Our Commitment to Training the Early Years Workforce
We aim to ensure that the provision at Woodlands Park is of the highest quality to ensure the best possible outcomes for children. Part of how we achieve this is through a commitment to training our staff to ensure that we have teams of skilled practitioners committed to their own learning. We believe in being a community of learners.
Throughout the year staff are engaged in a programme of training that reflects the strategic priorities of the Centre and practitioners’ experience, key responsibilities and professional development needs. Staff also support one another through a programme of peer mentoring and visit other early years settings to see quality practice. A number of our staff are also engaged in taking additional professional qualifications linked to their roles. Through what we have learnt we are constantly developing our practice e.g. in our work with children with autism; in the way that we support children’s early communication; how we develop our outdoor learning; the importance of secure attachments. The list goes on!
To enable the training and professional development to take place we have 5 Inset days spread throughout the year when the Centre is closed to families. In addition there are 6 Core Days (one each half term) when the Centre closes to families at 2:30
We believe that to develop our professional practice we need to become more reflective and engage in research and developing new learning. In recent years we have worked with a number of different organisation's on a range of different funded research projects:
- Development Really Matters: Celebrating Children’s Learning (2016) East London Early Years and Schools Partnership, 4Children, ICAN and Early Education.
- Early Years Quality Improvement Grant supporting local nurseries to access accredited learning (2016): the New River Teaching Alliance, Haringey Nursery Schools and Training and Development Consortium (HNSTDC), London Borough of Haringey, Department for Education
- Developing Naturalistic Observations of Young Children in Contemporary Nurseries (Tavistock Observation Method (2014) Roehampton University and The Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust developing,
- The Haringey Lullabies Project. Music Enhancing Health and Education Outcomes in an Early Years Setting (2014): Sidney De Haan Research Centre for Arts and Health, Canterbury Christ Church University, Youth Music and Groundswell Arts
- Comenius Regio EXCHANGE/INTERCAMBIO Education and Arts (2009-2011) Dept. de Educacio de L’Ajuntament de Sabadel, Spain
- Change School (2008-2010): Creative Partnerships, Arts Council of Great Britain, Stitches in Time, World Beaters