What Does Beautiful Feel Like?
“Research has shown that high-quality Early Years provision promotes children’s development and learning, and, in the longer-term, enhances their educational and life chances.”
– Realising the Ambition (2020:81)
In order to support the delivery of quality Early Years experiences and to develop a consistent approach, the SEIC Early Years group have develop a sketch note illustrating ‘what beautiful should feel like for a child.’
We consciously used the term ‘beautiful’ as it reflects how quality feels, what quality looks like, and how it is experienced by a child. The world beautiful can be understood and reflected on by a child, a practitioner, and families in a meaningful and purposeful way.
This sketch note is written using the child’s voice and encapsulates the essential elements which come together to create a high-quality ELC experience.
It is a representation of a child’s daily lived experience; organic and non-linear as they journey through their day. The sketch note illustrates this as they arrive at their ELC setting and meanders throughout, depicting quality interactions, spaces, and experiences.
We have included the wellbeing indicators, references to Realising the Ambition and Curriculum for Excellence as part of the image to ensure that these key elements are kept central.
The sketch note has been designed to support and develop quality practice across our local authorities and to support understanding of our profession as ELC practitioners. It provides an overarching umbrella of quality where all other guidance will sit under. Within the SEIC, we aim for a consistent and collaborative approach to quality, our sketch note reflects this.
The practice guidance aims to support anyone who works with and for babies and young children across the SEIC. It has been designed to support practitioners in their important role to deliver high-quality ELC and can be used in a variety of ways:
- As an ongoing self-evaluation tool use the key jigsaw words as audit tools to promote reflection, discussion, and questioning within your staff team.
- As a tool to support parents’ understanding of the experiences their children will have within an ELC setting.
- As a discussion tool for parents, children, and other stakeholders to reflect and review the quality of experience for the child.
- As a training and self-reflection tool for staff to review their needs as they work towards their annual appraisal.
- As a visual reminder of the elements of quality.
