Jules

Forthcoming changes to the early learning goals and the new EYFS reforms provide teachers and leaders with the opportunities to really open the discussion around our practice and approaches to teaching, learning, assessment and the curriculum in early years. It’s important that we embrace this opportunity but also that we don’t rush into changing everything. It’s also essential to remember that the goals are the end point of EYFS and are not the curriculum. The educational programmes offer a lot of additional support which can help to shape our thinking in this area. In their 2005 study on transition, NFER found that it was most effective when it was planned as a gradual process. The move from the current Early Learning goals to the new assessment reforms and educational programmes is best approached in the same way. Whether you are an early adopter or thinking ahead to September it’s important to plan sufficient time to think and reflect. The discussions you have with your team in early years, and with those in your school outside the EYFS will help to shape your practice going forward. Since 2008 the DFE has been undertaking a study into the impact of early education use and children’s outcomes up to age three. The SEED study (Study of Early Education and Development) has provided some fascinating insights into what makes a difference to outcomes for our youngest children. In 2017, as part of this review Callanan et al. found that strong leadership, where those in charge had a clear vision of what they were aiming to achieve, was considered vital to effective early years practice. Other features of good practice were an ethos which placed the child at the centre of good practice, skilled and experienced staff who accessed high quality training and development opportunities, and an open and reflective culture where practitioners felt able to ask for support when they faced challenges, were outward looking and sought to continuously improve. We can learn much from this research, and it is worth taking a moment to reflect on where you feel you are in terms of your current practice. Do you feel that your vision for the children in your care is clear? What do you want the children to know and understand by the time they leave you? How do you want them to be? What skills, knowledge and experiences do you consider essential to prepare them for the next stage of their education? If you were to ask everyone involved in your team, would they share that vision with you? If you’re not sure whether the answer is yes, it might be worth starting with that discussion. A clear understanding of what you all want to achieve together is an important starting point for any team. It will also help you when you need to make decisions about the curriculum and your provision later on. You will be able to look at your decisions through the “lens” of your vision and ask yourself “Does this support what we’re trying to achieve for our children?” How about your knowledge and your team’s knowledge of child development? Are you confident you know how young children learn and develop different skills? Do you know how writing develops from babyhood, about early mark making and the development of gross motor skills and how they link to the development of distal control, about the progress from mark making representation to writing? If not, then it’s important to be honest and seek out professional development opportunities. Whether that’s wider reading or accessing some training. One of the positive outcomes of the current situation is that it’s now easier than ever to access training online at your own convenience. What about the rest of the team you work with? Would you say they were confident in their knowledge and understanding of child development? What would they say? Remember it’s important to foster a culture where all staff feel able to ask for help and support. Different members of the team will be at different stages in their development in this area. If team members feel able to ask for help, they can improve their knowledge skills and understanding, and this will impact positively on the children in their care. Over the last six months I’ve been working with leaders, advisors and teachers to look at the reforms. I always start by having these honest conversations so that we can be really clear about what we are trying to achieve. I reiterate the importance of revisiting your vision frequently, to ensure that decisions are made with your vision and values in mind. I also use a technique called appreciative inquiry, to identify current strengths. Too often when reforms are introduced it can be easy to forget what already works really well and try to change all of our practice. Let’s not throw the toddler out with the tuff spot! There is much good practice to celebrate. Be very clear about what is working well and already resulting in the best outcomes for children. Remember that the goals are not the curriculum. The EEF report from the pilot schools highlighted that there was some confusion about this and stressed the need for more advice and support for practitioners to ensure that they didn’t see the curriculum as being purely about the goals. The planned training will no doubt cover this in detail, but the educational programmes are really helpful to use here when thinking about the curriculum you intend to provide. Just as the National Curriculum provides the skeleton on which schools build their own unique curriculum, the educational programmes provide a basis for schools and settings to consider what they need to provide for children. It is pleasing to see that the consultation response very clearly states that, “The EYFS does not prescribe a particular teaching approach. It recognises that effective teaching in the early years requires skilled use of a teaching practice repertoire which responds appropriately to the age and needs of the children being taught.” Initial concerns about the reforms leading to an approach which we would expect to see with older children are further dispelled by the inclusion of the definition of teaching currently included in the Ofsted handbook (page 80 in the Ofsted handbook and page 4 in the EYFS reforms document). I find this definition of teaching a powerful tool to use with teachers and practitioners. We use it to reflect on the many different approaches to teaching and learning that we use when working with young children. I am often asked “How much child led and how much adult led should there be in Reception?” and my answer is always, “I don’t know your children, your context or what your provision is like, so I can’t say.” There are no definitive answers. Teachers and practitioners use their professional judgement to make these decisions. They decide what the most effective