Early Years’ Matters
Spring/Summer 2004
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From Craigmillar to
the City Centre
In March 2004, work within Craigmillar, a lessaffluent area on the outskirts of Edinburgh, was
displayed and celebrated in the imposing
Chamber of Edinburgh City Council.
Maureen Baker, Headteacher of Children’s
House Nursery School, said:
‘It started four years ago when Professor Tina Bruce
worked with our early years cluster to help develop our
practice in looking at how children become symbol
users. Over time we gathered evidence that showed
how children represent, predict and rearrange their
experiences. It also showed how different
establishments and agencies (nursery staff, health
visitors and community workers) can collaborate to
work together for the community. Four nursery schools,
three primary schools, a family centre, two children’s
centres, a ‘Books for Babies’ project and a ‘Healthy Eating’ project are all
involved.
In May 2001 we put videos, photographic summaries and artefacts that represented
the children’s experiences of developing symbolic behaviour on display at a
community cluster conference. Tina said ‘There’s a book in this!’ but we were
unsure.
Shortly after, Tina asked us if she could use the Craigmillar experiences to provide
the case studies that link theory with practice in a book she had been asked to write.
We were delighted.
It has been a fascinating experience – from initial involvement in a staff development
day to seeing our notes and records reproduced in print. The work in Craigmillar
has been wide ranging and the book shows how adults can support children and
actively help them develop their learning in early childhood.’
Susan Deacon, local Member of the Scottish Parliament, introduced the celebration by
speaking about the importance of:
‘… local communities being involved in making decisions about meeting local
needs’
and of
‘… supporting families with young children to give children the best possible start in
life. By widening horizons and believing that nothing is impossible, all can achieve
with the right support and encouragement.’
Tina Bruce praised the wholehearted involvement of all involved in the cluster and
commented:
Snowdrops
In this issue …
From Craigmillar to the City Centre
Editorial
Implementing the Early Years Strategy within
a Rural Context
The Early Years Strategy in Practice
play@home
Celebrating Young Children’s Learning
One Hundred Languages of Children
Exploring Together
Wee Green Fingers Fun Pack
Parental Partnership: A PGCE Perspective
Assessment is for Learning Project 9 Update
ArtsPlay: Stimulating Creativity in Childcare
Looking Forward to SETT 2004
The ICT Strategy for Early Years: Moving On
A View from a Masterclass Participant
SSSC Registration
Care and Learning for Children Birth to Three
Early Years Online Update
Learning and Teaching Scotland Advisory Council
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10–11
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‘What a long way we have travelled together since we decided we could make a
book.’
Colwyn Trevarthen, in the foreword, states:
‘The wisdom of this experiment in learning how to learn and how to teach by cooperative awareness has application beyond the early years … this book makes
clear why professionals at all levels must be prepared to listen to and observe one
another … parents are natural teachers and learners too, partners in the enjoyment.’
Developing Learning in Early Childhood by Tina Bruce is published by Paul Chapman
Publishing.
Thanks to Castlebrae Family Centre,
Castleview Nursery Class and Children’s
House Nursery School, who have provided
the artwork for this issue.
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So much is happening in the early years world at present and this
edition of Early Years’ Matters gives just a glimpse of current policy and
practice developments.
Scotland is at the forefront of many developments.
• Artists and childcarers are learning together.
• Parents and staff are developing science packs to share at home
and reporting to parents is becoming more meaningful.
• The ICT strategy is moving forward and this year’s SETT will have
much of interest for early years practitioners.
• Guidance for those working with children birth to three will be
published in late summer.
• There is the excitement of seeing examples from practice in
Edinburgh used to illustrate a recent publication.
Scotland has much to celebrate – but much to reflect upon. Lilian Katz
underlines the need for us all to be reflective practitioners – the more
we know the more we know we have much more to learn.
As we go to press we are awaiting the launch of the Early Years
Integrated Strategy from Scottish Executive Education Department (SEED)
but already there are indications of how the policy will develop – and
how local practice is already in position to implement the strategy.
Early Years’ Matters tries to bring you the most up-to-date information
about good practice in Scotland. The different themes in this newsletter
emerged separately yet each is based on partnership; working in partnership
is already a reality in many areas.
These exciting times will continue and Early Years’ Matters aims to provide
food for celebration … and food for thought.
Eileen Carmichael, Development Officer
Wayne Galloway, Content Editor, Early Years Online
e-mail: earlyyearscontenteditor@LTScotland.org.uk
www.LTScotland.org.uk/earlyyears
Implementing the early years strategy within a rural context
Euan Robson MSP, Deputy Minister for Education and Young
People, spoke recently about implementing the early years
strategy within a rural context.
The partnership agreement by the Leaders of the Scottish Labour and
Liberal Democrat Parties commits the Scottish Executive to continuing
support for children and families, especially those who might be in
more difficult circumstances, and therefore harder for services to
reach. That not only means support in terms of investment, but also
tackling bureaucracy, making funding streams simpler, and making
sure that services are flexible and based around user needs. All this is
set within the context of delivering public services that are of the
highest quality.
Ministerial level
Scottish ministers believe that every child and family in Scotland
should be able to access excellent services. We want to hunt down
and tackle deprivation – whether it is found across a whole community,
in pockets within communities or within individual families due to their
particular circumstances. We have created two delivery groups,
focusing separately on:
• children and young people
• closing the opportunity gap.
Membership includes not only the First Minister, but ministers from
across health, education, rural and community portfolios.
Finalising the strategy
The early years strategy will be finalised for publication in early summer
2004. This is slightly later than we had originally indicated, because we
want to get it right. We want to make sure that comments from both
the consultation and the regional seminars are properly reflected in the
final document, and that more detailed guidance is available soon
after publication. The final strategy will still embody the main
messages of the consultation draft – which means that work can be
taken forward now.
Key features
The key features of the strategy will:
• align Executive policies across departments to enable a
coordinated and coherent framework for the promotion of the health
and well-being of children and families.
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• create greater coherence in relevant Executive funding. We
want to reduce the administrative demands in relation to the way
monies are allocated. In due course we may move towards the kind of
arrangements now in place for the unified voluntary grant fund, but that
will take a bit more time.
