Strength in numbers

Good news for Early Years Professional Status (EYPS), we now have over 3,000 professionals across the country and CWDC reports that all providers were fully subscribed for September 2009. At Best Practice Network we have taken some time to reflect on our experience of working on the EYPS programme.

Tutors on our programmes are continually impressed with the expertise, talent and commitment to improving children's life chances of the EYPS candidates they are supporting. At course sessions they are buzzing with ideas and enthusiasm, always looking for new and better ways of working. They bring the 39 standards to life by identifying and sharing their strengths, and those areas of the standards where they need to focus more sharply to improve their provision. In expressing their leadership and support for colleagues, EYPS candidates implicitly show that they are leading and supporting practice. They use those skills to support and challenge others in their EYPS groups, for example, when someone is feeling overwhelmed or less positive than their usual self.

But the challenge for many aspiring EYPs is to express examples of their leadership and support more explicitly - the early years sector is known for its teamworking approach and this often makes it difficult for candidates to think specifically about their own role in bringing about improvements in their setting.

They think 'we' before 'I'. But to achieve EYPS they need to be able to pull out the 'I' aspects from collective efforts, while still demonstrating and leading teamwork and collaboration. Not an easy challenge. on the longer programmes tutors and mentors visit candidates in their settings. They are delighted to see candidates in action and to meet colleagues and managers. The visits demonstrate that, as a provider, we are working closely with the settings to ensure that candidates get all the support and opportunities they need to work successfully towards EYPS.

Some (but not all) candidates enter the full training pathway with very little experience of working with young children and know they have a great deal to learn. They bring with them high level interpersonal and communication skills, prior experience of leading and supporting in other contexts and, most of all, commitment to learning and developing - all essential ingredients for achieving success as an EYP.

Our full training pathway candidates are a very important part of our EYPS provision. We have been very impressed with their commitment and determination, and their impressive capacity to meet the challenges they face. We would like to introduce you to Tania, who is currently on our full training pathway. She decided to make a positive career change from medicine to early years and is confident in her decision to take this new direction:

'I originally trained to be a doctor and worked in medicine for a year after graduating, but knew long before that that it was not something that I really wanted to pursue. I was looking for something that I felt was equally worthwhile, because that is very important to me. I had been very impressed by the idea of Sure Start Children's Centres, which I had come across during my time in medicine.

'It was through Sure Start that I found out about EYPS and the opportunity to train to work with children from birth to five. The Best Practice Network full pathway was attractive because it is so flexible and I could retrain in just a year. I am on a steep learning curve and I do not always get everything right, but I am enjoying the challenge. I feel it is a real privilege to be working with such little people and it is a much more joyful environment than I was used to before.

'I feel there is great scope with EYPS. It seems it has the potential to open many different doors, including those which could encompass my other interests, such as health education, supporting new mothers, teaching swimming and encouraging children to be outdoors.

'I would encourage any graduate who is committed to working with very young children and their families to consider the 12-month full pathway to EYPS. You also need the confidence to lead other practitioners in improving their practice - EYPs need to be able to sensitively and supportively encourage, guide and train others in the settings where they train and later work.'

As Tania moves toward setting visit assessments, we have reflected again on the assessment process. EYPS is unique because it has a common assessment process for candidates on all pathways, whether the purpose of assessment is to validate many years experience of working with young children or quality assuring new entrants to the profession.

This is a real strength - everyone must demonstrate achievement of all standards, across the age groups (babies, toddlers, young children) and the two dimensions of personal practice, leadership and support. It brings integrity to the programme and status, and provides national consistency.

EYE Volume 11, No 8, December 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).