Caring and sharing

Val Buckett, the head teacher of Pembury House Centre for Childhood in Tottenham, London, is not proud. 'Early Excellence is not about people coming in to admire us,' she says. 'It is an attempt to break through professional isolation and the lack of support experienced by many workers in the early years.'

The new centre was created three years ago to replace a conventional nursery school. It integrates nursery education, extended daycare and a training base for early years practitioners. The 70-place nursery school and the training and development base work closely together to ensure that theory in courses relates directly to good practice in action. 'Partnership with local colleges enables training to be delivered in the community at times and places that suit people's needs,' says Jackie Jeffries, the centre's training development manager. 'At the end of a session in the training base, they can walk around the nursery and make their own observations.'

The building itself is light, spacious and exciting to enter. 'We try to have an "open door" atmosphere,' says Val. 'For example, a group of family support workers from the health clinic simply crossed the road and asked, "How can we be part of this project?'''

Val is passionate about sharing ideas with all kinds of local practitioners. 'You've got to make professional development relevant to people, and work from their existing skills. The problem is that people can come to an Early Excellence Centre and look at the building and equipment and think they could never do the same because they don't have the same resources. We try to help visitors focus on something which can be taken away to their own workplace. We want them to take away a little piece of Pembury House.'

The centre's Block Play Project exemplifies this approach. Visitors can observe children at Pembury House using the blocks and think about how they could be used in their own setting. There are two sets of blocks which can be borrowed for a term, with the support of a mentor from the Pembury House team. The project aims to help the staff in the other setting reflect on how their children used the blocks. This piece of research is then written up, with the support of the mentor, to share with other providers.

Val is convinced this will benefit all parties. 'Staff from the centre will have the opportunity to see how the equipment and the interaction develop in another setting. This will feed back into our own practice. It's what we call our "360-degree feedback". Excellent practice is reflective. It's professionals looking at what they do and thinking about it - whatever kind of setting they are in.'