Friday 24 April 2015

Moving forward: whichever government we have!

Election day is fast approaching and I'm sure most of us are reading through policies and trying to decide who will best promote our rights and needs in order to make our voting decision.

I have made it my mission to continue on my chosen path regardless of which man ends up running this country, purely because I know that what we, the Early Years workforce, are doing is the ultimate career in terms of enabling a better society for the future. Yes, I'm against creating robots and people who will just do as they are told - but I am totally for children growing up to be happy, accepted/accepting and positive about the society they live in.

So, to this end, I am continuing my studies as I believe there is always more to learn. This week marks the final assignment of my BA in Early Years, an exam in June, then come September I shall be embarking on an adventure which is Early Years Initial Teacher Training (EYITT) at Brighton University.

The past ten years have taught me so many things. Working on my own as a childminder showed me the challenges of being alone and wholly responsible for children's wellbeing. Working as part of the large team at Reflections Nursery was a truly enlightening experience, and opened my eyes to the reality of how tricky a balancing act it can be to provide exceptional educational experiences alongside exceptional care (and the organisation of it all!). Now part of a smaller team providing preschool care and education in a  church based setting, I can see the challenges of needing to pack away every day and share the space with other groups. All of these experiences have given me a wealth of information which I can now use to clarify my own ethos, bring my thoughts together and prove that I can be a good teacher for Early Years children.

So when I qualify, what next? Where will the government benchmarks be by the end of the next academic year? All I know is that children will always be children, and I will always want the best for them. Therefore, whoever wins this election, I shall stand firm and continue to champion children. Because their voices need to continue being heard.