Dr. Rangimarie Turuki Rose Pere, C.B.E CM

It is now just over a year since Rose Pere left us. An extraordinary human being, a true treasure for all. No one in her presence would of doubted their value. Her passion and belief in humankind had no bounds. Rose Pere is deeply missed, however her spiritual presence remains with us for all time. E hoa, haere, haere, haere atu rā. Kia au tō moe Rose.

   “Children are our greatest legacy.

     Nature is our greatest teacher”

    Dr. Rangimarie Turuki Rose Pere

Dr Rangimarie  Turuki Arikirangi Rose Pere was an International Educationalist who travelled globally, and knows about education from early childhood through to the Tertiary Level and beyond. She came from both a traditional Māori perspective and that of the Western world.

Her monograph on the traditional modes of learning of the Māori, “Te Wheke-The Celebration Of Infinite Wisdom”, is used in the USA, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, Europe, Japan, and has been translated into Japanese and German.

Her monograph is used as a training model of education by all Government agencies in Aotearoa New Zealand. Rose has been strongly influenced by teachings that go back over 12,000 years. Her book Te Wheke – A Celebration Of Infinite Wisdom, is an introduction to these teachings.

When she died Te Aorewa Rolleston, a reporter for Radio NZ wrote about her.

Dr Rangimarie Turuki Arikirangi Rose Pere, of Tūhoe, Ngāti Ruapani and Ngāti Kahungunu, passed away on Sunday night surrounded by whānau at the age of 83.Dr Rose Pere, also known by many as Whaea Rose, was renowned for her spiritual teachings and ancient wisdom within academia.

The outpour of comments online and from those who knew her best, said her work inspired generations and she leaves behind an everlasting legacy.

Associate Professor Dr Leonie Pihama, who worked closely with her, said the publications Ako and Te Wheke, written by Dr Rose Pere were significant.

"Her work has always resonated, it's deeply informed much of the work I've done."

"There are lots of layers in terms of connection to the work that Whaea Rose has always done and that she has generously and openly shared with our people."

Dr Pihama said Whaea Rose left behind a multi-layered legacy.

"I was very honoured to have Whaea Rose do a huge amount of mahi with us in terms of the kaupapa that we have been following around healing, around well-being, around mana wahine, kaupapa Māori - all of those areas that she embodied."

Dr Rose Pere was born in Ruatahuna and grew up in Waikaremoana.

Since birth, she was a leader and was thought to have carried the knowledge of a tohuna or wisdom keeper and during her life, she was a renowned teacher to all.

She worked within education across all age groups from pre-school to tertiary level, focusing on building the strength and identity of indigenous learners.

She strived to make sure the next generations were not overcome by a colonial education system, and instead honored their culture.

In a statement, her whānau said she was loved across Aotearoa and the globe.

"Her life was distinguished by extraordinary service to many people in both Aotearoa, New Zealand and the many corners of the world. She touched many lives and hearts."

Dr Rose Pere will be taken to Whakirangi marae and Iwitea marae over the coming days before being taken to her final resting place at Rongopai Marae, just outside of Gisborne.

Sir Ken Robinson was a beacon of hope for all who believe in the power of playful education

 

 

The death of Sir Ken Robinson on 21^st August 2020 was a devasting loss to the global education community. He was an extraordinary educationalist whose commitment and passion for being responsive to each child, and for recognising what he called ‘their element’, was so in tune with our own Early Childhood Education curriculum, Te Whāriki. He encouraged all of us to be attuned to the child, their spirit, and their passion.  Sir Ken Robinson, like those who developed Te Whāriki, had a vision of what education should look like. He challenged so much of the educational past that many of us have experienced. His work was and is transformational for both teachers, children and families alike.

 

He drove an educational revolution that challenged the industrial models of education that are still pervasive across our educational systems: the models that do not put children at the heart of education but rather systematize  everything in the interests of accountability rather than education. It is the standardization of outcomes, testing, and goals that move teachers away from the heart of teaching, stifling the critical notions such as the importance of being in relationship with children.

 

His talk  ‘Do schools kill creativity’, is he most watched TED talk of all time. It has had more than 66 million views….. what follows is a little excerpt from this talk…

 

“Our education system is predicated on the idea of academic ability. And there's a reason. Around the world, there were no public systems of education, really, before the 19th century. They all came into being to meet the needs of industrialism. So the hierarchy is rooted on two ideas.

 

Number one, that the most useful subjects for work are at the top. So you were probably steered benignly away from things at school when you were a kid, things you liked, on the grounds you would never get a job doing that. Is that right? "Don't do music, you're not going to be a musician; don't do art, you won't be an artist." Benign advice -- now, profoundly mistaken. The whole world is engulfed in a revolution.

