The Labour Government’s most striking education commitment is to create 3,000 new nursery classes across England, funded by ending private school tax breaks.
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson plans to recruit 6,500 teachers, and has appointed Sir David Bell, former Ofsted Chief Inspector, to review childcare standards.
While these are positive moves for the education sector, standards, staffing, and spaces, are only part of the challenge for early years learning.
Education professionals with "‘initiative fatigue" may disagree, but real opportunities to transform how children learn are rare. A new government, prioritising early years’ education, is one. And, while education is devolved, there are valuable pointers for Scotland too.
Ms Phillipson’s task is not just to create spaces and find staff to improve nursery education, but also to consider what and how children learn.
How they develop between the ages of three and five means nurseries are too important to only be providers of childcare. The pre-school stage is vital and cannot be dismissed as “playing”.
Quality early years education leads to better life outcomes for children; future educational attainment, health and happiness, and careers.
Work aspirations develop from a young age. While there’s no need for pre-school children to commit to a career, they deserve opportunities to explore them beyond role-play with active, tangible learning. This is important to encourage more young people - especially girls - into hands-on STEM careers.
Two years ago, West Lothian College approached the Housing, Construction and Infrastructure (HCI) Skills Gateway with a proposition. Tasked with increasing sustainable and inclusive construction careers in Edinburgh and South-East Scotland, HCI was developing new net zero construction training with partners like Edinburgh Napier University.
The remit was “from Primary to PhD”. But West Lothian College wanted to go further: “From Pre-School to PhD”.
A joiner by trade, Graeme Binnie founded the West Lothian Woodworking Initiative in 2006, offering children hands-on joinery and carpentry experience through interactive workshops.
By crafting figurines, children gain experience of real handheld tools on timber. HCI helped Graeme and West Lothian College go one step further, expanding the programme to more nursery and primary settings, now reaching nearly all 69 schools in West Lothian.
The programme’s success - securing the 2023 College Development Network Innovation Award - isn’t just measured by local schools and nurseries participating. It also lies in the Early Years Practitioners and teachers, who have received training from Graeme, delivering workshops independently. A year later, every one of these practitioners is still delivering workshops across the region, inspiring their pupils with new ways of working.
Labour is traditionally the party of work, and no-one underestimates the scale of Ms Phillipson’s task. But if she does have a moment to think deeply about early years learning for a net zero future, she could do a lot worse than adopt Graeme Binnie and West Lothian College’s innovative approach. Encouraging children to familiarise themselves with careers they might grow to love from a young age is key. And if we’re to continue bridging the construction skills gap, the next generation is who we need to focus on most.
Kirsty Connell-Skinner is Sustainable Construction Partnerships Manager at Housing, Construction & Infrastructure (HCI) Skills Gateway at Edinburgh Napier University
Agenda is a column for outside contributors. Contact: agenda@theherald.co.uk
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