In the first of our new series on 'visits and visitors' ('Best in show', page 18-19), Foundation Stage teacher Tessa Fenoughty explains how her class prepared their four nursery hens for the local agricultural show.
Another interesting snapshot of practice this week is 'I say' (page 17), about a nursery's experiences of setting up a children's committee.
Both articles reminded me of a comment by Lilian Katz, Professor Emerita, University of Illinois, the first time I heard her speak. Having lectured in more than 50 countries, she said that she was always impressed by the similarities of the problems faced by early years educators - 'low status, poor pay and limited understanding among those who set policy and who are in charge'.
I hope this week's Nursery World makes it to the desk of policy-makers, as these two articles illustrate so much about young children's learning (meaningful, hands-on, play-based, curious ...) and the best of the profession (motivated, free from narrow notions about children's capacity to learn, expert in child development and observation ...).
Labour has always appeared uneasy or unclear about 'nursery education' - a phrase now largely stripped from Government documents. Conservative MPs with responsibility for the early years are appearing equally ill-informed, either reluctant to embrace the arguments in favour of nursery education, or lamenting practitioners' lack of skills in teaching three-year-olds to hold a pencil.
With a General Election approaching, it is time more policy-makers saw nursery education 'in action' and understood what they were observing.