• propose a set of clear outcomes for local partners, targeting
health improving and narrowing the opportunity gap for children in
vulnerable and disadvantaged families. This means that every agency is
working towards and contributing to the same objectives.
• support joint planning, commissioning and single system
service delivery of early years services in local authorities, NHS
boards and trusts. All partners need to be involved in these processes.
• provide a framework to monitor and evaluate impact, drawing
on analysis of children’s services plans, the NHS performance
assessment framework and commissioned research. We need to know
if is it working.
A vision for children’s services in Scotland in 2020 could be that they are
delivered using a ‘one-stop-shop’ approach, simplifying the lives of
children and their families. Services would be delivered in an inclusive
environment. They would be responsive, with support given when needed
without multiple visits from different workers. Work in that area would be
something that people would aspire to because of its social importance,
because it has a clear career structure and because it is a meaningful area
to work in.
Transitions
The consultation also raised an issue around transition to P1. There were
strong views about the cut-off at age 5. Ministers want to see a less formal
P1, and that should help make the transition to compulsory schooling less
traumatic for children. However, smooth transitions also need the various
agencies to work together, particularly in the sharing of information, so we
are looking at what can be done to support this. The issue of transitions is
complex, and we are working hard to give clearer messages about this in
the final strategy document.
Next steps
Children in Scotland has been given funding for a year to support the
implementation of the strategy in rural areas. Once the issues have been
identified, the programme will support those involved in services for young
children and families in identifying models and approaches for delivering
an integrated early years strategy.
We expect Children in Scotland to research the international picture, as
I want people to look at what is going on elsewhere – to see what we
might take from other countries and adapt here to suit the Scottish
people and environment.
Experimenting with charcoal
The Early Years Strategy in Practice
Val Cox, Head of Early Education and Childcare Division at the
Scottish Executive Education Department (SEED), looks at the
practical implementation of the early years strategy.
Practitioners in rural areas are probably already ahead in cooperating
with colleagues in health, social work and other related fields. They
can build on these existing networks in implementing the strategy as
well as being involved with wider structures, such as:
• community planning networks
• health planning networks
• childcare partnerships.
Again, the early years strategy puts into words what practitioners have
probably done for years – recognising the need to identify key people,
including parents and the community at large, in decision making.
Using information technology (IT), such as video linking, can help
overcome geographic barriers. Additionally, good use of IT can lead
to better information sharing, which in turn means more efficient use
of resources, and also helps avoid duplication of effort. The use of IT
is an area where rural areas can be pioneers.
We can be more innovative with transport – car pool sharing, using
existing school bus runs. What we would ask is that we keep in mind
that good services are of no use if the transport infrastructure is not
present. This therefore has to be a key factor in any decisions about
service provision.
Here are some examples of how the strategy has been put into practice.
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The strategy puts into words what many may have done for years but it
breaks down barriers that the Scottish Executive may have put in the way.
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The strategy clarifies shared outcomes, so scarce resources and
funding will not be pulled in separate directions. Better coordination of
outcomes and of funding will make it easier to implement novel
solutions that allow for integrating resources, and for combining
services that better suit rural areas. You do not have to build new
services: you can modify existing ones.
Reaching outlying communities
Whilst a single site may be the best model in some areas, this will not
always be the case. It may well help with transport if you are not
having to go to multiple services in different locations. However,
assuming that the best solution is a single site might prevent outlying
communities from accessing it. So perhaps ‘hub-and-spoke’
approaches could be adopted where:
• resources and administration are shared and concentrated on
one centre
• home visitors, peripatetic workers and mobile resources are
used to reach outlying communities.
Many services, such as mobile banking and libraries, are already
delivered in this outreach mode. We must also think about how we can
build services to families with young children around these existing
services – in effect, using them as a hub for other types of provision.
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In one local area an early years community assessment team
has been formed. The aim of the team is to provide a ‘onestop-shop’ approach to the allocation of services for families
with children under 5.
One local authority keeps central computer records, accessible
across services, of council-contracted minibuses travelling from
rural areas to a particular town. Where possible, different groups
of users can share the buses.
The Scottish Executive has recently funded a virtual Scottish
Vocational Qualification (SVQ) assessment centre pilot, which will
provide access to a pool of peripatetic assessors.
Tackling recruitment and retention problems
Another limiting factor can be the workforce. The Scottish Executive is
doing its best to address the problems of recruitment and retention,
through its Cabinet Delivery Group, which is examining children’s
services workforce development. Looking at children’s services and
their workforce more strategically means that the Executive can tackle
some of the longer-term supply and demand issues. The problems
with recruitment and retention in rural areas are well documented.
Some of these problems are exacerbated in rural areas, where there
is a lack of access to training.
Conclusion
The Executive knows that there are challenges involved in delivering any
services in rural areas. We know what these challenges are. But we also
know that, already, many practitioners are using the advantages of their
situation – good local networks and knowledge – to address these at
a local level. Local practitioners are the experts on delivering rural
services, and have much to offer one another in this task.
www.LTScotland.org.uk/earlyyears
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play@home
The Scottish Executive Consultation paper on proposals
for an integrated strategy for the early years provides
some examples of current good practice.
The Baby and Toddler books have activities based around age
stages, which gives parents an idea of developmental milestones
in an easy format.
Julia Nelson, Health Development Officer, tells us more
about the play@home initiative.
Loving touch
Massage is known to have benefits for children’s healthy
development. All the play@home books give clear directions on
massage techniques. In most areas of Highland, health visitors
offer massage sessions for parents to give some extra confidence.
A recent survey found that the massage groups are having
beneficial spin-offs, with some parents continuing to meet
afterwards. Health practitioners also found that being able to offer
a practical tool had helped to
strengthen their relationships
with parents.
play@home is a programme for parents, promoting active play
for children from birth to 5 years old. NHS Highland and
Highland Council are funding the programme as part of their
commitment to offering support to families, with additional support
from Highlands and Islands Enterprise.
The programme was devised
in New Zealand by Sport
Waikito and adapted for use
in Scotland by NHS Fife and
Fife Council. In Highland,
the programme is
coordinated by a Health
Development Officer
employed by NHS Highland
and based in the council’s
Childcare and Early
Education Service.
