Initiatives and Projects
Working together in groups as a 'community of learners' is a highly effective way to develop thinking and professional learning. The ‘community’ becomes a forum for developing ideas, sharing good practice and raising the quality of learning and teaching.
Initiatives and Projects are led and mentored by Di, who will co-ordinate, support, document, deliver training and act as a critical friend to support changes to practice over a period of time.
Communities of practice are groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly’
Wenger 2006
Wenger 2006
A community of learners with a common commitment to reflective, critical practice and professional development Siraj – Blatchford et al 2006
Siraj – Blatchford et al 2006
Working collaboratively on an identified focus, project or initiative means that the whole team or cluster can:
- → work together
- → think together
- → reflect together
- → develop together
- → understand together
- → create together
- → learn together
Di’s model of Extended Professional Development
The Extended Professional Development Initiative (EPDI) model outlines how partners can work together on an identified focus, initiative or project over the longer term (3 mths, 6 mths, 12 mths or longer) which will have a significant impact on the quality of practice and provision.
Projects and Initiatives start from where you are and usually include a self-evaluation so that you can identify what you need to do to develop good practice;
Initiatives Include;
- Talk for Reading
- Talk for Maths Mastery
- Sustained Shared Thinking
- How young children Learn - The Characteristics
- Child-initiated play and learning - Balancing Play
- Assessment for Learning; Mapping children's progress
- Leading the Learning; an observational approach
- Peer to Peer support
Cost:
The cost depends on the initiative and size of the cluster, how long the period of support is and how many partners are involved. It is a great way of sharing costs between clustered groups
‘Terms’ are defined by Autumn, Spring and Summer but projects can begin at any point you decide upon.
Please contact us to discuss your requirements
Di led an Extended Professional Development Initiative with 14 schools in Sheffield focusing on Talk for Maths Mastery (TFMM). It built on a previous initiative – Talk for Reading. The cluster worked together as a community of learners for over two years, an inspiring experience as the group developed their thinking and practice together, sharing ideas and co-constructing good early years practice.
The work focused on two important questions:
– How do we make sure that we maintain the momentum of children’s mathematical development and learning from 2yrs old to 6+ (Y1) – building firm foundations on children’s starting points?
And
– How do we make the links across children’s mathematical development making sure that the next steps of learning and teaching support their progress from 2yrs old to Y1?
The group created a Talk for Maths Mastery Exemplification called ‘Recognising children’s mathematical mastery in their child-led play in the EYFS and Year one. This looks at the continuum of learning from 2yrs old to 6+ in 6 Areas;
– Games
– Creating and thinking critically – Problem-solving
– Following children’s interests
– Mathematical mark making
– Sensory Materials
– Construction
As well as; A whole class approach to building on the mathematical thinking in child-led interest and Floor Books.
Talk for Maths Mastery can be delivered as a days cpd or better still as an extended cpd initiative and is based on this work and the exemplification, particularly focusing on;
– The principles of Talk for Maths Mastery including using self-evaluation and action planning
– Using narrative Learning Stories to look more deeply at child-led play, talking, thinking and learning. Sharing case studies from 2yrs old to Y1
– The Transition of Pedagogy and the continuity of experience and progression for children in practice
– Connections to Sustained Shared Thinking and the Characteristics of effective learning (particularly Creating and thinking critically)
– Exploring what we mean by Maths Mastery?
– Case studies from the TFMM Exemplification
TFMM looks at the transition of mathematical development from 2yrs old to Y1 and is aimed at all those who work with children across this age range, as well as maths co-ordinators, Senior leads, Head Teachers and Managers.
A two year initiative which built on the Every Child a Talker (ECAT) programme and focussed on the way that children’s talk underpins the development of their reading (and writing). We worked together in clusters of schools, children’s centres and private and voluntary settings and some child-minders. The initiative focused on:
- Developing firm foundations in communication, language and literacy for all children
- Supporting children’s progress in communication, language and literacy to raise the proportion of children aged 5 achieving age related expectations in communication, language and literacy
- Developing practitioner/teacher knowledge and understanding of children’s early language, communication and reading development and how to support this
- Increasing parental involvement in their children’s language, communication and reading development
- Improving experiences and outcomes for children and their families as a result of working across clusters of Childcare providers, Children’s Centres and Schools
Talk for Reading was a huge success with children’s talking and reading progressing extremely well and changes to practice which had a significant and on-going impact.
