Beginnings
– How I view my practice at the start of my current training –
This practitioner has not chosen to share this information at this time.
Sense of fun, freedom and discovery. The unexpected moments of wonder and joy.
I am in the privileged position of supporting our children, families and staff on their learning journeys; in doing so - I continue on my own personal and professional journey.
My practice is most child-centred when the community around the child works in partnership to adopt a holistic view of the child and their voice (in what ever capacity is appropriate) is clearly heard and acted on to promote an support best possible outcomes for the child.
Self evaluation, reflection and collaboration with partners helps us to make positive changes to our environment, materials and procedures however the biggest way we can improve and extend our provision is by observing, listening and acting on what our children are communicating to us.
Our children's voice is strong. We try to capture our children's wishes and needs through close observation/collaboration and team analysis of observations. Regular communication as a team and with our families supports this. By having Home visits as a starting point, and regular opportunities to discuss with families and staff "What matters to our children" as part of our Focus Child approach and build in to regular reviews; we capture our children's interests and needs which inform our practice and how we can best meet their next steps. and support their understanding of the world around them.
Through undertaking Froebel in Early Childhood Practice course, I became aware of just how deeply Froebelian principles are enshrined in current Scottish policy, procedures and examples of best practice. As a team, we worked on reflecting on how Froebelian our practice is and our mindset of what matters to us in our practice. Self evaluation highlighted that our practice was essentially Froebelian in principle (even if the Froebelian knowledge wasn't in place at that time). Over the past few years, I have lead our team on an improvement journey to develop our Froebelian practice as a setting and continue to do so today. By adopting an Froebelian principled approach, we introduced 'Froebel Thursdays' where Froebelian practitioners supported colleagues in developing their understanding of Froebel's principles.
GIRFEC permeates our practice. We work hard every day to ensure equity and equality and reduce poverty gap and negative impact this can have on our learners and families.
Further deepen my personal understanding of Froebelian practice in order to drive forward change and support others in doing so.
A better understanding of effective planning for improvement and affecting lasting, positive change to ensure best outcomes for our children.
Collaboration and sharing of good practice.