How do parents get their
play@home books?
All babies born in Highland
from 1 August 2002 receive the
play@home Baby Book from
their health visitor, usually at the
first visit.
The Toddler Book is posted out
to children in the month after
their first birthday.
What is it?
play@home is a series of
The children in the programme
three booklets for parents –
A mother and her baby and an Inverness librarian at the launch of
will receive their Pre-school
more or less ‘recipe books for the play@home Toddler Book in Highland, September 2003
Book at their third birthday,
play’. The books cover the stages
from August 2005. Distribution is to be decided, but it is likely it
for babies 0–12 months, toddlers 1–3 years and the pre-school
will be linked into pre-school education registration.
stage 3–5 years.
The programme is designed to be fun and to encourage the
family’s enjoyment of these very early stages. Activities are aimed
at developing the bonding between parent(s) and child as well as
stimulating children’s all-round development, from muscular
control to language skills.
How does it work?
It is up to parents how often they want to use the ideas in
play@home. Each book gives an overview of children’s
developmental stages, then goes on to suggest play activities,
including the benefits and any precautions to observe. Songs,
rhymes and ideas for simple effective toys are also included in
each book. Our Highland version of the Baby Book also includes
Gaelic songs, rhymes and phrases. A Gaelic version of the
Toddler Book is being prepared.
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Those with children born before the programme start date can
borrow a copy from any library.
What if parents are not comfortable with text?
There are several reasons why some parents will not find it easy to
access ideas in book form, such as literacy problems, visual
disability or just not responding to following written guidance.
All family support organisations in Highland have play@home
books that they can refer to for ideas and use to model games for
parents. Marketing the programme is an ongoing priority and we
are planning family fun sessions during 2004, linking with library
and leisure staff.
Julia Nelson is employed by Highland NHS Board and
based in the council’s Childcare and Early Education
Service. For more information: Childcare and Early
Education Service, The Highland Council, tel: 01463
711176.
Celebrating Young Children’s Learning
Wendy Armstrong, Development Officer,
Assessment is for Learning programme,
recently attended the Celebrating Young
Children’s Learning conference.
This conference, organised by the Institute of Education,
University of London, brought together a wide-ranging audience
of practitioners, managers and policy makers, from both Britain
and abroad, to celebrate young children’s learning.
We also need to:
• resist the political pressure (thankfully not as prevalent in
Scotland as elsewhere) to produce outcomes
• encourage children to take active roles in learning
• allow children to participate in sustained involvement in
investigating worthwhile topics
• provide opportunities for children to develop confidence in
and awareness of their own learning.
Mind the gap
The first keynote speaker was Lilian Katz, Professor Emerita of
Early Childhood Education at the University of Illinois. Professor
Katz gave an inspiring talk entitled ‘Mind the Gap’, discussing
the ‘gap’ between what we already know about young children’s
learning, and current practice in care and education. Gaps of
this kind are inevitable in all professions, but nevertheless need to
be addressed.
Lilian Katz identified existing knowledge and the challenges this
knowledge presents for current practice.
Early woodwork experiences.
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Young children benefit from frequent, continuous,
contingent, sustained interactions.
The quality of our interactions with children therefore is
probably more important than quantity. How can we ensure
high-quality interactions?
Social competences must be developing effectively within the
first few years of life to prevent children being at risk of
having difficulties later on.
The importance of social development for children’s later
success in life cannot be overestimated. ‘It is important to
encourage children to argue and then resolve conflicts.’
Many important aspects of development are cyclical rather
than incremental.
Children need opportunities to engage in cycles of
interactions and feedback, and in revisiting experiences to
deepen their learning.
There may well be important differences between the shortand long-term effects of children’s experiences.
The results of the High/Scope programme suggest that
although formal didactic teaching with young children can
lead to good academic progress initially, a less formal,
more child-centred approach is associated with longer-term
success. Is earlier necessarily better for children?
The speaker went on to describe the lessons we can learn in
relation to current practice. Taking part in good-quality
interactions with children has implications:
• consideration of appropriate child–adult ratios
• involvement of children in experiences that are important to them
• avoiding a ‘routinisation’ of interactions
• fostering ‘genuine relationships that are serious, pleasant,
focused and rich in engaging content’.
This construction was made after
seeing a bridge on holiday.
Footprints were drawn along the top
of the bridge and sea creatures were
made to go underneath.
Finally, Professor Katz warned us never to undervalue children’s
intellectual powers and motivations during our work in helping
children to develop the ‘intellectual habits of mind’ that they will
need throughout their lives.
The themes and messages that came out of this one-day
conference certainly validate the good practice in early years that
is presently being developed in Scotland.
One Hundred Languages
of Children
An inspiring exhibition from Reggio Emilia in Northern Italy celebrating
the creative potential of young children is touring the UK in 2004.
Manchester
Newcastle
Cambridge
Kent
Birmingham
7 April – 4 May
15 May – 13 June
24 June – 21 July
8 Oct – 31 Oct
8 November – 20 December
Entry to the exhibition is free. Each centre will also host a programme
of events to complement the exhibition, including conferences,
workshops, seminars and study days.
For further information visit: www.sightlines-initative.com
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Exploring
Lynn McCafferty, Head of Brucehill Education and
Childcare Centre, tells of a project to extend staff–
parent partnership through the development of
science boxes.
Brucehill, the largest pre-school establishment in West
Dunbartonshire Council, has 80 3–5-year-old children attending
in the morning and 74 in the afternoon. Twenty-three per cent of
the children attend for more than four hours a day. The economic
and social diversity of the surrounding community is reflected
within our walls.
Although we are fortunate to have established positive
relationships with parents we felt there was always room for
improvement. In the past parents have been very supportive
with our literacy and maths home links schemes, but those were
initiated by trained educators and were subject to our own staff
agenda. We did not want just another home links scheme; we
wanted parents to be involved in the creation and participation
of their child’s learning and for this attitude to learning to be
carried on after their child begins formal education. We looked
forward to the opportunity to enhance our relationships with
parents by working in partnership with them.
