Using talk to promote children’s thinking and learning in the Early Years (part 2)
18 November 2024
Lauren Grocott, Early Years Specialist, speaks with Nichola Hesslewood, deputy headteacher of Wingate Nursery School, to discuss their approach to supporting children’s thinking and learning skills.
Lauren Grocott
Interim Content and Engagement Manager: Early Years
Helping to develop young children's thinking and learning
In our previous blog, Using talk to promote children’s thinking and learning in the Early Years Part 1 , deputy headteacher Nichola described a typical example of how she and her team use evidence-informed practices to encourage children’s thinking skills.
Here, she reflects on the process of developing this approach within her setting.
Nichola explains that when educators start to use these practices to support children’s thinking and their ability to express themselves, they find it easier to do with the children who are strong communicators.
But they really struggle to do it with the children that aren’t quite there yet in terms of either their communication or even just their ability to manage their own feelings and behaviours.
Nichola
Deputy headteacher, Wingate Community Nursery School
I think that’s the bit people find tricky…how do I do this with children that are not communicating back with me?
Nichola
Deputy headteacher, Wingate Community Nursery School
Nichola raises an interesting question. How can we help educators gain confidence in using and adapting evidence-informed practices with children who may require more support than their peers?
Coaching and modelling
One evidence-informed mechanism for Effective Professional Development in the Early Years is the use of ‘practical social support’. This might include using coaching or modelling to encourage educators to put techniques they have learned into action.
Nichola reflects on how crucial practical social support has been for her team in developing their practice as they help children with a variety of starting points:
Modelling is key. Modelling in the moment, letting one another hear and see each other. But also video footage – it’s really helpful being able to pause and unpick the interaction to reflect on it together.”
Nichola
Deputy headteacher, Wingate Community Nursery School
Video footage has also been useful when supporting educators from other settings:
All the practitioners said they were kind of listening and thinking ‘Oh no, this is not for us. This is not going to work’. But when they watched the clips, it unlocked it for them, and they thought, ‘Ok, I’m going to give that a try.
Nichola
Deputy headteacher, Wingate Community Nursery School
Modelling effective practice in the moment is one way Nichola and her team show how to adapt the practices in ‘Promoting talk about learning’. The other strategy they use is joint reflection on video clips. As a result, they have been able to demonstrate how this approach can support children at differing stages of their development.
She believes this has been particularly important for showing educators how they can have high expectations of all children in relation to their starting points:
If you believe that children can think for themselves, with a little bit of support, they absolutely can. And not only that, they can do it better than adults because they haven’t learned...that there’s ‘only one’ answer or that something won’t work...And so they’re much better than we are at creative thinking and problem-solving.
Nichola
Deputy headteacher, Wingate Community Nursery School
Want to know more?
Read our Guide to Effective Professional Development in the Early Years.
Download our Professional Conversation Cycle template.
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