“Rich, responsive communication is central to every area of learning - it shapes how I plan and approach all areas of my provision”
One sunny afternoon in early May, I attended the Evidence-informed Practice in the Early Years showcase at Sheringham Nursery School and Children’s Centre. It was such an inspiring event – and one I’d long planned to attend following my previous role as a Department for Education Area Lead on the Childminder Mentor programme. The showcase welcomed a diverse group of early years professionals.
Using research evidence helps us to make the best choices when deciding which areas of practice we want to improve. It can also help educators to feel more confident about what they are doing. The short video about the ShREC approach is an example of turning research evidence into practical strategies which educators can include in their everyday practice.
Learning about how to use ShREC has helped me feel more confident when supporting children’s language development. I am now more intentional about how I engage with them.
For example, I consistently:
- work at the child’s physical level
- use modelling
- offer new vocabulary
- make sure I start by sharing attention with the child
- allow longer pauses so that the child has time to respond during our interactions
I also have more confidence that what I am doing will have a real impact. Knowing that these strategies are informed by research means that I’m not just relying on instinct or information from the internet or social media. It also helps me reflect more purposefully on what’s working and then make informed adjustments, rather than guessing or feeling unsure.
It was a pivotal moment for me in my training when I learnt how important it is for the adult to engage children in quality interactions – you may have all the most expensive resources at hand, but this is the most important of all. The ShREC approach is all about this.
Interactive Reading is also a powerful way of promoting high-quality interactions. I now intentionally read with the children, rather than to them. It’s a shared and lively activity. I use open-ended questions and deliberately build in opportunities for the children to respond to the pictures, text, storyline and so on. This is so different to simply reading the text. Nicola Cherry’s blog about Interactive Reading describes clearly how it is ‘More than just reading a book!’ I now think much more about the why of our curriculum - it’s not just about what we offer, but how we deliver it.
The strong emphasis on high quality interactions has reinforced my understanding that rich, responsive communication is central to every area of learning - it shapes how I plan and approach all aspects of my provision. All that we learnt during the showcase was fundamental to high-quality interactions which promote children’s learning.
I highly recommend booking onto one of these showcases - I think it’s an essential opportunity for any early years practitioner!