, 08 Aug 2017 15:23:52 +0000

Alliance chief executive Neil Leitch blogs about why working in partnership with parents is crucial if the early years sector is to secure fair funding now, and in the years to come.

It’s fair to say that, over recent times, we in the early years sector have had a lot to be angry about. From the government’s (failed) attempt to relax childcare ratios, to the implementation of the much-criticised childminder agency initiative, to the flawed Level 3 GCSE requirement which had such a devastating impact on workforce recruitment, over the past few years, it’s felt like almost every month has brought with it yet another ill-thought-out government policy. And of course, throughout all that, we’ve had to deal with the impact of the chronically underfunded ‘free entitlement’ offer too.

And yet, despite this, I have to say that in all my years working in the early years, I’ve never seen the levels of anger and frustration in the sector as high as they are at the moment.

The problem with 30 hours

Because while underfunding has been a problem for many, many years now, with the introduction of the 30 hours, the subsequent removal of many providers’ ability to survive through cross-subsidising and the government’s sheer unwillingness to listen to practitioner concerns, it feels as though the sector has reached a crunch point. How many times over recent weeks and months have we read about yet another childcare provider forced to close its doors? How many times have we read reports of yet another sharp decline in childminder numbers?

And yet still the government insists that the sector has more than enough funding, not only for today, but also for the years to come. It boasts of an extra £1 billion of funding going into the sector, while failing to mention that less than a third of this is actually going towards increased funding rates. It puts out statements that imply that providers are getting £4.94 an hour when in reality, some are getting less than £3.60. No wonder the sector is angry.

Who’s to blame?

But who exactly are we angry at? Central government, understandably, as it is they who are insisting on pushing forward with this fundamentally flawed policy. Many local authorities too have questions to answer about their approach to the 30 hours, the advice they are giving to settings on sustainability and the often overly-restrictive demands being included in provider agreements.

But what about parents? Over the past few weeks and months, I’ve seen and heard from providers an increasing amount of anger directed towards parents taking up the funded childcare offer – specifically, those who ‘walk in and demand their free entitlement’ or ‘complain about being ask to pay additional charges’. This frustration is, of course, completely understandable: these parents have little to no understanding of the impossible position that many providers are in.

But let’s look at this from the parents’ point of view. They’ve been told they are entitled to 30 hours of free childcare per week. Not funded. Not subsidised. Free. They’ve been told that childcare providers are receiving record levels of investment, that billions is being poured into the sector. It’s no wonder that they are often surprised and confused to be told that it’s not quite so simple.

The solution here isn’t anger, it’s education. We need to ensure parents to understand that there’s no such thing as ‘free childcare’, that the sector is at a crisis point, and that if their local provider has suddenly increased the cost of lunch, or trips, or nappies, it’s most likely because, if they didn’t, they wouldn’t be able to survive in the long term.

Parents as partners

We’ve made a good start, of course. The Alliance has been working tirelessly to raise the issue in the national and regional press, and it’s clear that general understanding of the issue is starting to improve. But there’s always more work to do. And providers talking directly to their parents to explain the challenge that the sector is facing is a vital part of this effort.

That’s why the Alliance produced a free infographic for providers to give to parents explaining the sector’s 30-hours concerns. That’s why we also recently produced a shareable interactive explainer to give parents a real insight into the impossible choices that many providers are being asked to make. And that is why, early this year, we extended our Fair Future Funding campaign to parents.

We must not underestimate the impact gaining the support of parents can have. Just look at the schools funding campaign: both schools and parents worked in partnership to put pressure on government, and as a result, the Department for Education recently announced a £1.5bn increase in schools funding.

Imagine if every single provider concerned about underfunding spoke to their parents about the issues, encouraged them to contact their local MP, to write a letter to their local paper, to sign up the Fair Future Funding campaign. It would send a message to government that simply could not be ignored.

Because as we learned from our successful campaign against ratio changes, when the sector speaks with one voice, we can be incredibly powerful – but when we speak with parents, we’re nigh on unstoppable.

Further information

Free infographic

Free interactive 'explainer'

Fair Future Funding Campaign sign up (for parents)

More information for parents about the 30 hours

Policy

Opinion