What is the prize that you have won?
The Rutland Prize is given to one student on University of Sheffield’s MA in early childhood education, and this year I was very pleased to receive it. I have been working in settings, schools and for early years organisations for 18 years. I did the MA because I thought it was time to take my learning to the next level. The model of learning is long-distance, with five residential weekends over two years. It’s a mixture of lectures and tutorials, and you complete four assignments and a dissertation. Students travelled to Sheffield from Austria, Denmark, Ireland and even Hong Kong, which is testament to the great reputation of the programme and the academic team.
What have you learnt doing your MA?
My last job was deputy head of a Montessori school. I have always been interested in British early childhood policy. Doing the MA encouraged me to be critical and reflective, to look behind the policy documents and begin to think about the intentions and assumptions of those who create it. I think there needs to be more public debate on big questions, such as what is education for? I also explored how Government is grappling with the whole divide of childcare and education and whether aims are outcome-driven for children or primarily a way to get parents back to work. Can it and should it be both?
What needs to change in regards to policy?
There needs to be more honest, open consultation. Very often, lip service is paid to this in policy development. We also need to make sure children’s voices are heard; it goes right back to children’s rights. These are the people those policies impact. We should reflect on how their voices can be heard.
