Early Years’ Matters
Spring 2008
www.LTScotland.org.uk/earlyyears
13
Spotty House by Monica, 4 years 4 months
Editorial
Welcome to Early Years’ Matters 13. This edition of the newsletter
continues the work of updating you about current early years work in
Scotland – the Scottish Government’s developing early years strategy, the
latest findings from the Growing Up in Scotland study, and Curriculum for
Excellence, as well as support for practice with very young children,
transitions, inclusive education and Skills for Work courses.
We’re trying out a new feature in the online issue of Early Years’ Matters,
www.LTScotland.org.uk/earlyyearsmatters/index.asp. We want to make
the website more interactive by allowing you to add your comments after
key articles.
Read about:
In this issue …
Scottish budget puts spotlight on early years and
delivers new relationship between central and
local government
2
Growing Up in Scotland –
findings from Sweep 2 published
3
Curriculum for Excellence Update
4
Supporting a smooth transition
8
Early years the key to reducing violence
10
Excellence in the Learning Age
11
Zero Tolerance or Violence and Mayhem?
12
Quality Learning Using Persona Dolls 14
Promoting Infant Mental Health in a Group-Care
Setting – Developments in the Birth to Three
Strategy in Midlothian
16
18
•
one nursery that changed its approach to children’s play with guns
•
belief in the importance of the early years as the key to reducing
violence
Preparing for the Employment of Tomorrow
– A Head Start with Skills for Work: Early
Education and Childcare
some current thinking about the future of pre-school education.
CPD Scotland
20
Opening the windows – an opportunity for
fresh thinking about pre-school education
21
Scottish Social Services Council
22
Grading to Help Children’s Service Improve
23
•
Please let us know what you think about our articles and about the issues
discussed in Early Years’ Matters.
Eileen Carmichael, Development Officer, Early Years
l Stop PRESS l Stop PRESS l Stop PRESS l Stop PRESS l Stop PRESS l
The next Saturday Seminar is going to be held in the Marriott Hotel, Glasgow, on
Saturday 10 May on the theme of Pre-school into Primary: Active Learning and
Transitions.
Full details and a booking form will shortly be available on the website:
www.LTScotland.org.uk/earlyyears
Thank you to the children of Chesters Nursery
School, Glasgow City Council, for the paintings
1
Scottish Budget puts
Spotlight on Early
Years and Delivers
New Relationship
between Central and
Local Government
Giving children the best start in life and ensuring all
children are successful learners, confident individuals,
responsible citizens and effective contributors are
amongst the 15 national outcomes identified by the
Scottish Government as priorities in the Scottish budget
documents published recently.
Groundbreaking concordat
These are set out, for the first time, in a groundbreaking
concordat with councils. This agreement, which has been
endorsed by Ministers and leaders of the Convention of
Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) sets out how national
and local government will work together based on
collaboration, partnership and mutual respect.
It’s a totally new way of working for Scotland, and one that
gives councils more freedom to decide on their own priorities
and respond more closely to their communities’ needs.
Councils have received £34.7 billion – a record level of
funding – to deliver the policies agreed in the concordat.
Early years strategy
Work has already begun on developing a comprehensive
and cohesive early years strategy, in partnership with
COSLA, and this will set out how we will deliver on our
commitment to supporting young children and their
families. Several specific early years policies feature
within the concordat too.
Expanding entitlement
As well as expanding pre-school entitlement for 3- and
4-year-olds to 570 hours annually from August 2010,
maintaining high quality provision is also a priority. That’s
why Ministers want every pre-school child to have access
to a nursery teacher, and are also placing a high priority
on developing the training and qualifications of all staff in
the sector. The concordat also includes moves to improve
the learning environment by investing in school buildings.
2
Adam Ingram, Minister for Children and Early Years
Cutting class sizes
Another important element of this government’s early
years policies is cutting class sizes. The concordat makes
it clear that councils will move as quickly as is possible to
reduce class sizes in P1–P3 to a maximum of 18, so that
pupils can benefit from more individual attention from their
teacher at a time when it makes the most difference.
Clearly, the pace of change will vary across authorities
depending on local circumstances and needs, but local
government will be expected to show year-on-year
progress toward delivery of the class size reduction policy,
so that children get the benefits as quickly as possible.
Healthy options
It’s not just about making Scotland smarter though. The
government recognises that early intervention can make a
big difference to health issues too. That’s why five council
areas are already trialling nutritious free school meals for
their youngest pupils. The trials for P1–P3 pupils that run
in the Borders, East Ayrshire, Fife, Glasgow and West
Dunbartonshire until June are already helping children to
develop a taste for healthy options that will stay with them
for the rest of their lives. After a full evaluation, the
government will decide whether to legislate for a national
rollout that could begin in August 2010.
There is much to do as we take forward our ambitious
programme to give children the best possible start in life.
The Scottish Government and COSLA know that these
far-reaching plans affect children, parents, staff and
providers across the country and we will be working hard
to keep you all up to date and involved as we work
together to give our children every chance to succeed in
a strong, successful Scotland.
Growing Up in
Scotland –
Findings from
Sweep 2 Published
with higher educational qualifications read books more
often than those of mothers with fewer or no
qualifications. Sixty-three per cent of the younger children
and 84% of the older children watch TV every day.
The vast majority (94%) of children aged just under 4
attend pre-school education. Around 85% of pre-school
places are provided via local authority nurseries, nursery
classes and playgroups. The majority of children enjoy
pre-school education, with 81% of parents saying that
their child said good things about it at least once a week.
About GUS
Growing Up in Scotland (GUS) is a major longitudinal
research study following a group of 8000 Scottish
children from the early years through to adolescence. The
information from the study will be used by the Scottish
Government and others to help to develop and evaluate
policies and services affecting children and their families.
Launched in 2005, GUS is now three years old and most
of our families have been interviewed three times on a
wide range of topics including household characteristics,
childcare, experiences of pre-school education, sources
of support for parents, food and eating habits, activities,
neighbourhood and community, parenting styles and
responsibilities, and child health and development. Our
families are representative of Scotland as a whole.
Sweep 2
During sweep 2 of the study, interviews were carried out
with the families of 4500 children aged just under 2 years
old and 2500 children just under 4 years. In addition to
interviews with the child’s main carer (the mother in the
vast majority of cases) 4500 interviews with fathers or
other resident partners also took place. Height and
weight measurements were taken from the older children.
The findings are reported in the GUS
Year 2 Report, now available through
the GUS website.
Childcare
Just over two thirds of the parents of the younger
children, aged just under 2, were using some form of
childcare for an average of 22 hours per week. Around
half of these parents use formal childcare services, such
as nurseries and childminders. However, over three
quarters of parents rely on informal care, mostly provided
by grandparents, for all or part of their childcare
arrangements.
The parents of the younger children were asked about
the eating habits of their child. Eighty-five per cent of
children ate at least two types of fruit a day and 70% ate
at least two types of vegetable. Children living in higher
income households were more likely to eat more fruit and
vegetables than those in lower income households.
GUS is being carried out by the Scottish Centre for Social
Research in collaboration with the Centre for Research
on Families and Relationships at the University of
Edinburgh. For more information please see
www.growingupinscotland.org.uk
Some key findings from Sweep 2
There was little change in the structure
of families between years one and two
of the study. Around 80% of children
live in families with two parents while
around one fifth are living in lone
parent families.