way to teach a particular subject or skill is. There are so many different interactions which happen in the Early Years setting, and it’s important that no one approach is seen as any more valid than another. We need to value children’s exploration and play in child initiated learning, and seek out teachable moments when children are using the continuous provision which we have carefully resourced and arranged as part of our long term planning, and we need to value adult directed input as an effective teaching tool. The balance between the two shifts and changes according to the needs of the children. The false dichotomy which some like to present around early years is something of a myth in my experience. It is not an either/ or, but more of a continuum. I am lucky enough to be able to visit many schools and settings all over the country (and sometimes in different parts of the world) and the idea that in some schools children are doing whatever they like with no adult input is not something I have ever come across in a school in my 30 years in the sector. I’ve also only come across a small number of schools where Reception doesn’t allow time for child initiated and play based learning. Most schools and settings find the balance which is right for their children and are constantly reflecting on whether their provision meets the needs of their children. Going forward there are challenges when implementing the changes to the EYFS, but by holding on to the vision for children, thinking carefully about how young children learn best and those key developmental milestones for young children, and considering how to provide rich, meaningful experiences which build on what the children already know, and set firm foundations for the next stage of their learning, teachers and practitioners can provide a rich, diverse and meaningful early years experience for the children in their care. We have an exciting opportunity to reflect and refine; we need to embrace it.

In recent years, there has been a slow but steady shift in education: data is losing its crown as the main thing to focus on and curriculum is getting the attention it deserves. I am in no way saying that data is not important, but it certainly doesn’t have to be the focal point when you have so many other things that you could be looking at; things that will benefit the children and their learning in a different way. And we know that one of these areas is the curriculum. Ofsted’s definition of curriculum is: The curriculum is a framework for setting out the aims of a programme of education, including the knowledge and understanding to be gained at each stage (intent); for translating that framework over time into a structure and narrative, within an institutional context (implementation) and for evaluating what knowledge and understanding pupils have gained against expectations (impact/achievement). In plain terms, this means that the curriculum should be designed to give children the opportunity to develop their learning as they go through their school lives, so that they build on the skills they have learnt in previous experiences and don’t simply repeat the same skills over again. I recently read a blog post by Christine Counsell in which she traced the word curriculum back to its Latin roots where it means to ‘run’ or ‘proceed’. In this blog, that definition is then used to show how curriculum can be looked on as the whole running race, not just a final sprint. This struck a chord with me and made me think back to all the hours of work that subject leaders put in over many months to ensure that their subject’s curriculum did exactly that. Whilst on a year group level, the skills and knowledge you teach the children may make sense, looking at the bigger picture of their time at your school and across their whole education, are they learning lots of different things, or simply repeating the same ones? The task of making sure your curriculum fulfils this may seem like a massive uphill struggle. Like the curriculum itself though, making any changes doesn’t have to be a sprint. It is something that can take a whole year, maybe even longer! It is also important to remember that whilst you are planning the curriculum, you are not planning the lessons! The key to getting it right is having a plan and keeping an eye on what you want to achieve. Starting with the National Curriculum, decide what skills the children need to learn, and what knowledge you need them to retain. Map these out so they build on each other. What are the fundamental areas that run through the subject in all year groups? There might only be 3 or 4 of these, but if they can be developed every year, that is a great starting point for your plan. For example, if you are looking at the Science curriculum, you may want to have ‘questioning’ as one of the fundamental areas that runs through each year group. Starting from the youngest children, the early years curriculum covers this really well in the characteristics of effective learning area of playing and exploring, whilst also encouraging children to develop their questions through the speaking and understanding the world areas of learning. Once you start looking at the National Curriculum, you can then build on the skills that the children have already developed so that they are able to use secondary sources to find the answers, as well beginning to consider how practical activities can raise more questions. Where these fit into your curriculum depends on the children at your school, but the journey is there. The difficulties that you may find when creating your new curriculum really depends on your school. Implementing the changes can lead to challenges, such as ensuring that the teachers have sufficient subject knowledge, especially if new topics are being covered, so giving time to develop this knowledge and understanding will help in the long term. Developing an assessment method that is effective at checking the children’s understanding and fluency, so that it informs teaching without becoming an unnecessary burden on the staff and children, is also a challenge that must be approached with a lot of thought. Getting this right will help the impact of your curriculum, and if the impact is right, the children will be well equipped to deal with future learning and topics. Getting a sequenced curriculum in place can bring so many benefits to the children’s learning and understanding, as well helping them become more interested in a particular area, such as history or science. It takes time to get right, but this time is outweighed by the benefits for children and teaching staff. When a child in Year 6 is able to link back to something they learnt in Year 3, which then triggers something in the rest of the class – you know you’ve got it right.

