Lydia's case study

Stage Four: Where next?

Lydia developed short-term and long-term goals to guide her continuing journey for change:

Short-term (this year)

Ensure that the children’s journals are updated throughout the year and that all families know where to find them. Provide a brief summary of the questionnaires for families in the room and for other staff at the Centre.

Long-term (next year)

Weave the voices of children, parents/families, teachers and the wider community into the curriculum. Explore new ways to document and explain the room’s curriculum to families and to include them and their children in meaningful ways that respect each person’s values, needs and desires. E.g. provide e-mails of programs, snap shots of the day; ask parents what sort of information about their child they would like us to provide, rather than everybody receiving the same information. Avoid being tokenistic or making children and families the teacher’s apprentices - bring everybody together to converse with each other about the possibilities. How can I genuinely include the voices of children under 3 into the documentation/communication process?

Lydia wanted to continue to reflect critically on staff-family relationships ‘in ways that will inform, support and challenge my teaching practices and beliefs’. She wanted to continue to seek - and reflect critically on - new ways of working with families and children and she listed two sorts of support she needs to continue her journey: The first was current research about curriculum for under 3s, ‘so that children’s, families’ and teachers’ voices are woven through it in genuine ways’. The second support was a professional network to support staff who wish to change their current practices and thinking about relationships with families.