Encounters with some children - observing for schema

I was allowed to roam free in the nursery this afternoon observing the teaching and learning space and interacting with children if possible. As I have mentioned, the children are very used to visitors and initiate interactions freely. I was watching some children racing up and down a long hallway with wooden trucks 'transporting treasures' from one end of the hall to the other (hallway may be up to 20m long - I am spatially challenged - and the 3 children were racing up it pushing trucks). Not once were the children asked to stop this activity and it went on for over half an hour noise and all....no drama...no crashing. Others knew to get out of the way and respected the activities.

 I met a child while we watched others play games on the computers. There were some animals on the bench so we started to play with them. The next series of photos show the way the play was repeated many times over - lining up the animals 'connecting them in a row'. The teachers talk a lot about schema in their every day language with children. It is a 'default' framework for thinking for the teachers. There is a strange chaos in the environment inside that the children joyfully navigate around.

 Sorting them this way and then that...

 each time different arrangement - applying different criteria to line them up

 These photos are the same - I wanted a more artistic photograph :O)

 The toy at the end is her own toy from home - you can see it is a bit different from the other animals.

Each of these photographs is a different arrangement of the same animals. The child would set them up and then flick them over. The children are free to explore their schema in ways that are meaningful to them. I am impressed by this as it may be thought of that this full on space is not carefully orchestrated...don't be fooled....it is!!!

Presentation - Kate Hayward - Assistant Director Research Base

Main points for me from presentation:

• Community and engagement (community development approach) - Parents know their children best. Need to work with parents in ways that share knowledge about the child, and they need to be able to share their knowledge through genuine dialogue.
• P.I.C.L - Parents engaged in their Childs learning
• Use video a lot to understand what children are doing 
• Community is really important if you want to make a difference in the lives of children. Resistance is good as at least you know people have a passionate point of view about something.
• There are 120 staff across the whole organisation - social services, health and education working together for families
• targeting of interventions can often be thought of to be a deficit model - challenge the thinking is a way of working (not a programme) - engagement with communities and working with each other.
• Parents make decisions and lead assessment conversations. How do you understand your community?
• Kate referred to our 5 questions - Do you know me? what do you know about your community? Do you hear me? Can I trust you? Is this place fair for me? Do you let me fly?
• Develop things here that parents have been leading the assessment of need. Parents tell the service what they think is important and distributing the power. 

Beliefs and values about working with parents?

• Negotiating this and owning what ours are.
• What you believe affects how you work with a family
• Meet - 'The Pen Green Loop' - there is some connection here to our 'Helical Vortex' concept - anyway - it is about how what happens in each of the settings impacts on the other through observations by both and having a shared dialogue - this is both formal and informal.

Settling children and families into the centre - strengthening connections.

• There is a two week setting period where the child is supported to transition into the centre - not only by parents - all significant adults/siblings can be involved in settling the child. I thought this was great as the teachers get to meet and observe the ways the child interacts with these 'significant others' and build on these observations to strengthen a relationship with the child incrementally over time (albeit 2 weeks). It is a way to create memories with children at the centre, levering off the emotional connections the child has with these important people. Stroke of genius I think and not putting the pressure on parents only, inclusive of a variety of people in the life of the child. The possibilities are endless - Uncle, Aunty, neighbour, grandparent, older sibling.....Imaging the insights you would get into the life of the child through observing and sharing time together.
• A way to get to know and understand the child
• After 6 weeks at the centre - the teachers share a video clip about the child's engagement at the centre
• For children attending longer, there can be several clips. There are PICL groups where parents are invited to come and watch video clips of their children (collectively watching clips of each others children). Parents are able to watch the clips together and share ideas. 
• For some families, they meet 1:1 as well - again this is formal or informal - the team at Pen Green work hard to make it manageable.

Main frameworks - shared language to discuss learning:

• Notice, recognising and responding
• Wellbeing - Leavers levels of involvement 
• Schema