Introduction The term ‘change’ in the early years is normally associated with improving outcomes for young children. It is about reflecting and making even better anything in early years practice that relates to or directly impacts the child and their family. This ranges from positive changes in planning, observation making, the environment, both indoors and out, to changing practice behaviours and improving ways of working with families and outside agencies. It is also about how adults, in their various roles, who have contact with the children, are involved in and interact with the change process. The Teaching Agency defines Early Years Professionals (EYPs) as the catalysts for this change and innovation within early years settings. EYPs are key to raising the quality of provision, and to exercise leadership in making a positive difference to children’s wellbeing, learning and development (TA, 2012, p.7), thus being the agents for change in the early years. ‘Agents for change’ or 'change agent' are normally the expressions associated with the role of EYPs. They are hands-on with children, and in positions where they can model good practice for others in the team in order to raise standards. EYPs are entrusted to identify what change is valuable, worthwhile and in need of improving, and to then lead the team on to better practice. However, when discussing this concept with trainee EYPs, it normally brings about a confused dialogue; A change agent? What's that then? What change? The best way to describe a change agent is thinking about the EYP with a torch showing others the light in the dark! Change is not something drastic that is required in the context of an EYP's role. It is about working with what already exists and building off it in order to transform practice. As with anything, change takes time to evolve. The real challenge that EYPs are faced with is, understanding what constitutes change in the early years, and the barriers they may come up against. Mostly it is about recognising change opportunities, and how one can go about the process, in order to ultimately define their role as the ‘change agent’. Types of Change Before focusing on the change process, it is worth considering briefly the types of change that exist in the context of early years. This is because each one arises from a different situation, and an EYP needs to be aware of those that are about practice and those that are more operational. Rodd (2006, p.185) identifies the following types of change that exist in the early years: Incremental – everyday change which initiates from planning meetings or general day to day discussions. Transformational – this is where something is radically altered, for example, a new organisation taking over a whole setting, or the building and creation of a new outdoor area. Routine – this includes changes to shift patterns, activities and timetables. It is important for EYPs to not be seen as a threat by imposing any kind of change, and therefore ‘imposed’ change is not something they will lead or be responsible for. Incremental change, transformational, and routine changes are more under the senior management or proprietors’ remit, and although EYPs may be consulted or at first initiate it, it will in due course be controlled and directed by the management team. The change types that EYPs need to be concerned with are what Whalley (2008) describes as induced and innovative change. Induced change is initiated by the early years practitioners/teams in the setting themselves. This is where they recognise something is not working and needs to change (Stacey, 2009). As an EYP change agent, starting with the practitioners themselves is the key to starting any change infection. It is the norm that most people, most of the time, do not like change, unless it is their idea. Where an idea begins with the staff themselves makes the work of a change agent a little easier! Innovative change involves the creation of newly formed ideas. This mostly is initiated by the EYP change agent themselves, through the ideas they gain from their training, research, visits to other settings, and consultations with interested parties such as parents, advisors and external agencies. However, it can also be the result of creative thinking when a team is working together collaboratively (Rodd, 2006). Barriers to change As well as having knowledge of the different types of change, and to develop successful processes for it, EYPs need to understand the barriers they are faced with. Using the following knowledge, EYP change agents can consider which barriers may exist in their own settings in order to strategise to overcome them. The major barrier to any change is the individual practitioners’ reluctance to change, and lack of receptiveness to new ideas (CWDC, 2011). Resistance to change is very often because people are set in their ways and do not see a need for change, or prefer to continue with the comfort and security of the status quo. This makes changing established practice behaviours of any kind difficult (Hopkins, 2001). However the danger here is that resistance to change, or lack of receptiveness to it may have underlying causes that can very easily be overlooked in busy environments. For example, practitioners may have a lack of knowledge and understanding, or even skills, which they feel may become apparent when embarking on a change. Fear can also be an underlying cause. Fear of the unknown, fear of failure. Therefore as well as identifying barriers, the EYP needs to understand them too. Below are further barriers to change: Management could pose a barrier as they may not see the change as necessary. Although EYPs are seen as supportive individuals out to improve quality outcomes for the setting, including supporting management, this is often not seen as the case, and has been defined by trainee EYPs as a ‘power struggle’! This stems from managers not seeing the EYPs as practice leaders (Hadfield et al, 2012, p.79) Engaging parents in the change process. Parents may have a lack of knowledge of the early years, and therefore may not understand the purpose of the change. However, lack of parent engagement could also be to do with their life factors, which need to be understood. Children can present their own barriers. They are their own people and have their own ideas. They may not adapt or see the consequences of our actions and decisions for a change – therefore change that affects them, whether good or bad, needs to be communicated to them at their level. Lack of resources to make changes. This stems from the financial position of a setting, as a majority of settings generate their income from charging the parents. Lack of human resources. Practitioners are employed to abide by the minimum ratios stipulated by the EYFS Safeguarding and Welfare Requirements (DfE, 2012), which very often means that there is insufficient staff available to try anything new. The layout of the setting and their environments. For example wanting to establish free-flow play from the indoors to outdoors may not be appropriate due to the layout of the setting, where children may have to go through several doors before getting outdoors. There will always be barriers when one sets out to improve or change, some minute, others quite large. The EYP change agent therefore needs to be able to identify the barriers, understand them and then strategise to overcome