As I write we are finally in December after what has been the most extraordinary year which has impacted us all. Our emotional resilience has been tested, and at times I am sure you have found, as I have, that the reserves and resilience were low. This seems a very good time to reflect on emotional resilience and how we support and build that in children. Emotional resilience is about having the ability to overcome negative circumstances and adversity in your life, handling your emotions and remaining healthy and competent, having coping mechanisms and being able to bounce back to deal with whatever life throws at you. This doesn’t mean that if/when we find it difficult to pick ourselves up we have a lack of emotional resilience, but simply that it has been tested to the point at which coming back takes longer. For children, it is about bouncing back from challenges they may experience in life: from problem solving in their play and using different tools, to moving home, starting school, bereavement, or family break up. The building of resilience helps children deal with the here and now, but also develop skills and habits that will help them deal with challenges throughout their life. Resilience is important for children’s mental health. Children with greater resilience are able to cope better with stress, which is a natural response to difficulties in life. Stress is a risk factor for mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression. Some children are more naturally resilient through inherited genes; however, all children need help to build resilience. Children who face more challenges in their lives, such as instability at home, may need more support. Comparatively speaking there is a relatively small amount of research into emotional resilience. However, much of that research has shown the key role families, early years settings, schools and the community play in promoting emotional resilience and positive mental health. To build emotional resilience we need to support and enable children to: · Build relationships with adults and peers · Develop independence and self-help skills · Learn to identify, express and manage their feelings and emotions · Build their confidence through challenge These are known as protective factors which help to support you when you are faced by negative or challenging situations. These protective factors include secure attachments and general good health and development. Attitude and behaviour of parents has been found to be one of the most powerful influences on children’s resilience. The role played by early years settings, in supporting children and parents, is key. So, in what ways can we support the establishment of emotional resilience? · Building and maintaining key carer relationships within the setting, relationships children have with all practitioners and with their peers. Provide that secure base through key attachments which gives a sense of security and enables children to develop. · Role modelling a positive attitude, demonstrating that when things go wrong, we can carry on, that we like challenges and will have a go. They need to see us overcoming difficulties or doing something where we have no idea what will happen, and that it is alright. · Ensuring the environment in the setting is calm, not too loud or overly stimulating, so it is conducive to quiet reflection and engagement. · Providing appropriate challenges for children, enabling them to problem solve and overcome difficulties, and not intervening too quickly. · Supporting self-regulation · Acknowledging children’s emotions and enabling them to understand and explore their feelings, looking at how we do this through opportunity, discussion and props. · Supporting children through transitions and change and helping children understand why they happen, whether it is a transition in the day and enabling them to become familiar with a routine, or perhaps it is moving rooms in a setting, or starting school. If you enable children to understand something it becomes easier for them to manage. · Using language that gives a clear message to children that they are valued, and they can do something and achieve. Using words to foster a can-do approach. · Enabling and encouraging children to engage in risky play. Taking risks, assessing risks and managing risks is a key life skill. There needs to be a clear understanding of what risky play means, and a whole setting approach. Risky play builds resilience through growing confidence and independence. · Helping children to understand delayed gratification, when they realise they can’t always have exactly what they want straight away. · Supporting parents to recognise what they can do to help their children build emotional resilience: having 1:1 time with no distractions, ensuring their children have enough sleep, helping their child to understand delayed gratification, and being outside. As well as being aware of these protective factors it is essential we are aware of the risk factors