Early Years Professionals in Cheshire spread their expertise
Karen Faux
Thursday, April 9, 2009
You don't have to be an Early Years Professional to benefit from EYPS. This is the lesson being learnt in Cheshire, where the skills and insights of workers with the status are being shared with colleagues across the whole county.
‘Personal development and support for the training of colleagues are two of the most important benefits of EYPS,' says Early Years Professional and trainer Kathy Brodie. ‘One of my practitioners has changed their entire working practice since achieving EYPS. They now spend an hour in every room every week just to support staff implementing the Early Years Foundation Stage.
‘They've also ensured that each member of staff has an hour of non-contact time every week to allow them to keep up to date with learning journals and with creating individual learning plans for the children.'
Ms Brodie believes that Early Years Professionals can raise confidence in their colleagues by passing on training and new ways of approaching everyday practices. ‘One of our Early Years Professionals said that achieving EYPS has helped them look at things from a child's perspective,' she says. ‘As a result, the children in their care have more input in planning their own activities and more opportunities to determine their own next steps.' Such developments represent a real boost not only for the children but also for the staff dedicated to working with them.
Although the investment - in both time and money - needed to employ an Early Years Professional can be a challenge, Ms Brodie recognises the benefits.
‘Practitioners admit that finding time to make changes can be difficult - but they also say that, at the end of the day, it's an exciting and rewarding opportunity,' she says. ‘It is an opportunity to help themselves, their colleagues and, above all, the children in their care to progress and develop.'
