Best Practice - Flourishing Froebel

A£1 million programme to increase understanding of the Froebelian approach is under way, with experts in England and Scotland working with global partners to revive a ‘pedagogy of possibility’ that is as relevant today as it was 180 years ago.

Initiatives include the creation of flagship Froebelian centres, a new one-stop shop website, training to provide a new cohort of setting leaders and travelling play cafes.

Two teams have been appointed to lead the three-year £1m programme funded by the Froebel Trust, the Froebel Partnership team in England and Froebelian Futures in Scotland.

They will work with designated partners in New Zealand, Greece and the Czech Republic to undertake intensive research, develop practice and undertake community engagement projects.

Sacha Powell, CEO of the Froebel Trust, which funds practice development and research in early childhood education and care from a Froebelian perspective, says, ‘It’s an excellent time to launch this programme. We’ve seen a huge increase in interest in Froebelian education during the pandemic, with more than 3,000 people registering for our conference and tens of thousands of practitioners accessing free resources and courses from our website.’

PEDAGOGY OF POSSIBILITY

The project will launch this September with a workshop by Dr Jayne White from the University of Canterbury in New Zealand on ‘the pedagogy of possibility’, and a new website on all things Froebel.

Raising awareness of the origins of educational pedagogies is one of the ‘key objectives’ of the programme, explains Dr Powell. Despite being recognised for his influence on Montessori, Steiner and other progressive pedagogical pioneers, Friedrich Froebel is often not thought of as a pioneer in his own right. This is perhaps because many of his principles are so embedded in today’s provision and practice that they have become mainstream.

‘People tell us “I didn’t realise that I was a Froebelian, but the approach aligns exactly with what I believe about early childhood education and care”,’ Dr Powell says. ‘In fact, the Froebelian approach has been travelling and transforming for 180 years to form contextually and culturally sensitive, hybrid pedagogies which are as relevant today as they were in the 1800s.’

Experience and understanding of nature along with the idea of unity and interconnectedness are central to Froebel’s ideas. Today, these have links to issues around sustainability and children’s disconnection from the natural world.

Professor Chris Pascal from the Centre for Research in Early Childhood (CREC), one of the leads on the Partnership team, says Froebel sits well with the ‘slower pedagogy and philosophy’ which Covid-19 has shown to be beneficial for children.

‘A Froebelian approach is for everyone,’ enthuses Prof Powell. ‘Working with our partners, we hope to widen access to training, ongoing professional learning and leadership development.’

FROEBEL IN SCOTLAND

Froebel is a well-recognised philosophy in Scottish practice. More than 500 students each year complete the University of Edinburgh’s Froebel in Childhood Practice course. And Froebel’s principles are embedded in Realising the Ambition, the national guidance practice document, with themes of unity and connectedness, children as autonomous learners, the critical importance of relationships, creativity and the power of symbols, and the importance of play and engaging with nature.

Dr Lynn McNair, a senior teaching fellow in early childhood practice and Froebel at the University of Edinburgh, who will lead the Futures team, says the project could be ‘transformational’.

‘Our aim within three years is for Scotland to be further recognised as a beacon of childhood practice at the heart of a local, national and international community of Froebelians,’ she explains.

Dr McNair also runs Cowgate Under 5s Centre, which has been underpinned by Froebel’s principles since it opened in 2002. Working with her colleague, Lian Higgins, the centre will become a teaching hub, demonstrating Froebelian practice in action.

Practitioner Enquiry Training, a new training programme aimed at developing Froebelian leaders within settings, will be rolled out to 75 practitioners who have completed the Froebel in Childhood Practice course. The team will work closely with five local authorities – Orkney, the West of Scotland, South Lanarkshire, Falkirk and Edinburgh – to identify the students.

Participants will not only carry out reflexive research projects that strengthen their Froebelian provision but will also have the chance to visit Cowgate Under 5s Centre to see core elements of Froebelian practice – woodwork, sewing, block play, clay and nature – first-hand. ‘Ultimately, we’re looking to create Froebelian leaders within settings,’ explains Dr McNair.

There will be two international hubs in Greece and the Czech Republic, and staff from the Cowgate centre will reach out to marginalised families or those living in rural areas of Scotland with a mobile pack-away play cafe containing Froebelian-inspired natural, open-ended resources.

MYTH-BUSTING

Sally Cave, head teacher at Guildford Nursery School and Family Centre, is part of the Froebelian Partnership team with the Centre for Research in Early Childhood and AMA Associates in Auckland, an educational support service that will link with practice in New Zealand.

She is undertaking research to find out whether today’s children get something unique from Froebel’s traditional Gifts – six sets of cubes, spheres and cylinders. The Gifts are not widely used today but live on in hollow and unit blocks that are a staple of early childhood provision. Ms Cave says, ‘Settings don’t need to have the traditional Gifts to become a Froebelian-inspired practice. Froebel’s Gifts and Occupations can be found in block play, clay, woodwork, gardening and sewing.’

