Leadership: Finding inspiration from the experts

Professors Lilian Katz and Julie Fisher, Dr Cath Arnold, Ros Bayley, Marion Dowling and Margaret Edgington - it is not every day that you are surrounded by your idols!

I was lucky enough to attend the recent Early Excellence Centre annual conference in Huddersfield, 'Looking Closely at Respectful Interactions'. Liz Marsden, director of Early Excellence, saw that my two colleagues and I were not at a table, so she kindly offered to place us on the 'top table' alongside the authors of many inspirational books.

The conference examined how practitioners interact with children. Do we jump in too early when we try to develop child-initiated play? Do we respect their conversations or do we have our own agenda when talking to them? How do we truly work in partnership with parents and engage them in their child's learning?

WATCH, WAIT AND WONDER

Dr Cath Arnold shared her knowledge about parental involvement at Pen Green in Corby. I have taken her ideas on board as I am about to embark on 80 pre-nursery home visits.

I am supported by the head teacher at Southwark Primary School to visit all nursery children at home prior to attending. The home visits offer a vital insight into the children's needs. It means we are meeting children for the first time on 'their own turf' - this is the first 'respectful interaction'.

Parents and carers were also asked to visit and help twice a year in nursery when their child had settled in. The majority of parents were keen to come and read stories or cook, and one grandfather said he loved music and would come in to share his enthusiasm!

After hearing Julie Fisher's keynote speech we also discussed the need to 'watch, wait and wonder' before interacting with children.

In September we will be training the EYFS team on the Leuven scales of well-being and involvement, and how we can incorporate the scales into our formal observations of children at Southwark Nursery.