Aims of the project
To assist:
• parents to spend quality time with and educate their own
children in a relaxed and fun way
• parents and staff jointly to provide ideas, materials and
information
• parents and staff jointly to research, monitor and evaluate
the science boxes
• staff in developing the science boxes.
Why science?
Science can be a scary and mysterious subject to many.
However, as a staff it was an area we felt needed looking at and
so it was included in our development plan.
We decided to break up into three teams made up of staff and
parents. At our first joint meeting the science areas were agreed.
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Sing a Rainbow (colour)
The Main Attraction (magnets)
Bright Sparks (electricity)
Ready Steady Cook (cooking)
Mini Mania (mini-beasts)
Grow a Lot (growing/seeds)
Take a Closer Look (magnifying)
Water Mania (water)
Head to Toe (growing up)
Glow in the Dark (light and dark)
Spaced Out (space)
Weather or Not (weather)
Balloons-R-Us (air)
Excellent opportunity for staff and parents … the
commitment from both was overwhelming. Hopefully
the positive experience for parents will carry on into
primary school … I enjoyed working with the parents
in a different way.
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Two of Brucehill’s
colourful science boxes
Together
Each team took on three subjects with the responsibility of creating and recording individual activities for each box. Parents
researched using the internet, library and primary school and then reported back with their findings. There was a hive of
activity in and outwith the nursery. At first each box contained four activities and all the materials that went along with them.
Very quickly we realised four activities was too much and cut it down to two. All the parents were invited to all the meetings.
Those who could not attend evening meetings supported the project at home by putting the materials on trial and reporting
back to us with suggestions. As a result many changes were made. That is what it was all about.
‘A Balloons-R-Us activity’… photographed at home …
The Box
It was agreed that each box would contain:
• one instamatic camera
• two activity sheets
• all resources needed for the activities
• one parent’s evaluation sheet
• one child’s evaluation sheet
• one explanatory sheet about the aims of the project and
how to use the box
• one book relevant to the subject
• audio activity tape for non-readers.
Four months on, our project is established and working very well with positive
feedback from the children and parents. It is a joy to see the excitement on the faces
of the children when it is their turn to take a box home. On a weekly basis the boxes
are replenished by a team of parents and re-evaluated during staff discussion
meetings and in-service training days. Our aim is to provide more boxes so the
children can be exposed to science more often in the home. Parents feel they have
contributed a great deal to their child’s learning and are more aware of how much
learning can take place in apparently simple play.
… and added to the ‘Look
at what we did’ display.
This project will continue because of the commitment from parents and staff and the overall success of the project.
The Science Box project is part of the Assessment is for Learning programme, Project 9. See page 9.
Wee Green Fingers Fun Pack
Children throughout Scotland will be painting
trees, looking for bugs and creating homes for
wildlife as part of a nationwide drive to get
youngsters into the garden. The Wee Green
Fingers Fun Pack, produced by Scottish Natural
Heritage (SNH), aims to provide a variety of fun
activities for children to do outdoors, to stimulate
their enthusiasm and encourage more wildlifefriendly gardening. The beautifully illustrated pack
is part of a series of initiatives by SNH to
encourage children to learn about wildlife, in an era
when many children are more familiar with
computer games than ladybirds, frogs and acorns.
The pack features poems by award-winning writer
Linda Cracknell and includes a number of activities
(such as painting trees with paint-less water or
mixing natural perfumes and potions), as well as
postcards and stickers of animals and plants. It
also has several themes, such as ‘Growing’,
‘Composting’, ‘Feathered Friends’, ‘Homes’ and ‘Hidey
Holes’.
Bonnie Maggio, coordinator of Wee Green Fingers Fun
Pack at SNH, said:
Our research shows that parents and carers are
keen to have more resources to educate their
children about wildlife and encourage them to play
outdoors. This generation of children are more
alienated from the natural world than ever before
and we hope that by providing incentives like Wee
Green Fingers Fun Pack we can inspire them to
discover the wonders of nature in the same way
that their parents and grandparents did. This pack
is free from SNH to anyone who looks after children
– be that parents, grandparents or nursery
establishments – and we hope that people will find
it helpful and, above all, fun to see.
Wee Green Fingers Fun Packs are free and available from Karen Smith at SNH’s Battleby Office,
e-mail: resources@snh.gov.uk
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Parental Partnership: A PGCE Perspective
The national Assessment is for Learning initiative is
proving to be a valuable catalyst for the Post Graduate
Certificate in Education (PGCE) (primary) programme in
Moray House School of Education, University of
Edinburgh.
Parental involvement and interest in their children’s learning is
now widely recognised as having a significant impact on the
extent to which children realise their full potential. As a result,
working with parents has become a necessary and important
part of a teacher’s role. However, although national Initial
Teacher Education (ITE) benchmarks emphasise the importance
of developing effective relationships, questions are raised about
the extent to which ITE programmes adequately prepare
students with the knowledge, skills, and strategies necessary for
working with families.
When on school experience placement, the opportunities that
individual students have to liaise with parents, or to consider
the parental role in supporting children’s learning, very much
depends on the particular characteristics of different school
contexts and teachers.
Recognition of this apparent haphazard state of affairs raised
questions about how we could best prepare our PGCE students
for their role in developing effective home–school links.
Catalyst
The national Assessment is for Learning initiative, specifically
Project 9, has provided us with the catalyst for taking such a
development forward. Although primarily a local authority/
school initiative, we saw the opportunity to become involved
and investigate how our current programme for PGCE primary
students could be further developed to encompass partnership
with parents.
Our overall aims are to:
• monitor students’ developing philosophies of working with
parents
• encourage deeper analysis and reflection on placement of
the opportunities and challenges presented
• explore the implications for their role of the acceptance of
parents in the role of ‘key source of information’ and
‘educational resource’ at different stages of the primary
school.
‘Design a nursery’
This article focuses on one particular aspect of our Project 9
action plan.
Preparation for placement in a nursery context involves an
extended (week-long) workshop in which students work in
small teams to ‘design a nursery’. The task culminates in
PowerPoint presentations where the teams discuss the nurseries
they have created. This sharing of information and ideas
promotes deeper understanding and discussion about the
concept of parental involvement.
