National coronavirus lockdowns have left people feeling isolated. Early years settings are also trying to stay connected as local authorities cannot hold face-to-face networking events or training. In Kent, the county council is offering early years webinars.
Consultant and trainer Jan Dubiel delivered the sessions fortnightly from May 2020, changing to termly from September. Wouldham All Saints Church of England Primary School’s EYFS lead and assistant head teacher Rebecca Smajli says she signed up for the briefings to help her team meet changing needs during the pandemic.
She particularly rates the session on returning to the EYFS after lockdown. ‘Jan was very confident in making us see the best way to do it for young children, which isn’t always evident when you read Government documents,’ she says. ‘He reminded us we had to keep the children safe but not over-formalise. It gave me confidence so I could support a team of people to deliver that.’
Ms Smajli had to split her Reception class of 30 children across three bubbles. Mr Dubiel recommended creating a rota for resources so all the children could still access them. He also suggested children take photographs of themselves using those resources, so their friends could see each other playing with them. ‘That way the children still understood that there was a group next door playing, and there was that communication,’ says Ms Smajli. The school has since developed the idea to allow socialising over Zoom.
Each webinar lasts 90 minutes – one hour of presentation, followed by questions. Other subjects include the revised Development Mattersand understanding curriculum progression.
In January, the session covered the revised EYFS. Ms Smajli says, ‘Now as a team we need to think: “[With] the curriculum we’ve currently got, what changes do we need?”’
For more information, email jandubiel@yahoo.com
