Jules

This piece draws together some conceptual ideas and practical experiences of a ‘teacher’ (Rebecca) and a ‘student’ (Kathy) of a university course: a Masters in Early Years Education that also combines the professional qualification of Early Years Teacher Status (EYTS). Of course, both teacher and student have multiple identities. For the student, Kathy, this also includes her significant musicianship and her emerging nursery practitioner professionalism. For the university lecturer, Rebecca, it encompasses her previous experiences as a teacher, an advisor working with teachers in nurseries, and her own sense of herself as ‘always a student’ often learning most from those who question and challenge her at university. Here Rebecca and Kathy reflect on a strand of the MA course which Kathy felt provoked her to be curious about her own practice in ways that enabled her to become wiser in her nursery relationships. Significantly for Kathy, these reflections took her beyond the scope of the course to consider the implications of what we refer to here as ‘the Scrapbook Approach’ for ongoing professional development. Kathy and Rebecca feel that the approach that Kathy took to engaging with her scrapbook is illustrative of an ‘uncertain pedagogy’ that is crucial for all practitioners, whether new to the profession or highly experienced. Uncertain pedagogic approaches enable us to face an anxiety-inducing lack of certainty about immediate and longer term futures - such as those that face us all in post/pandemic times as colleagues Rebecca and Perpetua explore in this BERA blog. They also enable us to support children to have the confidence to explore their social worlds through the prism of uncertainty in ways that engage with their curious, creative, and dynamic dispositions to learn. The piece is constructed in two parts: the first sets the context for the use of the ‘scrapbook’ as part of Kathy’s course, also drawing on conceptual ideas of knowing, not-knowing, ignorance and uncertainty. The second part uses examples of Kathy’s practical experiences to consider the significance of the approach as a reflective journey informed by pedagogies of ignorance and uncertainty, including thinking through their implications for general nursery practice longer-term. The scrapbook: knowing, not knowing, ignorance and uncertainty – Rebecca’s Voice. ‘The Scrapbook’ is an assessed strand of the university course that requires students to creatively ‘respond’ to the Early Years Foundation Stage, including their knowledge of the 8 Standards, Development Matters, and the Characteristics of Effective Learning. Crucially, the scrapbook is, as the name suggests, a place where students can make their own decisions, considering what constitutes significant knowledge for them and in what ways. There is no specific requirement about the balance of text and imagery; no stipulation about the size, shape, texture of the book; and no limits to the interpretation of ‘creativity’. The scrapbook is about a journey of personal and professional engagement that takes seriously the question of ‘what does it mean to know, and to whom, and why?’ We engage with young children in our nurseries, encouraging their play as offering new possibilities for what children can come to know. We see them, in all their uniqueness, as competent social actors in their own right. And so it is with our students: we offer them a knowledge environment that is more than a conforming space of what has gone before. This means that the course must be a space of knowledge uncertainty – of ‘emergent subjectivity’ – where students can be vulnerable and fallible, just as children are as they play and learn through their engagement with what Malaguzzi (1993) calls their Hundred Languages. Early Years students require opportunities to listen to their own competing and often contradictory voices about aspects of practice and pedagogy; values and beliefs; relationships and ideas about ‘quality’ provision. Gallacher and Gallagher (2008) in their educational research, draw on the concept of ‘ignorance’ as a way of recognising that we are all, whether as young children, teachers or students (inter)dependent, incomplete and vulnerable in our everyday life-worlds, navigating complexity and messiness. Championing ignorance demands the allocation of time and space to be more than rational, competent and autonomous. Pedagogically, ignorance acknowledges the importance of opportunities to interrogate what we don’t know, and to puzzle how we might come to know in new and surprising ways. Ethically, it ensures that we do not fall into the trap of only ever seeing the everyday as made up of: ‘knowing minds and ignorant ones, ripe minds and immature ones, the capable and the incapable, the intelligent and the stupid’ (Rancière, 1991, 101). Kathy used her scrapbook as a reflective tool, finding out, documenting what she did not know, rather than listing what she did. Her form of reflection enabled her to keep the future open by noticing things that challenged and mystified her without hanging on to preconceived assumptions, rather engaging in an ‘expectant not knowing’ (Derrida, 1991, 57). She used Dewey’s ideas of reflection as those that are necessarily open-minded, responsible and whole-hearted in ways that are entirely commensurate with ignorance, not knowing and being uncertain: ‘I was excited by the prospect of having a space in a physical format that was my own where I could work creatively. Many of us felt slightly daunted at the beginning when there were no specific technical guidelines for using the scrapbook. I wanted mine to be ‘pretty’. However, that idea quickly evaporated as I accepted that I am a messy, left-handed disruptive person and if my scrapbook was to be an extension of myself, it would be the same. Once I started using it, I saw my not-knowing and curiosity as something I relished engaging with. I gradually related to the scrapbook in a reflective way: almost as a diary. It became a place where I felt brave and able to embrace my own ignorance creatively and productively as a trainee teacher, stepping out of ‘routine action’ (what Dewey defines as ‘behaviour that is guided by impulse, tradition and authority’) and instead moving into a space of ‘reflective action’. Kathy’s thoughts on her engagement with her scrapbook. Reflection as Open-minded, Responsible and Whole-hearted - Kathy’s Voice Using my scrapbook to be open-minded, means having an awareness of what I do not know; what I might need to know; embracing my ignorance to pose rhetorical questions; also taking seriously knowledge I have accumulated through a range of experiences in my life. I begin by describing an encounter early on in my course in a classroom that informs my scrapbook reflection subsequently, where I attempt to be open-minded. I had been observing a music session with a group of 5 year olds in a classroom which – as a musician myself – had disappointed me and left me feeling that the children had been given a sense of making music as something difficult and dull that involved watching rather than doing: 30 children had been required to sit in a circle whilst the music specialist had introduced the children to 4 different instruments in turn. The children had been occasionally given an opportunity to hold an instrument, make a sound with it, and to play a guessing game with their eyes closed which relied on them connecting a sound with the ‘right’ instrument. But the session took a long time. One child cried due to their frustration of repeatedly putting their hand up and not being picked to play one of the instruments. At the end of the session I talked to the children. One said they ‘hated’ music (possibly because they weren’t picked) and another said they didn’t enjoy singing or music and that it was ‘boring’. I reflected open-mindedly, cognisant of my own ignorance: I’d only ever been in a classroom with 5 year olds once before during my own school ‘work experience’. This required my humility. My scrapbook therefore became the repository for my not-knowing: was this the necessary reality of music lessons for 5 year olds as demanded by the curriculum to which musicians must adhere? Was this the only way it could be done? Maybe it led to engagement and excitement and I had yet to see this emerge? I wondered where the place might be to encourage children to be experimental with a range of ideas of ‘music’ that come from their own experiences beyond the classroom. Crucially, my reflection considered audacious questions of where/when the children could use music to challenge the taken-for-granted and to experience the exhilaration of this to learn in new ways. After all, my own music-making was as much about disruption as about replicating the ‘gone-before’. Responsibility means thinking through consequences for others, and not just myself. It means considering: what is my role in relation to that of others? What questions can I ask myself about why teachers act as they do? To explore how I addressed this in my scrapbook, I take up the story of my engagement with the class, and re-enter at a point several months later, when I found myself brave enough to ask the teacher where the instruments were stored, so that I could access them with the children. They were on a high shelf in the cupboard. In my scrapbook, I tried to think of the various reasons why they were kept hidden. They are noisy objects. Music may not be valued as highly within the measurement culture of school. There are ongoing pressures on teachers to collect data and concentrate on demonstrating that all children are making progress in ‘core subjects’. Activities and resources which aim to support the kinds of knowledge where progress is measured are the ones that tend to be focused upon. However, I also began to consider responsibility from the perspective of the children. They were missing out on interacting with musical resources and were not experiencing the musicality of expressing themselves in this way. By this stage, I knew there were no opportunities for the children to experiment with instruments independent of their ‘taught’ sessions with the music specialist. I felt I had a responsibility to use my knowledge as a musician and a trainee teacher to explore possibilities for the instruments to be accessible to use in ways that were not just prescribed and controlled. I documented my thoughts, feelings and doubts in my scrapbook in ways that were uncertain and that did not seek to apportion blame to any of the talented teachers with whom I worked and from whom I gained so much. Whole-heartedness is a phrase that I really love. By it, I mean taking active control to think what this requires of me in order to take action, even when I am not certain about what might happen. So here I don’t mean taking ‘control’ in the sense of being certain, but control as considering the implications of an event. I had to think through the fact that although the scrapbook is a space over which I have ownership, documentation in the scrapbook is about people to whom I have an ethical responsibility. The approach always goes beyond the self. In thinking through ‘wholeheartedness’ I pick up the thread of my engagement with the teacher about the children using the instruments. We had a relaxed conversation where she explained that in the past the children had thrown instruments, breaking some and making unbearable noise. She didn’t feel comfortable having them available. I identified with her feelings but expressed my opinion on the value of the children having some freedom to try out the instruments. I asked if she would feel comfortable with my setting up a music workshop in the garden where I would act as a musical play partner where the children would interact with the instruments. She was very supportive of the idea and we agreed that I would set clear expectations about being respectful of each other and the instruments. I introduced the workshop to the children at morning group time, explaining they were being trusted with the instruments, and that I would be there to play alongside them and join in with whatever songs or ensembles they wanted to create. I told them I would be writing things in my scrapbook and that they could ask me about what I was writing or drawing. Most of the children visited the workshop at some point in the day. There were no incidences where I had to remind them of behaviour expectations. The children understood that they could explore. I regarded them as capable and gave them my full attention as I documented what went on. I wrote observations and reflections on individual musical happenings that stood out to me. Some children led ensemble performances, made up dances, invented songs or sung songs from ‘The Greatest Show Man’. One child directed me in my music-making and gave suggestions of instruments which would sound more like a crocodile during our rendition of ‘Old MacDonald had a Farm’. We became bound together relationally and with the instruments and their sounds in the outdoors. The workshop left space for unknown things to occur. I learned so much about the