EYPS Case Study: Reflecting on international perspectives on early years practice - the opportunities and benefits of being an Early Years Professional

I completed EYPS in 2008 with Best Practice Network which was a very positive experience, well organised, really well supported before, during and after my training and assessment. Since then I have had the opportunity to work with and get to know many others who have either completed or are working towards the status. It has been a pleasure to work with people who are so enthusiastic about their work with young children and those who are passionate and motivated to continue professional development activities beyond their degree.

I have also had the privilege of participating in a number of special days organised by our wonderful EYPS lead, Linda Loach in Coventry. Over the last few years, in partnership with Warwickshire, Linda has organised the most professional and fulfilling programme of events one could wish for. These events have included a conference to Penn Green in Corby, a training day at the brilliant Resource Centre in Huddersfield, Forest Schools training in Brandon, attendance at the NDNA conference in Coventry and of course the weekend in the Tepee that I could not attend but I heard so much about! I was also unable to attend the visit to Denmark but once again Linda organised an event where the lucky travellers were able to share their experiences with the rest of us. They were joined by professionals from the settings who gave us greater insight and context to the early year's system in Denmark.

More recently Linda and her colleagues from Warwickshire organised an event with speakers from New Zealand. This event was so inspiring it left me reflecting on international perspectives and the models and approaches that have shaped my practice over the years. There are many experiences I have been excited by, many things that have left me pondering on the way we do things, but I think for me the greatest influence to date has to be the pre-schools of Reggio Emilia. My first visit 2001 was the beginning of an exciting journey of discovery.

As Reggio is rooted in the belief that creativity is important in children's play, learning and development, I wanted to experience these schools I had heard so much about. That first visit confirmed all the wonderful stories I had heard about this world famous place. It reinforced my thinking and helped me to develop my ideas about what creative, exciting, inspirational play and learning opportunities really look like.

The beautiful settings of Reggio showed me the potential for creating equally beautiful learning spaces for our children and families here. The value placed on ensuring high quality learning environments was evident in every centre I visited. We often hear about how important it is to create home-from-home places for our children rather than classroom-like spaces, and the Reggio schools inspired me beyond anything else I had experienced.

I have always been convinced of the need to ensure children have access to a wide range of materials - found, natural, recycled and purchased. My first trip to Reggio included a visit to the REMIDA recycling centre. This resource base provides exciting, unusual, beautiful materials that are visible in all the centres. Many of these materials are sourced from business and industry and set this aspect of their work way ahead of the small-scale collecting things or scrap-store ideas I have experienced elsewhere in my career. Organisation, layout and use of these materials are supported by the Ateliarista - artists who work alongside practitioners in all the early years centres in Reggio.

The initial visit enabled me to see at first hand the Reggio approach to observation and assessment - Documenting Children's Learning. In this approach process is important, captured through the use of technology and offering a true reflection of what children are saying and doing. It is an approach that enables children and adults to reflect on the experiences of their days, weeks, months and years. It provides all those involved - children and adults - to reflect and then to build on what they already know in ways that are meaningful to them as individuals and groups.

I believe the nature of the set-up of the professional team is what sustains quality, as teachers and artists work together for many years. They plan and prepare appropriate and meaningful experiences for the children and together with the children they execute and further develop ideas.

Relationships are at the heart of all the work in Reggio. Children, parents, staff and the community have a proactive and forward thinking approach to ensuring the holistic needs of children are met. Early childhood care and education is given great importance and children are genuinely recognised as citizens of today.

It is important to remember that Reggio, just like New Zealand and Denmark, has its own history from which the approach has developed and it would not be right for us to try to do exactly the same. However, the EYP experiences we have had to date have been significant in helping us to reflect on practice, think about the things that have driven our practice and consider other ways of doing things, ways to make small changes as appropriate to the setting. I am really pleased to say I have had the opportunity in the last two weeks to work with colleagues in two settings who both expressed an interest in reconsidering their early years environments. One already has EYP status, the other is working towards it.

I have also been in discussions about the possibility of sharing my practice and experience with the EYP group in Coventry. I look forward to this and really hope that, despite the financial constraints, we can continue to meet as small or large groups of EYPs. We can then continue to share good practice and receive and give continued support in the future. This may not be in the same form as it has been to date, but continuing the reflections with colleagues that have been so well established would be really welcome.

A special thank you goes to Linda Loach, Coventry lead on EYPS, Gill Rogers coach and mentor and Best Practice Network for all the support they have given me. I hope we can continue working together so positively in some way, shape or form over the coming years.

Baljit Gill, August 2010