Books and TV
Most children enjoy a wide range of
educational and leisure activities both
within and outwith the home. Around
80% of children look at books every
day, although the children of mothers
Myself by Abigail, aged 4 years 10 months
3
Curriculum for Excellence Update
Beginning with Science and Numeracy in September 2007 there has been continuing publication of draft
experiences and outcomes in Modern Languages, Gaelic learners, Classical Languages, Mathematics, Expressive
Arts, Social Studies, Literacy and English, and Literacy and Gàidhlig. Religious and Moral Education and Religious
Education (denominational) will follow in April and Technologies and Health and Wellbeing in May.
In each area there is a cover paper which explains the
thinking behind the draft experiences and outcomes
and which is intended to support discussion within
establishments and educational authorities.
The draft experiences and outcomes provide for
progression and build on the best of existing guidance
while introducing areas of change. They are designed
to express an approach to learning that is clear to the
educator, experiences that will enhance learning, and
outcomes that are meaningful to the child or young person.
Feed back your views
Learning and Teaching Scotland is looking for
feedback on all aspects of the programme, and as part
of that exercise we want to involve as many people as
possible in engaging with, and giving feedback on, the
draft experiences and outcomes across all the
curriculum areas as they are released. We will also be
looking for your input in response to future guidance
on planning the curriculum as a whole.
For practitioners, engagement provides an opportunity
not only to contribute to the process of finalising the
draft experiences and outcomes but also to consider
the implications of the programme in terms of
professional development and practice.
The feedback process will comprise two phases:
Phase 1 seeks feedback on the draft experiences and
outcomes from each individual curriculum area as they
are released. The final Phase 1 feedback process, for
Health and Wellbeing, is planned to start in May 2008.
Phase 2 will seek feedback on the whole portfolio of
draft experiences and outcomes. We are planning that
it will start in August 2008, with an expected finish date
of December 2008.
Feedback will be gathered using various mechanisms:
• Online questionnaire (which can also be submitted
on paper)
• Trialling
‘They provide a clear idea of the
conceptual areas for development
while leaving the contexts from
which to teach them open to local
situations/current events/
imagination of practitioners and
children and so on.’
Principal teacher
4
• Focus groups.
All three mechanisms will run concurrently and key
findings will be published.
Full information about the draft outcomes and
experiences and ways to give your feedback can be
found on www.curriculumforexcellencescotland.gov.
uk/index.asp
Expressive arts
Some experiences and outcomes are specific to the
areas of art and design, dance, drama and music.
Others are generic and suggest possible activities
and experiences that are common to all areas of the
expressive arts. Children may access these generic
experiences and outcomes in any area of the
expressive arts.
The generic experiences and outcomes enable
children to express their ideas, thoughts and
feelings in creative ways in the expressive arts.
There are opportunities for children to experience
the energy and excitement when performing as well
as being part of an audience. Finally, these generic
experiences and outcomes encourage children to
respond to their own and others’ work by describing
their thoughts and feelings.
Throughout the dance, drama and music
experiences and outcomes, children are
encouraged to explore, discover and play with
movement, expression, sound and rhythm, whilst in
art and design, the focus is on creating images and
objects, choosing from a range of art materials.
Science
The science outcomes have been developed in three
areas: Our Living World, Our Physical World and Our
Material World, which are further divided into:
• Planet Earth
• Energy in the environment
Social Studies
Through social studies, children develop their
understanding of the world by learning about their
own environment, the wider world and people in
different times and places, which are important
areas for developing active citizenship.
Within people, past events and societies, the
experiences and outcomes encourage children to
explore items or images to make links to the past
and to use imaginative play to explore how people
lived in the past.
Throughout people, place and the environment the
emphasis is on using the local environment and
learning outdoors. Children are encouraged to
explore and appreciate nature, experience differing
weathers and record the world around them in
imaginative ways.
Within people, society, economy and business, the
experiences direct children to make choices and
take responsibility in their everyday lives. There are
also opportunities for them to explore their local
communities to discover the different roles people
play and the services which are provided.
‘My first impression is that the
experiences and outcomes are
broad. I can see where children’s
interests will fit in here. I like the
language used; it is very down to
earth.’ Nursery practitioner
• Communication
• Forces and motion
• Life and cells
• Materials
• Topical science – no outcomes at early level.
Each science outcome has suggested learning and
teaching strategies embedded within it, in addition to
cognitive parts. This will enable all children to
engage with the outcome although they may access
the cognitive part to a different extent, depending on
their level of understanding.
‘I like the aims of the early level.’
Primary 1 teacher
5
Literacy and English Language
Literacy is the set of skills which allows an individual to
engage fully in society and in learning, through the
different forms of language and the range of texts
which society values and finds useful.
The draft outcomes and experiences are organised in
three areas:
Children need to spend time with stories, literature
and other texts which will enrich their learning,
develop their language skills and enable them to find
enjoyment. Spoken language has particular
importance in the early years. Practitioners will be
aware of the need to balance play-based learning with
more systematic development and learning of skills
and techniques for reading, including phonics. There
is also an Early Reading paper which describes how
the experiences and outcomes might be used as the
basis of planning for early reading, and further
material will be published on early writing.
Skills in listening and talking provide the foundation for
the development of literacy and language skills. To
emphasise this, and to show the important links that
are made between talking and listening, reading, and
writing across the curriculum, many of the experiences
and outcomes are similarly worded. The framework
takes account of the importance of literacy and
language skills in the development of thinking and
learning.
Mathematics
From the early stages onwards, children and young
people should experience success in mathematics
and develop the confidence to take risks, ask
questions and explore alternative solutions without
fear of being wrong. They should enjoy exploring
and applying mathematical concepts to understand
and solve problems, explaining their thinking and
presenting their solutions to others in a variety of
ways. At all stages, an emphasis on collaborative
learning will encourage children to reason logically
and creatively through discussion of mathematical
ideas and concepts. Misconceptions and wrong
answers should be used as opportunities to improve
and deepen children’s understanding of
mathematical concepts, through use of effective
questioning and discussion.
The mathematics outcomes are outlined within the
following organisers:
• Number, money and measure
Reading, Writing and Listening and Talking
Numeracy
Children and young people need to be confident and
competent in their numeracy skills to be able to
function responsibly in everyday life and contribute
effectively to society. Opportunities – planned and
spontaneous, inside and outside – for developing
and reinforcing numeracy across the curriculum
allow children to strengthen their skills.
Where they use numeracy skills in ways that are
relevant to them, children can be more motivated to
learn these skills and understand why they matter.
Children can deepen their understanding and learn
how to transfer these skills to new contexts when
numeracy is developed consistently across different
areas of learning. As they practise the foundation
numeracy skills of number bonds, multiplication
facts and mental strategies within a range of
contexts, they can learn to use them more skilfully,
giving them greater confidence to apply and extend
their skills.
• Shape, position and movement
• Information handling.
‘These look exciting and will support practitioners to provide stimulating
and enjoyable learning experiences.’ Nursery practitioner
6
Literacy and Gàidhlig Language
Litearras agus Gàidhlig
The Literacy and Gàidhlig framework is similar,
different and equal to the Literacy and English
framework.
Tha am frèam-obrach airson Litearras agus Gàidhlig
agus am frèam-obrach airson Litearras agus Beurla
coltach, eadar-dhealaichte agus ionnan ri chèile.
Introducing Gàidhlig at early stages will involve
practitioners in developing ways of teaching Gàidhlig
through active learning. Exploring language using
real-life and imaginary situations through quality
interaction can challenge children’s thinking and
learning and also provide an element of choice and
ownership for their own learning.