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It’s one thing to learn and be exposed to new ideas. It’s
entirely another (and superior) thing to learn, discuss,
present, articulate and justify those new ideas.
Student comment after the final presentation
The outcomes relating to the nursery design task regarding
parental involvement required the students to:
• collect documentation relating to home–school
communication from the nurseries that they were going to be
placed in and bring them together for team discussion
• use examples of the above documentation and their
professional reading to construct a profile of the
opportunities for parents and early educators to
communicate with each other
• explore strategies nurseries might employ to promote
partnership with parents and encourage joint responsibility
for children’s learning.
Findings
Collectively students identified the need for a variety of home–
school communications and outlined a philosophy similar to the
one below.
At Little Acorns Nursery School we believe that all children
come to us as fully formed acorns, having all of the
elements necessary to grow into a mighty oak. Nursery
workers will keep in close professional communication with
parents in order to work as a team to provide an open and
caring atmosphere for each and every child. Parents will be
made to feel welcome in every possible way, in order to
build a trusting relationship with the nursery. All efforts will
be made to ensure parents are informed of every aspect of
the daily curriculum, with openness to their suggestions.
Little Acorns Nursery, 2003
In ensuring parents were kept informed the design teams
identified a variety of different types and levels of communication
with parents.
Over the course of the week’s workshop it became evident that
teams had based their home–school section on sound theoretical
underpinnings. There is not space here to provide detail about
the various solutions reached. However, they are available online
at www.LTScotland.org.uk/earlyyearsmatters/issue5/parents.asp
There was a growing awareness that all communication systems
– written, oral and visual – could have a significant impact on
the roles parents played.
The action plans we have developed for students as they
progress through their school experience at different stages of the
primary school seek to focus on ways of increasing students’
understanding of their role in enhancing parents’ sense of
positive influence on their children’s success and their
effectiveness in supporting children’s learning.
Dorothy Caddell, Programme Coordinator, and Maggie
Norman, Teaching Fellow, are currently writing a full report of the
Moray House project.
Assessment is for Learning
Project 9 Update
Donna Murray, Development Officer for Project 9:
Reporting to Parents and Others, provides an update
to her article in Early Years’ Matters 3 (autumn/winter
2002).
Twenty-two educational establishments from all sectors have
been taking part in action research through their
involvement in Project 9 of the Assessment is for Learning
programme. Those involved in this project have reflected on
their existing practice in reporting to and working with
parents and explored a variety of issues, including:
• reviewing the organisation of events for parents
• sharing information with parents and teachers during
transition periods
• investigating home visits as a means of increasing
parental involvement
• increasing parental involvement in children’s learning,
for example by providing information on how parents
can support their child at home
• improving communication between the home and
school, for example exploring e-mail
• increasing pupil and parental involvement in the
reporting process
• supporting and working with ‘hard-to-reach’ parents.
The schools involved in this project have undertaken
extensive consultation to ensure that any changes in practice
are relevant to the particular needs of parents and pupils.
Key issues
The key issues that have arisen from the Reporting to Parents
and Others project are as follows.
•
•
•
Effective strategies for consultation with pupils, parents
and staff support learning.
Improved communication between school and home
increases parental involvement in children’s learning.
Jargon-free information for parents about learning and
prior to learning can give them the opportunity to
support their child’s learning at home more efficiently.
•
•
•
•
Pupil involvement in the reporting process increases
partnership and contributes to their motivation to
learn.
Effective practice in formative assessment can support
the self-evaluation process and enhance pupils’
contribution to the reporting process.
The Personal Learning Plan can be the basis for
discussion between pupils, parents and teachers and
promote meaningful partnership.
The appropriateness of the venue for pupil–parent–
teacher meetings should be considered to ensure that
all partners are comfortably able to contribute to the
discussion.
Links to national initiatives
The findings of this project are also encouraging in terms
of the obvious links to other national initiatives. Not only is
there evidence that supports the Scottish Executive’s promise
to … work to strengthen the link between parents and
schools ... (A Partnership for a Better Scotland, 2003) but
also improved partnership with parents can contribute
positively to all five National Priorities in Education.
The National Debate on Education and the response
Educating for Excellence, Choice and Opportunity (January
2003) both acknowledge that involving parents more in
their children’s education and interaction between pupils,
parents, community and school … will require radical new
thinking.
The findings of the Assessment is for Learning project
Reporting to Parents and Others clearly demonstrate that
those involved are committed to building meaningful
partnerships that enhance learning.
Further information about the Assessment is for Learning
programme can be found at: www.LTScotland.org.uk/
assess
Artists regularly work with parents at
Children’s House Nursery School.
These pictures show the results of
weaving workshops. Children can
observe and sometimes take part.
9
ArtsPlay: Stimulating Creativity in Childcare
Kay Smith, Regional Coordinator ArtsPlay, tells us about
an Arts in Childcare project developed by Highlands and
Islands Arts Limited (HI-Arts), which is contracted by
Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) to deliver an
annual programme of arts development and promotion.
ArtsPlay (www.hi-arts.co.uk/artsplay) concentrated on promoting
creativity in children by placing artists in childcare organisations
in order to share their skills with the childcare workers. Based on
a 1997 pilot, Stimulating Creativity, it ran from spring 2002 until
March 2004.
Working together
The artists and childcarers worked together, learning new
skills and gaining new experiences, confidence and a fuller
understanding of the
range of possibilities
for advancing ‘real’
creative
opportunities – as
opposed to routine
and structured activities.
The artists found that they had to be flexible and non-directive in
their approach, offering opportunities for exploration and
development of ideas. They saw it as a chance to build
confidence, as well as to stimulate their own and the children’s
creative development.
The childcarers offered their wealth of experience and
knowledge of the children.
Exploration and experimentation
Participation was the key to understanding the fun and value of
this way of working. Only through working with artists and
participating in workshop sessions
were the childcarers able to gain
confidence, experience a wide range of
media (visual arts, drama, dance,
music and storytelling) and begin to
improvise. The artists and childcarers
took this ethos of exploration and
experimentation into the childcare
settings. Through working with the
children, they learned valuable lessons about improving levels of
concentration, motivation and genuine creative expression.
