Little Learners Aspire

We have been asked quite a lot recently about whether we will be doing any professional events, visits or festivals any time soon, for which we are very thankful of your interest.

The simple answer to that is yes we will start to do these again but not until later in the year and into next year. The simple reason for us not doing it any sooner is that, just like we all should do with everything in our lives, we continue to put ourselves first! The pandemic has hit us all hard and at times we have been purely focused on survival along with times of trying to rediscover who we are and of course at all times our children, staff and families have come first and sometimes this has meant stripping things back to the very basics!

See, with our approach, we don’t do things because it is the popular thing to do (or not do) and we don’t have strict rules we apply which set out a very clear pedagogy to follow. We simply adapt and grow continually as we learn more about our ever changing world and the people in it. We don’t follow or copy other approaches but we do take inspiration from others when it is valuable to us at that time and we have always promoted others to do the same. What worked for us back in 2014 for example, will not work best for us now. For starters we have different children and educators now and each bring something new to the equation. But right now, we have all just faced two years of the unexpected - something we could never have imagined - but for the children in our care - for some of them it is all they have ever known and for others it has taken over the majority of their life so far.

Our biggest priority right now and our current journey is not so much discovering who we are as a setting and as an approach… but who we need to be. How we rebuild firm foundations taking into account everything that has been thrown at us, what we want for our next generation growing up in this crazy crazy world and most importantly, what our children need from us.

At some point, we will invite you to share in this journey because we strongly believe this is a time, as a sector, we should all be reflecting on what we have learnt the past two years and what key elements need to be prioritised.

Early Years as we know is incredibly important and it is vital we get it right! We should delight in learning from each other but also following our own paths based on our own communities, children, team, environments etc. We’ve got this! We are Early Years and we rock! ✌🏻

For now we’ll leave you with a few pictures from recent months.

Little Learners Childcare... who are we?

Established over 10 years ago, we have two nurseries based in Corby and Northampton,
Previously we had continually evolved our practice and pedagogy based on inspiration from around the world and closer to home, and had developed our very own way of working. Taking elements that truly resonated with us in relation to our children and families, staff and communities.

However, the world was thrown a massive curveball with the pandemic and we had to adapt, like everyone else. Our day to day became about survival, nurture and resilience, and things we once treasured with the highest regard just weren't practical anymore.

Nearly two years later, we are on a journey of re-discovery, and establishing who we are.

With discussions in the media and government etc around going back to normal, the education sector as a whole is still being hit extremely hard and there is pressure to create this 'normal' and know exactly who you are.

But we are still finding our way, like many others, and do you know what.... that's ok!

We don't want to go back to who we were. The world is so different to how it used to be, and many of our children have spent most if not all of their lives living through a pandemic. Thinking about their experiences in those , we need to create something new.

We need to reflect on the past, but not go back there. We need to what's important right now, who we want to be, and how we are going to get there, and that's exactly what we are doing!

Saw it, had to share... ❤️

As we head into the final month of the year tomorrow, I am sat here reflecting on what a year it has been! Who’d have thought even in April, let alone the beginning of the year, we would be where we are today!

Every single one of us have been impacted this year, all for different reasons and in different capacities, but as for running a business through this, it has sure been relentless and a challenge I never wish to repeat! The sheer volume of pressure from every angle combined with witnessing the strength and dedication of my team has completely overwhelmed me and I feel a little lost for words!

I don’t feel I will ever have the right words or means of appreciation to show my team how incredible they have been this year and I’m sure I’m not the only one thinking and feeling this! I will be forever grateful for my team, because without them and their hard work, support and sacrifices - I literally do not know where I would be right now!

We are always forgotten about in society and taken for granted and still, even in 2020 our value is not truly appreciated or recognised for the invaluable work we do with each and every child who steps through our doors! BUT, we know who we are, what we do and why and thankfully so do our families so we DO NOT need approval or recognition from anybody else, although it would be nice!

As a sector we should stand tall and appreciate ourselves and our team for the many achievements we have made this year, because it isn’t all completely terrible! There are many things I am sure all of us can carry with us from this year; small wins will mean the most at the end of all this!

At Little Learners our victories this year include but are not limited to; transforming the whole of our nurseries from indoor nurseries to 100% fully outdoors in less than a week, staying open the whole way through this, becoming stronger as a team professionally and personally, valuing and supporting each other, surviving the immense pressures and frequent changes, developing professionally and personally, finding ourselves professionally including new preferences of ways of working, challenging ourselves, acknowledging and reaching out for help when we need it, overcoming personal fears and anxieties, learning to embrace what is thrown at us, witnessed and enjoyed some glorious moments of mixed ages (0-5) playing and exploring together and most importantly, we have all been able to do our absolute best for the children and continue to provide the amazing experiences they have become accustomed to regardless of the pressures we have faced!

Here’s a few snaps from our year, because although we know how difficult it has been for all, it certainly hasn’t all been doom and gloom and we must remember the amazing achievements of this year! Scrolling through all our photos has made me even prouder than I have been of our wonderful team and fabulous children! Let’s not forget a special mention for the children, because I think we have all learnt just how resilient children are this year, we could all learn a lot from their care free, innocent and natural minds! ❤️

I shared this on my personal Instagram profile on New Year’s Eve with such hope for 2020! But actually, when I think back to what my hopes and aspirations were for this year... all is not lost!

Yes, 2020 hasn’t been great but we can’t forget everything we have learnt and the situations we have been put in which have helped us to grow!

Like everybody, I have faced many challenges this year, ones I would never have even imagined... but I did it, I survived and I am a lot stronger for it! And not only that, my team and I have done some incredible things and can hold our heads so high when in times ahead we look back on this with only fond and proud memories!

I have observed amazing growth and development in my wonderful team this year too - personal and professional - it really is precious to see what goodness comes out of the darkness!