which can impact negatively on a child’s emotional resilience and ability to build that resilience. These include: · Parental mental health and well being · Repeated early separation from parents/primary carer · Overly harsh or inadequate parenting · Abuse or neglect · Parental conflict · Domestic abuse · Parental job loss or unemployment · Socio economic factors e.g. housing, recession, local environment · Parental criminality As you read that list of risk factors it may well occur to you that several on the list have been mentioned in the news a great deal this year. That brings us to one of the key reasons why I decided to write this article. There is a direct correlation between the identified factors of the secondary impact of Covid 19 and the risk factors that can compromise emotional resilience. We need to be aware and alert. The secondary impact of Covid 19 in terms of risk as identified by the Health Visitors Association are: · Mental health – stress and anxiety · Loneliness · Couple conflict · Domestic violence and abuse · Food poverty · Increased unemployment · Child protection/safeguarding concerns It is about identifying how you in your setting support the protective factors for each child. Consider how you would pick up on changes at home for children? This comes back to parental partnership and how you keep in touch with children and families when they are not attending, due to self-isolation or if you have to close a bubble or your setting. Being open minded is also critical, as families who have not previously been at risk may now be, owing to the impact of the pandemic. At the end of November, the Royal Foundation published a report, ‘State of the Nation: Understanding Public Attitudes to the Early Years’. This report had been commissioned before the pandemic hit; however, the responses obviously reflect the impact of the pandemic, and they further correlate with both the secondary impact information and the emotional resilience risk factors. This report found that: · During the pandemic parental loneliness increased from 38% to 63%. · The increase is more apparent in deprived areas. Parents in deprivation are more than twice as likely to feel lonely as those living in the least deprived areas. · 63% of parents report spending more quality time with their children, however parents who have experienced financial difficulties or who do not live with a partner are more likely than average to say they have spent less quality time with their children, 13% and 16% respectively. The average is 9%. · 37% of parents think the pandemic will have a negative impact on their long-term mental health. · Women (40%) and those experiencing financial difficulties (46%) are particularly likely to report a negative impact. · 70% say they feel judged by others which impacts on their mental health. · 35% feel judged on how their child behaves or how they choose to manage their child’s behaviour (36%). The report highlights key indicators and where we might need to be alert to the needs of children and families. More than a third of parents thinking the pandemic will have a long-term impact on their mental health, shows us this is something we need to reflect on carefully and consider our role in supporting the child and their family. Taking everything into consideration a good starting point is to reflect on practice, knowledge and awareness. · How are you maintaining contact with parents? What do you feel you might be missing due to the way you have had to change how you communicate with parents, or do you feel you know more? · When do you ask for ‘all about me’ forms to be updated? What is included in these that can help you understand and know the child’s family? Are these completed as a conversation together with the parent? If so, you may find out more during this two-way exchange, which can be more supportive and productive than an individual completing a form alone. · Do all of your team know about and understand emotional resilience? For the support of emotional resilience to be embedded practice within a setting there needs to be clear understanding and awareness from everyone. · How do you support each child’s emotional resilience? Which children do you think are particularly resilient and why? You may have a general ethos to support children’s resilience but remember each individual child’s needs will vary. · Are there ways in which you feel you could develop how to support children in building their emotional resilience? Why and what do you feel would be the impact? · What signposting do you provide for parents? How do you engage? How do you support families? In some instances, parents will see you as a source of information and someone that they can talk to for advice. This is a complex area and I have only scratched the surface. I hope this can act as a starting point and enable discussion and reflection within a setting on emotional resilience, why it is important, especially now, and what it means to each child and for our practice.