Bidh toirt a-steach na Gàidhlig aig ìrean tràtha a’
com-pàirteachadh luchd-cleachdaidh a’ leasachadh
dhòighean gus a’ Ghàidhlig a theagasg tro
ionnsachadh gnìomhach. Faodaidh a bhith a’
sgrùdadh cànan, a’ cleachdadh shuidheachaidhean
fìor agus macmeanmnach tro eadar-obrachadh
àrd-inbhe, dùbhlan a thoirt do smaoineachadh is
ionnsachadh chloinne, is cuideachd eileamaid de
roghainn is sealbhachadh a thaobh an cuid
ionnsachaidh fhèin a thoirt seachad.
As learners acquiring Gàidhlig enter a Gàidhlig
medium class, they will hear and, in time, speak,
read and write Gàidhlig. They may take some time to
develop sufficient confidence to use their newly
acquired Gàidhlig. To increase their confidence and
feeling of success, they should be given
opportunities to interact with other Gàidhlig speakers
in a range of situations.
Practitioners need to ensure that Gàidhlig is the
language of learning and communication, and that
all areas of the curriculum are taught through the
medium of Gàidhlig. The learning environment
should be a literacy-rich and visually stimulating
place, which will encourage language development
focusing on the correct uses of language and
subject-specific vocabulary.
The design of the outcomes seeks to play to the
strengths of practitioners who are well placed to
reflect on and further develop what the pupil has
already achieved in home or community languages.
Some learning groups will include children who are
already fluent in Gàidhlig on coming to school and
children who have no Gàidhlig. A sensitive approach
to the management of, and teaching and learning
within, such mixed groups will be particularly
important.
‘The experiences and outcomes
are straightforward and coherent
with a clear progression
throughout and without the rigidity
of the 5–14.’ Headteacher
Nuair a bhios luchd-ionnsachaidh a tha a’ togail na
Gàidhlig a’ dol a-steach gu clas tro mheadhan na
Gàidhlig, cluinnidh iad agus, an ceann ùine,
labhraidh, leughaidh agus sgrìobhaidh iad a’
Ghàidhlig. Dh’fhaoidte gun toir iad dreis a’
leasachadh misneachd gu leòr gus a’ Ghàidhlig a
tha iad air ùr thogail a chleachdadh. Gus an cuid
misneachd – agus faireachdainn de shoirbheachas
– a mheudachadh, bu chòir cothroman a thoirt
dhaibh gus eadar-obrachadh le luchd-labhairt eile
Gàidhlig ann an raon shuidheachaidhean.
Feumaidh luchd-cleachdaidh dèanamh cinnteach
gura h-i a’ Ghàidhlig cànan an ionnsachaidh is a’
chonaltraidh, agus gu bheil gach raon den
churraicealaim air an teagasg tro mheadhan na
Gàidhlig. Bu chòir don àrainneachd ionnsachaidh a
bhith beairteach a thaobh litreachais, agus a bhith
beòthail gu lèirsinneach, oir brosnaichidh seo
leasachadh cànain a bhios ag amas air cleachdadh
ceart cànain, agus briathrachas a tha sònraichte do
gach cuspair.
Tha dealbhadh nam builean ag amas air neartan
luchd-cleachdaidh a tha air an deagh
shuidheachadh gus meòrachadh, is tuilleadh
leasachaidh a thoirt, air na tha an sgoilear air a
choileanadh mar-thà ann an cànanan dachaigh no
coimhearsnachd. Bidh cuid de bhuidhnean
ionnsachaidh a’ gabhail a-steach clann a tha mar-thà
fileanta sa Ghàidhlig air dhaibh tighinn don sgoil,
agus clann aig nach eile Gàidhlig idir. Bidh e gu
h-àraid cudromach gun tèid teagasg is ionnsachadh,
taobh a-staigh buidhnean measgaichte leithid seo, a
stiùireadh ann an dòigh mothachail.
www.curriculumforexcellencescotland.gov.uk
7
Supporting
a Smooth
Transition
Gerard McKernan, Headteacher,
Coatholm Nursery School, North
Lanarkshire
The move to the ‘big school’ is an
exciting and important time for
children and their parents. Children
look forward to it and mums and
dads can see it as marking a
significant moment when a special
carefree time of childhood is left
behind and children embark on a
new phase of development. The first
days and months in primary school
present so many new experiences
and challenges, and children often
respond with an accelerated spurt of
development, thriving on the
challenge and adapting well. This
kind of response depends on the
resilience of the individual child as
well as on factors such as the
network of friends and supporters
that children can draw on. Research
shows that how well children adjust
to the challenges of the new
environment can have a significant
and lasting impact on their learning in
school.
At Coatholm Nursery School we’ve
been looking this year at ways of
improving the quality of the transition
experiences of children. As well as
working with our primary partners,
8
sharing information and supporting
children and parents through well
established induction programmes,
we have become increasingly aware
that our transition planning needs to
address the ‘culture change’ that
children experience as they move
from one learning environment to
another. Borrowing from Margaret
Carr, our aim has been to develop an
approach that makes it more likely
that children moving on are ready,
willing and able to confidently pick up
the threads of successful early
learning.
‘Like a fish in water’
In thinking about what transition
means for learners we focused on
three things: we wanted children and
staff to see that learning habits and
dispositions developed in nursery
– things like playfulness,
independence, collaboration,
spontaneity and perseverance –
would serve their learning just as well
in the new school; we wanted
children to develop positive
perceptions of school, to see it as the
kind of place where they could learn
important things and where their
status as accomplished learners
would be acknowledged and valued;
and we wanted children to have the
knowledge and skills needed to
operate successfully in the new
learning environment. In regard to the
last of these we recognised that in
the past a good deal of attention has
been given to the academic
knowledge and skills which children
need in order to be ready for school.
We were more concerned that
children should have the everyday
knowledge and skills needed to feel
at home – to begin to feel ‘like a fish
in water’. This included practical
knowledge about toilets and eating
places, as well as awareness of the
accepted social mores of the school
– what do you do when you don’t
know what to do?
With all this in mind, our transition
planning this year has had three
strands.
Transition calendar
With a primary school partner (St
Mary’s Primary School, Coatbridge)
we developed a transition calendar: a
straightforward timetable of transition
activities beginning in August and
running through the year, with an
activity pencilled in for most months.
Planned activities ranged from
nursery staff working alongside
primary colleagues in the first days of
the new school year, to shared
workshops, sports days, and visits
from storytellers. The calendar also
included planned times for staff to
get together to look at transition
reports and to review the progress of
children in their first year. The
emphasis was on familiarity, allowing
children to begin to explore and find
out about their new school long
before making the move. As well as
allowing children to start to form
important relationships, the activities
naturally provided contexts for
conversations and reflection between
children, staff and parents. Just as
importantly, the activities provided
opportunities for staff to get to know
each other better and to begin to
think and talk together about the
implications for teaching and learning
of the ‘early level’ in Curriculum for
Excellence, which is now beginning
to be defined.
Building on established skills
Strand Two looked at literacy learning
in the context of purposeful play.
From the start of the new session
Gillian Cairns, an early years worker
from the nursery, worked alongside
Tracy Hill, a Primary 1 teacher,
developing storytelling as part of
planned learning through play.
Weekly visits to the primary school
allowed Gillian, a loved and trusted
friend from the nursery, to support
children in building on established
skills – using puppets, masks and
other props to explore familiar stories
in role play. Children’s developing
skill in reading lets them take on new
roles compared to those adopted in
nursery, but within a familiar and
secure learning milieu. When children
from nursery began to join in the
sessions, they too discovered that
the playful approaches to literacy
learning that worked well in nursery
were valuable and valued in the new
context. They were able to bring
something special too – see for
example the photograph opposite of
the pre-school girl dressed as a
princess (eventually) joining the story
group and adding a different and
unexpected dimension to the
experience of the others. Learning
together, Primary 1 and nursery
children successfully communicate a
sense of the ‘big school’ as a
hospitable learning environment, one
in which the learning skills which
children already possess usefully
enable next steps in learning.
