The Foundation Stage Forum Community
Welcome to the FSF – a community for early years professionals. Engage in conversations, offer and receive advice and support, make connections. Discover our library of education articles and podcast episodes to enhance your reflective practice. Working together to achieve high-quality early childhood education.
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Posts:471,461
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Members:50,743
Risk-taking in the early years
by Caroline Vollans
Caroline Vollans reflects on whether we have a narrow view of risk and risk-taking in the early years.
Podcast: Extending our use of creativity to focus on children's well-being
Jules and Anya chat with Sonia Mainstone-Cotton about how we can extend our concepts of creativity to focus on children's well-being and understanding of themselves. They discuss how the language we use and the environments we develop in these creati…
Amplifying Young Voices in UK Children’s Literature by Winsome Duncan,…
Children's author and publishing house CEO, Winsome Duncan discusses how we can ignite children's innate story telling talent and creative expression.
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The importance of reflection in relation to professional development.
Reflection and Theoretical Perspectives in Professional Development: Reflection is an essential component of professional development, particularly in early years education, where practitioners are expected to continually evaluate and improve their practice. Reflective practice enables educators to assess their strengths and weaknesses, identify areas for growth, and take intentional steps to enhance their skills and the quality of care and learning they provide. Donald Schön’s theory of reflective practice (1983): Schön emphasises that professionals grow by revisiting their experiences, analysing what worked and what didn't, and using this insight to guide future actions. This model is highly relevant in early years work, where day-to-day experiences often require quick thinking and post-reflection for ongoing improvement. Schön distinguishes between. · reflection-in-action (reflecting as the situation occurs, it helps make real-time judgment and adjust decisions immediately). · reflection-on-action (thinking after the event had happened to review the action and learn from it). Kolb’s Experiential Learning Cycle (1984), which outlines four stages of the learning cycle, when an individual progresses through the four stages, new knowledge will be created through new experiences, which will lead to better outcomes when faced with the same situations. This cycle supports the idea that learning is an ongoing loop of doing, that requires reflecting, learning from the experience, and applying new understanding. Practitioners often apply this in their evaluations of planned activities or when considering children’s responses and needs. · Concrete Experience (directly involved in a task), · Reflective Observation (reviewing and reflecting on the experience gained), · Abstract Conceptualisation (concluding and learning from the experience gained), · Active Experimentation (planning and trying out the new ideas). Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle (1988), a widely used model in education and training. This structure helps practitioners think more deeply about how their actions impact others and what they can improve. Several peers highlighted Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle as being particularly practical for early years settings due to its structured nature. Others mentioned the Brookfield’s Four Lenses approach, which encourages reflection through the eyes of the self, colleagues, learners (children), and theoretical literature. This perspective aligns with working in partnership and incorporating feedback from all stakeholders. Gibbs encourages reflection through six stages: · Description (of the event), · Feelings (during the event), · Evaluation (of what worked and what did not), · Analysis (of the current situation and its cause), · Conclusion (of what else could have been done differently next time), · Action Plan (if faced by the same situation, what will you do differently?). -
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18th October 2025 - Childminding UK Early Years Conference - Northampton
Childminding UK - Early Years Conference 2025 Inspiring Minds Saturday 18th October 2025 • Hilton Hotel, Northampton Sponsored by Tapestry A vibrant day of learning, connection and inspiration designed especially for childminders! Whether you're looking for fresh ideas, professional development, or just a chance to recharge with like-minded professionals, this is a day not to be missed! For a full list of speakers and how to book click here aa vibrant day of learning, connection and inspiration designed especially for childminders! Whether you're looking for fresh ideas, professional development, or just a chance to recharge with like-minded professionals, this is a day not to be missed! vibrant day of learning, connection and inspiration designed especially for childminders! Whether you're looking for fresh ideas, professional development, or just a chance to recharge with like-minded professionals, this is a day not to be missed! -
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Accident forms - do parents see comments?
Hi, we're looking at using the accident form feature on Tapestry but would like to understand whether comments added by staff are visible to parents? I can see from the help that you can stop comments being visible to other carers, but it's not clear whether staff comments are visible to all. -
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Kamal Hinduja : What are classroom management strategies?
Hello everyone, I’m Kamal Hinduja from Geneva, Switzerland. I'm new to this community and excited to contribute positively to discussions while learning from everyone's insights. Can anyone explain in detail what classroom management strategies are? Thanks in Advance! Kamal Hinduja from Geneva, Switzerland -
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Summer 2025 - Early Years Courses & Events offered by Dorking Nursery school
Hi Please follow this link Dorking Nursery School - Early Years Courses and Events to access details of courses being offered this summer by the Dorking Nursery school Sue Admin Team
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