There are many a strange phenomenon you encounter as a teacher: Where does all the spare P.E kit go? Why does PPA time go so quickly? Why do we bring our own cake on our birthdays? The strange phenomenon I wanted to explore in this article is the apparent “dip” in parent interaction the higher up in education you go. If you have ever taught in Key Stage, you may be familiar with this. Your parents’ evenings, coffee mornings (or whatever online versions you are able to recreate) and playground chats pale in comparison to that of your EYFS colleagues. But why? We can posit some theories: · Parents of very young children have likely made arrangements that provide them more time to be involved in things happening at school. Many parents and carers work long hours and may increase their hours as their child gets older. · The beginning of school is viewed as a more crucial time to be involved due to it being a new experience for the child. Partnership with parents is a key aspect of the Early Years. · One positive reason could be that the older the child gets, the more trust is built between school and relative; they then feel more comfortable with letting the school “get on with things.” While that trusting relationship is a wonderful thing, the way that it manifests isn’t always beneficial for the child. We all know the importance of interconnected support networks - we've seen the impact of the lack of this first hand during the pandemic. This isn’t only true for children at school, it’s true for human beings. This goes back all the way to Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory (1979) which, in short, examined the different types of social contexts every individual involves themselves in, and the profound effect they have upon that individual’s development. The idea that these different social contexts are all connected is key to this theory We all require and, if we are lucky, maintain, multiple support networks in our day to day lives: family, friends, colleagues. On the surface, it may appear you go to each one for a different purpose. But they are all interconnected. They all affect you and your development as a person. Not that many years ago, the idea that school was for academic learning, and home was for developing as a person, was prevalent. As Comer and Haynes put it: “At the same time, our society has created artificial distinctions about the roles that parents and teachers should play in a young person's development. We tend to think that schools should stick to teaching academics and that home is the place where children's moral and emotional development should take place.” We learn teamwork skills with our colleagues and at home with our family. And we learn compassion with our family as well as our friends. These groups and their teachings are ever connected and equally important to development. There are reams more research on the importance of effective parent-teacher relationships: The University of Sussex published this paper on the topic. More specifically, they were exploring the supposed correlation between strong parent-teacher relationships and higher academic achievement of the child. Spoiler alert: there is a positive correlation between those two. However, it is also heavily reliant on the degree of satisfaction the parent has with the school as a whole. So it’s not a be-all-and-end-all solution. There are a lot of factors. But it is very important nonetheless. Julian Owen wrote this great article exploring the importance of parent-teacher relationships. In it, he says: “Positive parental involvement in a child’s education can have a significant impact on their success at school. A pupil’s personal development, academic achievement and emotional wellbeing are all influenced by the nature of parent-teacher relationships. Teachers and parents also benefit from a positive relationship – stress will be less of an issue and both parties will feel more valued and supported.” I want to expand on the last point in that quote. This is something I never actually considered when I was a teacher, but in retrospect Julian is correct. If I think back to two children I taught recently - same year group; same class. In a very broad sense, both these children were similar academically. The key difference was the depth of the relationship between school and parents. One child had a very involved family. I would talk to either mum, dad or nan in the playground every day and at least one of them came to every parent’s evening. The other child’s parent I met once at the very beginning of the year and saw one other time after that for a parents’ evening. If I think very honestly about both of those children, I did feel less stressed about the first child. Teaching sometimes feels like you’re rowing on a poorly constructed raft in the middle of a vast ocean. But occasionally you float past an island. Islands are where you can stop and rest your tired arms. Islands can be your colleagues, your SLT, your weekends! And they can be having supportive parents of your students. We have to know our children and their families. Thinking about what the barriers are to engagement for parents will help us be creative in the way we connect with them. Is there a language barrier, a time constraint, a legacy of negative feelings about their own schooling, do they know they are valued by the school because they know their child best? In some cases, the requirements of social distancing and reaching out in different ways to families has been very positive, in others it has created another barrier. Another important note is that the apparent “drop off” of parental engagement might not be attributed just to the parents/carers. In my personal experience I have seen a lot of “push back” from the students themselves, especially Year 6 