Enabling Environments: National Teaching Schools - With respect

Annette Rawstrone
Monday, September 5, 2016

Barnet Early Years Alliance's vision is for children to ‘wallow’ in their learning. Annette Rawstrone reports

Staff are as filthy as the children as they squelch clay between their fingers, talk about how it feels, what happens when it dries and the shapes they are making. The children at Hampden Way Nursery School, part of the Barnet Early Years Alliance (BEYA – see box) in north London, have been inspired by the clay and some twigs to make an animal's lair. Using their imaginations and the available resources, this has turned into representing the Gruffalo story in mud. They're engrossed.

BEYA's vision is for the children in their care to ‘wallow’ in their learning through play and to feel safe to explore and take risks, both indoors and out. Staff aim to create a relaxed but stimulating environment where children can have fun and learn through their natural curiosity.

‘Our philosophy is that we take the starting points from the children and extend their learning through their interests rather than what adults feel the children should learn. We do not have topics or pre-planned activities,’ says Jodi McCallum, one of the head teachers at BEYA, which was awarded National Teaching School status last year.

‘We harness the individual children's natural curiosity and follow the things that really interest them and extend their learning. If you were to give an adult a book on a subject that they're not interested in, then they are unlikely to pick it up and read it. It's the same for children. If the curriculum is driven by the adult, then 98 per cent of the children will not engage. Instead, we engage with the children in what they want to know and their interests and then what we want them to experience and learn can be easily woven in.’

SIGNIFICANT LEARNING

Staff reflect together on the children's learning at the end of each day by looking at their learning stories and discussing video footage. ‘The learning stories are exactly that, a written-up story of a child's learning rather than an observation full of jargon,’ says Ms McCallum, who is the head teacher of Hampden Way Nursery School.

Rather than having a tick list of children to observe each week, they focus on episodes of significant learning and document it so it can be utilised and planned for.

‘The aim is to celebrate learning and observe children's development instead of logging that a child held a pen in their right hand, or can ride a bike, which is not as useful,’ Ms McCallum explains.

‘The keyworkers know their children intimately, but all of the staff observe and support all the children, observe the learning and discuss how we can move the children's learning on.’

These episodes of significant learning can be widely different – from celebrating the first time a child manages to wave goodbye to their parents without getting tearful to the complex learning gained by a boy constructing a castle from building blocks. In this instance, staff encouraged his interest by providing books on castles. He went on to look at plans of buildings and study the different shapes of London's landmarks. ‘His interest lasted for weeks and the language and learning was significant,’ Ms McCallum reflects.

Parents are invited into the settings to watch video footage of their children and discuss it with the staff team. The aim is to get at least one good piece of footage of each child per term.
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TAKING RISKS

Allowing children to take risks and make their own decisions are regarded as key aspects of the children's learning at BEYA nurseries. ‘We believe that children need to take risks. If they're not allowed to take risks in their play then they won't take risks in life. It is important to get that scared feeling in your tummy and then experience that feeling of elation when you do jump off from the highest A-frame. If children aren't allowed to take risks then they won't know how it feels to conquer and achieve,’ says Ms McCallum.

‘We now have a culture where adults are scared of letting children play and take risks. We as adults have made play too safe and almost a dirty word. I visit some settings and the activities are all sedentary and there is little or no risk and problem-solving happening.’

Often people will visit the BEYA nurseries and express surprise at what the staff are letting children do. They learn to manoeuvre on skateboards while hurtling downhill, swing in hammocks, jump off stacked-up palettes and climb six-foot ladders. Children soon realise that the tree trunk they use as a climbing frame is challenging in different areas because its bark is knobbly compared with smooth areas that get slippery when it has rained. A lot of work is done in the first term in using tools on the woodwork tables safely, but by the spring term it is expected that the children can use them independently.

Ms McCallum believes in children innately knowing their own limitations and that staff should stand back and let them try. ‘Children will plan what they want to do, ask when they need help and make more tentative moves as they get to the top of a tree or to the top rung of a ladder,’ she explains.

‘What we want is for children to master what they are doing, whether that's making a bow and arrow or climbing. We want them to solve the problem themselves.’ She gives the example of the children recently making a massive trap with ropes, like a gigantic spider web.

‘They worked together to think where they should put the rope, how it looked and where there were big gaps that wouldn't catch the baddies. It was the children who figured out what to do. If there had been an adult guiding and telling them what to do then there would be no point to doing it,’ she says.

‘I believe adults need to respect the level of knowledge and expertise that early years children have and not think that they need to fill them up with information. I learn from the children every day.’
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SHARING GOOD PRACTICE

BEYA is the federation of three Barnet nursery schools – Hampden Way Nursery School, St Margaret's Nursery School and Brookhill Nursery School. In total they provide 550 places for two- to four-year-olds and are all rated Outstanding by Ofsted. National Teaching School (NTS) status was awarded to Hampden Way and Brookhill in September 2015 (St Margaret's did not meet the criteria because it had recently had a change of head teacher).

‘As we are perceived to be Outstanding by Ofsted, we understand that this expertise needs to be disseminated throughout the early years community,’ says head teacher Jodi McCallum on the decision to apply for NTS status. ‘There are very few nursery schools with NTS status, although the number is growing. We were already doing a lot of work supporting other settings, so this way we get the recognition for the work we do and it is easier for other early years settings to access our training and expertise through the teaching school.’

Along with providing early years training for the workforce of the future, Early Years Educator through a Cache centre and Early Years Teacher training in partnership with Middlesex University, the BEYA training centre supports schools and settings that are causing concern.

Through training and visits to BEYA settings, Ms McCallum wants practitioners to have a clear understanding about putting the child at the heart of everything they do. ‘We want them to see that the expectations we have for our children are very high and that the children are autonomous learners who independently make their own choices and they can take risks. Play which is the child's learning is valued at the highest level,’ she explains.

‘There are a lot of adults and practitioners talking about ABC and scissor skills, but that can't be compared to the skills and knowledge that children will gain as they spend significant time designing in the block area or exploring ICT by taking apart old computers, learning about circuits, mother boards, fans and rebuilding them. The language used is phenomenal. These sorts of experiences are learning at its best.’

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