Sharing learning
Transition doesn’t start or finish at the
point where children are handed over
to a new school. The third strand
involved small groups of children
returning to the nursery on a weekly
basis throughout their first year in
primary. The purpose of this was
twofold at least. We wanted to
provide a degree of continuity and
coherence for children who had just
made the move to primary, allowing
them opportunities to make links
between learning experiences. We
also wanted the children who would
be making the move in the following
August to have a whole year working
alongside peers who, having already
negotiated the transition, could return
and ‘showcase’ their new learning
and developing learning skills.
Watching children read and count
together, we notice the levels of
involvement, the attention and
concentration, and the pleasure that
both groups of children seem to find
in the experience of sharing learning
in this way.
Today we are still very much at the
start of developing our approach to
transition. So far the indications are
that each of the strands has the
potential to make a difference to
children’s experience of transition.
Looking to the future, we’re thinking
about sustainability, about how we
make sure that change is maintained
and built on, and about extending the
dialogue about learning and teaching
in the light of Curriculum for
Excellence.
9
Early Years
the Key to
Reducing
Violence
this is when they acquire the noncognitive or ‘soft’ skills that allow them
to negotiate life: skills such as empathy,
compromise and negotiation, the skills
that allow us to make good decisions
– and bad ones.
People often ask how a group of
people from the same block of flats
can turn out to be so different. Why
does one person become a teacher, yet
their neighbour grows up to be a
violent offender? It’s what happens
behind the front door, the way a child
is brought up, the way it is spoken to,
the behaviour it observes that shapes
the adult it becomes.
And it is a process that begins even
before the child is born.
Detective Chief Superintendent John
Carnochan, national Violence Reduction
Unit (VRU)
Violence affects us all, no matter who
we are, no matter where we live.
Much is made of the need for more
police on the streets. But while this
would undoubtedly reduce violent
crime in the short term, in the long
term 1000 health visitors would be
more effective than 1000 police
officers. Early years education and
support is key to reducing violence in
the long term. It’s the nearest thing to
magic without being magic. And that
is why it’s a vital part of the Unit’s
work.
Most important years
Research confirms the most important
years of a child’s life are up to the age
of 3. The safe environment parents
create for babies at this stage is vital:
10
Imagine a pregnant woman living with
a violent partner. How can she provide
a safe environment for her baby if she
cannot provide it for herself? Living in
such circumstances inhibits the
development of the unborn baby in
the same way as excess alcohol
consumption or smoking. The baby is
then born into a situation where its
mother’s ability to do everything she
can for it will be seriously inhibited by
the stress and aggression in her world.
A cycle is then established, where
violence becomes part of everyday life,
a pattern imprinted indelibly on the
child.
Parenting is difficult
Parenting is difficult and parents –
whatever their circumstances – need all
the help and support they can get.
Parenting, whether that be by a single
mother, a mother and a father, a
grandparent, whoever, is an absolutely
fundamental element of society. Only
parents have the access to children in
those vital early years, not teachers and
certainly not police. Children whose
parents successfully pass on vital life
skills enter school ready to make the
best use of education; those who lack
them quickly become detached and
excluded.
Children don’t come with a manual.
No one teaches you how to be a good
parent. This is why we require early
years initiatives, schemes that will offer
support and advice on parenting. Such
schemes should run hand in hand with
antenatal care, so that they can be
easily accessed by whoever needs
them, giving them the confidence to
cope with all the difficulties parenting
brings. This necessitates a universal
service with health visitors on the front
line, identifying potential problems and
offering support where it is most
required.
Support programmes
The VRU has called for such a service in
their 10-year plan, which advocates a
national policy and local delivery of
universal and specialist support
programmes around parenting and
early years by 2017. Health visitors,
who already provide an excellent
universal service, are ideally placed to
deliver this. We must develop a model
that makes better use of well-trained
nursery nurses and social workers to
deliver specialist and targeted services
where they are needed as part of an
evidence-based parenting programme.
This is not about bad parents and good
parents. It is about breaking the cycle
of violence for future generations by
showing them that it is not an
inevitable part of life. And it is about
recognising the need to help and
support those at risk, so their child is
not assigned to a life of failure from
the moment it draws its first breath.
For more information on the work of
the Violence Reduction Unit, go to
www.actiononviolence.com.
‘It’s never too soon to learn.’
e
ntabl
e
v
e
r
e is P
ow...
olenc
ere’s h
As part of the VRU’s commitment to early years,
400,000 leaflets were handed out to P7
pupils across Scotland in March last year.
er for
Vi
The leaflet, which details simple, everyday
ways to help to reduce the risk of violence
in a child’s life, gives parents the knowledge
to help bring up their children to understand
that violence is preventable rather than a fact
of life.
aflet
This le
bett
e life
u mak
elp yo
will h
H
Don’t
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Since the initial launch, the VRU has been
approached by schools, local authorities and police
forces from around Britain asking for more
information and copies of the leaflet.
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omen them.
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Supported by Kathleen Marshall, Scotland’s
Commissioner for Children and Young People,
the initiative also saw posters carrying the
messages sent to doctor’s surgeries, libraries and
prisons nationwide.
S PREVENT
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is righ
what never includ
ildren
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To download the leaflet, go to www.actiononviolence.co.uk/aov/files/Parenting_Leaflet.pdf
Excellence in the Learning Age
The Scottish Learning Festival 2008 will take place on 24 and
25 September at the SECC and Clyde Auditorium in Glasgow.
The main theme of this year’s event is Curriculum for
Excellence with a focus on outcomes and experiential learning
and innovation in the curriculum. Glow, the national
education intranet currently being rolled out across Scotland,
will be the subsidiary theme for the two-day festival. Planning
is well under way for the conference programme, which will
be released in April. This year there will be more than before
to interest and inform early years educators. Find out more on
www.LTScotland.org.uk/slf/index.asp.
11
Zero Tolerance or Violence and Mayhem?
Cath Livingstone,
Abernethy Primary
School Nursery
Class, Perth and
Kinross Council
‘We don’t have guns in
nursery’ has been a
refrain which generally
met no resistance.
However, last year
proved to be more
difficult and no matter
what was said, guns
just went ‘underground’ and the shooting and martial arts
quietly continued when some of our boys believed they
were away from adult supervision. By playing ‘banned’
games they were in effect breaking the rules and
appeared to feel they needed to be deceitful in order to
pursue an activity to which they obviously felt drawn. A
Curriculum for Excellence (Scottish Executive, 2004)
advocates that to engage children, the curriculum should
respond to each child’s needs and interests.
How do you
know they are
‘baddies’?
Shift in attitude
So why halt the only interests of some children? For the
children, guns and fighting represent excitement, power
and getting rid of the ‘baddies’, whereas many adults feel
uncomfortable because of life experience or the
developed ability to empathise (Kalliala 2006, Holland
2003 and Levin and Carlsson-Paige 2006).
Yet it has become apparent that a shift in attitude from
zero tolerance has begun, with most literature concluding
that gun play should be accepted. This prompted my
subject choice for a work-based project. However, there
was concern about a possible increase in aggression.
Would our strong adult presence – observing,
challenging stereotypes and becoming involved within
the play be the way forward?