children from making music with them and observing their play. The teacher & TA came out regularly to see what was happening and beamed. I shared my observations with them afterwards and they were delighted with how things had gone and by the way the children had responded. They said that they would feel more relaxed about leaving the instruments out more frequently in future. Some Implications of the Scrapbook Approach as a Pedagogy of Ignorance for General Practice – Rebecca and Kathy Through the sharing of the approach that Kathy had taken, her mentor, also a nursery owner, saw the power, possibility and potentiality of what she was doing: not just an elite opportunity, but something that could be made possible for every practitioner as a way of ‘not knowing’. This would be part of ongoing professional development that would recognise the diverse knowledge, experiences and passions practitioners brought and could share for the benefit of all children. Scrapbooks were purchased and practitioners encouraged to use them. Kathy noted that: The prospect of having a space where the unknown is celebrated when much of the role of a teacher is about knowing was unsettling at first. However, I reassured my colleagues that the hardest part is starting and that they can use the book in whatever way they wanted. And they did. The reflective power of the scrapbook has since led Kathy to consider ways in which she and other practitioners use the virtual reflective tool, ‘Tapestry’[1]. Kathy suggests: I began to frame my entries for the Learning Journals of my Key Children with less certainty and much more as reflective conversations between me and the children’s caregivers. I documented the richness of the children’s ‘Hundred Languages’ as I saw them and used them to pose uncertain questions. I have come to think of the scrapbook and Tapestry as mutually reinforcing in their communicative possibilities for ‘wholehearted’ reflective approaches. Since engaging with Tapestry in this way, the collaboration between me and caregivers has become much more of a mutual, exchange of knowledge as well as giving us permission to share our ‘ignorances’ and to be curious about the children’s needs. This is a respectful way to work. Final Thoughts – Rebecca and Kathy What are the possibilities within the hectic busyness of the day-to-day practical demands of nursery life to make time for ‘uncertain’ reflection, either within the physical format of the scrapbook or the online facility of a tool such as Tapestry? Certainly, Kathy admits that this is a challenge but she also stresses that all practitioners require time for reflection where they can follow their own lines of thought to legitimately ‘be ignorant’ in order to sustain wholehearted practice for their benefit and for the children. Maybe achieving this is a matter of values and belief: for those nurseries that enable practitioners to reflect and to ‘not know’ alongside the children, will encourage the love of learning together. What could be more needed at an uncertain time such as this, as many practitioners, caregivers and children return to their nurseries for the first time for many months? For the joy this brings, the final words must go to Kathy: I observed one of my Key Children looking at a light reflection of some water on the back of an easel in the garden. He was fascinated by this. We stayed and watched it move together for a prolonged period of time. I wrote about this on Tapestry and asked whether his caregivers had seen their child noticing shadows or reflections. His mother explained excitedly that they had some mirror disco balls that hung in their house. The child had recently begun following the light reflections that came from them. She offered to bring the balls into nursery for all the children. When they arrived the children and I played with them in the garden and we chased light reflections all morning. [1] Tapestry is the Online Learning Journal for the Early years Foundation Phase

We often think about the 3R’s, Reading, wRiting and aRithmetic, in the context of an old, traditional style of schooling. However, I feel they still dominate what is supposed to be the broad and balanced curriculums of education today. Testing and inspection regimes put a huge emphasis on Mathematics and Literacy, which in turn leads schools and settings to devote incredible amounts of their energy into these areas. In the early years sector I have concerns that the prominence of these subjects can sometimes overshadow the prime areas of learning which are so vital to the development and progress of young children. I want to make it really clear that I am in no way saying that maths and literacy are not a vital part of a child’s learning. I think it is really important to provide high quality teaching in these areas and I understand that they are critical to children being able to access learning in other areas. What I do think, is that there is a debate to be had about how far they should drive the curriculum. Maths and literacy skills and knowledge are essential tools, but having excellent tools in a kit is by no means sufficient for repairing, creating or inventing something. With the recent changes to the Ofsted framework, educators have been giving a great deal of thought to the curriculum they have on offer and what their central intent is in offering it. At the same time, the early years sector is musing over what the changes to the EYFS will bring. I also think that the current pandemic has prompted many of us to consider what is important in life and what sort of provision we want to make for our children. I have been reflecting on what my 3R’s for an early years curriculum would be. What three things could support children towards becoming effective learners? A curriculum should be flexible and respond to the needs of those who receive it and to the times in which it is being delivered. At the moment, my 3Rs are Resilience, Relationships and cReativity. Resilience Perhaps the arrival of Coronavirus has heightened the importance of this in my mind but I have always felt it is a crucial disposition to develop as a learner. It is something which has many dimensions to consider. The first point I would like to make is that, although a crisis may demonstrate how resilient we are, resilience is not developed through hardship and suffering. It is stability, consistency and feeling loved and cared for which put children in a good place to deal with difficulties that come their way. It is important for providers of early years education and care to consider how effective their own practice and environment is in providing this and how they can support families who are struggling. Another aspect is that of role modelling. The behaviour and attitudes of adults around children impact on how they develop their own resilience. It is certainly very difficult at this time and we, as practitioners, may not be happy about some of the situation we find ourselves in. However, when we are around children we need to maintain self-control and demonstrate positive mindsets as we talk with and in front of them. One thing I passionately believe will support children to develop resilience is helping them to develop a positive attitude to mistakes and errors. Everyone makes mistakes in both their learning and in their personal lives but seeing these as an opportunity for further learning and development can be transformational in terms of moving forward in life. Relationships In this period of lockdown and self-isolation the one thing people have probably missed above everything else is the ability to maintain their relationships in the usual way. Relationships are what make things happen for the better and can be what make the world fall apart. They are wonderful but also tricky and are the heart of what we do in the early years. It makes me feel very proud to work in a sector which has such a depth of understanding about supporting young children to develop and maintain positive relationships. It is life affirming to work with people who demonstrate such warm and caring relationships with children. As staff and children work with each other, relationships become an extremely important vehicle for the development of communication skills, verbally and in many other ways. One dimension which is perhaps thought of as part of the hidden curriculum is that of a setting’s relationships with parents. It could be argued that it is actually part of the taught curriculum as we model attitudes and interactions with family on a daily basis, very often in the sight and hearing of children. If we pay attention to and develop learning around the children’s interests and the ideas and knowledge they bring from home, often referred to as ‘funds of knowledge’, we bring these home/school relationships into the heart of the taught curriculum. This can provide for a rich seam of exploration and development, it can tap into real intrinsic motivation for learning and can help to build a child’s confidence and self-esteem as they see their own experience and culture being acknowledged and respected. When thinking about relationships there is often an emphasis on adult to child and child to child. There is also attention paid to family and community relationships. In addition, it is worth thinking about a child’s relationship with themselves, as a good self-image will help them to develop good relationships with others. Do our environments provide spaces that cater for individual exploration and development, do we have spaces and time for children to reflect or explore on their own? How many opportunities do we provide for children to express themselves, is there a balance with directed activities? How proficient are we at really listening to children and hearing what they are trying to tell us? Over the next few months we may need to pay much more attention to this as children come to terms with a changing world around them. cReativity Creativity is not the domain of the arts and expressive design but something which can thread its way throughout the whole curriculum. Recent work on STEAM rather than STEM subjects is a great demonstration of the cross-curricular nature of using creativity. Creativity is something that makes use of prior learning, for example manipulating a resource that we have become familiar with, using a skill or piece of knowledge to solve a problem, or expressing an idea in a new or imaginative way. This is what I was alluding to when I said that I thought of numeracy and literacy as tools at the beginning of this article. So, as well as being taught knowledge and skills, children need to be able to explore, experiment and play with their own theories. This can be really motivating and is central to children becoming successful learners. These approaches are well described in the current EYFS as Characteristics of Effective Learning and I have always made sure to refer to these in professional discussions with colleagues, in information for families and most of all in discussions with children about their own learning. Early years providers are going to have to be creative as they start to provide learning environments with stripped back and limited resources. They are also going to be scaffolding children’s creativity as they encourage them to make the most of the learning opportunities in changed circumstances. It will be important to avoid being over-structured with what we now have available. Effective observation of children will probably find us being amazed at some of the novel and ingenious ways children adapt and use these renewed spaces. I believe creativity is essential. Its value has been highlighted recently by businesses who have changed track to produce or help design essentials to help with the coronavirus crisis. We need to encourage children to think broadly and inventively to enable them to contribute to a safe and stimulating world in the future. I have noticed some debate around curriculum on social media recently, especially around the fact that they are social constructs and that people learn without them. Whilst it is true that children often learn despite the curriculum, almost all educational establishments have some sort of curriculum or structure which is based on a combination of experience, knowledge, research, national requirements, available resources and values. As we move into a new style of provision in the short term and a revised EYFS in the near future, I think that there is an ideal opportunity to reflect on what we think is important for young children and their families. I am not advocating that everything underpinning a curriculum should contain an R or indeed that we should limit ourselves to three aspects. However, this has been a useful starting point for me to consider what really matters now and over time. I know things are busy and uncertain, and that providers are grappling with a lot of guidance and paperwork but I think that it would be extremely valuable and timely for teams to take a moment to evaluate the principles and pillars that drive the offer that they provide. So, how do you re-imagine the 3Rs?

