Nursery World - Early Years Teacher Status Diary – exploring what it means to be a professional

Students are being encouraged to develop a sense of their own unique professional identity, says Chichester University’s Nikki Fairchild

The Graduate Entry Pathway (GEP)

Trainees are now spending greater amounts of time on placements in their settings. This allows them to link theory and practice and to develop their leadership skills. While on placement they have all been visited by a link tutor who has observed their practice. The link tutor then met with each trainee to discuss the observation and experiences to help them make links to the Teachers’ Standards (Early Years).

There has been one session at university entitled ‘professionalism’. Now trainees are in the second phase of their pathways they are more able to reflect on what it means to be a professional working in an early years context. These reflections and explorations help them to develop their own unique professional identity. All trainees have submitted their third written assignment for assessment and feedback.

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