Nursery World - Early Years Teacher Status - A real sense of achievement

The first early years teachers have now qualified for the role -
and they have much to celebrate, says Best Practice Network's Maureen
Lee.

In March, a group of practitioners received the happy news that they were the first early learning specialists to achieve Early Years Teacher Status. This pioneer group had successfully embarked on the six-month Graduate Practitioner Pathway to Early Years Teacher Status last September. A total of 122 of them, selected for their experience of working effectively in the quality care and education of babies, toddlers and young children, trained with Best Practice Network.

Some of them are employed in nursery and reception classes in schools, some in private, voluntary and independent nurseries, and some as home-based carers/educators. Everyone has needed to be reflective, hard-working and open to feedback so as to cope effectively with the challenges of selecting, collating and presenting evidence of their achievements.

SCHOOL PLACEMENTS

Candidates have to complete an Early Years Initial Teacher Training (EYITT) course and demonstrate that they meet the Teachers' Standards (Early Years).

EYITT is for those who want to specialise in leading education and care for children from birth to five. From September, a placement in Key Stage 1 will also be included, ensuring teachers understand progression into the primary curriculum and have been involved in using the range of teaching approaches and expectations for slightly older children.

All of the current graduates (except those who currently work in a school) have completed a school placement to ensure full understanding to the end of the Early Years Foundation Stage, at age five, and written a set of assignments, matched to the higher education Level 6 requirements and which demonstrate the Teachers' Standards (Early Years).

Add to this compiling a formatively assessed 'eportfolio', collating a set of witness statements researching the Key Stage 1 and 2 curriculum, and being observed in their teaching role during an assessor visit to their setting, and it's clear that this is no small achievement in only five months.

VIRTUAL LEARNING

At Best Practice Network, we are particularly pleased with our Virtual Learning Environment, which includes a bespoke eportfolio that supports both the formative and summative assessment process for trainees.

Our system is designed to be user-friendly and can be accessed from any computer or smartphone. This means trainees can upload work right from day one of their training. Our trainees often tell us that they like being able to take photographs of policies, displays or pieces of work using their smartphone or tablet and, with a detailed explanatory comment, upload it straight onto the website, thus avoiding the tedium of scanning and photocopying evidence.

Trainees select the document they want to upload, link it to the Teachers' Standards (Early Years) and identify whether that piece of evidence demonstrates their work with babies, toddlers or young children. They write a comment of about 200 words to indicate to the assessor how they have developed and/or used the document, or how it can be used to demonstrate they meet a particular supporting statement of a particular standard.

Of course, one document can, and often does, meet more than one aspect of the standards, and trainees adapt their comments accordingly. We have developed guidance to the standards and a 'sources of evidence document' to help our trainees begin to make relevant uploads throughout their pathway.

Feedback is given on each upload and the system generates an email to alert the trainee of this. The trainees can make as many additional uploads to their eportfolio as they wish (normally this is for all standards as it really is an enjoyable and interactive process, with ongoing dialogue between trainee and assessor within the one system).

CASE STUDY: DAVID EAVES

David Eaves works as a pre-school supervisor in a full-time daycare nursery in Hull and decided to embark on training for Early Years Teacher Status last September.

He says, 'I chose to work with very young children because I have had experience with different age groups and find the early years the most rewarding. I really like the way young children show such openness and enthusiasm for learning.

'I rang Best Practice Network for more information. The Teachers' Standards (Early Years) and the course aims really suited what I was hoping to achieve professionally.

'Achieving the status has allowed me to improve my understanding of child development within each of the different age groups, from babies to rising fives, particularly relating to their literacy and mathematical development. I am now able to use this improved understanding to benefit each child within my care.

'The introduction of the status is a positive step forward in ensuring that early years practitioners get the right recognition for the vital job they do in setting children on a path to positive development. The status supports a holistic approach to working with children, encouraging practitioners to focus on each child in their care.

'For me, achieving this important status has been a way to develop both my role and standards in the nursery.

It has encouraged me to improve my working practices, work more effectively with other staff and plan more creatively for the children.

'The process has also been a timely reminder of what it is to work hard to achieve something worthwhile. The standards stretch your role as a nursery practitioner, and the school placement helped me to see how best to prepare my children in a way that will help them in future education.

'After my recent promotion to pre-school supervisor, I am looking to train up the rest of my staff to the level where we are all using our skills to plan, initiate and imagine great activities and events for the children to engage with at nursery.

'My training has also allowed me to see the importance of what I do and the varied methods and skills I can use to achieve my goals.

Importantly, it has also enabled me to develop my confidence in speaking with parents about a child's progress and needs.'

FURTHER INFORMATION