The word ‘curriculum’ can still feel unfamiliar in early years circles, like it’s something for older children but not an appropriate way of thinking about children in the EYFS. So, I thought I would begin with a few headline thoughts about the early years curriculum: · An early years curriculum provides a structure and sense of direction for the practitioners in the setting. · It provides opportunities for all children to learn. · It is ambitious. · It challenges stereotypical beliefs that some groups of children are ‘less able’ to learn and make progress than others. · It starts with children’s experiences in their family and immediate environment, so learning is meaningful. · Strong leadership is essential for the development, and monitoring, of a high-quality curriculum. · The curriculum must be suitable for every child. Probably one of the most significant challenges as we rethink the early years curriculum, is dealing with the problem of too much of a focus on content and coverage – especially for older children in the phase. It’s depth in learning which really matters, not superficial coverage. Where there is too much content, and too much focus on coverage, then groups of children start getting left behind – even this early in their learning journey. Once children begin to fall behind, it gets harder for them to keep up. That means it’s important for settings and schools to map out clearly the key knowledge and skills which they want children to learn. This needs to be designed so that all children can keep up. This means some children will need challenging and open-ended activities – so they can deepen their learning, rather than move on to new content. They will experience curriculum content at greater depth. Other children will need regular extra help to keep up. This approach rests on something which we know is a strength in the early years: valuing every child. We all need to be firm in our belief that every child can make progress. We all need to have the professional skills to support every child’s learning. Then early years education can promote equality and give every child a fair chance of success. Well-planned play is an essential part of the early years curriculum. High quality play is supported by well-organised environments and skilful practitioners. Play is one of the key ways for young children to learn. As Professor Iram Siraj argues, ‘play is widely recognised as a leading context for the child’s acquisition of communication and collaboration skills’. Sound curriculum design can enhance the youngest children’s play. An example of this is Treasure Basket play for babies who can sit up but not yet crawl. Treasure Baskets give babies a great opportunity to explore different natural materials. They can choose what they want to pick up and investigate more using their hands, mouths and all their senses. Practitioners need to prepare the resources and the learning environment with great care. Otherwise, the planned learning will not happen. The Treasure Baskets need to be made available to babies of the right age, in a protected space. Otherwise, the materials may be picked up by more confident toddlers and taken to different parts of the room. That stops the youngest babies from having a rich play experience with the baskets. Another familiar activity which is very rich in learning is blockplay. Playing with blocks helps children to develop many areas of learning. Let’s start with their co-ordination. They have to place and balance blocks carefully to build structures. Blockplay also helps children to develop their attention: you need to give all of your effort to making sure that tall tower doesn’t tumble down! As children make more complex structures with blocks, practitioners can point things out to them. They can use ordinary language to talk about the different shapes of blocks, words like ‘curved’, ‘straight’, ‘thin’ or ‘long’. They can rephrase children’s everyday language as mathematical language, for example refining ‘big’ to ‘tall’. Skilfully-supported blockplay helps children to learn about space, shapes, and number. It helps their physical development. It helps them to plan what they want to do and to develop their concentration and persistence. High-quality play helps children to learn across many different areas of the curriculum. Often, we expect children to be able to take part in pretend play ‘naturally’. But not all children find this easy. They often need rich first-hand experiences to play. After taking a small group of children on a bus ride, practitioners can enrich play back in the setting. That play could include important details like waiting at the bus-stop, consulting the timetable. Children might pretend to buy tickets or use a smart card when they board. They might pretend to ring the bell at the right moment and then get off. Rich play like this provides multiple opportunities for learning. Those opportunities include learning about maths, practising speaking and listening, developing social skills. The children will also be learning about the wider world, like how public transport works and how you pay for things. It’s crucial to break down big goals we might have for children, like learning to write in the Reception year. We need to consider all of the essential things which a child must know and be able to do first. For example, in order to write a sentence, here are just some of the things which children need: • The ability to speak in sentences. It is vital to support children’s early communication before expecting them to write. • Motivation to write, when it’s such a difficult skill for young children to learn • Understanding of the features of print. For example, knowing that print has meaning and is written from left to right in English • The physical skill to hold and control a pencil or pen These are all ‘component skills’ which you need to be able to write. A well-planned curriculum will consider all of the component skills children need to learn to write. It will put an appropriate emphasis on developing children’s communication and their physical skills. It will outline how children can have repeated, motivating experiences which help them to develop the skills they need. These skills include the phonic knowledge children need to learn to spell. They include the physical skills which lay the foundations for developing an efficient and accurate handwriting style. These skills need to be repeated over time until they become automatic. Each child needs to learn these skills in an appropriate sequence. It’s no good expecting a child to write a sentence, if they cannot say a sentence. You can read some more of my thoughts about this in the Times Educational Supplement. Curricular plans need regular review. Settings need a systematic approach to check that the curriculum is actually working to meet the needs of all the children. Children often attend two or more different settings in the EYFS: a child might start in a preschool, and then move into a Reception class for example. So different providers in local areas need to work together. Then they can check that their work to promote the child’s care and early learning leads to successful outcomes by the end of the Reception year. Curricular plans should be flexible enough to allow for changes in direction. Practitioners need to respond quickly to children’s sudden new interests. The evidence suggests that a completely child-centred early years curriculum is not effective. Of course, open-ended experiences are important and give children opportunities to make choices and develop their thinking. And, responding to children ‘in the here and now’ is an essential part of an effective early years education. But, even a very rich and well organised learning environment is not adequate in itself. Every child won’t spontaneously be able to develop learning at their own pace. Young children need a balanced curriculum which includes teaching which has been planned ahead, as well as making time for their spontaneous learning. They need organised, adult-guided learning to bring new ideas and experiences into their lives. Children need well planned, specific learning experiences. These will deepen or consolidate their learning over time. Otherwise, children will miss out on valuable learning. It is important to ensure that children’s knowledge and skills are secure at earlier stages, before trying to ‘move them on’. For example, practitioners working with Reception children are advised to check all of the earlier stages of development. It’s important to ensure that every child’s learning is secure first, rather than go straight to the Reception year guidance. It’s important to remember that young children’s development is not orderly. Instead, development proceeds in a web of multiple strands. Different children follow different pathways. That’s one of the key reasons why we need to be cautious about the idea of ‘readiness’. If we wait until we see spontaneous signs of ‘readiness’ in a child’s freely-chosen play, that child might well miss out on a lot of the help they need to learn. Young children think and reason like adults. But they are inexperienced. There are many things they have not done, or seen, or practised yet. So rather than waiting for children to be ready, it’s important for us to ensure that children have all the experiences they need. Children experience much of their learning through free choice in a well-planned and organised learning environment. Some of their learning takes place in playful, adult guided activities. And some of their learning is directly taught. If you take just one thing with you as I come to an end, I hope it’s this – from the literature review which informed the current EYFS: · Depth in learning is much more important than breadth. · Deep understanding is more important than superficial coverage.

What is the MOVE Programme? The MOVE Programme (MOVE) is an activity-based framework that that uses the collaborative approach of education, therapy and family knowledge to teach disabled children the skills of sitting, standing and walking. Started in the 1980s by a US special needs teacher, MOVE has a 40 year history of raising expectations and improving quality of life for disabled children. In the UK and across Europe, the programme is coordinated by the charity MOVE Europe. MOVE is built around 6 steps that are used in all aspects of a child’s life, throughout their day, by all of the people that work and live with them. The 6 steps of MOVE 1. Assessment - What skills does the individual already have? 2. Goal Setting - What achievements would make the biggest difference to their life? 3. Task Analysis - What skills are needed to get there? 4. Measuring Prompts - What support is needed now? What equipment do they need? 5. Adjusting Prompts - How will we reduce the support to achieve the goal? 6. Teaching the Skills - How do we incorporate practices into everything the individual does? This collaborative approach allows the MOVE team to work together to integrate the child’s goals into their daily activities. By providing regular opportunities for skills practice, MOVE enables disabled children to achieve mobility goals that have a profound positive impact on individual quality of life as well as family life. The child and their family are always placed at the centre of MOVE and it is their goals that are worked towards. Visual overview of the collaborative approach, with the child and their family at the centre – based on a school setting Who uses it? 1,050 children in over 120 settings are currently using MOVE in the UK with thousands more benefitting from the MOVE ethos. MOVE Europe delivers training and provides ongoing support to early years settings, mainstream and special schools as well as physiotherapy teams and Health Boards. We work closely with the organisations we train to achieve the best possible outcomes for the disabled individuals using MOVE, and we receive some amazing feedback: “Our pupils are more proactive, confident and social because of the MOVE Programme.” – Class Teacher, London “MOVE makes a huge difference to our students’ mobility, behaviour, access to community and family life.” – Physiotherapist, Edinburgh “MOVE provides a variety of different opportunities to learn valuable skills and reach personal goals.” – Therapy Assistant, Derby How do we know it works? Published research literature supports the effectiveness of MOVE (see details at the end of this article) but we also regularly receive stories from schools and parents that show the real impact that MOVE has on disabled children and their families. Here, Jo shares the MOVE story of her 6 year-old daughter Milly, who has Downs Syndrome, faltering growth and a visual impairment: “Before Milly started on the MOVE Programme, her overall mobility was very limited; she couldn’t walk unaided, she could only stand for a few seconds and her muscle tone was very poor. Reaching basic milestones was challenging and we weren’t sure if she would ever walk or stand properly. However, once Milly began MOVE, we instantly saw a dramatic change, not only in her posture and strength, but also her muscle development. Most of all her confidence grew, which gave her the ability to learn, play and interact with her sisters at home and her peers at school. I can honestly say every moment of every milestone has been overwhelming. In all aspects of her life, Milly has gained so much from MOVE; from being able to sit and be seated, to walk with support, then walk unaided, and now moving onto stairs & steps. Milly can walk into school, walk out in the Christmas play and she loves the fact that she can do it! She is now a more vocal and independent child. I cannot begin to express how much this has positively impacted our lives; it’s something that we thought may not have been within our reach. It seems so easy to say eventually it would happen, but for us it was uncertain and we were fearful of not having the right help and direction. Of course, we do our best as parents at home, but the using the MOVE Programme at school is the reason our daughter is able to be free in life, music and movement.” Cherry Garden School have also shared this amazing MOVE story video with us. Watch Ibrahim’s amazing progress to independent walking: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sp0ogt9_lOY For more MOVE stories, check out our website linked below! How can you get involved? At MOVE Europe, we are committed to improving the lives of disabled children through learning independent movement. If you would like to experience the benefits of bringing MOVE to your organisation, please get in contact with us on move@enhamtrust.org.uk. Additionally, you can find more information on our website: https://www.enhamtrust.org.uk/move, Twitter (@MOVEprogramme) and Facebook (/MOVEprogramme). Here at the FSF and Tapestry, our SEND Advisor Stephen Kilgour is pleased to announce that Tapestry are going to be adding a brand new MOVE Branch Map to their Cherry Garden Assessment Framework. The Branch Maps provide a flexible, child centred approach to assessing children's progress, and allow for linear as well as lateral progress to be celebrated. The MOVE Branch Map was developed by Cherry Garden School which is an Outstanding school for children with complex learning needs in the London Borough of Southwark. The school have been using the tool within Tapestry to evidence and demonstrate the amazing progress that their children have made, and now MOVE would like other settings to benefit from the work that has taken place. If you would like the MOVE Branch Map turned on for your setting, you will first need to contact MOVE who can then inform Tapestry that you are a MOVE setting.

