CACHE and High/Scope UK have joined forces to develop a new level 3 certificate which they hope will encourage early years practitioners to explore the active learning approach advocated by High/Scope.
The collaboration came about because High/Scope UK wanted their course to gain a national recognition and status, while its emphasis on reflective practice and the plan-do-review approach fits well with CACHE's ethos.
The long-established High/Scope approach is used by more than 20,000 practitioners in the UK. The educational process and philosophy recognises the uniqueness of every child and has at its core the belief that children gain confidence, initiative and a lifelong love of learning when involved in well-supported activities of their own choosing.
The approach encourages children to become decision-makers and problem-solvers. These skills are carried into adult life, producing a generation with positive attitudes to education and society.
Proven record
'The qualification is aimed at anyone who is interested in implementing the High/Scope approach, whether they are a teacher, nursery nurse or classroom assistant,' says Joan Norris, director of High/Scope UK.
'We believe there is something here for every early years practitioner,'
adds CACHE chief executive Dr Richard Dorrance. 'We went for it because High/Scope has a proven success record over 25 years in improving children's care and education, in keeping with our mission statement.
'The approach of plan-do-review fits with the CACHE philosophy. The High/Scope approach has been taken up by many local education authorities in this country.'
One of them is Sandwell in the West Midlands, where its adoption gained impetus when the director of public health, Dr John Middleton, became convinced of its benefits and secured 150,000 Health Action Zone funding for High/Scope training.
Although only a few settings are totally immersed in the High/Scope approach, a spokesman for Sand-well's early years team says, 'Many schools in Sandwell use elements of High/Scope. We have four centres, three nurseries and a foundation unit, using High/Scope. They are very forward thinking and it has been very good for them.'
'I would like to see everybody working with children and young people doing the High/Scope course as an extension of their standard level 3 because the High/Scope methodology is so good.
'There is a longitudinal research study over the 25 years that High/Scope has been running that shows that children who experience High/Scope do better in school, are more likely to go to university, are more likely to be healthy and are less likely to be involved in criminal activity.'
In time he would like to see a course developed for parents, but for the current award candidates have to be working in childcare, either paid or voluntary, or a supervised placement.
Birth to Three
All the tutors and CACHE-appointed moderators and external markers will have to be High/Scope endorsed because, as Joan Norris says, 'You cannot teach active learning by having a didactic lecture and half a dozen hand-outs.'
Additional support material has been prepared by High/Scope for tutors to cover Birth to Three Matters and SEN children, says Joan Norris. 'A tutor delivering a course to a mixed practice-based group, when referring to learning environment, can look at the Foundation Stage and say what the learning environment should look like and then turn to working with babies and what the learning environment should look like for them.
'The underlying principles are the same whatever the age group. We have two course books, one for the Foundation Stage children, and the other called Tender care - early learning is for birth to three.'
She says the qualification has wide appeal. For example, it could be used by qualified teachers new to the Foundation Stage who have not had early years training or experience. As it is mapped against both the Early Years and Teaching Assistants Occupational Standards it can provide a route to NVQ Level 3.
It can also serve as a team-building exercise, bringing staff together to share training as well as helping staff members work in a more consistent manner.
'Previously, I was a lecturer in further education teaching BTec,' Joan adds. 'I would visit nurseries and sometimes the staff were pulling in different directions: there was no consistency of approach in terms of behaviour management or adult-child interaction. It is terribly confusing for children if they are getting mixed messages.
'One of the things that struck me, apart from the research side of High/Scope that shows it has a long-term effect, is that it provides staff with that consistency which is so critical to the way that children develop and learn. It gives staff a greater understanding and ability in that field.'
High/Scope CACHE award
The course is in two units:
Unit one Promoting Children's Learning and Development through the implementation of the High/Scope approach is assessed by assignment and involves 60 learning hours.
The modules in Unit One cover:
* children's cognitive development from birth to eight
* High/Scope principles and perspectives
* links between the High/Scope approach and the relevant curriculum frameworks in the UK
* individual needs
* consistent daily routines
* planning, implementing and evaluating key experiences
* conflict resolution
* working with children and their families
* the role of the early years practitioner
* key principles of teamwork
Unit two Supporting Early Years Practice in High/Scope settings assesses candidates' practical competence in implementing the High/Scope approach.
It involves 30 learning hours. The assignment requires:
* observing two children over a period of four sessions and using the observation and assessments as a planning tool
* writing a short, reflective account of working with a child as a supportive partner and when working in support of a team member
* writing a reflective account on using the approach's six steps to conflict resolution in the setting over a week
* practice evidence records.
