CPD and the butterfly net

If you work in early years, you will know that you have to keep running just to stand still. Whatever the situation, an Early Years Professional (EYP) still needs to be able to get support. The EYP will also be giving support to fellow practitioners and looking for evidence to show improving practice.

This is precisely where the 'butterfly net' comes in - to capture those activities that demonstrate for the individual and for the setting that professional development still matters!

Practising EYPs are in the vanguard of a new profession and they still want and value the opportunity to consolidate, extend, and update their professional knowledge.

So what does continuing professional development (CPD) mean in this context?

Local authorities in most areas of the country off er a number of short training events, and traditionally those who have attended have been given a certificate saying just that - that they were present at a training event. Private training providers also seem to have a wealth of courses that may well be of benefit to EYPs, yet these courses largely stand alone.

For EYPs, it is important to demonstrate more than attendance at one-off courses - their CPD opportunities and outcomes must make a real contribution to their careers.

An innovative approach to accrediting professional learning is the Negotiated Learning Contract, which is a means of gaining recognised credit through planned CPD experiences. In a Negotiated Learning Contract, it is the learners who set objectives for personal and professional learning. The learner undertakes an identified learning event and through reflection afterwards their knowledge then moves forward. There are now opportunities, such as the Graduate Certificate in CPD in Early Years at the University of Northampton, to gain academic credit for that undertaking.

For those holding Early Years Professional Status (EYPS), the 60-credit Level 6 Certificate enables EYPs to make an in-depth study of current issues in the field. To help move this study into practice, EYPs are given support enabling them to apply the knowledge in their setting alongside gaining academic credit.

The Level 6 Certificate consists of a range of modules, of which the Negotiated Learning Contract modules are the most innovative. Other modules include Evaluating Practice and Practice Improvement, and together these create a suite of modules to address the CPD needs of individual practitioners and settings.

The EYP process is invariably intense, combining work and study and managing change. New EYPs often feel that they have just completed a great challenge in their professional development. Not surprisingly, there can be a reluctance to move on to the next challenge without taking a breather, and this underlines the value of the Negotiated Learning Contract.

The daily activities that the EYP undertakes to fulfil his or her brief become part of the CPD records, so the professional progress of the new EYP feeds naturally into the CPD dossier. Thus in a culture that values and encourages CPD, we seek the means to record and validate that development.

It is the butterfly net of accreditation that allows us to capture individual and setting practice improvements.

EYE Volume 11, No 4, August 2009

Reproduced with permission. Early Years Educator (c)2009 MA Education Limited.

EYE is available through subscription or from selected newsagents and bookstands. It features a broad range of professional articles for practitioners who are serious about developing their career including information for those working, or wanting to work, in early years and attain the Early Years Professional Status (EYPS).