We’re all in this together ‘We did not know when we would see each other again, and I am not ashamed to say that there were tears with parents as they left with their children. We shared how much we appreciated and cared for each other, and we wished each other safe and well, as we said goodbye. The situation made us all a little afraid and worried, as we did not know how long life would continue in this way or when we could return to normal.’ (David Yates, reception teacher, describing saying goodbye to most of the children in his class) We are living through a pandemic which is having an impact on each and every one of us. It often feels difficult to think beyond the day to day and our need to adapt to the latest guidelines for ourselves and for children, families, settings and schools. On top of that we may be struggling to pay bills; we may be worried about our loved ones; we may be sick ourselves and/or trying to protect those whose lives will be endangered if they get sick. Fear and uncertainty are in the air with the virus and have an emotional, psychological and physical impact on all of us. Living in an unequal society The impact of the pandemic on young children is particularly concerning for those of us who work in early years. Globally, according to a recent United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) report about 77 per cent of children under the age of 18 worldwide, or 1.8 billion, are living in countries with some form of movement restrictions in place due to COVID-19. Across the world risk factors for violence, abuse and neglect are on the rise for children living under restricted movement, many of them in workless and inadequately housed families. Girls and women are at increased risk of domestic and sexual violence and refugee and migrant children are experiencing reduced access to services and increased discrimination and prejudice (Kluge et al 2020). In the UK we live in a society where those risk factors apply to many children. Inequality of all kinds is deeply entrenched and has been worsened by the last ten years of austerity. Despite being reputedly the fifth richest country in the world we are also one of the least equal and have increasing levels of poverty and foodbank use. Pickett and Wilkinson (2009) highlighted the pernicious effects that inequality has on societies generally and showed very graphically that health is related to income differences within rich societies. Furthermore, a recent report from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) suggested that health inequality may be linked to more than income. It revealed that black people in England and Wales are more than four times as likely to die from Covid-19 as white people. Bangladeshi and Pakistani people were about three and a half times more likely, and those of Indian origin two and a half times more likely. Even when factors such as inadequate housing, unemployment, poverty, prevalence of diabetes (all of which affect Black and Asian Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities disproportionately) are stripped out, the ONS figures show black people are still almost twice as likely as white people to die a Covid-19-related death, with Bangladeshi, Pakistani and Indian individuals also over represented. This report begs some obvious questions, such as whether BAME people enjoy equal access to healthcare and are treated with the same care and respect as white citizens and points to a breach of (alongside many other more recent statutory protections) the 1965 International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and Article 25 of the United Nations' 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights which states that everyone has ‘the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family.’ It is in this socio-political context that many children are also having their rights eroded. During the pandemic we are all having to live with restrictions on some of our often taken-for-granted rights and freedoms. Most of us comply with these because we see that they benefit all of us as a society. Banning large gatherings and meetings, wearing masks and supporting social distancing, for instance, help us to prevent the spread of the virus and are a means of supporting our most vulnerable citizens as well as those who are key workers. Despite an increasing death rate and discontent with some of the mixed messages coming from government, people speak admiringly of a renewed sense of community and small and large acts of kindness in a world where we are increasingly connected in online space. This coming together rightly deserves to be celebrated now and remembered when the pandemic is over; but it’s not the only experience. A predominant government line is the heroic ‘war on the virus’. This is used to invoke a ‘we’re all in this together’ narrative based on a rose-tinted version of ‘wartime spirit’ where we came together, and social and class differences were forgotten. This can be seen to link very easily with the communitarian coming together narrative and positions government measures favourably in terms of popular support. However, despite government’s apparent generosity after a decade of austerity, we went into the health crisis in what Harris (2020) calls ‘a state of disastrous social fragility’ and it is in this social fragility that a looming children’s rights crisis is located. Many young children were already vulnerable to poor health, insecure attachment, developmental delay, educational under-achievement and trauma. Many of these problems are caused or exacerbated by poverty. As Anne Feuchtwang, Chief Executive of the National Children’s Bureau, said in response to a recent report from End Child Poverty ‘We may all be experiencing the storm of Coronavirus together, but we are not all in the same boat. The government’s data shows the extent to which over the past four years, children in low income families have been cut adrift and are already experiencing unacceptable hardship.’ Cuts to vital services total about £2billion and have had a huge impact on children and families and on early years settings’ and schools’ ability to support them and ameliorate some of the effects of poverty. Article 3 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child states that the best interests of the child must be a top priority in all decisions and actions that affect children. But it is hard to see how benefit cuts and the closure of children’s centres and nursery schools or some of the pandemic policy decisions are based on this best interest. Children’s best interests during the pandemic Up until this week, only ‘vulnerable children’ and children of key workers have been entitled to attend an early years setting or school. However not all children identified as vulnerable have been attending. There will be various reasons - perhaps fear of going out, being part of a family having to shield relatives or belonging to an already distressed family which has been tipped ‘over the edge’ by the effects of the virus. Those children who are attending are, in many cases, getting a very different experience than they would usually be having. This may well be more positive in the sense that they are in familiar surroundings and are relating to practitioners who can give them more attention and focus more specifically on their individual needs and interests. Those individual needs may include helping children deal with family stress and their own internalised worries about Covid 19. A lot of the children will have parents who are working in frontline jobs which are dangerous and where colleagues may have died - bus drivers for instance. They may be the children of care or health workers who return home from work upset because people they have been looking after have died. These adults may be feeling depressed or shocked and numb or angry about what has happened. They may return from work and have to wash and change their clothes and may talk about the lack of enough personal protective equipment (PPE) to keep them from further danger. They may be so traumatised and exhausted that they have very little energy left for their children. Living in these families is likely to be very stressful for young children whether or not they also have other issues to contend with such as poor housing, domestic violence or parents with mental or physical health issues. These children will be feeling hyper-fearful and vigilant which means their brains’ flight or fight mechanisms are fully primed. They need time and space with skilled and familiar practitioners to be supported to relax and enjoy being in the setting. Imagine how much worse those children will be feeling if they have had to move to a different childminder’s or setting because theirs had to close due to the financial impossibility of staying open at the present time. This is the reality for lots of settings and children and means that many early years practitioners, who themselves may be poorly paid and receiving benefits, are enduring extra levels of stress at the same time as having to support children and families. Current policy, although possibly seeming generous to an outsider, is merely perpetuating current underfunding and will tip some small settings into insolvency. An Early Years Alliance (EYA) survey of over 3,000 settings reported recently in Nursery World (Gaunt 2020) found that 25% of respondents thought it was unlikely they would be open in 12 months’ time. Key figures in the early years sector have been fighting hard for more clarity among the contradictory messages and U turns coming from government. In order to try and convince the Treasury they have to use the political arguments about the damage to the economy involved in letting the early years sector remain critically underfunded. The tragedy is that these arguments, while absolutely crucial for the survival of services for children and families, completely overlook the interests of children and, like government policy, concentrate (when they do mention people) on the adults involved. This approach indicates that we are still struggling with some political misconceptions about the nature of childhood. The biggest and most important one is around the fact that early years is still not seen as an important stage in its own right and young children are not seen as active citizens from birth. This misconception leads to government policy that sees them primarily as dependents of their parents, in need of ‘childcare’ to enable those parents to work, and the crucial early years as some sort of waiting room for school when ‘children’ become ‘pupils’ and where they are not welcome if they are not ‘school ready’. It also opens the door to underfunding and cutting of services and the top down pressure on Reception classes to become more like Key Stage 1 and 2 that we have recently seen expressed in ‘Bold Beginnings’, the revised EYFS early learning goals and the Ofsted inspection framework. Against this backdrop it is hardly surprising that, with the added pressures on everyone right now, the rights of many young children to be nurtured as well as educated are not being adequately protected. And it is not just the children of key workers or those already identified as ‘vulnerable’ who are suffering. In some respects, all children are vulnerable during this crisis. They may not be living in poverty or bear obvious signs of deprivation but their mental and physical health, as well as their ongoing emotional and cognitive well-being and development, may be coming under pressure. There have been many positive moves from individual practitioners and organisations to support children and families which recognise both the importance of the ‘home learning environment’ and the stresses that many parents are suffering having children around – perhaps while trying to work from home/living in cramped conditions. There is much support based on empathy and knowledge of child development as well as understanding that a family home cannot (and should not!) be turned into a nursery or school. Some of it is generic and online and much of it is being provided in individualised and family centred ways by practitioners who are trying to keep their setting or school open and safe for the small numbers of children they have, as well as providing support for the absent majority about whom they are worried. For David Yates, the reception teacher whose feelings about saying goodbye to children and families featured at the beginning of this piece ‘everyone’s well-being, mental health, and seeing the positive moments, is the central focus of home learning at this time.’ He says ‘It has been crucial to be able to respond personally to children and parents, either by e-mail, or in telephone conversations, to offer words of reassurance, support, or encouragement during this unprecedented time. They have all said how much they and the children are missing being at school and appear to have welcomed the opportunity to be able to stay in touch.’ Here is an example: “Good morning Mr Yates. Have a good day. Hope you okay and Musa said he see a dream that he goes to school and hug you. He was so happy to tell me about his dream he said he miss his friends and you. Musa find lady bird yesterday while playing in the garden and he put lady bird on his hand.” This was good to hear. I acknowledged Musa’s feelings by sending him a virtual hug back, and sharing optimistic thoughts for being back at school: “What a lovely dream, Musa! I really do hope your dream comes true very soon – I can't wait to share a real big hug when we go back to Jade class! I miss you and everyone else very much too. Sending you a great big hug back!! It's lovely to see that you found a ladybird - a nice surprise!” Musa clearly appreciated the story, as his mum’s next reply confirms: “Hello Mr Yates. Thank you so much I show your hug to Musa. He said thank you and he show to his dad in a joy.” In a subsequent conversation I shared my own ladybird find with Musa, which linked our shared experience and made it more special: “Guess what, Musa? I found a ladybird outside today too! It reminded me of when you found the ladybird in your garden, so I took a picture to show you!” Fajsin Ali, a teaching assistant was concerned about how to help young children and their parents talk about their Covid worries. She made a simple animation called ‘I Was Sad’ and put it on You Tube. The pictures and text are simple and the message is profound – children have a voice and they need to be heard. It is now a book as well as an animation. Fajsin and David, like so many practitioners across early years, primary and secondary, show how inaccurate media descriptions of schools and settings being ‘closed’ are! They may be closed as places where children can physically go, but they are very much open in terms of providing ongoing love, education and care. The home learning environment is consistently identified in research as the most significant predictor of a child’s outcomes, and the poorest children are already behind their better-off peers in important areas such as language development by the age of two. Unfortunately, the nuanced and understanding approach illustrated by David Yates and Fajsin Ali is not universal. For David it ‘was important to reassure children and families at the outset that home learning would not come as an additional pressure…there is no insistence that anything must be completed or 'produced' to confirm that learning is taking place at home, and all suggestions offer families contextual, fun, and easily accessible learning experiences.’ I have seen communications from other schools asking for evidence from parents and insisting on completed worksheets every day! This sort of approach is fed by reports like the recent one from the Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS) which reduces home and school learning to hours spent (or not spent) and the resultant likely increase in educational inequality. A government which picks up the headlines only feeds them into their existing simplistic view of the purpose of education as the transmission of knowledge. If the poor don’t have the requisite ‘knowledge and cultural capital’ (to quote Ofsted), it’s the parents’ fault. Rethinking Education and Inequality Paul Whiteman, General Secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, responding to the IFS report said 'The disadvantage gap was huge before lockdown... Without doubt, education plays a key role in navigating a route out of poverty, but a lack of education does not in itself cause poverty. Other social factors do that, and to date they have consistently worked against schools' efforts. We need to rethink how we tackle inequality in this country…It would be disappointing if the same old arguments and assumptions about disadvantage were allowed to persist once lockdown has ended.’ I would take this further and say that it would also be a pity if the same old arguments and assumptions about how children learn were allowed to persist once lockdown is over – because those tired old arguments deny children their right to learn in a way that supports their natural creativity and perpetuate a deficit model of children (particularly poor children, those with special educational needs and disabilities and those from BAME backgrounds) as somehow lacking or deficient. All babies and young children are amazingly powerful learners. Nelson (2007) talks about children learning while embedded in the relationships and interactive language of their everyday environments. In these ‘communities of minds’ they gain conceptual knowledge, learn about their own minds and update their beliefs. As Gopnik (2009:157) tells us ‘their entire stock of knowledge turns over every few months - they go through whole paradigm shifts between their third and fourth birthday…. Really flexible and innovative adults might change their minds this way two or three times in a lifetime.’ Surely we should be aiming for all our children to continue to be capable of being excited in the face of the cognitive dissonance involved in changing one’s mind, not shrink from what Carol Dweck calls a ‘growth mindset.’ After all, as Professor Brian Cox says, as a scientist ‘you have to be prepared – and delighted – to change your mind in the face of new evidence. That is the message that should be taught in schools.’ (Adams 2016) The stance of successive education ministers has been that knowledge transmission is the basis of curriculum and we have been engaged in a constant battle for the rights of all young children to quality early education and care based on sound principles. The principles on which the Early Years Foundation Stage and other UK and international early years frameworks are based are not new. They are the result of much practice, research and theory going back centuries. And yet we have a government that has caused an already stretched sector, as well as children and parents, huge additional stress by suggesting that some children should return to schools and settings on June 1st. At the time of writing there is huge opposition from unions, parents and practitioners – nobody seems to know what children think. Whatever happens with that, the government seems likely to impose a baseline test on four-year-olds starting school in September 2020 in the most difficult circumstances imaginable. Children have the right to be better treated as so many practitioners and parents who have supported More Than A Score have said clearly and loudly. A recent Montessori poll of 1000 parents showed that 87% of the parents believe that the current education system needs updating to focus more on life skills such as creativity, resilience, independence and leadership and 78% of parents think the pressures of the current education system, including testing from a young age, can have a negative impact on children. These parents believe that a good education is based on important life skills and the rights of children to be supported in their growing up into sociable, loving, creative adults – the sort of adults we need to tackle the climate crisis and the poverty and inequality to which it is inextricably linked. We will all have been changed by the pandemic and even the government has been forced to put human well-being before economic growth for a short time. As John Harris wrote recently ‘We cannot go on like this, with deep inequalities of race and class constantly exploding before our eyes, the need for food banks extending into the distance and voices at the top willing us back towards the very social and political dead end that ensured the virus has had such a disastrous impact. In the great surge of spontaneous collective action that has greeted Covid-19, there are the seeds of something better.’ In early years we must nurture those seeds and strive to maintain a culture where young children’s rights to loving care and protection and a great education are recognised and based on a proper understanding of learning and development from birth onwards. After all, ‘The immaturity of children is a biological fact of life but the ways in which this immaturity is understood and made meaningful is a fact of culture.’ (James and Prout (1997:7).