pupils. When running something like a coffee morning, where parents were invited into the classroom to join in with some of my morning lessons with their children (you remember when we were able to do that sort of thing!), I know some of my students told their adults not to come. Sometimes, when a pupil reaches a certain age, the presence of a parent at an event stops being “comforting” and starts being “embarrassing”. That being said, this can go both ways. Seeing their adults at home actively engage with their life at school, can help to reinforce the fact that they have a strong team of connected adults who have their best interests at heart. It’s important the child knows it’s coming from a place of compassion and shared interest and it’s not an attempt to control or apply pressure to them. So, we have some theories as to why parent interaction might drop off. We have talked about the importance of strong parent-teacher relationships. The next logical step is how can you maintain these very important links? There’s no easy answer. It depends so much on your school, the children, the teachers, the parents, the area, the leadership. To combat the nitty gritty reasons might require a more careful look at the specifics of one or more of those things. However, I do have two pieces of general advice which might help whatever your situation. 1. Strong and supportive leadership in school. Some teachers may not feel confident reaching out to parents, especially if it’s to discuss a difficult topic. Teachers need to know they have the support of their SLT if needed and that they are not in this alone. 2. Be proactive. Whatever the reason you don’t see as much of your key stage parents as you might like, be proactive in getting their attention. Seek them out in the playground. Call home. Get them to book in for parent’s evening. And think about what barriers might be causing it to be difficult to engage, and how you can make it as easy as possible for parents and carers to overcome them. Most importantly, think about how much it will help. It may be difficult and require some extra work and time occasionally. But in the long run it will help everyone involved. The parents, you and the child.

Recently my colleague, Luke Rolls, co-edited Reimagining Professional Development in Schools (Routledge, 2020), the second book in a new series inspired by the vision of our school to truly connect research with practice. In the first chapter (Rolls and Hargreaves, 2020), the authors share the endurance and courage of a cross channel swimmer, Sarah Thomas, as a metaphor for the challenges that educators face each day. Sarah swam the English Channel four times without stopping. This unbelievable feat is compared to the ‘wavy seas’ of education and the challenges that educators, both teachers and teaching assistants, overcome to teach each child every day and every school week of the year. They comment that educators’ ‘true stories are usually invisible, untold and unmeasured’. This is not the case, though, of the professionals mentioned in the Reimagining Professional Development book and in this article; stories that must be heard in order to change the deficit narrative so common in our education profession. The unusual thing about this book is that TAs are mentioned as central partners in the work of schools and Chapter 9 was actually co-written by me, a teaching assistant. One thing I know for sure is you can only write about continuing professional development if you have actually experienced it. Unfortunately, so many of my teaching assistant colleagues in other schools say they are not included in professional learning because of school budget constraints. With a population as big as Iceland (UCL, 2020), the teaching assistant community represents a vast resource that needs to be mobilized to support teachers and school leaders if we are serious about realising the ambitions we all have for our children. This is a great opportunity for me to describe how one school, The University of Cambridge Primary School (UCPS), is rewriting the narrative of continuous professional development for all educators, including TAs. Our story goes back to the end of a very busy term in December 2018, when our Head Teacher, James Biddulph, shared with us a quote from Maya Angelou: ‘Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better’. With the words of Dr Angelou replaying in my head and thoughts of the newly founded Chartered College of Teaching (which was founded to support leaders and teachers), I approached Dr Biddulph and Dame Alison Peacock to ask about establishing a Teaching Assistant Twilight Network of professional development. However these twilight sessions would not be exclusively for Teaching Assistants (TAs). They were open to anyone who was willing and able to engage with research informed and practitioner professional development. Dreams came to fruition on the 22nd March 2018 when we welcomed Nancy Gedge to UCPS. Nancy had recently released a book, Inclusion for Primary School Teachers (2016) and had developed impressive practices that included all children. It was great to welcome many educators from the local area to our first session. Nancy was able to share her wealth of inclusive knowledge as a teacher and mother of a child who has special educational needs. These sessions aimed to increase the knowledge and pedagogical practices of teaching assistants in supporting children’s social, emotional and academic development and wellbeing. They also came to represent the beginning of a learning community sharing its collective knowledge, understanding and strategies to support vulnerable children in different settings across Cambridgeshire. Over the years, schools seem to have fallen into a pattern of over reliance on teaching assistants (Webster, 