Juliet Mickelburgh: What to look for in your professional communities

This year’s Tapestry survey found that despite many challenges facing the sector, 85 per cent of early years educators reach out at least termly beyond their setting/school to offer advice to other providers. Of these, half do so at least weekly. This drive to create supportive networks with fellow educators is heartening. But what are the benefits of participating in a professional community? Here are some examples:

• Exchanging knowledge: whether we are passing on years of experience or bringing a fresh perspective, we learn from each other. Sharing good practice is a key part of our professional development.
• Contributing to wellbeing: whatever the size of the group, having consistent, trusted support is key to building what wellbeing specialist Kate Moxley calls a community of care, embedding wellbeing in our workplaces.
• Being heard: joining our voices together in a professional community means we can be louder. And in the current climate, we need policy makers to hear us.
• Finding meaning: sometimes we can lose our way as we navigate the challenges of working in a stretched sector. Professional communities can help us reset and re-find our purpose.
• Improving children’s outcomes: everything early years educators do comes back to this. Communities of practice inform our pedagogy, and in doing so they contribute to improving children’s outcomes.

What do professional communities look like?
Official or unofficial; face to face or online; two people or hundreds – there is a professional community somewhere for everyone.

Group-based settings are a ready-made mini community. When it works well, staff teams can learn together through in-house training and reflective practice. This is extended when two or more settings connect to combine CPD, or exchange expertise and resources. Linking with settings who are situated within the same locality often means a shared understanding of the unique circumstances experienced by the families they serve.  Being part of a local group is particularly beneficial for childminders to provide a range of support and connection.

Larger professional communities are created via local or national initiatives. These can have a strong lobbying focus such as the Early Education Childcare Coalition, or be focused on sharing good practice such as Department for Education’s Early Years Stronger Practice Hubs.

For some time now we have been able to access global communities of early years educators. Online educationforums, such as The Foundation Stage Forum (FSF)  blazed the trail in offering links to a wider world.  Today, growing our learning network has never been easier using social media platforms to tap into specific chats or share our good practice.

However, let’s not forget the value of one-to-one connections. I regularly meet with a friend who is also an educator. We often talk about pedagogical approaches, creating our own learning community of two through these conversations.

Tips for what to look for in your professional communities
It’s important to choose wisely when selecting which professional communities to participate in. Time and cost will be the first considerations. Be honest with yourself about your personal bandwidth. Luckily, many professional communities don’t involve a financial hit, but if it’s face to face there could be travel costs. Here are some other things to consider.

• Find like-minded educators: do members of the group share your passions and ethos?
• But change it up: are you just hearing things you already know, or are you being introduced to new ideas? Think critically about the discussions and learning you experience. Ask yourself whether they are truly supporting your practice – this is particularly pertinent with discussions on social media platforms.
• Is it inclusive: who are the voices within the professional community? We have a responsibility to our children, families and colleagues to ensure we create environments in which they feel they belong and are represented. Our professional communities need to reflect this.
• Have fun: this can help lighten the load, find the positives, and reconnect you with the joys of working with young children.

Early years educator and consultant Jamel C Campbell asks us to “Imagine one conversation could be a catalyst to endless possibilities.”[i] Professional communities are built on conversations about our pedagogy and practice – reflect on one you had recently, and what you learned from it.

Juliet Mickelburgh is an Education Adviser at Tapestry, the online learning journal, and a former early years and primary school teacher. She is the content editor for the Foundation Stage Forum.

[i] When I think about the importance of conversations 2022

https://www.tapestry.info/2022/12/08/when-i-think-about-the-importance-of-conversations.html (accessed 21st Sept 2023)