In advance of reading first words, there is so much pre-reading learning that needs to take place. For very young children, or those with additional needs, it’s important that you think about how best to interest your child in the concept of ‘books’ so that when the time comes for formalising their skills, they are truly engaged. It is never too early to begin sharing books with your child. In the initial stages, the process is much more about physical closeness, warmth, soothing and ultimately building relationships. I used to find reading my ‘Boxing News’ magazine aloud to my baby had dual benefits – he was calm and settled and I got to catch up on the latest action! As your child develops, they will generally be more interested in the visuals and increasingly the textures and ‘feel’ of books. The introduction of the ‘That’s not my…’ series of books 20 years ago has been instrumental in changing the mindset of what books for very young children and those with additional needs can achieve (they have now sold over 20 million copies worldwide!). From this stage, typically developing children will likely go on to enjoy listening to short stories, maybe even supporting with turning the pages. You may be asked to read the same book literally hundreds of times! It is sometimes hard for us to grasp how a child doesn’t become bored of the same story, but I find it a useful reminder of the importance of repetition in learning. As a parent of two young children, I try to never say no to two things - a request for a story, or a request for fruit & veg (even if dinner is ready in 5 minutes). The ideas that follow are for the children who aren’t yet ready for the sharing of a story in a typical sense. They might not want to sit down to listen to a story, the likelihood being, they don’t see the benefit – or they might feel that it’s much more interesting to continue with what they were doing already. How can we engage these children in story time? 1) Sensory stories – on the previously mentioned topic of textures in books, sensory stories provide more than just visual and auditory stimulus. Texture in books is one thing but imagine how much fun a story about rain would be if you were also covering your child with water from a sprayer? Or how much more interesting would a story about baking be if the ingredients were actually there to smell and taste. The best bit is, you don’t need to wait around for the perfect rain or baking themed story to land – just create your own! This isn’t as crazy a suggestion as you might first think: let your imagination run free; think of your child in particular - what would they really like to hear? I challenge you to have a go - it’s easier than you think. 2) Personalised stories – following on from the theme, this is where we consider a child’s interests and create a story just for them. Don’t worry about presentation – I promise your child will love your illustrations. You could spend a few pounds on a laminator if you are going to give this a proper go – you can usually get one for £20-ish these days. This way your stories will last much longer. I find the best starting point for personalised stories is familiar photographs. Very young children and those with additional needs are massively interested in the people who are closest to them. There doesn’t even need to be a story line – the book could just be called ‘All About Me’ or ‘This Is My Daddy’. You could add photos, familiar smells, materials to feel (the story might have a bag alongside it that you pull items from – this is Daddy’s shirt, it smells of Daddy’s aftershave etc). If you laminate a few pages, you could hole punch them and add string. This could be a good way to introduce page turning. Alternatively, you can just sit down together and look at some familiar photographs and talk about the people/things that are in them. Often children just want to hear the calmness in your voice as you sit together – even if they don’t understand the actual words. 3) Massage stories – The Story Massage Programme (https://www.storymassage.co.uk/the-story-massage-programme/) is a brilliant concept that works really well for children with significant learning needs, or young children. The storyteller uses repetitive movements on the child’s body as they tell the story. There are many pre-written examples but again, there is an opportunity to create stories that your child would be interested in. These stories are great for children who find it hard to sit still for a book or have lots of energy. The calming nature of the massage means that they are often able to sit for longer and partake in a story session. There are some nice examples online that you can follow, so you can just focus on the actual massage initially rather than trying to read at the same time. 4) Musical books – there’s nothing new about books that make sounds, but as with anything, improved technology means that they no longer need to take the same form as they used to. One of my baby daughter’s particular favourites at the minute is this: Each page has imagery related to a famous piece of classical music, and the little foil buttons to activate the songs are very subtle within the page. This has meant that over recent months, my daughter has initially enjoyed having the buttons pressed for her, but now enjoys the challenge of finding the button and activating the music herself. Even better, if you press the button again the song stops – brilliant for cause and effect and early cognition skills. One additional bonus of a book of this type is that it increases the likelihood of your 4-year-old son saying something pretentious like ‘my favourite song is Spring by Vivaldi’ which happened in our home last week. A final perk of this style of book is that they are often board books and so are hard-wearing. As with any aspect of learning for young children, if they aren’t engaging, it’s well worth trying something different until they do. If you keep forcing a ‘story time’ that isn’t interesting and might actually become upsetting, then it will make it even harder to engage with books further down the line. See if you can give some of these ideas a go.

P.S. How are your family? What have you accomplished? This was part of a message that I received from one of my students. Home learning had begun, and it seemed that even though Ofsted had gone, I was still under scrutiny! I love working with children, they get straight to the point – there is an honesty and spontaneity about the way they communicate that I had been missing terribly since we embarked on our home learning journey. Home learning had its challenges and I was desperately trying to keep up with the steep learning curve. Receiving this message made me reflect on how our students feel all the time: a feeling of being measured, and I wanted them to be free from this in these challenging times. The build up to the decision to close schools had been an emotional one. The week before had seen attendance steadily dwindling and worried looks on the children’s faces as they noticed the empty seats. As a team, we had worked hard to manage the situation and, as is so often the case, I had been impressed with the children’s responses. On the penultimate day, one boy with ASD had calmly said that he thought we should clear out our trays. And so, with heavy hearts, together we sorted his classmates’ drawers. Some children were already self-isolating due to sickness or vulnerabilities within the family and another child in the class had asked if they could deliver those children’s belongings to their doorsteps: the volunteering had already begun. They had led the gradual closing and shown such kindness to each other along the way without having any idea when we would be together again. When I started my new job, one of the tasks I had been nervous about was the weekly blog. My IT skills are notoriously lacking, and it took me a while to get used to the new format. Little did I know that once home learning began this would become one of the best parts of my day. Steadily, my IT skills have improved (though there is still a lot to learn) and in a world where everyone is making up a new way of teaching I have found that I really enjoy blogging – it is the main way I keep connected with my class, and how I remember the date! This is what it has always been about for me – keeping connected. We are physically isolated, socially distanced, and keeping us together has been my priority. The blog started as a daily chat with little tasks to do that concentrated on getting the families involved and responding. In class we have always prioritised the well-being of our children and as we moved towards, and embraced, home learning this became even more important. I set activities that were linked to our ‘Mindful Journals’; three things to feel grateful for, remembering good times and finding the funny. Gradually the structure has evolved. All our families have been sent a curriculum overview for the topic and we are now posting weekly overviews on a Friday so they can read the suggested activities and prepare, ready for the week ahead. Our blogs give each family a daily structure with suggested activities and examples of work that will hopefully inspire them. We have researched games on the Internet, reading resources and topical information that can be easily accessed and engage the families. Now, more than ever before, we really have to try and get the whole family involved: it would be wonderful if families felt even more connected to their school community after this experience. From the beginning the aim has been for the majority of our children to be able to read the information on the blog independently. For those with special educational needs we have produced, with the support of our SENCo, home learning plans (like IEPs) that offer differentiated activities. For me, the blog should be a place where the children can ‘hear’ my voice and feel like we are in the classroom together, learning alongside each other. I am hopeful that the plans that we have adapted can still be used in the future and I have loved researching topics that are more relevant to home learning. Not all our families are posting on the blogs, but the majority are reading them and appreciating the contact and support, and in turn it has become a support for me. Like lots of people, I have sought structure for my day to help shape it and occupy my mind. Thinking of ideas for the blog that will make my class smile and learn has helped me, too. Receiving their messages has truly brightened my day. I am so excited to hear from a child in my class, knowing they are safe and well. Another highlight of my week is when I go into school and get to see some of the children. We are all on a rota, with the team and days changing each week. I really look forward to my time at school. The first few days were eerily quiet, as only the children from keyworker and vulnerable families are asked to attend, meaning up to 13 children in a space designed for many more. It is less eerie now as we get used to the ‘new norm’. We always start the day with Joe Wicks and then, depending on numbers, separate into Key Stages, coming together for break and lunch. The aim is to follow the activities that the children have been set on their blog, though often the children are keen to chat and catch up with us. The staff have all given this priority and find that once the children are settled the other learning begins naturally. In the afternoon we often do activities together and these moments have been truly magical. This week I watched as an older child took it upon himself to read to the younger children, their faces completely engaged as he did all the actions and made them laugh. Last week it was one of the children’s birthdays, and she very sweetly asked if we could have a party in the afternoon. Of course we said yes and the afternoon was spent preparing games like pass the parcel (we all had to make a piece of wrapping paper), a playlist for musical statues and musical chairs, we even managed to get a cake. Watching the children aged 4 - 11 playing these games together was very special and the birthday girl was over the moon. I feel very honoured to be part of these precious moments. At times, the formal learning has to stop as children share their concerns and frustrations, but through it all they have remained supportive of each other and it feels like we are all in it together. So now the media focus is on when we will return to school, and I am unsettled by this. No-one really knows what the return will look or feel like. I cannot imagine teaching with a face mask on. How will they know I am smiling? My daughter says they will be able to see it in my eyes. How will we keep them socially distanced? Do I really want to be policing these strange unnatural rules that contradict so many theories of well-being? But then I stop myself from spinning and think of all that has changed so far, of all that has become the ‘new norm’ and how we have all adapted to such extraordinary times. Yesterday, I had a reassuring conversation with our Advisory Head about the plans they are already making ready for our return. The children will all be sent postcards and given the opportunity to reply with what they are looking forward to about coming back to school and what they are concerned about. Their voice will be heard. I shall probably take the lead from them when we return. I’m sure they will have very strong opinions on how it should be done! They have certainly helped me over the past six weeks. P.S. How are your family? What have you accomplished? To answer my student’s questions: we are alright, we are muddling through, even laughing and enjoying parts of these strange times. We have our ups and downs but there have been some accomplishments along the way: cakes have been baked, books have been read, gardens tended, films watched, and daily walks made together. But I think the main thing that we will have accomplished is staying connected with our family, friends, and our community. When we do return to school, I hope that we will have had an honest, shared experience that we can grow from. Every day of this ‘new norm’ has been a learning day for me. The learning experiences have been varied and each one has been immensely valuable. I hope that this time will encourage us to treasure every type of learning and move away from the increasing obsession with targets and constant measuring of attainment. It will be interesting to reflect on what was considered ‘essential’ during these times, and what school communities have missed most while we have been apart.