2019, p. 85) to support children who have been identified as having a special educational need. From my own experience, it is often TAs that constantly support children with additional needs; a practice that does a disservice to both the child and the member of staff. It is somewhat puzzling that while teaching assistants are so rarely mentioned in any government guidance, they are expected to achieve so much. And do so with little professional development support. As teaching assistants, we might question whether we are considered in terms of being babysitters and as ‘extra pairs of hands’ to help the teacher? Or are we, or rather can we be, partners with teachers and school leaders and external experts in education, in enabling the very best learning for all children? Thanks to a group of researchers, there is a wealth of evidence out there, which suggests the best way to deploy teaching assistants and how to move children from adult dependence to independence. Currently this CPD is being offered to schools via the Maximising the Impact of Teaching Assistants team (http://maximisingtas.co.uk/). At UCPS, we have invested in these CPD opportunities and reaped the rewards: our teaching assistants, who we call Learning Coaches, are empowered with knowledge and skill to support children, and to assist them to be independent learners – no matter what their learning need. Paula Bosanquet is a regular visitor to UCPS and her research informed ‘scaffolding triangle’ (Bosanquet et al, 2016) has become an embedded part of our practice. It is through this support to our Learning Coaches that I believe we shift away from adult-dependent children towards celebrating their independence with them. In 2019, after the publication of Including Children and Young People with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities in Learning and Life: How far have we come since the Warnock Enquiry-and where do we go next? (Webster 2019), we evolved our approach away from standalone sessions to a more coherent professional development programme. Collaborating with two special schools, one in Cambridge and the other in London, we decided that for the academic year our twilight sessions would concentrate on research informed inclusive practice. Over the year, we welcomed researchers, charities, practitioners and experts, all passionate about advancing a vision of education that would serve all children. To model this aim, they were not the only visitors who attended; parents were also welcomed. One memorable session, led by Matthew Parker who specialises in ADHD, was particularly poignant. Not only did he help the attendees to understand the neuroscience of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and how best to support learners in the classroom, he stayed on to spend a considerable amount of time talking with parents, suggesting how to help their youngsters at home. Another standout session took place one cold evening in November when Liz Elks from ELKLAN drove all the way from Cornwall to provide a short but impactful one hour of professional development. In attendance was a head teacher from a local primary school and her team. Liz’s dedication in sharing her expertise led to 3 of our teachers and 6 Learning coaches going on to complete their level 3 ELKLAN qualification. In return for the goodwill of others that we have benefited from, we similarly share our professional development programme, which we are able to offer free online for all educators to access (http://unlockingresearch.org/). A small ripple within the wavy sea of education, attempting to help all children, everywhere. The recent release of a hard hitting government report Special educational needs and disabilities Report (2019) suggests that the timing has been prescient. This publication echoed a similar narrative to that of Webster’s book and the CPD session he delivered for us. The report lays out clearly that the number of children with SEND is increasing alongside a corresponding pressure on teachers and schools. And that a lack of training for school staff means, more than ever, schools urgently need expert advice from other professionals (House, 2019 p.17). So how are the government planning on meeting the needs of learners with SEND and a workforce trying their best to educate all children in challenging circumstances? While there has been years of talk and discussion within political debate of the systemic structural issues in SEND provision, this appears to have been accompanied by very little action. Has any insight been sustained since Warnock suggested founding a Research Special Educational Staff College (Warnock, 1978) in the late 70s? A glimmer of hope comes in this most recent report in the mentioning of developing Regional SEND focused training Hubs. A training hub for the future, a hub recognising the contribution made by all of the adults who work in schools, regardless of their title. With the right implementation, therein could be an educational legacy that this government could proudly provide and commit to for children across the country. What is in no doubt is that educators work tirelessly trying their best to educate and care for the children in their schools. Surely it’s about time, and especially in light of the loss of learning experienced during the global pandemic, that all educators, especially teaching assistants, become viewed as part of the educational process and profession. Fortunately for me, I work at a primary school that offers a different approach and in so doing suggests the possibilities of how much more can be done. Maybe together with my colleagues at school and UCL, we can raise the profile of teaching assistants so that they are professionally recognised for the vital role they play in supporting our future generations.