We stopped saying ‘no guns’, ‘no fighting’ and waited …
Very slowly the children began to make guns and fight
‘baddies’ more public and were then faced with our
questions!
How does your gun
work? What does it
shoot?
12
I wish I could say ‘and that put an end to it’, but
no!
•
considerate of others – aggression has not been an
issue
The boys enjoyed our interest and gave us animated
explanations of what they had made, or how the game
was going. Their models and games became even more
complex.
•
enthused by topics which relate to their play culture
and therefore for some boys this has meant
increased interest in other areas of the nursery.
Rules devised
As with all activities, boundaries are required and rules
were devised with the children which made clear where
the play would take place and what was acceptable.
Superhero play often leads to fighting but our rules
helped all those involved come to a satisfactory
agreement that we would ‘pretend’ but not touch and that
gun play would only involve the children who were
playing the game.
Allowing gun and superhero play and showing the
children we were excited by this play was difficult at first.
It would be so much easier to say ‘We don’t do that’ but
with practice in listening to the children, diverting rather
than stopping play, challenging the children and
becoming involved, we are establishing an environment
where we hope the children can discuss a subject that ‘…
fascinates, confuses, or even worries them’ (Levin and
Carlsson-Paige 2006).
What are your
super powers?
On reflection
Undertaking this study has enabled a change in our
thinking and practice, not only towards gun play and
superhero play but in many other aspects of the nursery.
We have become more:
•
•
involved in the children’s play, whether taking part or
giving suggestions to change potentially hazardous
play
References
open in our discussions with the children,
challenging how they think and listening to their
points of view.
Holland, P, We Don’t Play with Guns Here: War, Weapon
and Superhero Play in the Early Years, Maidenhead: OUP,
2003
The children, and in particular the boys, have become
more:
•
open with the adults in the setting and happier to
discuss and so construct their knowledge about the
world
Kalliala, M, Play Culture in a Changing World,
Maidenhead: OUP, 2006
Levin, D, and Carlsson-Paige, N, The War Play Dilemma,
2nd edn, New York: Teachers College Press, 2006
Scottish Executive, A Curriculum for Excellence,
Edinburgh: Scottish Executive, 2004
13
Quality Learning Using
Persona Dolls
Liz Mercer, Head of Establishment and Donna Derby-Hurst,
Early Years Worker, Cathkin
Community Nursery
Persona Dolls are small friends within
Cathkin Community Nursery that
provide a great basis for learning,
being used as an integral part of an
inclusive, antidiscriminatory and
culturally aware environment.
Parents and staff worked closely to
develop an understanding of the aims
and purposes of the Persona Dolls by
giving each of them their own identity
including family structure, cultural
background, skin colour, abilities and
even likes and dislikes. When
Persona Dolls are introduced they are
well planned to confront and enhance
situations such as care, fear, anticipation, vulnerability and the
general ethos of the nursery environment.
Curriculum for Excellence
Our aspirations for all our children are that they become
successful learners, confident individuals, responsible citizens
and effective contributors. Persona Dolls promote the four
capacities of Curriculum for Excellence as they encourage our
children to become:
successful learners through:
•
discussions and
learning in everyday
situations
•
promoting learning
•
enabling the children
to be creative and
expressive, to work
with others, to
develop an appreciation of aesthetic and cultural values
and ideas, and to prepare for advanced learning when
they go to primary school
•
developing positive attitudes and respect for one another.
14
As an extension of our learning and appreciation of others we
decided our Christmas Show would encompass all children
around the world. We did this by wearing flag hats of our
countries of origin and by wearing traditional costumes. Our
families decorated banners saying ‘Joy to the World’ in their
native language. Our Persona Dolls attended our show
holding programmes for the audience and supporting our
children in their performances.
confident individuals through:
•
opportunities for the
child to ask questions,
discover common
experiences and
feelings
•
building confidence in
relationships
•
expressing and
communicating their
beliefs and views of the
world
•
assessing situations and
making decisions
•
developing pride in oneself and appreciation in others
•
developing an awareness of different cultures from
across the world.
As you can see from the picture Sammy was used in a
situation of danger to encourage the children to use their
assessing skills. Sammy touched a sparkler on Bonfire Night
and needed a plaster on his hand. The children connect with
Sammy as a friend and are very confident in their
understanding of danger especially at certain times of the
year. Sammy helped to reinforce this in a child-friendly way,
encouraging the children to discuss their experiences and be
aware of health and safety at all times.
responsible citizens through:
•
the awareness of
differences in our
communities and our
world
•
the promotion of self-worth
•
encouraging the children
to build cross-cultural
respect and understanding
•
helping the children to
become responsible
citizens who will in time challenge racism and
sectarianism when they come across it in their
communities and life.
To assist with the transition from home to nursery for our
youngest children, Persona Dolls are used as a resource to
promote citizenship’s three ‘R’s: rights, responsibility and
respect. The dolls encourage the children to form new
relationships where they start to trust, respect and understand
one another. They sit with our children at snack time and
lunchtime and are visible in the playroom at all times.
effective contributors through:
•
sharing experiences,
fears, joys, etc, such
as Persona Dolls
going to the dentist
(collective support)
•
work in partnership
and teams, having
discussions, taking
turns and making
decisions
•
taking situations forward and evaluating their own learning
•
giving the children opportunities to challenge
assumptions, prejudices and stereotyped views which
they have adopted about other cultures, lifestyles and
religions.
Similarities and differences
We invited several parents who have been faced with their
own prejudices to help transform our parents’ room into an
‘Around the World’ room – a place where learning is rich,
relaxed and reinforced, and raises awareness for all. This was
a great learning experience for them and continues to be of
great benefit to the children and staff of the nursery.
Persona Dolls are introduced into the playrooms and have a
purpose to further develop citizenship, diversity, emotional
intelligence, emotional, personal and social development,
collaborative working and relationship building. Each doll is
buddied up with a child from each group and staff and
children take photographs of the doll taking part in activities.
Their lives and experiences are discussed and many
questions are asked by the children, such as:
‘Why does Sammy only live with his mum?’
‘Why doesn’t Paul celebrate Christmas?’
‘Why does Sanjit have brown skin?’
Staff are skilled in answering these questions, which help the
children to understand and respect others in their differences
and similarities.
Postcards for Reece
As each Persona Doll moves
around the playrooms, staff
add to their personal
information to ensure
consistencies in their stories.
Recently Reece, one of our
Persona Dolls, visited a local
authority primary school,
which was great for preparing
the children for school and
assisting with the transition
process. Whilst at the school
during school assembly Reece was introduced and
welcomed as a friend. As it was only two days to the
beginning of the summer holidays it was suggested that the
primary children send Reece a postcard from their summer
holidays. Reece received several wonderful postcards at the
nursery. This was an excellent example of learning being
taken forward from the nursery into the primary environment.
The introduction of the Persona Doll Reece generated
interest from pupils in P1 through to P7 as well as being a
stimulus for the development of a variety of curricular skills
and the exploration of important themes around friendship
and caring for others. Reece also provided a focus for the
strengthening of links with Cathkin Community Nursery and
further enhancing our transition programme.
(Primary headteacher)
Cathkin Community Nursery continues to use the wonderful
resource of Persona Dolls to promote citizenship within the
nursery. It also promotes a culturally responsive curriculum
which enables all children, irrespective of origin or
background, to learn in many different life situations.
15
Promoting Infant Mental Health in a GroupCare Setting – Developments in the Birth to
Three Strategy in Midlothian
Lisa Barnes and Jacky Gillan
In 2006 Midlothian Childcare and Early Years Partnership examined key policy documents and recent research on work
with the 0–3 age group. This led to recommendations for implementing the 0–3 strategy for Midlothian. A key part of this
strategy was to offer training to a variety of practitioners working with babies and children aged 0–3.