The National Curriculum for Music states that: “Music is a universal language that embodies one of the highest forms of creativity. A high-quality music education should engage and inspire pupils to develop a love of music and their talent as musicians, and so increase their self-confidence, creativity, and sense of achievement. As pupils progress, they should develop a critical engagement with music, allowing them to compose, and to listen with discrimination to the best in the musical canon.” (DfE, 2014) Yet, when the word ‘Music’ is uttered in schools, it is often followed by an echo of groans by other teachers. It is one of those subjects that staff often find daunting to teach unless they have a background in it. Not anymore! Armed with some research, a musical background, an apprehensive set of colleagues and a little bit of trial an error, I have managed to improve the teaching and learning at my school. I want to start by explaining that music has a vital part to play in a child’s brain development. Research has shown that being exposed to and participating in music is thought to improve motor skills, language, Reading and Maths, with some studies even showing it can help to increase SAT scores. I believe the most important tool Music can give children is confidence. Confidence to perform, to believe in themselves and to succeed. To begin revamping your Music curriculum, the first step is to truly understand how the staff feel about teaching Music. What do they know? What don’t they know? What do they need to know? You might be surprised! We started with a ‘pub quiz’ about musical phrases and whilst everyone began that staff meeting with the classic ‘oh, another staff meeting’ attitude, I found the room was soon filled with laughter and people were having fun – what music is all about! Whilst the staff at my school are some of the most talented teachers around, I discovered throughout the meeting that most were not particularly musical and because of this they lacked confidence. They were all very open about this, explaining that they found the language and technicality behind what was being asked very difficult to understand and they felt they lacked musical ability themselves. With their own apprehension came the prevention of allowing children to experience the wonder of music in their classrooms. So many children are not aware of the musical ability within them and it is our responsibility, as teachers, to try and nurture this innate talent and enthusiasm. Whilst my specialism lies in music, I am primarily a classroom teacher and so cannot be there to teach music across the school. I knew the staff needed support and it was just a case of finding a way to provide it. I began the task of finding an online platform that would enable the teaching team to feel confident about their own abilities. I needed a resource that had access to planning which teachers could use alongside songs and tasks, enabling them to get to terms with the language and ways to develop the curriculum in their year groups. This was important because the time that would have been spent on planning needed to be directly focused on pre-teaching themselves allowing them to build their own confidence before stepping out into the classroom. I also wanted something interactive, meaning it could be used on our smart boards with videos and games to engage the children - and most importantly it needed to be fun! Hours and hours of research later, I came across the software for us. I appreciate that schools have different budgets and priorities, but on discovering Collins Connect Music Express I felt it was a reasonable price with an annual subscription cost. Music Express is a fantastic resource. The format is easy to use and once you are logged in you are instantly on a screen with options to select lesson banks, song banks, warm ups, skill builders, instrumental resources and a glossary. The lesson banks are separated into year groups from Early Years – Year 6 and within these there are twelve topics. I feel strongly that Music should not be a stand-alone lesson each week. As adults, we use music in everyday life to relax, get excited, comfort us when we are sad, as a distraction, to dance to and it is also included in most things we participate in for pleasure. Music should be incorporated into the curriculum as much as possible, allowing both children and adults to experience it as part of their everyday learning. The topics on the software I chose all combine with other aspects of the curriculum. For example: ‘Pattern’ has a Maths link, ‘Story Time’ has an English link and ‘Animals’ has a Physical Education link. There are three lessons within each topic which are equipped with detailed lesson plans, interactive resources, and assessment sheets. One of the most beneficial parts of this scheme is the glossary section. Here, you can find a full list of all the musical terminology. Whilst I would recommend investing in a scheme for Music if you don’t have a specialist Music teacher, a glossary type document for staff to access would be beneficial in any Primary school setting and reasonably easy to create too. Whilst implementing a new scheme of work for the Music curriculum enabled the teachers to change their attitude, during this time I worked hard on altering the children’s mindsets too. Often, children associate Music with the singing assemblies they are involved in, where too often I have seen the same songs recycled through the years since I was at Primary School! I began by giving them a choice. I started the singing assemblies by using popular songs they loved, songs that were in the charts or their favourite films. Then, it was down to them. Every week I would allow the children from each year group who were participating with enthusiasm to pick the songs we would sing. What followed was magical. The children would leave the assemblies buzzing, dancing and singing with smiles on their faces – proving the research that shows singing provides your brain with a chemical release of endorphins, which make you happy. We have continued to learn modern songs, but now that I have their attention and they have a desire to learn, we have even given The Beatles a go! I appreciate that many schools lack space, but this school is large and had a room specifically for Music. However, it had become a storage space, full to the brim with unused furniture and old art projects. I spent hours clearing this out and explained to the children they would have their very own room for their music lessons, equipped with a brand-new interactive whiteboard and a range of instruments. The excitement began. To give the children additional musical motivation, I explained that some of them would have the opportunity to perform at ‘The Brighton Centre’, where many of their favourite musicians have played, as part of a Christmas concert. They couldn’t wait and I had many children turn up to audition for their place. I was able to select 20 children and we rehearsed every week. Additionally, they were lucky enough to have music specialists from the Local Authority come in to rehearse with them, teach them body percussion and inspire them. The whole performance was fantastic, with 1,500 children and 1,500 audience members. The children were absolutely amazed. The lasting memories offered by free, outside opportunities to learn music should not be underestimated. The feedback from staff, parents and children has been so encouraging and their support has helped the redevelopment of the music curriculum to be a success. While I had a background knowledge in music to help me implement these things, I truly believe these steps could be introduced by anyone. Music is no longer daunting for the adults to teach and many of them have confessed they enjoy the lessons as much as the children. The children are growing in confidence and beginning to thrive too. However, I don’t feel it is complete and there are many steps I would like to take to continue to improve our Music curriculum. I want to focus on the important link between Music and mental health, give children more opportunities to participate in Music outside the classroom and find new and exciting ways to continue to inspire the school.

Last week, the Department for Education (DfE) published tighter guidelines regarding financial support for Early Years providers during the COVID-19 crisis. In what appears to have been a collective interpretation by the sector on advice meant specifically for Early Years settings it was assumed that all nurseries and other providers would be able to access the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, enabling them to furlough staff and cover 80% of their monthly wage, and also carry on receiving ‘free entitlement’ funding for children who are not attending their setting at the moment. The clarification of guidance came on Friday (17th April) via Coronavirus (COVID-19): financial support for education, early years and children’ social care. As well as examples showing where settings will not be allowed to furlough staff, this document also suggests that some providers will be unable to apply for the full amount of financial support to both the ‘free entitlement’ funding and the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. It states that: No organisation should profit from the exceptional financial support available, and should therefore only access the support required. For example, organisations which continue to receive government funding should not furlough staff whose salaries that funding could typically be considered to fund, and therefore will not need access to the Coronavirus Job Retentions Scheme (CJRS). The suddenness of this clarification and its implications has left Early Years providers confused and angry. Neil Leitch, from the Early Years Alliance voiced the sector’s concerns: For early years providers across the country who have already struggled for years as a result of government underfunding, to be told weeks into this crisis that the support they were promised may be far less than they were led to believe is a complete kick in the teeth. What the government is proposing would have a devastating impact on childcare settings, and in the worst cases, could lead to permanent closures across the sector. After the initial shock of Friday’s announcement, we examined the figures. We took an example of a nursery with £50000 income per month who gain 90% of their fees through funded hours and 10% through private fees. Let’s say their wage bill is £25000 per month. They receive 90% of fees from the local authority, as usually, providing an income of £45000. If they are then allowed to furlough all staff they receive £20000 of furlough payments. The nursery has a 20% reduction in its wage bill and has received £65000 through funding and the CJRS. Breaking these figures down like this, we begin to see why the government sought to tighten guidance on a scheme whereby settings are potentially benefiting substantially, at a time when the economy as a whole is under unprecedented strain. The issue is that the clarification came far too late. To tell settings that they will receive their funding and are able to furlough staff at the full 80% rate has led providers to make decisions that they might otherwise not have taken. They may have agreed to furlough staff on this basis, only to find that they now can’t afford to do this. Underfunding in the sector has meant that many settings were already struggling financially before this period of lockdown. They will have followed the collective interpretation of the original guidance for early years providers, but as a result of the tighter advice, may now find themselves committed to a financial course of action that will be very hard to fulfil. June O’Sullivan, MBE, from LEYF Nurseries, writes in her blog that this comes at a time when early years educators are being asked to be on the frontline and care for vulnerable children and the children of key workers. She advised settings to reflect and take a closer look at the new document before taking any steps: … look closely at the small print. The Government is not saying you cannot furlough staff, but is saying that the level of financial support the Government is willing to provide will now vary and the more funding a provider gets through Government funding, the less support they will be able to get through staff wages. Tim runs a childminding business, and in the light of Friday’s changes, he looked at the decisions he has made based on what the Government promised at the beginning of the pandemic: In my setting, I have a wage bill of approx. £6000 per month with an income of approx. £8000. Of that £8000, only £1000 (12.5%) is funded as I have mainly under 3’s who do not qualify for means tested funding. I have furloughed staff and expected their wages to be covered at 80%. However, I have all my other non-staff related expenses and am reliant on the ‘free entitlement’ funding to cover these. I have no access to business rate relief grants, as I operate on domestic premises, so if my furlough payment is reduced by 12.5%, I will have to rely on personal savings and possibly loans to make ends meet. Looking at the figures, I can understand why the DfE has changed its mind about financial support for the sector. But I would have been in a much better position had I been able to plan from the outset, rather than now having to react with no business days’ notice before the go-live date for the Job Retention Scheme. We are all in unchartered waters, and hindsight is a wonderful thing. With it, perhaps the DfE could have chosen a clearer path on how early years providers would be funded from the outset of this crisis. Or perhaps they could have chosen to honour the original support for the first furlough period, giving settings notice of the next furlough period, and providing time to adjust. And they could have chosen to announce their changes to the guidance earlier than the Friday before the opening of access to the Job Retention Scheme.

