Learning and Development: Under-threes - Love you!
Veronica Lawrence and Claire Stevenson
Monday, November 14, 2011
The lasting effects of loving interactions between babies and their parents and early years practitioners are borne out in a project explained by Veronica Lawrence and Claire Stevenson.
Since its launch in January 2007, the Northamptonshire Baby Room Project has attracted the attention of early years practitioners across Northamptonshire, the UK and Europe, and is now being extended to include a course for the parents.
The original programme aimed to raise the quality of babies' experiences within early years settings by challenging the view that 'babies don't do anything' and focusing on recent research into the complexity of infant brain development. We wanted to empower and inspire practitioners to enhance their practice, using this knowledge to inform their interactions with babies, observations and reflections on their practice.
The training, delivered by a multidisciplinary team (educational psychologist and early years specialist), comprised three sessions:
- babies' brain development
- babies' emotional wellbeing
- babies' playing and laughing
The key messages the sessions aimed to deliver were:
- Every experience a baby has builds connections in the brain.
- Babies thrive when they have secure and loving attachments.
- Playing and exploring promotes brain development. Timing is all important. Choose when a baby is alert, comfortable and wants to play.
- High-quality interaction between babies and practitioners, babies and parents, and babies, other babies and young children, are all crucial to healthy development, both physical and emotional.
PARENTS' COURSE
The parents' course was designed following interest from families who had noticed the changes made to under-threes provision in local settings and how practitioners had started to enlighten families about infant brain development. This new course aims to raise parents' and carers' understanding of how vital interacting, playing and loving their babies is for influencing their baby's development.
The sessions follow the themes of the practitioners' course. It has been crucial to provide creche facilities in an an emotionally containing way for parents and babies with practitioners who understand the Northamptonshire Baby Room Project, so that everyone can enjoy and get the maximum possible from the session.
The course runs over three months, during which time parents and carers are asked to keep a journal of their baby's experiences. This exercise has greatly benefited families' understanding of their child's development.
A key message for parents is that having 'you' is what babies want more than anything else. Babies love joining in with conversation. By being knowledgeable about early development and learning, parents can be alert to the importance of early communication.
Feedback has been positive, and parents' comments included these:
'I look at my baby differently! Every time she learns something new I think "wow, her brain cells are connecting".'
'I found the class to be really interesting and great to be able to share experiences with other mums. I also find myself thinking about my son's brain development and it has made me more aware of his surroundings.'
Asked how they know when their baby is ready to play, one parent said, 'She stands in front of me, pushes my legs, sits on the floor and points to the floor to tell me to sit down with her.'
PRACTITIONERS IN TUNE
Meanwhile, the practitioners' course is bringing significant improvements to under-threes provision in Northamptonshire.
Practitioners are now more in tune with babies in their care. Being able to notice a baby's subtle responses and ways of communicating has improved interactions between adult and child and left staff better placed to provide for a baby's unique needs at any moment and support their learning and development.
The training has also resulted in practitioners becoming more:
- confident in working with parents
- interested and enthusiastic about working with babies
- knowledgeable about brain development
- imaginative in the sensory play experiences that they offer babies.
Practitioners report feeling empowered to reflect on their practice and provision and to question what could they do to raise the quality of babies' experiences. It seems both practitioners and parents now understand that early interactions between babies and adults will have lasting consequences.
Veronica Lawrence, a specialist senior educational psychologist, early years, and Claire Stevenson, birth to three adviser, are authors of the facilitator's manuals for both the practitioners' and parents' courses within the Northamptonshire Baby Room Project
MORE INFORMATION
- Northamptonshire Baby Room Project, www.northamptonshirebabyroom.org
- The Project is outlined in 'Right start' by Donna Luck, Claire Stevenson and Veronica Lawrence (Nursery World, 13 February 2008). For activities linked to the project see: 'In black and white' (Nursery World, 5 November 2008), 'Pick and mix' (11 December 2008), 'On reflection' (7 January 2009) and 'Song and dance' (28 May 2009).