Further research
Following a scoping exercise of the documents available
to support practitioners working with this age group,
further research was carried out. This included
consultation with key personnel from multi-agency
settings in Midlothian and with colleagues in
neighbouring local authorities, and observations of work
with babies and children aged 0–3 in a range of settings
within partnership centres. The Peers Early Education
Programme and the Solihull Approach were
acknowledged as having a complementary role in
promoting awareness of infant mental health in
Midlothian.
To ensure the long-term effectiveness of the training, it
was decided:
•
to work collaboratively with the managers/owners of
centres from the beginning and offer an introductory/
information sharing session for them before the start
of the training
• that the Childcare and Early Years Partnership would
pay for cover staff where needed
• to ask managers/owners to ensure that the same
room supervisors and key staff were released for
each training session
• to offer training with at least a two-week gap between
each session to allow for work to be carried out in the
workplace and brought back to the sessions
• to emphasise the use of reflection and developing
reflective practice in the training
• to offer three training sessions with a further plenary
session after quality assurance visits to see each
participant in their own workplace
• to provide quality assurance visits involving a threeway discussion with the participant, their manager/
owner and one member of the delivery team.
The focus of the training sessions would be to use current
reading and research to revisit principles underpinning
good early years practice, looking specifically at working
with children aged 0–3 years. This training was open to a
variety of professionals working with children aged 0–3
years, and started in January 2007.
The course aims and success criteria were as follows:
16
Course aims
Success criteria
To examine a range of
framework documents
relating to Birth to Three
To become familiar with
the main principles/values
of Birth to Three
documents
To identify recent research
in child development for
Birth to Three and relate
this to practice with
children
To demonstrate how
theory underpins practice
with children and the
delivery of play
experiences
To evaluate own practice
and use these skills in the
planning cycle
To critically examine own
practice against theory
and apply it to the
planning cycle
The content of
the course
focused on the
recent research
into brain
development and
attachment and
the impact this
has on
practitioners’
work with young
children; looking
specifically at the
child as a person
and a learner; the
role of the ‘key
person’; tuning in
to very young children; and the appropriate experiences
and environment for the 0–3 age group. The quality
assurance visits, involving observation of the
practitioners, feedback on this observation and time for
reflection, were a critical part of the process of supporting
practitioners to critically examine practice in relation to
theory.
‘The course has encouraged me to think
about how children see the playroom
and their experiences in it. It has also
helped me to think about how I deal
with conflict.’
Positive impact
The training was very well received by both practitioners
and managers and has had a very positive impact on
practice. Managers reported that staff who attended the
training are more motivated and are working in a more
focused way. They also commented that the interaction
between staff and babies and young children is more
purposeful and responsive. Practitioners have re-examined
the role of the key person; for example, one practitioner
said that the course had encouraged her to ensure that the
young babies
in her care
have the same
staff working
consistently in
the baby
room, with no
unnecessary
‘movement’ of
staff between
rooms.
‘I now feel more confident with staff/
child interaction and it helped me
realise the importance of reflection in
practice.’
An example of the impact of a greater knowledge and
understanding of early brain development was seen
where a practitioner working with children from 18
months to 3 years reorganised the space and resources
in the room to allow children opportunities for choice.
Subsequently she noticed that this has helped the
children to develop independence. She also introduced a
wider variety of active play opportunities and could see
the positive impact this had on the children’s learning.
Next steps
Arising from this first cycle of
0–3 staff training, a range of
initiatives has been planned
to harness the enthusiasm of
staff and to promote
continuing professional
development. These include,
among other developments:
•
0–3 Practitioners Group
Meeting once a term to encourage information
exchange on best practice and to consolidate the
theory-to-practice issues covered in the course.
•
0–3 Neighbourhood Authorities Meeting (NAM)
Established by Midlothian to promote good interauthority links and as a route to understand how
individual authorities are implementing the 0–3
strategy.
‘I learned all about transitional objects
and I have made other staff at work
aware of the need for these. I also
gained new knowledge on the
importance of the key person.’
A best practice document is about to be published which
brings together the themes from the course with clear
links to practice. This document has been developed in
conjunction with practitioners, celebrating the
achievements of the practitioners in Midlothian and
looking forward to the developments and achievements
of the future.
Contact:
Lisa Barnes, tel: 0131 271 3694, email: lisa.barnes@
midlothian.gov.uk
Jacky Gillan, tel: 0131 271 3358, email: jacky.gillan@
midlothian.gov.uk
17
Preparing for the
Employment of
Tomorrow – A Head
Start with Skills for
Work: Early Education
and Childcare
Margaret
MacDonald, Acting
Senior Lecturer,
James Watt College
of Further and
Higher Education
In A Partnership for a better Scotland: Partnership
Agreement (May 2003), the Scottish Executive committed
to ‘enable 14–16-year-olds to develop vocational skills
and improve their employment prospects by allowing
them to undertake courses in partnership with further
education colleges as part of the school-based
curriculum’.
Choice
The intention of this innovative programme, Skills for
Work (SfW), is to provide an additional choice for pupils
entering third year by allowing them to study for a
vocational qualification along with their other Standard
Grades. Attendance on the course is one half day a week
over two years.
The SfW Intermediate 1 award is at the same level as a
General award at Standard Grade. The learners choose
to do the SfW course either in place of one Standard
Grade or as an additional qualification.
A shared vision
At James Watt College, candidates who are interested in
the course take part in a selection process organised
jointly by the schools and the college. (HMIE and SQA
agree that it is important to ensure that the learners who
participate in SfW courses can see an appropriate
possible progression route.) The pupils are interviewed
by college staff, who liaise with the school guidance team
18
before making decisions about allocation of places. Thus
the college partnership with the local schools is firmly
established right from the start of the venture.
In my own experience, the steering group that was
formed with members from the local authority, the
schools staff and college staff shared a clear vision and
this proved to be a vital ingredient for success.
Key transferable skills
SfW brings real benefits to pupils as it helps to develop
key transferable skills that have been identified by
employers. Graham Donaldson, HM Senior Chief
Inspector of Education, writes in the foreword to
Preparing for Work: A Report on the Skills for Work Pilot
Programme (September 2007):
‘Despite the many strengths of Scottish education, too
many young people do not develop sufficiently the
attitudes, skills and competencies which will enable them
to contribute fully to society and the world of work.’
In essence, SfW Early Education and Childcare provides
an effective introduction to working with children. More
than this, it incorporates life skills and an understanding
of values and principles which will be of worth in whatever
career the school leaver eventually embarks on.
First-hand Experience
A Course Team Leader’s View
Embarking on the SfW journey, I have had to examine my
own practice and consider the various learning/teaching
styles that would suit pupils following this new course.
What do I like about SfW? I like the way that it matches
the aspirations of every young person, as stated in
Curriculum for Excellence, with tangible application.
SfW facilitates the delivery of a range of practical activities
where the learners are encouraged to recognise the
importance of working with others to achieve outcomes.
The learners are expected to communicate ideas and
strategies to one another and problem solve when the
going gets tough.
What to do? We’ll make playdough!
‘Can we not just buy it?’ ‘No, it’ll be fun.’
‘What about the mess?’ ‘We’ll plan for that.’
