{"id":649,"date":"2021-10-06T16:51:12","date_gmt":"2021-10-06T15:51:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/sb\/earlylevelportal\/?page_id=120"},"modified":"2026-03-31T17:48:32","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T16:48:32","slug":"pedagogical-leadership-aop","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/sb\/earlylevelportal\/pedagogical-leadership-aop\/","title":{"rendered":"Pedagogical Leadership"},"content":{"rendered":"<section id=\"builder-section-text_11\" class=\"builder-section-first builder-section builder-section-text builder-section-next-text builder-section-full-width builder-text-columns-2 layout-9\" style=\"background-size: cover; background-repeat: no-repeat;background-position: center center;\">\n<div class=\"builder-section-content\">\n<div class=\"builder-text-row\">\n<div class=\"builder-text-column builder-text-column-1\" id=\"builder-section-text_11-column-1\">\n<div class=\"builder-text-content\">\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-17259\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/sb\/public\/earlylevelportal\/uploads\/sites\/3720\/2025\/11\/24142204\/Quality-Assurance-and-leadership-icon.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"50\" height=\"51\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/sb\/public\/earlylevelportal\/uploads\/sites\/3720\/2025\/11\/24142204\/Quality-Assurance-and-leadership-icon.png 756w, https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/sb\/public\/earlylevelportal\/uploads\/sites\/3720\/2025\/11\/24142204\/Quality-Assurance-and-leadership-icon-297x300.png 297w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 50px) 100vw, 50px\" \/><\/p>\n<h1><span style=\"color: #c99b24;\"><a style=\"color: #c99b24;\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/sb\/earlylevelportal\/pedagogical-leadership\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Pedagogical Leadership<\/a><\/span><\/h1>\n<p><span style=\"color: #5e1c5e;\"><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><a style=\"color: #ff6600;\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/sb\/earlylevelportal\/pedagogical-leadership-resources-and-collated-guidance-pages\/\"><strong>Resources<\/strong><\/a><strong><cite> <span class=\"ttfmake-icon mceNonEditable fas\">\uf0ad<\/span><\/cite><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<h3>What is it?<\/h3>\n<p><cite>&#8220;Pedagogical leadership will vary from setting to setting in response to the different social, political and cultural contexts in which we work.\u00a0 Our pedagogical practice will be influenced by our understanding of different educational theorists who have over the years helped to inform our early years pedagogy and practice.&#8221;\u00a0\u00a0<\/cite><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\">(<a href=\"https:\/\/education.gov.scot\/media\/3bjpr3wa\/realisingtheambition.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Realising the Ambition<\/a>, Education Scotland, 2020, p. 54)<\/p>\n<p><cite>&#8220;<\/cite><em>Developing leadership behaviours and skills contributes to the continuous professional learning of the workforce. Developing leadership at all levels is important because everyone in the workforce, regardless of role or position, contributes to the delivery of quality care for the people of Scotland<\/em><cite>.&#8221;<\/cite><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\">(<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sssc.uk.com\/supporting-the-workforce\/leadership-improvement-learning-and-wellbeing\/leadership-development\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Scottish Social Services Council<\/a>, 2021)<\/p>\n<p><cite>&#8220;Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality&#8221;.\u00a0 <\/cite>Warren G Bennis<\/p>\n<p><cite>&#8220;Leadership is not a position or a title, it is action and example&#8221;.<\/cite>\u00a0 Donald McGannon<\/p>\n<h3>\u00a0<\/h3>\n<h3>Key messages:<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Practitioners who<\/strong>:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li>Are well informed about child development and use it inform their practice.<\/li>\n<li>Respect and understand the children in their care.<\/li>\n<li>Are knowledgeable about and value the importance of <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/sb\/earlylevelportal\/play\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">play<\/a> and the powerful contribution it makes to <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/sb\/earlylevelportal\/supporting-childrens-development\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">children\u2019s development<\/a> and learning<\/li>\n<li>Understand the importance of building strong, nurturing relationships with children and adults.<\/li>\n<li>Recognise learning contexts that are real and meaningful to the child.<\/li>\n<li>Flexible and adaptable to the needs of the children and team.<\/li>\n<li>Reflective educators who continually evaluate practice and its impact on children\u2019s learning.<\/li>\n<li>Learn in different ways and are continually engaging in professional development.<\/li>\n<li>Collaborate and share with other professionals.<\/li>\n<li>Learn from:\n<ul>\n<li><cite>&#8220;empirical research<\/cite><\/li>\n<li><cite>general evidence from practice<\/cite><\/li>\n<li><cite>individual and group reflection<\/cite><\/li>\n<li><cite>exploration and enquiry<\/cite><\/li>\n<li><cite>being comfortable accepting that we are still learning.&#8221;<\/cite><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Scottish Executive- Learning Teaching Scotland: \u2018Let\u2019s talk about Pedagogy\u2019, 2005.