10
Both projects were designed to nurture children’s development
by stimulating their own creativity through early and continuing
involvement in the arts.
We felt that it was important for children to see adults
engaged in creative work as it implies that creativity is an
essential human quality. The projects aimed to stimulate
children’s curiosity and awareness of different ways of
exploring the world around them.
Making it work
Local coordinators were appointed in each of the 10 areas of
the Highlands and Islands. They organised the budget,
timetabled the sessions, and ensured the smooth running of the
project in their area, while liaising with the regional coordinator.
They were crucial to the project and their local knowledge was
essential to the way ArtsPlay was tailored to meet the needs of
each area.
The project started in each area with two days of training
workshops. These offered practical experience in music, visual
arts, drama and dance and a chance for the artists and
childcarers to play together, break down barriers, form
friendships and understand the ethos and day-to-day running of
the project.
The aims of ArtsPlay may be summarised as:
• to encourage, increase and develop the involvement of
participants in arts activities
• to provide employment for local artists in each area, along
with training in child development and child-related issues
• to provide opportunities for children to work with artists
• to break down the prejudices about art, making art less
‘precious’ through the ethos of ‘having a go’.
Through training, adult participation can be reduced to
looking for clues as to where an activity can be taken.
Training, based on an agreed ethos of good practice, is
needed to disseminate ideas for this approach. Within the
project, nine playworkers and one artist gained the National
Certificate ‘Creative and Expressive Experiences for Children’
through the Highland and Moray Accredited Training
Services (HIMATS) assessors and trainers.
BENEFITS FOR ALL
Benefits for children
Above all it should be fun.
Benefits for childcare workers
Childcarers found that the artists coming into their working
environment meant that the training was easily accessed.
Children experienced:
• involvement in every aspect of the creative process
• a focus on experimentation and exploration instead of
‘how it ought to be done’ or ‘doing it properly’
• an alternative style of communication – being heard
through their own ideas and knowledge, giving a new
sense of identity
• a greater capacity for creativity – stretching their
imaginations and finding out for themselves
• increased levels of concentration
• new skills
• a sense of achievement and pride
• an opportunity to work with artists in arts activities not
often available in rural communities
• new resources – materials, instruments, ideas, stories
and songs
• a lot of fun.
Benefits for parents
Increased understanding and expectations
Parents developed:
• a better understanding of the value of creative
opportunities
• increased personal confidence through demystifying ‘art’
• higher expectations of what their children are able to
achieve
• pride in their children’s achievements
• support in giving their children a positive start in life.
Childcare workers were able to:
• improve and build upon existing skills
• build confidence
• provide direct experience of the creative process through
workshop sessions with artists
• recognise that the creative process can be used as a
vehicle for communication
• give new criteria and guidelines for appreciation of
children’s artwork
• find ways to expand and progress children’s ideas
• stretch children’s imaginations, enabling them to
improvise and ‘go with the flow’.
Benefits for artists
It was often a steep learning curve for the artists as many of them
had no experience of working with such a young age group.
The artists involved had the opportunity to:
• better understand the developmental stages of the child
• find the right level for children and ways of getting them
to commit to the project
• enjoy employment opportunities with a new client group
• meet new challenges
• form links and partnerships with other artists in their
community.
www.LTScotland.org.uk/earlyyears
11
Looking Forward
to SETT 2004
The early years pathway was by far the best represented
at the Scottish Education and Teaching with Technology
(SETT) conference 2003, with every seminar almost fully
booked.
Thumbs up for SETT 2003
Seventy-six per cent of visitors to SETT 2003 felt that the
seminars they attended could change their professional
practice.
SETT keeps getting better.
Times Educational Supplement (TES),
October 2003
SETT 2003 was the star ICT event of the
year. SETT 2004 is likely to be bigger
and better.
TES Online, January 2004
The 2004 conference programme offers a selection of
seminars focusing on early years, all designed to
stimulate debate and inspire staff to use ICT creatively
at the appropriate stage of the child’s development.
Spotlight
The highlight of this year’s early years programme is the
‘Spotlight’ session, in which renowned speakers
Iram and John Siraj Blatchford will speak on the topic
‘ICT Education in the Early Years: Technology Education
or Educational Technology?’
The seminars will also include many examples of effective
use of ICT, for example: the use of PowerPoint, digital
photography, smartboards and webcams to support
interactive storytelling in early years establishments, and
a reflection on how ICT can be used to scaffold the
decision making of 3- and 4-year-old children.
Keynote addresses
While the early years pathway focuses on the issues and
needs of early years practitioners, the keynote sessions
offer a wider perspective on the impact ICT is having and
can have on the teaching and learning process.
John Davitt, Director of WordRoutes
David Warlick, The Landmark Project
Professor Tim Brighouse, Commissioner for London
Schools
In determining an appropriate pedagogy for ICT
education in early childhood, a case could be made
from:
• the philosophy of education
• learning theory
• empirical evidence of effectiveness.
In this presentation, Iram and John will refer to all
three areas and will illustrate their talk with examples
drawn from their extensive research across Europe,
which includes the Kidsmart project.
12
Professor Stephen Heppell, Director of Ultralab, Anglia
Polytechnic University
The four keynote speakers for SETT 2004 (see above)
have been selected to give valuable insights into a
number of aspects of ICT in the teaching and learning
process, including:
• the potential of ICT to work alongside accelerated
learning strategies, allowing staff to work with and
manage a variety of learning styles
•
•
discussion of whether ICT becomes the means of
the already privileged to get further ahead or the key
to unlocking social justice
making a case for a literacy model that extends out
of reading, writing and basic mathematics to answer
questions such as, ‘What do you need to know,
when most of recorded knowledge is a mouse-click
away?’
The Early Years Zone
To ensure that as many early years practitioners as
possible can attend their seminars of choice, the
organisers plan to develop a purpose built area for the
early years sector within Hall 1 of the SECC. In addition
to providing additional seating for the various seminars,
there will be areas set aside for showcasing a number of
early years resources developed by the presenters and
used widely in their own practice.
Very thought provoking and lots of ideas to take
back.