And we did – buying covers for the tables and aprons for
us! A selection of ingredients was made available to each
(initially apprehensive) working group with a list of
instructions. It took considerable perseverance, time, and
trust within each group to produce a malleable, colourful
dough. This experience was then used for open
discussion on the skills we had needed for success – not
least the importance of communicating with one another
and remembering to respect each other’s opinions and
efforts. In this way we created a culture of joint working.
One learner remarked, ‘SfW shows you what it’s like to
work with other people outside your own school.’ Another
observed, ‘Everyone has to take their turn when clearing
up.’ Quite right too!
What else? Interviews
One element of the course is to explore the different
types of early years provision. A suggestion was put
forward by some of the learners that they would like to
interview practitioners in an early years setting. Good
thinking! One learner noted, ‘I feel respected when I
speak out about my ideas.’ Letters of introduction and
explanation were sent out by the groups, asking
permission to visit a nursery and ‘quiz’ the staff on a
range of issues from health and safety to promoting
positive behaviour. Each group made up questions and
rehearsed how they would present themselves. For many
of the learners, the thought of interviewing an adult on his
or her own territory was quite a daunting prospect!
‘The best bit about it was that they asked us to come
again and play with the children this time,’ declared one
happy interviewer. It was all about having the right
attitude, making a good impression, I advised.
I could go on and on . . . but I won’t.
A summing-up
This is the best measure for success for SfW, I feel. The
learners’ experiences should be ‘meaningful, visible and
real’. The course allows such scope for innovation and
imagination. It encourages learners to think things
through for themselves and to come up with ideas that
will allow them to meet their goals.
Q
: How do you make Risk Assessment an
attractive activity?
A: Booby trap the classroom, of course!
‘I think you’re trying to kill us,’ I was accused!
‘Absolutely not,’ I was able to reply sincerely.
Positive attitudes
The group demonstrated their adaptability in many
different ways. They made the jump from school to
college with relative ease, showing a positive attitude to
the new challenges they faced each week. They
displayed an increasing ability to plan, do and review with
a genuine sense of conviction. I had noticed their
increasing courtesy towards one another and me, their
consideration for one another and their focus on their
learning. Peer tutoring and learning is alive and well in
SfW!
A parent declared at our parents’ evening, ‘I’ve noticed a
difference in her approach to her school work. She has a
sense of purpose now.’
Engagement and motivation
I won’t pretend it’s all wonderful. Of course there are
moans when the pressure is on to prepare work for
assessment or perhaps a presentation on an aspect of
child development. Yet again, the creative environment
produced by supporting each other in ICT skills,
researching for information, and collaborative working on
posters and pamphlets settles the learners and renews
their belief in their individual capabilities.
It has been stated by HMIE that ‘learners on SfW courses
displayed high levels of engagement and motivation’.
I know this to be true. I’ve experienced it for myself and
so have the learners.
My House by Monica, aged 4 years, 4 months
19
CPD Scotland
Con Morris, a
member of the
national CPD team,
outlines some of
the challenges and
opportunities
presented by CPD
online.
CPD Scotland is a
national CPD team
project committed
to creating and
maintaining an
online CPD space
for educators in
Scotland. It grew out of demands from educators from all
sectors of Scottish education for more choice in their
CPD.
Finding CPD
If you have ever looked for CPD for yourself or
colleagues, you will know the bewildering variety of
sources you need to check: local authority CPD
catalogues, flyers, word of mouth, educational websites
and TESS articles, to name but a few.
CPDFind aims to provide a one-stop shop for all
educators to find CPD from a wide range of providers.
The CPD providers contributing to CPDFind include
Learning and Teaching Scotland, universities, charities
and a wide variety of private providers from small to
large. The number of providers will shortly be increased
by the transfer to CPDFind of the providers from the
professional development database on the Early Years
website.
Search for opportunities for yourself at www.LTScotland.
org.uk/cpdscotland/cpdfind and please tell your
colleagues
to look for
the
CPDFind
link on
your local
authority
CPD site.
20
Glow and CPD
Regular readers of Early Years’ Matters will know about
Glow. Glow is the national intranet currently being rolled
out across Scotland. It gives educators involved in CPD:
•
secure and personalised access
•
Glow Groups, a professional community tool
allowing discussions and sharing of resources
•
Glow Meet, a web conference to allow ‘virtual CPD’
across establishment boundaries
•
targeted CPD news straight to our desktops.
Reflecting on our CPD
LTS and the national CPD team are working on
CPDReflect, an online self-evaluation tool with a built-in
CPD portfolio. CPDReflect will help educators to reflect
on their job description, professional framework or local
improvement plan. It will help us plan CPD objectives,
identify CPD activities, record and evaluate those
activities and keep a portfolio of evidence.
Best of all, because CPDReflect will be part of Glow’s
personalised system, we can choose to share our CPD
journeys with any other colleague who is also signed up
to CPDReflect.
CPDReflect will be piloted in April 2008 and made
available through Glow from August 2008 onwards. Of
course, that’s when the real work begins as we populate
CPDReflect with frameworks, and examples of interesting
practice, for all educators in Scotland.
Let us know
You can keep in touch with the work of the CPD team by
looking at the CPD website, www.LTScotland.org.uk/
cpdscotland, or by visiting the blog at http://ltsblogs.
org.uk/cpdteam. If you have any questions or inspiration
about CPD online, please feel free to get in touch with
me at c.morris@LTScotland.org.uk
The professional development database, which
carried information about professional and academic
qualifications in further and higher education
establishments, is now closed. Please use the CPD
Find website to search for professional development
opportunities.
If you are a CPD provider in further and higher
education and wish to have your courses included in
CPD Find, please contact the national CPD team.
Opening the Windows
– an Opportunity for
Fresh Thinking about
Pre-school Education
rather than distinct cultural identities and heard about
children’s developing sense of identity and their
understanding of exclusion. One presenter asked if we
took listening to children seriously (and what this might
mean for practice) while another pointed to the
ambiguities about diversity found in curriculum
documents.
Dr Christine Stephen, University of Stirling
Two more seminars are planned. The third will look at the
impact of social and economic factors on development,
the needs of vulnerable children and families and those
who live in rural communities. The focus of the fourth
seminar will be ways of supporting young children’s
learning.
Expansion in local authority provision, a curriculum
framework for 3–5-year-olds, guidance for practitioners
caring for children from birth to 3, childcare partnerships,
new inspections, an ICT strategy . . . just some of the
developments that have changed the landscape of early
years provision since the mid-1990s. Now we are moving
to Curriculum for Excellence and educational provision
as a continuum from 3 to 18. The time seems right for a
critical look at pre-school education.
Future seminars
Wide-ranging look
The aim of the series (funded by ESRC) is to take a
wide-ranging look at pre-school provision and the
experiences of children and practitioners. We are asking
what we already know and what we still need to
understand about challenges to existing practices and
the kind of research needed to answer the questions
posed by people who work with children every day and
those who decide what provision, curriculum and
practice is approved and promoted. We have asked
people with very different perspectives to make
presentations that stimulate debate, surprise and
sometimes annoy!
Outcomes – and ideas
In the first seminar we heard what policy makers across
the UK and Ireland expected in terms of outcomes from
pre-school education and the ideas that were shaping
the services they funded. Two speakers mentioned how
experiences for children and practitioners varied
between the public and private sectors. A look at the
neuroscience evidence about early learning suggested
that there was a need to explore what counts as a rich
environment for language development at home and in
the playroom.