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"builder-text-column builder-text-column-2\" id=\"builder-section-text_11-column-2\">\n<div class=\"builder-text-content\">\n<h4 style=\"text-align: right;\">\u00a0<\/h4>\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"ttfmake-embed-wrapper aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 960px;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Pedagogical Leadership in Early Learning and Childcare - Reflecting and improving practice\" width=\"960\" height=\"540\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/-xVKo4DD6Pw?list=PLcD2TdZ4bXSnI4LQ9tZzOClq1-HKNcDXU\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h3>\u00a0<\/h3>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Spotlight on Practice\u00a0<span class=\"ttfmake-icon mceNonEditable fas\">\uf03d<\/span>\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h2>\u00a0<\/h2>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Quality Assurance\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Fiona Duncan-Kerr<\/strong>, funded childminder in SBC, shares her approach to quality assurance, self-evaluation &amp; monitoring the impact of training on outcomes for children.<\/p>\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"ttfmake-embed-wrapper aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 960px;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Quality Assurance Case Study Fiona Duncan-Kerr\" width=\"960\" height=\"540\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ObDdOJTP1lM?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"builder-section-text_58\" class=\"builder-section-prev-text builder-section builder-section-text builder-section-next-text builder-section-full-width builder-text-columns-2 layout-9\" style=\"background-size: cover; background-repeat: no-repeat;background-position: center center;\">\n<div class=\"builder-section-content\">\n<div class=\"builder-text-row\">\n<div class=\"builder-text-column builder-text-column-1\" id=\"builder-section-text_58-column-1\">\n<div class=\"builder-text-content\">\n<h3>\u00a0<\/h3>\n<h3>Ways we can do this:<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Practitioners who:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Have a<strong> shared understanding, <\/strong>collaborate and create a <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/sb\/earlylevelportal\/vision-values-and-aims\/\" rel=\"noopener\">Vision, Values and Aims<\/a>. This will enhance a culture of learning and continued professional development and support dialogue.<\/p>\n<p>Create a <strong>culture of improvement<\/strong> through continued <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/sb\/earlylevelportal\/self-evaluation\/\" rel=\"noopener\">self-evaluation<\/a>.\u00a0 The whole team need to understand the setting&#8217;s policies and practices and be involved in their development and review.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong>Understand theory, research and best practice and how it is relevant to their setting, <\/strong>e.g. develop pedagogues; reflect, support and develop practitioner&#8217;s practice.\u00a0 This will give the team clarity and purpose and support continued development of the shared vision, values and aims.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Motivate, inspire, listen to suggestions and drive improvement<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Embed the language of pedagogy into usual practice.\u00a0 <\/strong>Drop key pedagogical language into conversation so that it becomes routine in daily dialogue.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Support the workforce to be become pedagogues, <\/strong>developing a shared understanding of a pedagogical base.\u00a0 Pedagogy should be at the heart of the curriculum with practitioners leading and supporting children in their learning.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong>Plan for the dialogue that allows these understandings to develop.\u00a0 <\/strong>Nurturing pedagogical conversation will increase the team\u2019s expertise and daily practice e.g. reflect through conversations in the playroom.\u00a0 Stand beside, observe and discuss practice.\u00a0<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li>What went well?<\/li>\n<li>Why did it work well?<\/li>\n<li>Reflect on why a child has settled well this morning?<\/li>\n<li>How could we enhance particular areas of the environment?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"builder-text-column builder-text-column-2\" id=\"builder-section-text_58-column-2\">\n<div class=\"builder-text-content\">\n<p style=\"margin: 0in; font-family: 'Bai Jamjuree'; font-size: 17.25pt; color: #4d575d; text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Quality Assurance\u00a0Calendar<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Argus\u00a0Early Learning and Childcare<\/strong>, a Partner Provider Nursery for SBC, share their approach to quality assurance through a Quality Assurance calendar.<\/p>\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"ttfmake-embed-wrapper aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 960px;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Argus   Quality Assurance Spotlight on Practice\" width=\"960\" height=\"540\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/drJu9aKz01s?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"builder-section-text_168\" class=\"builder-section-prev-text builder-section builder-section-text builder-section-last builder-section-full-width builder-text-columns-2 layout-9\" style=\"background-size: cover; background-repeat: no-repeat;background-position: center center;\">\n<div class=\"builder-section-content\">\n<div class=\"builder-text-row\">\n<div class=\"builder-text-column builder-text-column-1\" id=\"builder-section-text_168-column-1\">\n<div class=\"builder-text-content\">\n<p><strong>Promote and use effective channels of communication within the team<\/strong>, with other professionals, children and families, e.g written, using diaries, boards, newsletters; virtual, using WhatsApp, Teams, closed Facebook, etc. and verbal, through staff meetings, informal on the floor chats.