Appreciate the small things and every little win, even during the most difficult times! It’s those little wins that will mean the most in the long run - this year will pass, but the personal development will last a life time! ❤️

We have been very quiet recently because, well, we have been very busy - haven’t we all!?

Not only has this been an incredibly challenging 6 months it has also been quite emotional with our ‘big children’ getting ready to leave ready for school! Always an emotional time - but this year has just been something else hasn’t it!?

Always mixed opinions amongst the sector about graduations for school leavers, but we like them. We go to a lot of effort to create a fun and exciting party for all! But of course this year we haven’t been able to do it! Neither have we been able to put on our usual ‘school readiness’ evening for parents to help them understand what we mean by that term.

Therefore we have had to adapt as I’m sure we all have! What did you come up with for your school leavers? Share your successes? (No judgement allowed - we all have different opinions and ideas!)

We did ‘graduation party in a box’ with a photo shoot opportunity for children on collection of their box. We couldn’t put on a party but we wanted each school leaver to have a party on us and this was very warmly received! Inside each box was also a school readiness leaflet made by our Pedagogical Manager to support parents with this big transition.

Such difficult times and it took us ages to come up with an idea we felt was fitting for the occasion and I am very proud of my team for the wonderful results! We hope you all managed to mark the occasion in a way you and your children were happy with too! ❤️

At Little Learners we are starting to plan ahead as we rebuild following these difficult times! We will have some exciting new positions becoming available at our Northampton setting over the next few months, although we are not quite clear on exact start dates as yet!

If you are interested in joining a forward thinking company who looks after and values each and every employee AND you are hardworking, dedicated and passionate about alternative methods of early years education - get in touch and let us know what you have to offer!

If you are not moving forwards you are retreating backwards in this modern world! Education systems that were once effective have no relevance these days and at Little Learners we are determined to push forward ensuring we can offer the very best early education for our little ones, preparing them for life! We also have hopes and dreams of one day creating our own progressive school to continue our alternative approach with children through to the age of 16!

Opportunities are endless for the right people with the right attitude as we continue to build on the success of our approach and aspirations!

Benefits include:
⭐️Above sector average pay
⭐️31 days holiday as standard, earning up to an additional 5 days for length of service
⭐️Length of service bonus at 5 yearly intervals
⭐️No sickness bonus
⭐️Employee of the month and staff appreciation
⭐️All expenses paid private Christmas party
⭐️Excellent professional development opportunities including Mental Health First Aid, Forest School, Annual teacher training day during working hours, visits to exemplary and inspirational settings and even a study trip to Reggio Emilia, Italy.
⭐️Staff discount
⭐️Career progression
⭐️Opportunities to work within our professional development offerings to other settings and educators

We are seeking people who ooze passion, positivity and enthusiasm and are eager to develop their own approach to early years. We don’t expect anybody to know all about our approach, but a willingness to learn and adapt with a ‘can do’ attitude is essential! 💪🏻

If you are ready for the next step in your career, or even if you are looking to start your career in early years as an apprentice - please get in touch if you feel you have the qualities it takes to become an outstanding educator who is continually self reflecting, unlearning and re-learning! ⭐️

Email your CV with a message about you and what excites you about this opportunity to [email protected]

We look forward to hearing from you! ☺️

How’s it going for you all? Do you have all your children back yet? How are your bubbles working? And more to the point - are you having lots of fun!?!

By the end of the month we will have around 70% of our children back with the majority of those still at home expected to return in August or September.

Whilst we welcomed the news of early years settings nolonger having to group children in small bubbles as of 20th July (England), we have decided to stick with our bubbles for a while longer. However, our bubbles will now allow more children, meaning we can allow all children to return.

We like our bubbles (we call them teams), they work really well for us as we put a lot of thought and consideration into their operation. For example - each of our team has their own large outdoor space (if you don’t already know - we closed our inside nursery entirely and are only operating outdoors) and their own team of grown ups which includes two staff additional to ratio allowing for a float/lunch and holiday cover and the team leader! This set up has allowed each team to operate completely independently to one another - although we have enjoyed some over the fence conversation and games! We also love the mixed ages within our teams and it has been a wonderful learning journey for the children and grown ups alike!

We still feel as though we are only at the beginning of our ‘new normal’ and the learning that is evolving around it and therefore it would be a shame to just throw it all away and go back to ‘pre-covid’ times!

We are looking into making some permanent changes following these experiences - because wouldn’t it be a shame for all of this hard work, stress, anxiety, dedication, passion, fear, development, change and adaptations to be for nothing - to have not learnt and permanently changed because of it!?

We sure think so, and are excited to firm up some ideas and plans! In a nutshell, our Corby setting will be split into almost two separate nurseries - an indoor nursery (with wonderful outdoor spaces of course) and an outdoor nursery based in our truly special wildlife garden (with some wonderful indoor spaces such as an art studio and gallery). At Northampton we will reopen our outdoor classroom which set children, by parental choice, will be based - but it will be bigger and better than ever before! We are looking into outdoor toilets and nappy changing facilities for both and corby also already have two forms of cooking facilities within the wildlife garden!

We have lots to discuss and it will be a team effort to finalise the plans and decide on whether we want to continue with mixed ages or just some parts of the nursery be mixed ages or just revert back to age groups. For us to achieve the best possible outcomes from these changes we believe the voices of our whole team need to be heard and that includes the children too!

Are you planning on any permanent changes? Have you learnt anything from this that you wish to share?

It was International Mud Day yesterday, did you celebrate?

"The sensory experience of MUD stimulates children's creativity and sense of adventure"

Our Atelierista who is based in our yellow team at Northampton has created some documentation of their ‘bubble’ settling in and connecting to their new outdoor environment! 💛