Excellent presentation, such enthusiasm and
knowledge.
Makes you want to go back and try out these
ideas straightaway.
the children), the Design and Build project provided a
valuable opportunity to support young children in their
creativity and engineering.
Free entry
Good opportunity to
network and wonderful
that the event is free.
SETT is always an
excellent forum for
networking and gaining
new ideas.
A great event – more please!
A most enjoyable and informative event. I look
forward to the next SETT.
Feedback from visitors to SETT 2003
SETT is free and open to all. You will need to register for
a place and book the seminars and keynotes that you
wish to attend. Each delegate is eligible to attend one
keynote and two seminars per day.
To view the full seminar programme and book online
visit www.settshow.com.
Feedback from early years seminars, SETT 2003
The Scottish Education Village
The Scottish Education Village will be at the heart of the
exhibition this year, providing delegates with
opportunities to take part in workshops, discuss
developments in a range of national initiatives and
witness demonstrations by schools in the effective use
of a range of resources and technologies.
Book your seminars before 30 June and you will
automatically be entered into a prize draw to win a
Toshiba laptop.
The Science Pathway
SETT 2004 will also incorporate a science pathway
within the Glasgow Science Centre and one of the
seminars outlines Glasgow City Council’s early years
response to the Year of Science.
The Design and Build project was set within the
fantastic surroundings of Glasgow Science Centre.
Digital film footage and photographs, taken by both
children and adults, documents the success of the
science week project. Working in partnership with the
Science Centre education staff, the British Association of
Young Scientists and Glasgow University Engineering
Department (who acted as ‘engineers in residence’ for
13
The ICT Strategy for Early Years: Moving On
Since the launch in autumn 2003 of Early
Learning, Forward Thinking: The ICT Strategy for
Early Years, an extensive programme of staff
development has begun – as summarised by
Sarah Peers, Project Manager.
Training and support materials
A range of training and support materials has been developed by
Learning and Teaching Scotland and piloted with the support of both
East Lothian and Falkirk Council Education Services. Each authority
concentrated on a different aspect of the materials.
•
•
Falkirk was requested to focus on the Training the Trainers
programme, followed by the wider dissemination of the strategy to
early years staff.
East Lothian was requested to focus on the staff development
materials, including the creation of folio materials to record
evidence of young children’s learning through newly developed
skills.
Training the trainers
In November, four members of staff from Falkirk Council attended a
three-day ‘Train the Trainers’ course, to prepare them to deliver the
training. A further day was given to the trainers to work together with
staff from Learning and Teaching Scotland to plan the delivery of the
pilot training sessions. Staff training took place over two days in
January 2004. Staff from 10 establishments volunteered to take part in
the pilot. The programme for these two days covered:
• an overview of the strategy
• group discussions about the use of ICT to promote young
children’s learning
• trialling of modules
• evaluating ICT resources, programmable toys, digital still and video
technology.
Evaluations from this pilot have been very positive. Participants were very
enthusiastic and commented that the hands-on nature of the course
helped to build confidence.
Staff development materials
Four partner-provider establishments within East Lothian opted to take
part in their strategy pilot. Members of staff from these establishments
gave up their Saturday mornings to reflect on current practice and to
discuss how ICT, as one of the many tools for learning, could add value.
As well as looking at some of the skills-based modules, East Lothian
also looked at the ‘focus for discussion’ section of the staff
development pack: they investigated aspects such as learning styles
and promoting inclusion using ICT. East Lothian staff completed their
training by sharing folios that they had created which demonstrated
examples of young children benefiting from ICT in practice.
Feedback from these staff has also been constructive. They appreciated
the opportunity to try new resources and build upon existing skills to offer
children additional learning experiences.
Next steps
There have been some minor changes to the staff development
programme in light of the pilot. Learning and Teaching Scotland has now
begun training a pool of local authority trainers, offering delegates
practical support prior to fulfilling their role, which will include cascading
this training to their colleagues.
Authorities have now begun to deliver this training. Many have introduced
the strategy to staff through local launches including key speakers,
resource fairs and the opportunity for staff to evaluate a wide range of
ICT resources. Staff from early years establishments have welcomed the
fact that the strategy values and builds on existing good practice (for
example, offering tape-recorded stories as an alternative to books).
A View from a Masterclass Participant
From:
To:
Subject:
Helen
ICT in Pre-school Team
Developments Following Early Years Masterclass
I just thought that I would let you know some of the knock-on effects that Masterclass has had on
our small nursery in Sanday, Orkney Islands. I love the laptop – I have put all my planning,
assessment, reports, etc., on to it. As I work only part-time, this is a great way of allowing me to work at home
safe in the knowledge that I have not left that vital bit of information at school. I have signed up for a European
Computer Driving Licence (ECDL). We have replaced the desktop in nursery with a laptop, which is so much
more flexible. The children have had great fun with it. They love it when I put Microsoft Word (large font) on for
them to write letters. They have found out how to highlight sections and love playing and experimenting with the
numbers and letters in an adult programme. Of course, we still use child-orientated CD-ROMs.
The children made a junk model computer for the police station. Hours were spent loading CDs and playing
imaginary games. The slideshow facility on the laptop is great for enabling children to revisit recent trips we
have been on through viewing the slides. I now make copies on CD for parents to view. At present I am awaiting
a compatible cable so that we can make a ‘Welcome to Sanday Nursery’ video for new children to view – made
by the children, of course! The school is now the proud owner of a whiteboard, and I am in the long line of
people eager to play with this.
Finally, I have just been allocated £150 to spend in conjunction with Room 1 to purchase a digital camera.
Hope you are well and the project is still thriving!
Helen
14
www.LTScotland.org.uk/earlyyears
Acknowledgement
Learning and Teaching
Scotland would like to record
appreciation of the contribution
of Karen Shepherd,
Development Officer, who has
now returned to East
Dunbartonshire to take up a
position as Assistant Manager
Early Years Developments.
Qualifications Set for Registration of Early
Education and Childcare Workers
Early education and childcare workers are an important
part of the estimated 130,000 workers to be registered by
the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC).
In March 2004, after extensive consultation with the sector,
the SSSC agreed the qualifications required for registration.