The Talk for Reading Resource Pack has 7 Case Studies and a CD-Rom full of materials, ideas and documentation
What people said
The TfR Self-evaluation and Action Planning are really valuable; they have helped us to think about our practice, plan for next steps and improve what we are doing; we have a new enthusiasm for getting actions in place. It has become second nature to us now and a year on we continue to see the difference for the whole setting.Manager of a Community Pre-School
My child loved the photo book about himself showing everyone and telling them all about it; it really helped with his talking
A parent talking about one of the TfR Learning Stories
The Extended Professional Development Initiative (EPDI) model outlines how partners can work together on an identified focus, initiative or project over the longer term (3 mths, 6 mths, 12 mths or longer) which will have a significant impact on the quality of practice and provision.
Projects and Initiatives start from where you are and usually include a self-evaluation so that you can identify what you need to do to develop good practice;
Initiatives Include;
- Talk for Reading
- Talk for Maths Mastery
- How young children Learn – The Characteristics
- Child-initiated play and learning
- Sustained Shared Thinking
- Peer to Peer support
Cost:
The cost depends on the initiative and size of the cluster, how long the period of support is and how many partners are involved. It is a great way of sharing costs between clustered groups
‘Terms’ are defined by Autumn, Spring and Summer but projects can begin at any point you decide upon.
Please contact us to discuss your requirements
Di was commissioned by a Local Authority to work with clusters of practitioners and teachers to focus on the statutory requirement for child-led play and learning balanced with adult focussed teaching (1.8 and 1.9 in the EYFS Statutory Framework). The cluster came together on 4 days over an eight month period; undertaking gap tasks and practitioner action research to unpick the following questions:
- What is child-initiated play and learning and adult-led teaching?
- What are the key principles of outstanding early years pedagogy in schools and settings?
- How do we observe the characteristics of learning and record and map children’s progress in order to support future learning?
- How do we develop an enabling environment and routines to support children’s interests, thinking and learning?
Each partner looked at these questions in relation to their own setting/school and their children so that they could develop practice relevant to them.
When the cluster came together they shared their work in progress, discussed thinking and reflected on practice leading to an increase in confidence and being able to articulate why child-led play and learning was crucial to children’s development and progress.
See Di’s book – Playing to Learn – A guide to child-led play and its importance for thinking and learning
What people said;
“An absolutely brilliant day; truly inspiring and encouraging. Has given me a lot to think about and confidence in my practice”
“Thank you – I really needed that injection of good early years philosophy to remind me of what is important for our children”
“It inspired us to continually improve practice and gave us more confidence to make changes to practice. We listened and learned from each other – the dialogue was invaluable”
A cluster of 4 schools wanted to focus on the Characteristic of Effective Learning and how they could support children’s thinking and learning. They focussed on the following questions:
- How do we understand young children’s learning and development and use this to form the core of high quality provision and practice?
- How do we interpret this into an enabling environment which supports the quality of learning and development for all children?
- How do we observe the context of children’s learning and development and use this to monitor their progress in the Foundation Stage?
Di worked with the group as a ‘community of learners’ undertaking practitioner based research and produced an exemplification of the Characteristics of Learning through child- initiated play and activities.
The exemplification includes the wonderful Learning Stories that were observed as the children followed their interests and ideas.
What people said;
“The initiative has given me a deeper understanding of children as thinkers and learners”
“It provided a fantastic opportunity and the time to develop a shared understanding with other schools. Without the initiative this would have been very hard to do”
“The initiative really got me thinking. It inspired me. I found it especially valuable to work together with others”
“Excellent initiative designed by a supremely knowledgeable, experienced consultant, who values ‘whole child’”
Di worked in partnership with Early Education and the Department for Education on a Peer to Peer project (18mths) which focused on developing good practice in private day nurseries.
Clusters were formed in two Local Authorities which Di supported through training and gap tasks on:
- Young children talking – language development and learning
- Thinking together about the quality of provision and practice
- Leading good practice – reflecting on progress and thinking about the next steps
- Forging ‘real life’ authentic partnerships with parents and families
Partners worked together to give peer to peer support, matching up Outstanding Children’s Centre settings with others to develop good practice and share thinking over a period of time.
It included visits to each others settings, action planning and sharing progress from practitioner action research e.g. what worked well, Learning Story techniques.
What people said;
“It has been an outstanding project with our children and parents at the heart of it all. We will continue this journey. Many Thanks”
“Some magical reflective moments. It’s been both enjoyable and informative. Your nurturing lead has made it a ‘learning journey’ with colleagues – and fun. Thank you”
“We have looked forward to every session and learned so much”