Where are we now? While I will be avoiding the over-used term ‘unprecedented’, the whole world has been left reeling by, but is gradually getting accustomed to, life under lockdown due to the Coronavirus outbreak. Families are doing their best to continue their children’s learning experiences at home while perhaps also working remotely, managing both simultaneously. As a parent and an early years (EY) professional, one thing stands out for me: some parents’ obsession with home-schooling their very young children which is fuelled by some consultants and schools bombarding parents with home-schooling tasks and recommended schedules. I am seeing and hearing of children as young as four being regimented into whole days of home-schooling from 9am to 3pm, and worse still, behaviour management strategies like ‘time out’ being used. While I appreciate that some parents believe their children ‘need structure’, this is highly dependent on the individual child. Factors like trauma (existing, and as a result of the impact of this global crisis), age, temperament, ability to self-regulate and the presence of any special educational needs (SEND) need to be taken into consideration when planning any learning at home. We are all trying to navigate our way through this unknown and frightening terrain, managing our own fears and uncertainty while supporting our children to make sense of what is happening. How long will it all take to subside so that the life that we knew (or at least, the elements we liked), can resume? To quote Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: the waiting is the hardest part. Our resilience will prove critical during this global crisis – easier said than done for many adults, as well as children. Some parents have lost their jobs and are struggling financially, some will be subjected to abuse – which will compound feelings of helplessness, depression and despair. So, what exactly does all this mean on a neurological and physiological level for children and adults during these strange and uncertain times? Understanding what stress is and the ways toxic stress can impact the brain and body is an integral part of keeping our children safe, secure and able to thrive. In small doses it is necessary to our survival - it gives us the motivation needed to overcome danger and get things done. It’s when the stressors are constant or toxic, that stress can be hazardous to our mental and physical health both in the short- and long-term. This is because the human body is not designed to be in a constant, hyper-aroused state. So when for example, a child is continually experiencing adversity (i.e. the present global pandemic) their brain and body become wired for stress – their neuroception (how neural circuits distinguish whether situations or people are safe, dangerous, or life threatening) becomes primed to detect pretty much everything and everyone as a threat. As a result, stressors can be real or imagined but the impact on the brain and body are real and can be debilitating for the child. Consequently, the fight-flight-freeze response will be commonplace, perhaps without us even realising: the stress hormone cortisol and adrenalin are released to help us deal with the threat but toxic stress and cortisol disrupt and damage the neuroarchitecture (the structure of systems of neurons and their interconnection) of the developing brain and negatively impact a child’s ability to self-regulate. Some children will experience tightness in their chest, their face will feel hot/flushed, they may have headaches, ‘tummy’ aches, be constipated, feel nauseated and generally unable to feel calm. Some adults may feel more irritable, ‘on edge’, experience constant free-floating anxiety, experience headaches, gut and chest discomfort, drink more alcohol or comfort eat to alleviate some of the dis-ease, but as we know, these are maladaptive behaviours and do nothing to nurture self-regulation (SR). Figure 1 below gives a brief overview of the visible and hidden impact of the fight/flight/freeze response: Figure 1 The fight-flight-freeze response What about the children? Given we are in the midst of a global pandemic, I would have hoped that parents were instead enabled to help their children understand what has happened and give them strategies for how to not only survive lockdown but also to make it an enjoyable experience for families. It’s becoming even more commonplace to hear of issues including, but not confined to: Clinginess and/or regression – this will be a common response to the disruption caused by the pandemic. Some children may constantly seek cuddles and kisses, some may regress to bed-wetting or thumb-sucking. Reassuring parents that this is expected and not making their children feel ashamed is critical Children will have extra need for reassurance – some more than others. Encourage parents to give this unconditionally and abundantly Emphasis on home-schooling schedules over child and family mental health Anxiety - adults and children who are prone to anxiety may suffer symptoms more frequently and intensely Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) – to instil a sense of control, when the world feels so out of control Depression Developing self-regulation is integral to managing our stress response and therefore minimising these issues, but how do we create a sense of normality when nothing in the world is ‘normal’? This is a very overwhelming and frightening experience for our children. Children are wondering why they cannot see their friends and family, why they cannot go to nursery or school and why all their usual activities have ground to a halt. Some have been bereaved, some are experiencing abuse, with nowhere to turn. Our children will return to school traumatised – when school itself is a traumatising experience for some children. We must now use this crisis as an opportunity to prioritise our children’s mental and emotional wellbeing. Figure 2 below, illustrates the impact of trauma on children’s wellbeing and resilience – while attempting to home-school. Figure 2 The challenge of home-schooling during a traumatic event In essence, a stressed brain cannot learn. This is because connectivity is reduced between the emotionally reactive, downstairs brain (home to the amygdala - brain’s ‘panic button’) and the thinking, upstairs brain (home to the prefrontal cortex (PFC) - where our executive functions reside). This reduced connectivity happens when a child is dysregulated – has ‘flipped their lid’ (Siegel, 2012): so, when the amygdala has been triggered, this results in the amygdala hijack, with the upstairs brain losing control of the downstairs brain. This is shown in Figure 3: Figure 3 The downstairs and upstairs brain during the fight-flight-freeze response Nurturing self-regulation: co-regulating children’s responses to stressors How we as parents and EY professionals respond to children’s fears and behaviour during this crisis could shape their resilience to a wide range of adversity in the short- and long-term. Dr Shanker (2016) says: In simplest terms, self-regulation refers to how efficiently and effectively a child deals with a stressor and then recovers. SR cannot develop without co-regulation taking place first – and as you have learned, this co-regulation needs to be in place from birth. Infants are highly receptive to the emotions and responses and facial expressions and tone of their primary caregivers and these all influence how a child learns to self-regulate (or not). Your three ultimate aims when co-regulating emotional responses, are to: reduce stress levels help the child return to a state of calm model/provide SR strategies for them to use in the future. How you can help to create a ‘keep your cool’ tool-kit for families: Below are just a few free, tried and tested strategies that practitioners could take and pass on to families to help co-regulate their children’s SR. I like to use the concept of a ‘keep your cool’ tool-kit to use at home and professionally. This tool-kit includes: Figure 4 shows some fun SR exercises for children to try at home or in the setting: Figure 4 Self-regulation exercises What next? When our children return to nursery/school, what do we hope they will have gained or learned? Would I be happy knowing that my child completed all her home-schooling tasks provided by her school, is able to recite her times tables and can give ‘at least 12 examples of prepositions’? Not really. On a personal note, given my propensity towards intense anxiety and hyper-sensitivity, I would instead like to think that my child, along with other children: Has developed resilience Can identify when she’s starting to feel anxious and in need of reassurance Knows how to self-soothe Knows when and how to use the ‘keep your cool’ tools Has grown in self-confidence Has expanded their creativity and imagination. Encourage families to use this time to focus on their needs as a family, as opposed to forcing children to engage with arbitrary school tasks. We are in the grip of a global pandemic - children’s mental health and wellbeing must be the priority. When schools re-open, parents need to feel confident enough to ask staff how they will ease their children back into the routine and their plans to better nurture their mental and emotional wellbeing post-COVID-19. We must not go back to the ‘bad old ways’ where academic achievement was the priority, to the detriment of many children. Practitioners can re-write the rule book and now is the time to do so. As former head teacher, Phil Sharrock asserts, it’s about sticking two fingers up to the system and doing what’s right for the children. Parents need to be empowered and enabled to prioritise their child’s unique needs, strengths and interests as the starting point for their children’s development and you are best positioned to make this happen.

Makaton is increasingly being used in Early Years settings across the country. ‘Something Special’ on CBeebies helped to bring the language program to the mainstream when it began in 2003, and it has increased in popularity ever since. Makaton was developed way back in 1972 when Margaret Walker conducted research which led to the design of the Makaton Core Vocabulary. One question I have often heard asked is ‘what is the difference between Makaton and Sign Language?’. Annette Butler (2018) summarises this well: “Makaton is designed to be used to support spoken language... Makaton is often used alongside speech to help aid children and adults with communication. It is common for people to eventually stop using signs as their speech develops. British Sign Language (BSL) is a language with its own structure and grammar and uses hand signs, body language, facial expression and lip patterns. It is the language used by the deaf community in the UK and, as with any spoken language, is constantly evolving. The signs used in Makaton are taken from Sign Language and, as Sign Language differs from country to country, so does Makaton. However, unlike Sign Language which has regional variations and dialects, the signs for Makaton will be the same throughout the country.” The thing about Makaton that always seems so effective to me is that it provides further scaffold in a child’s journey to formal verbal communication. When a child is learning new words, whether that child is typically developing or not, additional support like a picture or photograph can be so helpful (think flash cards). Makaton is a different, highly portable way of providing an additional ‘visual cue’ to a child. It is such an effective method that many parents of young babies now attend ‘baby sign’ classes to enable more effective communication and understanding. In my role as a SEND Advisor, I visit mainstream nurseries and reception classes in the North East of England and it now seems to be more common for teachers to be using Makaton with their entire group. This has sometimes been triggered by a child who has additional support needs joining the class, or possibly this was the trigger last year, but the school have decided it is valuable to continue with the approach. The children in the groups I have visited who are using Makaton seem so engaged and enthused by the addition of the approach, and it helps them to communicate more effectively with peers who have speech and language support needs. As the Makaton signs have a lot of commonality with British Sign Language, it is also a highly valuable life skill to know some key words. So far, so good, but here’s my personal issue: I’m just not very good at it! I worked in a specialist school for children with learning differences and disabilities for 11 years, but for the entirety of my time there I was the butt of everyone’s jokes when it came to my signing (especially as for 7 of those years I was the Deputy Head!). I dreaded learning the annual Christmas song in our whole school staff meetings as the entire school would tend to focus on my lack of ability and chuckle their way through November and December. I received as much training as anyone else, participated in countless refreshers, watched my expert colleagues, but I always ended up feeling a bit useless at it! I have pretty much always been comfortable with the basics, I know all the letters so that I can greet any of the children, and am confident with your pleases, thank yous, good mornings and sorrys (usually reserved for apologising to teachers through windows when I was dragging a member of their team away to cover elsewhere!). But I am open to a bit of self-reflection, so here are the reasons why I think I am not the world’s greatest Makaton signer: · As with any area of learning, some people take to things better than others. My most challenging subjects when I was at school were always the languages (including English!). I have always felt much more comfortable with learning (and teaching) Maths and Sciences. · The old adage ‘use it or lose it’ is very relevant when it comes to Makaton. In my first few years as a teacher in a specialist school I didn’t incorporate enough Makaton signing into my classroom. I was generally teaching in classes with very active, autistic children with significant learning differences. I focused most of my time on symbol exchange and rightly or wrongly considered that Makaton wasn’t as high a priority for my learners. Once I became Deputy Head teacher I spent much less time with the children on a day to day basis and this also affected the regularity of my signing. The best advice I can give to people who feel in a similar situation is to try to make the learning of Makaton as fun as possible. In the last few years at my school, our refreshers were generally themed, so we’d have quizzes and competitions that were often very competitive, and therefore usually hilarious too. This different approach helped me to see that I knew more than I realised, and the sessions themselves were memorable so I absorbed more of the new signs I was learning. If you are committed to using Makaton in your setting, I would recommend looking out for any Level 1 training that is taking place in your area. This is usually a one day course that covers the first two stages of vocabulary. If you are just wanting to dip your toe in the water to start with, then there are so many handy resources online. You could visit the Makaton website: https://www.makaton.org/ Or take a look at their YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/makatoncharity . The beauty of the approach is that even if you aim to learn one new sign a day, you will add to your communication skill set significantly. A great way to introduce Makaton to children is through songs. Singing Hands are a duo who have lots of videos of familiar songs and nursery rhymes on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/SingingHandsUK . And they'll even come and perform at your setting if you get in touch with them.