We received 401 responses to the consultation from all
sectors. Five hundred people attended the consultation
events that were held throughout Scotland.
There is a set of general principles governing the
qualifications. These are:
• the integration of practice and learning
• recognition within the Scottish Credit and Qualifications
Framework (SCQF)
• the importance of underpinning knowledge and a value
base that is consistent with the Code of Practice for
Social Service Workers.
These principles were widely supported by the sector.
Responses from the feedback highlighted the range of job
titles in the sector – with over 70 listed. It was clear that
employers use the same job title to describe different
functions and different job titles to describe similar functions.
Therefore it was decided that the best way to proceed in this
sector was to register workers by categorising the type of
work they undertook rather than the job title.
The categories of workers are:
• Support workers in early education and childcare – defined
as workers who have delegated responsibility for providing
care and support to children
• Practitioners in early education and childcare – defined as
workers who identify and meet the care, support and
learning needs of children and contribute to the
development and quality assurance of informal learning
activities and/or curriculum. They may also be responsible
for the supervision of other workers
• Managers/Lead practitioners in early education and
childcare – defined as workers who hold responsibilities for
the overall development, management and quality
assurance of service provision including the supervision of
staff and the management of resources.
Registration of early education and childcare workers will be
phased in from 2006/07. Workers will be able to register without
the necessary qualification as long as they meet all the other
registration requirements and they will be given until they reregister (three years) to gain the qualification.
Over the coming months we will work to ensure that our
decisions are communicated to the sector.
For details about the qualification please visit the SSSC website
(www.sssc.uk.com) or telephone 0845 603 0891
Care and Learning for Children Birth to Three
The consultation period for Care and Learning for Children
Birth to Three ran between September and November 2003.
During that time, many people concerned with services for
young children expressed their views on this draft
document.
Comments were invited on the content of the document, its
presentation and its use as a tool to develop practice.
Consultants from the University of Stirling analysed the
responses, which, overall, presented a picture of
considerable support for the document. In particular, the
three key features of effective practice: ‘relationships’,
‘responsive care’ and ‘respect’, were met with a very high
level of support.
The full report on the consultation process is available online
(www.LTScotland.org.uk/earlyyears/Birthtothree.asp).
•
•
collating further examples from practice for Care and
Learning for Children Birth to Three, to reflect a range of
different caring and learning contexts
discussing further support materials, which would include a
video, a staff training pack, further examples of effective
practice and posters that exemplify the three key
features.
What next?
We anticipate that Care and Learning for Children Birth to
Three will be launched in autumn 2004. For further information,
please contact:
Juliet Hancock
Early Years Development Officer Emerging Trends
E-mail: j.hancock@LTScotland.org.uk
What you told us – and what’s happening now
As a result of responses and the many helpful suggestions
made, work is now under way:
• producing accompanying information for parents
• gathering a wide range of photographs, which can be
used to further back up and support the important
messages contained in the document
15
Early Years
Online Update
www.LTScotland.org.uk/earlyyears
The aim of Early Years Online www.LTScotland.org.uk/
earlyyears is to support all interested in the care and
education of children 0–8. This is a wide audience and the
Early Years Online team is supported by a group of ‘Critical
Friends’ representing a wide range of early years interests.
The March 2004 ‘Critical Friends’
meeting was widened to a seminar to
provide information on recent website
developments and look towards future
plans. Many local authorities were
represented. The ever expanding site
holds a lot of information and the
seminar looked at possible methods of
organising the content for ease of
use. Many helpful suggestions were
made – some changes can be made
‘Very worthwhile’
fairly speedily, while others will take ‘Opportunities to discuss
issues are always welcome’
longer to implement.
‘Good networking’.
As well as offering advice to the Early Years team the morning
provided an opportunity for participants to exchange
information about developments in their own local areas. Final
evaluations were very positive.
The Early Years Online team has also been invited to visit a
number of local authorities and other interests to talk about
the wider range of content available online. We welcome these
opportunities to meet users and hear at first hand what could
be added or extended. Meanwhile we are keeping the online
user survey www.LTScotland.org.uk/earlyyears/usersurvey.asp
live until June 2004. Why not complete it and guide us in the
content you require?
If you would like to learn more contact Eileen Carmichael,
Development Officer Early Years Online at
e.carmichael@LTScotland.org.uk or 0141 337 5149
‘Mine is a helicopter
with a steering wheel.’
Learning and
Teaching Scotland
Advisory Council
The Advisory Council of Learning and Teaching Scotland has
established six reference groups. These operate as standing
committees focusing on early years, 5–14, post-14, future
learning and teaching, inclusive education and ICT development.
Each reference group is charged by the Advisory Council with
the task of maintaining an effective and informed oversight of
issues of principle and practice in its general area of interest,
and advising the council as required or as judged important by
the group. Each reference group includes a nominee from the
Scottish Executive Education Department and from HM
Inspectorate of Education. The interests of schools, early years
establishments, local authorities, teacher education institutes
and other key stakeholders are also represented. Typically, a
group consists of 15–20 members and meets quarterly.
To help ensure that the reference groups are fully effective,
Learning and Teaching Scotland wishes to establish a ‘register of
interest’ relating to these standing committees of the Advisory
Council. Individuals who register their interest in the work of
one or more of the Advisory Council’s reference groups may be
asked to consider serving on a group. Alternatively, they may be
invited to contribute in other ways to the groups’ activities, for
example through being consulted on specific issues or by
sharing particular experiences.
If you are interested in being considered for involvement with
the work of the reference groups you are invited to register
your interest by completing a pro-forma.
E-mail V.Bell@LTScotland.org.uk to request one.
Learning and Teaching Scotland, Gardyne Road,
Dundee, DD5 1NY Tel: 01382 443600 Fax: 01382 443645/6
Learning and Teaching Scotland, 74 Victoria Crescent Road,
Glasgow G12 9JN Tel: 0141 337 5000 Fax: 0141 337 5050
Honesty and ‘soft pussy willows’
16
www.LTScotland.org.uk e: enquiries@LTScotland.org.uk
Customer Services Tel: 08700 100 297 Fax: 08700 100 298