Increasingly diverse needs
The second seminar was about responding to
increasingly diverse needs. We learned about the
challenges facing one London borough as it strives to
listen to parents and hold on to ideas about good
practice. We debated whether the focus should be on
needs or rights, were urged to think about cultural fluidity
Rebecca – 4 years, 5 months
Join the debate
Practitioners, managers and advisers are welcome at
the seminars but it is also possible to join in the debate
through the LTS Early Years website. Visit
www.LTScotland.org.uk/earlyyears/
professionaldevelopment/events/esrc/seminar1/
index.asp to read reports of the presentations and
http://forums.LTScotland.org.uk/forums/forum-view.
asp?fid=89 to contribute to the discussion.
Seminar convenors:
Christine Stephen, University of Stirling
Lynn Ang, University of East London
Liz Brooker, Institute of Education, London
Further details about the seminar series can be found at
www.ioe.stir.ac.uk/events/seminars/index.php
21
Scottish Social Services Council
Update on Childhood Practice Developments
Scotland at the forefront
Following the successful launch of the Standard for
Childhood Practice by Adam Ingram, the Scottish
Government Minister for Children and Early Years, on 31
October 2007, the SSSC is working closely with
stakeholders to support the development of new
Childhood Practice awards. These are designed to put
Scotland at the forefront of the development of integrated
qualifications for early years and childcare practitioners.
The Childhood Practice Standard defines the professional
values and personal commitments, professional skills and
abilities, and professional knowledge and understanding
that contribute to professional action by early years and
childcare managers. New awards at SCQF level 9 and
with 360 credits will be developed for managers, who will
need them to re-register with the SSSC after 2011.
Importance of partnerships
The guidelines for developing new awards emphasise the
importance of using existing qualifications to build credit;
recognising prior learning will become a key feature of
these new qualifications. Partnerships will also be crucial
to the success of the award, particularly partnerships that
enable the dissemination of best practice, offer peer
support and generate communities of best practice in
early years and childcare management and leadership.
The Scottish Government has confirmed that the SSSC
will be approving Childhood Practice awards in line with
its existing regulatory responsibilities. Early indications
are that the University of Strathclyde, in partnership with
the University of the Highlands and Islands Millennium
Institute, and the University of Dundee hope to run
Childhood Practice degree programmes from September
2008. Other colleges and universities are likely to follow.
Development group
Anne Hughes, Deputy Principal at the University of
Strathclyde, has agreed to chair the SSSC’s Childhood
Practice Development Group. This group, which
represents key stakeholders in Scotland, will act as
champions for the new and developing Childhood
Practice awards and as a reference group to ensure the
SSSC is kept informed of the sector’s needs.
The group has already met and you can keep up to date
with progress by subscribing to the SSSC e-bulletin and
newsletter at enquiries@sssc.uk.com.
For further information please contact frances.scott@
sssc.uk.com
Early Years online
www.LTScotland.org.uk/earlyyears/index.asp
Keep up to date with the early years world in Scotland and
further afield. Early Years online has case studies on:
• Active learning in early primary
• Care of very young children
• Health and wellbeing
• ICT in the early years
• Inclusion and equality
• Life skills
• Outdoor learning
• Working together.
Sign up for the monthly email bulletin at www.LTScotland.
org.uk/earlyyears/Emailbulletin/index.asp and find out
about important developments in early years as well as
learning about new online content.
22
Grading to
Help Children’s
Service
Improve
Every children’s care service in Scotland is to be clearly
rated under the new grading system being introduced by
the Care Commission.
Nurseries, after-school clubs and residential homes for
children will be among those given regular at-a-glance
report cards from April this year.
Better informed choice
The grading system is designed to make it easier for
parents and guardians to check the quality and
performance of a children’s care service and make a
better informed choice about its suitability for their
children’s and family’s needs.
Ben helping Dad
to achieve good grades if people using the service have
not been involved.
The system of self-assessment will create a new process
of inspection, which is expected to see the Care
Commission and children’s services work together to
continually improve the overall quality of care provided.
The new system will involve awarding each service a
grade in four separate areas – care and support;
environment; staffing; and management/leadership. Each
grade will be on a scale of 1–6, with 6 being excellent.
Pilot studies across Scotland have proven to be
successful, with feedback from services reporting the
experience of self-assessment and grading to be on the
whole positive.
Self-assessment
Hugely significant move
The scheme will require services to carry out selfassessment, ensuring all children’s service managers and
staff participate in the process of grading. Children and
their families or carers should also be involved. Services
will be encouraged to look honestly at their work before
choosing their grades, which Care Commission
inspectors will then be required to confirm or, in some
cases, amend up or down.
Ronnie Hill, Director of Children’s Services Regulation at
the Care Commission, said: ‘This is a hugely significant
move for children’s workers, parents and everyone in
Scotland who has – or will have – contact with a
children’s care service.
Each grade will be backed up by a more detailed report,
giving further background information on how and why the
grade was agreed. The first batch of reports will be
published on 1 July 2008 to allow for a transitional period
but grading inspections will be carried out from April 2008.
Involving service users
To achieve top grades in the
individual areas, care services
must be able to show that they
have involved and consulted
children and their parents or
guardians. It will not be possible
‘We have listened carefully to the views of parents and
guardians, and where possible the children and young
people themselves, and the message is clear – they want
a simple, quick and effective way to rate care services in
their area.’
He added: ‘Responsible service providers welcome
grading, because they fully appreciate that it recognises
effort, while the best operators already make very real
efforts to involve children and their families. In areas
where a service is doing well, services can find it
rewarding to have the opportunity to recognise their
good work in a structured way. However, where there is
room for improvement, it can be helpful for a service to
look at itself objectively, take stock and identify steps it
can take to improve the quality of care provided.’
23
Saturday Seminar
Pre-school into Primary:
Active Learning and Transitions
Saturday 10 May 2008, 10.00 am – 2.30 pm (lunch provided)
Marriott Hotel, Glasgow
In conversation with:
l Dr Glenda Walsh BEd (Hons), PhD, ALCM,
ILT, Principal Lecturer in Early Years at Stranmillis University
College, Queen’s University Belfast. Glenda teaches on BEd,
PGCE, MEd and Early Childhood Studies degree programmes
and is also the co-ordinator of MEd in Early Years.
l
l
Her Majesty’s Inspectorate
Learning and Teaching
Scotland
This will be the sixth in the series of Learning and
Teaching Scotland’s Early Years Saturday
Seminars. The Saturday Seminars are designed
to encourage debate and discussion on key
topics within the early years community, through
presentations and conversations.
CPD
Opportunity
Active learning and smooth transitions are critical aspects of Curriculum for Excellence developments. Participation in
the Saturday Seminar will allow delegates to increase knowledge and awareness of current initiatives and share skills,
expertise and innovative practice.
Attendance will count towards continuing professional development (CPD) experience.
Reserving your place
Places will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. The seminar fee is £95.00 plus VAT.
To reserve your place, please complete the booking form at www.LTScotland.org.uk/earlyyears or contact Customer
Services on tel: 08700 100 297 or email: enquiries@LTScotland.org.uk
We look forward to seeing you on 10 May 2008 at the Marriott.
(Marriott Hotel, 500 Argyle St, Glasgow G3 8RR. Tel: 0141 226 5577)
l Stop PRESS l Stop PRESS l Stop PRESS l Stop PRESS l Stop PRESS l Stop PRESS l Stop PRESS l Stop PRESS l
Keep visiting the Early Years website as Learning and Teaching Scotland will shortly be recruiting new staff
for the Early Years Team.
www.LTScotland.org.uk/earlyyears
24
Learning and Teaching Scotland, The Optima, 58 Robertson Street, Glasgow G2 8DU
T: Customer Services 08700 100 297 E: enquiries@LTScotland.org.uk
www.LTScotland.org.uk