Relatively soon after I started working at Cherry Garden School, in approximately 2009, we had an INSET day with a focus on Intensive Interaction. Dave Hewitt OBE (then just plain old Dave) came to deliver the training and tell us about the approach he and his team developed in the 1980s whilst he was Principal of a school for children with complex support needs. I was instantly struck by the simplicity of the approach and it was at this point that I began to think more about how working with children with additional support needs, and the need for a sound understanding of typical development in very young children, go hand in hand. The concept is based on the interactions that typically take place between a mother or father and a baby in the first 12 months of a child’s life. New parents don’t often attend training on how to interact with their new arrival, it is something that comes very naturally and invariably isn’t even considered as something special. If a baby gives eye contact, we naturally smile and attempt to prolong the engagement. If a baby makes a cooing sound, we make that sound back. If they then respond further, we continue to copy their sounds in an effort to establish turn taking. These simple, and usually unconsidered actions from a parent/carer, are hugely important building blocks for future, more formal, methods of communication. If you consider the expectations for an ‘adult’ conversation, they are based on the same principles as those we start learning in the first few months of our lives: we look at a person when we’re talking to them, preferably making eye contact; we listen and respond once the other person has finished talking; we show engagement in what is being said; and we use facial expressions and gestures to embellish our spoken word. The thinking behind the Intensive Interaction approach is that children with particular additional support needs may well have missed some of these key milestones in the development of their communication skills. Some children might be very withdrawn and show little interest in other people. To the child, other people may not seem useful or interesting. It is the role of the communication partner to become as interesting, engaging and useful as possible. To do this, it is necessary to draw on the natural skills that the vast majority of us possess and to communicate with the child on a level that is appropriate to them. Just as with a young baby, this often starts with adjusting your proximity to the child and mimicking some of their sounds or gestures. The intention here is to grasp a child’s attention. I particularly like the analogy of becoming the perfect ‘cause and effect’ toy. We need to consider how we can become the most interesting ‘object’ in the room. In my experience, Intensive Interaction can be an amazing tool to use, and at Cherry Garden School, we would often film a ‘session’ at the start of the school year and then again in January. The difference in the child in the second video was invariably significant. The child would show more interest in the adult and their faces would be so much more animated and happier. The beauty of the approach is that it can take place anywhere, and the only required resource is yourself. Often the best interactions can take place at the times you would least expect to see ‘learning’, for example whilst getting changed in the bathroom (changing times are a particularly great time to observe interactions between a parent/carer and baby – the positioning allows for amazing eye contact and playfulness). It is important to say that Intensive Interaction isn’t for every child. Children who are wrongly considered to have profound learning differences because of a significant physical need can find the approach patronising. Other children may dislike having their sounds and actions imitated, although from my experience of working with children with complex additional support needs, this is very rare. The other point to note is that newer staff members can sometimes find it challenging to remove their inhibitions and be truly playful and childlike with a pupil in a classroom environment. This invariably passes with time, especially when they see the new responses and interest they are gaining from the child in question. To summarise, I would highly recommend that any nursery/school practitioners who are working with children with significant learning differences take the time to consider using this approach. I would also advocate staff members spending as much time as possible considering developmental milestones that young children typically meet and in which order. To have this knowledge can be very powerful and can support educators in finding gaps in learning as well as setting appropriate next steps. The Cherry Garden Branch Maps for CLL and Mathematical Development may prove useful in this regard, and are free to download here. The first 12 months are covered in Branches 1-3. For more information on Intensive Interaction, you can visit their website.

In the Spring of 2019, I attended the South East launch of the Ofsted consultation for the proposed new EIF. My personal ‘take home’ from this was the apparent focus on ‘Cultural Capital’ – whatever that meant! Afterwards, speaking with sector colleagues it became clear that there had been several ‘headline grabbing’ themes arising from the proposed new framework that had caused intrigue and consternation. The most commonly discussed seemed to be the aforementioned ‘Cultural Capital’, followed by the ‘3 i’s’ (intention, implementation and impact), how ‘off rolling’ could be relevant in early years, and the notion that there was to be a separate judgement for ‘behaviour’, and what all this might mean for settings. EYs press had many articles speculating on the changes and considering what would happen when the new inspection framework was finalised and rolled out across the sector. Cultural Capital, in essence a Marxist construct addressing inequality in society, was given particular focus in the press. The Foundation Stage Forum wrote about it here and here, as did June O'Sullivan in her LEYF blog. Ofsted had very clearly set out their expectations regarding the 3 i’s: “Intent is all the curriculum planning that happens before a teacher teaches the knowledge that pupils need to learn the next thing in the curriculum” As a sector we needed to prove that what we planned for children met individual needs and was part of a longer learning and development experience. Looking at another of the talking points, unsurprisingly the sector press and social media struggled to understand how ‘off rolling’ could be ‘a thing’ in early years, given that it was generally understood to relate to some secondary school students being removed from the school roll prior to exams to avoid the possibility that they would bring results down. People were unclear about how this would be relevant to early years settings. Ofsted themselves didn’t seem to include Early Years when they tried to define ‘off-rolling’ in their online blog. The idea that the new inspections would make a separate judgement on ‘behaviour’ daunted many. What would Ofsted be looking for? Did they expect to see children who could already self-regulate at such a young age (bearing in mind that self-regulation is learned and takes a long time to manage). Ofsted were very quick to reassure that the judgement would reflect how behaviour was managed and how children were supported to learn self-regulation. Taking all these things on board I needed to be able to ensure that my own setting was well prepared. Following the publishing of the finalised document we used the question ‘what do we need to do to remain outstanding under the new framework?’ as the focus for all our staff meetings and professional development. The senior managers attended Ofsted briefings and watched their informative webinars, and in this way, we became as informed as we could be. Applying our new knowledge carefully to our existing development plan we added a section addressing the question ‘what do we think we need to do to be sure we are as fully prepared as possible?’ Here is an excerpt from our development plan: Observation focus in groups – what are you doing? Why are you doing it? What skills are you building and why? How will you know if you have done it? [Intention/Implementation/Impact] RS and RH focus for observations from now Observation questions: Practice: What can children do now that they couldn’t do before? RS and RH focus for observations from now Staff mtg discussion: Do all staff know the behaviour strategies for the children who come up on radar at lunch time? RH will meet and support Staff mtg discussion: Refine / define what we as a nursery mean by Cultural Capital. RS will remind staff to revisit Cultural Capital from the last staff meeting and will look to see how we are capturing ‘awe and wonder’ in the nursery At one staff meeting we examined the phrase ‘Cultural Capital’ and worked together to see what it meant to us. We wanted to capture ‘awe and wonder’ for our children. This wasn’t new for us; we have always been ambitious for our children and sought to broaden their horizons. We go out into the community and notice the world around us. We invite professionals (doctors, nurses, vets, dentists, firefighters, police) into the nursery. We organise local visits and have an ongoing arrangement with a local Care Home. We encourage children to celebrate family events and traditions with us. None of this needed to change. However, we did need to be sure that all staff, regardless of qualifications or experience, understood why such shared experiences were important for the children in our care and how this added value to their learning opportunities. We felt this understanding was crucial to the success of the Cultural Capital aspect of the new framework in our setting. So, as a team we focused on making sure everyone understood the philosophies behind what we already do. The managers have always been determined that all staff should feel empowered to ask questions, make suggestions and changes to our provision for the benefit of children and families. This proved invaluable groundwork for our inspection preparation. Staff already had a sense of ‘ownership’ of their work and were confidently adapting their planning and activities to meet the needs of the different children in their care. In our staff and peer observations we worked hard to build staff confidence in answering the ‘3i’s’ questions. We kept it simple: What are you doing? Who is it for? What are you hoping to achieve? How will you know if you’ve achieved it? What will you do next? All staff became confident with these questions and even found them useful to ask one another when handing over mid-shift or when returning to work after time away. These considerations ran alongside the usual development work of the nursery. Newly promoted staff were keen to try out their ideas and were worried that the new framework preparations might prevent them from being able to test out different methods and ways of working. The managers reassured them that we have always been on a ‘journey’ of development and improvement and so changing how we work for an inspection process would not have been a true reflection of who we are. It was very much ‘business as usual’. As much as we felt we were on track and confident, we knew ‘the proof would be in the pudding’, and so the sector as a whole waited with bated breath for the publication of the first reports under the new framework. Helen Edwards, at The Foundation Stage Forum, carefully read the first 100 reports and produced an extremely useful precis of the outcomes. Worryingly there seemed to be more than a few settings being downgraded. Back at our nursery, we knew we needed to believe in what we do, believe in our ethos ‘Children learn best when they are able to play and have fun’ and most of all ‘hold our nerve.’ Nevertheless, when the pre-inspection phone call came at 12.20 on a Wednesday lunchtime early in the Spring Term announcing inspection the following day, we all needed to take time to calm and gather ourselves. In part two of this double piece, I will explain and explore what happened on the afternoon before, the day of the inspection, and the day after. You can read Part 2 here.