Since the introduction in 1989 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), and in particular Article 12’s assertion that children have the right to be listened to and taken seriously, it has become more common to ask children their views and take them into account.
Recognising that children have less power than adults, but their opinions should be sought and acted upon as appropriate, was the starting point for a piece of action research undertaken by staff at Balsall Heath’s George Perkins Day Nursery in Birmingham.
As nursery manager, Sarah Presswood has worked alongside staff to keep the setting going throughout the lockdown that began in March. In normal times, about 50 children attend and 16 staff work at the Outstanding nursery, which offers full-time provision with a mixture of free-flow and small-group activities.
During lockdown, the nursery remained open to vulnerable children and the children of key workers, forming a mixed-age bubble. The numbers gradually increased until the beginning of June, when more children returned and were placed in bubbles broadly aligned to their age and pattern of attendance.
TIME TO REVIEW
In September, Sarah and the team met to review how things were going, taking an appreciative inquiry stance; this entails considering what is going well, alongside taking time to consider the challenges.
Benefits
The staff identified three clear benefits from working in bubbles:
- Secure relationships, both between the staff working in the bubbles as well as between staff and the children. The staff felt that the higher level of contact meant they were more attuned to their key children, and in turn the children were perceived to be more settled and less demanding.
- New ways of communicating with parents and carers were developed due to them not entering the building in order to reduce transmission of coronavirus. This led to staff sharing ‘daily diary snapshot observations’ posted to their key children’s online learning journeys. It was a natural progression for these to then feed into the planning and reflection on what was needed in the environment to support children.
- Consistency of care stemmed from staff having more time with the children in comparison to the free-flow system that had formerly been in place. Similarly, children built more consistent, enduring relationships with their bubble peers, and seemed to be more comfortable with reduced choices, perhaps because they had a more solid grasp of what they could do and when.
Challenges
Three clear challenges were also identified:
- Restricted access, which applied to other children, members of staff outside the immediate bubble, and resources more broadly, as well as to sensory-type activities.
- A sense of isolation, with staff feeling they were not able to see each other or children outside their bubble.
- Disconnection within the nursery community due to difficulties in terms of bubbles interacting because of the need for social distancing.
This was all from the staff’s point of view, and there was a real drive to find out what the children made of the changes to their nursery.
CHILDREN’S OPINIONS
We, working alongside the staff, used the photograph-based storybook created by George Perkins about the new nursery system to talk to a group of six children. All were aged four years and had attended nursery prior to lockdown, so were felt best placed to offer a child’s eye view on the changes that had had to be made.
What do you think of the bubbles?
When giving their opinions on the bubbles, most of the children related their feelings to the people they were with. One child was happy as she was with her friend, whereas three other children said they were sad, either because they missed particular friends whom they had been with before lockdown, or because they were further away from the babies.
Another child shared his sadness because he would have preferred to be at home, whereas a further child commented that she missed the activities that she associated with her previous room.
As this question led to so many responses about missing things, the question was taken further.
Do you miss being with anyone when you are in your bubble?
Two children named their previous key person, whereas two others were more focused on children; the child who had already stated that she was happy to be with her friend simply said ‘no’.
How do you feel about the nursery fences?
As separation, disconnection and isolation had been a key issue identified by staff, children were shown a picture of the fences in the garden and asked how these made them feel. Most said they didn’t like them as it led to a sense of separation; however, two children were not sure how they felt about them, whereas one child opined that she liked them because they kept away the people she didn’t want to play with.
What do you think about handwashing?
Handwashing was also explored. One child was happy to wash her hands, saying, ‘It helps me so I can’t get sick.’ Another also didn’t mind, but others were not so keen, with one complaining that it washed off her nail varnish, another dubbing it ‘a bit funny’, and the final child being non-committal.
And what about activities?
In terms of activities, three children noted things they missed: access to painting every day, water play, and eating meals with everyone else on a daily basis. One child commented positively on having ready access to her key person, stating, ‘I like that [she] is there every day.’
THINGS OF VALUE
While the children gave mixed responses, and these tended to focus on what they missed, there were some important messages in terms of the things they valued.
The children’s relationships with other children and their key person both before and after the change in the nursery provision came through very strongly, highlighting the value children place on this aspect of nursery life.
The children’s responses also showed that, despite their young age, some understood the changes that had had to be brought in. The staff have found that most children have coped well, highlighting their resilience as long as they are surrounded by consistent relationships with adults who offer attuned secure attachments.
TIME TO REFLECT
Although this research is small-scale, it is nonetheless valuable: children in early years provision and their adults who look after them are adaptable and robust, even in the face of the abrupt and significant changes to settings and practice that were necessary due to Covid-19.
However, this flexibility and durability depend on pre-existing strengths: relationships between children and between children and staff, and caring adults providing attuned support. It also opens up reflection and further questions on free-flow play and the place of it in early childhood provision.
Dr Anita Soni is an educational psychologist working with schools and nurseries in the West Midlands and a tutor on the Doctorate in Educational Psychology course at the University of Birmingham; Sarah Presswood is manager at Balsall Heath’s George Perkins Day Nursery in Birmingham.