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Practitioners create a place where:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>The environment and practitioners are providing learning experiences for all levels using our knowledge and experience<\/strong>.\u00a0 Environments and spaces should reflect the culture, skills, interests and needs of each child and family.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/sb\/earlylevelportal\/nurture\/\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Nurture<\/strong><\/a> is at the heart.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/sb\/earlylevelportal\/sensitive-interactions\/\" rel=\"noopener\">Quality interactions<\/a> are modelled<\/strong> which will enable children to learn to the best of their ability.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Practitioners are encouraged to value childhood and ensure that the <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/sb\/earlylevelportal\/childrens-rights\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">rights of the child<\/a> are upheld.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Practitioners are encouraged to value learning<\/strong>, the values that we bring to learning and the impact these have on children.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Practitioners are supported to become confident, competent individuals with high self-esteem and high aspirations.<\/strong>\u00a0 Management teams should provide autonomy for their team to make suggestions and try out new ideas, developing their confidence to become pedagogical leaders themselves.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Leadership is valued and facilitated at all levels within the team<\/strong>.\u00a0 Create an enabling environment and \u201chave a go\u201d attitude; support and empower practitioners to try out their ideas and evaluate the impact.\u00a0 If the impact works and is positive, continue. If it doesn\u2019t, reflect on why and try something different.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Diversity, tolerance and respect for self and others are valued and celebrated<\/strong>.\u00a0 All members of the team support and care for each other and model positive relationships to the children and families.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Practitioners are encouraged to value all that children bring with them, their knowledge and experiences, and important aspects of their lives<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Relationships<\/strong> with children, families, colleagues and other professionals are at the heart of the setting and their contributions <strong>are highly valued<\/strong> and acted upon.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Strong relationships and open lines of communication with all stakeholders are actively developed<\/strong>.\u00a0 Leaders foster relationships between key workers and families. e.g. by delegating responsibility to keyworkers to make the first home visit before a manager of the setting.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"builder-text-column builder-text-column-2\" id=\"builder-section-text_168-column-2\">\n<div class=\"builder-text-content\">\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><strong>Using AirDrop for Collaboration &amp; Efficiency<\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"ttfmake-embed-wrapper aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 960px;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Early Years - Using Airdrop for instant sharing across iPads of photos &amp; documents\" width=\"960\" height=\"720\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/HaWGHUuDGrs?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><strong>Using Shared photo albums for Collaboration &amp; Efficiency<\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"ttfmake-embed-wrapper aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 960px;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Early Years - using shared photo albums to collaborate\" width=\"960\" height=\"720\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/V4oS3HnCGfI?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Pedagogical Leadership Resources \uf0ad What is it? &#8220;Pedagogical leadership will vary from setting to setting in response to the different social, political and cultural contexts in which we work.\u00a0 Our pedagogical practice will be influenced by our understanding of different educational theorists who have over the years helped to inform our early years pedagogy and &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7767,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"template-builder.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-649","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/sb\/earlylevelportal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/649","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/sb\/earlylevelportal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/sb\/earlylevelportal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/sb\/earlylevelportal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7767"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/sb\/earlylevelportal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=649"}],"version-history":[{"count":109,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/sb\/earlylevelportal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/649\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21160,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/sb\/earlylevelportal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/649\/revisions\/21160"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/sb\/earlylevelportal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=649"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}