Some of Froebel’s philosophy of education can appear obscure to today’s early years practitioners. ‘To challenge some of the myths and to share knowledge about a Froebelian approach, we will be filming our practice, writing reflections, articles and blogs so that others can see what a Froebelian approach looks like in practice,’ Ms Cave explains.

Prof Pascal says the programme’s international strand presents ‘huge opportunities’.

‘Many of the issues and challenges we face are global and cross-cultural, and the international partnerships will help us to explore the dynamics and synergies from learning in a diverse and culturally-rich way,’ she explains.

CASE STUDY: Guildford Nursery School and Family Centre

Staff at Guildford Nursery School and Family Centre in Surrey were first introduced to Froebelian principles and pedagogy training in 2017, after Froebel Trust travelling tutor Sally Cave took on the headship.

‘I brought in the Froebel short courses because I could see that some excellent practice was taking place that closely aligned itself with Froebel’s principles,’ she explains.

Working with other Froebel Trust travelling tutors, Ms Cave has slowly introduced staff to the approach through what she calls the ‘slow cook’ nature of the short courses run by the Froebel Trust.

‘It’s not something that can be taught in a day. It’s about really thinking about your practice and reflecting on it. Changes happen over time; reflection is ongoing and we are still embedding the principles.’

The nursery school, which is split over two sites, works around the eight principles that are based on Helen Tovey’s interpretation, published by the Froebel Trust.

‘One of them is giving children freedom with guidance so they feel more in control and more autonomous, which impacts on their wellbeing. It’s also based on the understanding that if adults control everything, children will not develop intrinsic motivation.’

Children have opportunities to sew, work with clay, plant and harvest their own fruit and vegetables, cook from scratch and use real tools – secateurs, saws hammers and drills. They can choose to climb trees, which fits in with the principles of engaging with nature, freedom with guidance and managing their own risk and learning through self-activity.

‘Adult guidance takes place in lots of different forms,’ explains Ms Cave. ‘In block play, for example, if a child is engaged in building something, adults will help protect the space so that it’s not accidentally knocked down. Or it could be about supporting a child that doesn’t have the dexterity to hold a pair of scissors. Guidance is in place but there are no extrinsic rewards, like stickers, because every child has an innate desire to learn and they don’t need to be bribed to do so.’

Huge value is placed in having knowledgeable and nurturing educators. Staff receive annual training in the Froebel Trust’s short courses, and four members of staff are undertaking the University of Edinburgh’s certificate in Froebel practice. ‘We invest heavily in our key-person approach, which is about nurturing that triangle of trust between family, child and key person,’ says Ms Cave.

Froebel Young Voices on COVID project

CREC were funded by the Froebel Trust to lead the Froebel Young Voices on COVID project, which involved working with four Froebel partner nurseries in Guildford, Edinburgh and New Zealand. CREC’s role was to train and support practitioners in action research and to document and then analyse child, parent and practitioners’ storytelling about their pandemic experiences.

Froebel sits well with the ‘slower pedagogy and philosophy’ which COVID has shown to be beneficial for children, explains Professor Chris Pascal of the Centre for Research for Early Childhood (CREC).
‘Through our Froebel Young Voices on Covid report, undertaken with children in England, Scotland and New Zealand last year, we found that children needed space and time to think about, express and make sense of their COVID experiences and the impact the pandemic was having on their lives. We found that through their extended play interactions, especially in the outdoors, many of the children chose to re-enact their experiences, and needed to have the time, space and freedom to explore their inner lives through their self-chosen play activity.’

She adds, ‘I think the whole approach calls into question the ‘catch up’ or ‘hurried child’ agenda, which constantly encourages the child to move ahead, to be future oriented rather than present oriented. I believe the catch-up agenda puts unnecessary pressure on the child so they become the ‘harried’ child, unable to take time to reflect upon and make sense of their past and present, which has given them enormous challenges to navigate over recent months. The experience of COVID has also allowed both parents and early years practitioners to slow down their lives and the cramming of experiences into the day.  Both have expressed the pleasure they had gained and how the quality of experience for them and the children had been transformed by this gift of more time.’

WHO'S INVOLVED IN THE SCOTTISH FUTURES PROJECT
Working with Lynn McNair, Lian Higgins at Cowgate Under 5s centre and Simon Bateson from the University of Edinburgh and Cowgate Under 5s centre will also play a significant role in co-leading the project. 

The project will also have five local authority national hubs, in Orkney (run by Catherine Diamond), the West of Scotland (run by Rosamund Rodriguez), South Lanarkshire (run by Mairead Maxwell), Falkirk (run by Donna Green) and Edinburgh (run by Paula Greenhill). 

More information
Opportunities for learning about Froebelian education and developing practice are listed on the Trust’s website. These include short courses for all as well as accredited Level 4 and Level 6 certificates, Master’s-level courses and PhDs.