 

And the second is academic ability, which has really come to dominate our view of intelligence, because the universities design the system in their image. If you think of it, the whole system of public education around the world is a protracted process of university entrance. And the consequence is that many highly talented, brilliant, creative people think they’re not, because the thing they were good at at school wasn’t valued, or was actually stigmatized. And I think we can’t afford to go on that way.”

 

For those who have not read the work of Sir Ken Robinson, now is the time to explore this work. Here is a list of this books… You will not regret picking up these books:The Element; Out of our Minds; Creative Schools and You, Your Child, and School.

 

There are also many opportunities to listen to Sir Ken Robinson … a google of his name will bring up over 16 million links…. Start with his TED talks...

Sir Ken Robinson died on the 21^st August surrounding by his family after a short battle with cancer. For many of us, we were shocked to learn of his death. I know he has inspired me through his deep commitment to children across the globe, delivering his powerful messages with such an uplifting and witty delivery, always leaving me with a feeling of incredible hope and possibility. He will not be forgotten.

 Aroha mai, Wendy Lee

 

A message from Kazakhstan

It was so lovely to hear from Altyngul Taibassarova. Altyngul lives in Astana, now Nur-Sultan the capital of Kazakhstan. She is currently involved in establishing a new kindergarten 'Abadan Kindergarten and Family Centre' which will have three languages of instruction (Kazakh, Russian and English). 

She writes "It is very challenging time for the whole World. It is difficult not to see your friends, colleagues, notable to go out whenever and wherever you want. However, working from home has taught me to be even more caring, loving and patient. I spent a lot of time with my family and I loved it. Seems like the Earth gave this chance to everybody to reflect on their lives. COVID_19 has also brought very quick transition into digitalization. All that seemed far and not real, now is possible. We have learnt to adapt quickly. And that is very good".

Hundertwasser: A special project at Albany Kindergarten

This week I had the pleasure of attending a special celebration at Albany Kindergarten. The children and teachers have been involved in developing a project that was inspired by Hundertwasser. Last July, during the holidays the teaching team went on a trip to Kawakawa and Waitangi.. this project has been part of the journey of inspiration that they have been on. Anyone who has been to Kawakawa and seen the Hundertwasser toilets along with the incredible developments in the township that have developed as a result of his work will understand his inspiration. I have had the opportunity to be not only inspired by the work he has carried out in NZ but also to witness many of his projects in Europe, especially the wonderful early childhood settings he designed!

Hundertwasser's bottle wall in the Kawakawa Toilets

Amazespace at Kawakawa is a Hundertwasser inspired project, a community initiative developed by local artists

On Thursday night the kindergarten had a special celebration to open their 'Hundertwasser' and here are a couple of photos of their Hundertwasser Wall! 

A wall of beauty, inspired by Hundertwasser

It was a privilege to join the team in their celebration!

Francine Paniora (the Head Teacher) opened the evening to both welcome everyone, but also to explain a little about the project. Here are Fran's words!

"On behalf of the teaching team at Albany Kindergarten it is my pleasure to welcome you all here to celebrate our  children’s bathroom refurbishment and in particular the Hundertwasser bottle wall. I would like to start off the evening by sharing some thoughts by Friedrick Hundertwasser...
 

These words resinate to me as I reflect on the collaborate piece of bottle wall work that was designed and created by the children and teachers in our bathroom. This kindergarten is our paradise and one which we utilise respect. and invite those who enters its doors to have ownership of.
 
For those of you who don’t know Hundertwasser (1928-2000) was a lateral thinker - in his art and architecture as well as his ecological ideas.  He was a pioneer who challenged the world around him. He wanted to make people receptive to beauty and aware of their own creative thoughts and actions. Hundertwasser spent some time in Aotearoa, New Zealand. You may have seen or heard about the famous toilets in Kawakawa that he designed and built. His ideas, values and art were something that we wanted to explore at Albany Kindergarten.

In July 2013 the teaching team ventured to the far north to visit the toilets at Kawakawa and also Waitangi. Coming back inspired we started to work with the children of our kindergarten on this project - the creation of a bottle wall. Exploring Hundertwasser's work, the children and teaching team painted, and worked with three dimensional materials to design our own  bottle wall. There may have been a little drinking involved ( not at kindergarten of course) , and our parents and children brought in an array of bottles that we could use.

We are eternally grateful for Martin Horward's artistic wisdom, meeting with us to discuss the project as it developed and in the final construction process.

We would also like to thank Rosemary and Garth for their support - and letting us run with the idea,  and for the  Albany committee who supported the spending of the money to enable such a project to take place.

I would also personally like to thank my teaching team Michell, Sarah G, Teresa and Julie who embrace such creative ventures, with never a doubt in their mind....
 
Lastly thank you to the children of Albany Kindergarten who are, and will always be why we as teachers strive to have a programme that embraces and supports learning  and in particular learning through visual arts."