them. In order to do this, it is essential to engage with individual practitioners and the setting at a level they understand, hence starting the change process. Processes for change An EYP change agent needs to firstly recognise what they can or cannot change or influence. This is vital as the last thing any setting needs is to deal with is the aftermath of a change gone wrong, or the stresses and strains suffered due to those that resist change. One way to ensure this is for the EYP change agent to do their own ground work by using observational tools and research methods. This is to help identify where change is needed; it is about collecting the evidence and the impact on children! We have established earlier that change is about people, and therefore about building and nurturing relationships with the early years practitioners of the setting. It is essential to start by knowing everyone’s strengths and what they bring to the change process. With people's various personal and work histories (Stacey, 2009), they bring a diversity of personality, experience, and approach to their work which needs to be recognised and valued. Further, the EYP is to encourage an exchange of knowledge and skills between the practitioners by bringing forward all the things from the past and present that worked well or did not, and judge where best to channel this information in the required change. It is about developing the potential of everyone, and not just getting practitioners to survive the change, but to flourish in it. An effective consultative strategy needs to be in place where all that are involved in the change can communicate and discuss it. Focus groups can be used to evaluate practice and test new ideas. A group of practitioners can get together with open questions posed by the EYP, who then encourages all to discuss their experiences, thoughts, ideas and those of others. As settings are busy, sometimes a focus group of this kind is difficult to achieve, therefore simple methods need to be considered. Talking to Room Leaders – these are key individuals in a setting and responsible for all aspects of a room, and the team within it. As well as having knowledge and skills, Room Leaders have the authority of certain situations which can shed a light on their thinking on certain topics or ideas. It will provide an insight and in-depth information on the staff and practices of their rooms for the EYP to work from. Mind-mapping - this can be placed on a wall visible to practitioners, posing a specific problem or question. Practitioners can then be encouraged to engage and write down their thoughts and ideas to best solve it, which can then be discussed. This can be used for parents too! Questionnaires - can be devised to gain a clear picture of current practice. However, do not forget that the quality of the answers depends on the quality of the questions and therefore the questionnaire needs to be devised with the specific change in mind. This can be time consuming, but beneficial. Email / websites –we live in a fast paced technological world, almost everyone engages with the web. Therefore an email dialogue could be set up where practitioners and parents could engage within their own time. Google Sites allows the creation of free websites which can be set to share only amongst the setting’s team. Yet again, this can be used for consultative purposes, or even better, to provide a timeline of how the change is taking place; the before and after with photographs! The information gathered from consultation and discussions then needs to develop into a shared vision of the future, so that everyone is aware of what the big picture is. This is grounded in the knowledge and experience of all involved in the change process. A shared vision can be communicated on a watered down plan of action or a change strategy, which answers questions like Is this change specific and measurable? Do people know what the new situation will look like? Do people know what to expect and when? What will the role of each individual be? What is needed externally? There needs to be a concentration on the What? Where? Why? How? and When? Not forgetting the voices of children, parents and management! When finally embarking on the change it needs to be introduced slowly to practitioners (children and parents), as individuals experience change in different ways. A fast track change could throw some people off balance, which then causes anxieties and resistance. Once practitioners are aware of a change, they then need time to adjust to that awareness before advancing to contribute to the change process. This can take days, weeks, or months, depending on the person, and some people never move past their constant struggle to adjust. Therefore one needs to prepare for a lot of hand holding, and praise and reassurance through the change process. If you think about children and transitions, then this makes sense! Be prepared for some additional training that may be required to brush up the skills of some practitioners. Finally, it is also essential to stop at some point and conduct an interim evaluation to see how well something is going or not and what further needs to take place. This yet again needs to be a shared approach where practitioners can openly engage and discuss what is happening. Once the change has taken place, then a final evaluation needs to be conducted in order to learn from the process and keep hold of the good practice demonstrated throughout. Like children, practitioners need to experience a sense of achievement, therefore a case study of the change can be collated into a presentation and shared as a team in a staff meeting to value everyone’s contributions and the impact it has made for the children. Final thought As a change agent, the role of the EYP is to build a culture of change through fostering an environment conducive to it, but also to encourage creative thought amongst the practitioners. If you are resistant or fearful about change due to fear or barriers you foresee, then this will be contagious. Change is a challenge in itself, but one that brings about rewards and benefits for all, and it is your enthusiasm, passion, motivation and expertise which will rise to this challenge to ultimately provide quality early years provision and learning for the children we are entrusted with. References Children’s Workforce Development Council (CWDC) (2011) First National Survey of Practitioners with Early Years’ Professional Status. Leeds: CWDC. Department for Education (2012) The Early Years Foundation Stage, Statutory Framework. DfE. Hadfield, M., Jopling, M., Needham, M., Waller, T., Coleyshaw, L., Emira, M. & Royle, K. (2012) Longitudinal Study of Early Years Professional Status: an exploration of progress, leadership and impact Final report. CeDARE, University of Wolverhampton. Available at: https://www.education.gov.uk/publications/eOrderingDownload/DfE-RR239c%20report.pdf Hopkins, D. (2001) School Improvement for Real. London: RoutledgeFalmer. Rodd, J. (2006) Leadership in early childhood, 3rd Ed. Maidenhead: Open University Press. Stacey, M. (2009) Teamwork and Collaboration in Early Years Settings. Exeter: Learning Matters. Teaching Agency (2012) Handbook for Prime Organisations and their Delivery Partners. TA. Whalley, ME. (2008) Leading Practice in early years settings. Exeter: Learning Matters.
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