'un-Googleable' questions that open up learning-rich tangents!

Along with more than one thousand other people, I recently attended the International Conference on Thinking. As soon as I heard this title I was excited. It seems to me, brave, vigorous thinking is the beating heart that nurtures wise learning and teaching cultures into resilient, communities of learners, where everyone has opportunities to build their skills, knowledge and dispositions. 

Of the many interesting people I listened to, Ewan McIntosh stood out for me because he connects imagination, problems and learners together. I liked him for the way he made everybody matter. Most of the people attending were school teachers, yet it took only a little twist to see the relevance for our very young children in early childhood. 

I went to his keynote address and two other workshops because I wanted to hear more about the practicalities of creating learning environments where all children could succeed. As an example he talked about children at Rosendale (Brixton, London). The teachers there wanted to explore:  ‘How might we better tell the story of learning for every single child in school?’ Through this process their children have been encouraged to become ‘problem finders’. In a usual project approach, teachers are the ones who come up with a topic to research. In Rosendale, it is the children and the learning that results is exceptional.  I can’t do this justice here and so I would encourage you to check out this web article. You can also see Ewan in action in this video.  

As I thought about all the exciting, innovative ways of engaging children in schools, it sounded a lot like what we do in early childhood when we are driven by Te Whāriki principles. When children have great resources, environments that generate curiosity to fire passion, children see real work in real time and they have the freedom to play around with ideas PLUS detailed feedback opportunities about their progress THEN great learning happens. Often this interest generates more questions than answers and draws children into growing their ideas together. Teachers can be left wondering about their role and a good yard stick to measure how effective we are is to ask ourselves a few questions:

• Have I hijacked the children’s ideas (even with the best intentions)? 
• Have I asked questions that I know the answer to? 
• Are the questions we’re working on ‘googleable’? Ewan talked about ‘un-Googleable’ questions that open up learning-rich tangents. 
• Am I trying to squeeze all this learning into fragments? 
• When do I really think the real learning happens? 

Wise teachers working collaboratively with children are more centred on being learners themselves.   Ewan says: “Teaching needs learning, not the other way around”.

  This is the reaction to one young lad at the end of a TED style talk given by the Rosendale children. Real speeches, for a real audience about ‘unGoogleable questions’. Ewan muses: Wouldn't it be wonderful if this kind of reaction to learning happened all the time?”

A favourite quote of Ewan’s from Leonard Bernstein.

Celebrate your own style and creativity

Over the past few days I have been trying to find some great little videos on arts, children and arts, arts in ece and so on. And as it turns out, this is quite a challenge. A lot of the videos you find on the net are 'instructional videos'. Videos that tell you how you can get a child or a group of children to, pretty much, just copy what you've come up with (well actually, you haven't even come up with the idea as you are copying a video's instructions).

Then I found this TED talk given by children's book author and illustrator Jarrett Krosoczka - who, not surprisingly, is also a great oral story teller. This is a video well worth watching as Jarrett touches on a range of topics that we should value highly in ece as well as in our adult lives: creativity, arts, literacy, ICTs, role models or more broadly 'important' people (he mentions his grandparents, a children's author who visited his school and commented on one of his drawings, and quite a few other teachers).

(This video doesn't display fully on our blog, so just follow this link and it will open on the TED website.)

 
During his talk, Jarrett talks about "the greatest piece of advice" he had been given by one of his art's teachers. He tells the story of how he was attending arts classes and had just received a book that would teach him how to draw cartoon images just the way they were supposed to be:

"And all the color just drained from his [teacher's] face, and he looked at me, and he said, 'Forget everything you learned.' And I didn't understand. He said, 'You have a great style, celebrate your own style. Don't draw the way you're being told to draw. Draw the way you're drawing and keep at it, because you're really good.'"

Celebrate your own style - so simple, but so true. And what an important message to both teach to the children in y/our care and to apply in our own lives.

If you follow this link you will be redirected to another TED page, which also contains the video of Jarrett's talk, as well as a list of 10 books he and his 2 young daughters recommend. Feel free to add more reading suggestions to the comments of our blog. Or if you would like to read more about the theory behind literacy and/or arts have a look at the resource section on our website as we list some of the books we find really useful in our practice. To find out more about Jarrett have a look at his website.

A Traditional Christmas Tree

When Mason and Zane visited yesterday the Christmas Tree was up and bare except for its sparkly underwear of lights.  The boxes of treasures waited for us to dress the tree.  I said to Zane ‘What one shall we put on?’ and without opening the box quick as a wink he said ‘the blue man and the red man’. We couldn't believe our ears. He’s not three yet. He was twenty-two months old last Christmas and he remembered his favorite decorations. What a stunning memory. Human beings have stunning memories.  We looked in the box and there they were waiting for him to put on the tree. He showed them to Mason his brother. Mason was inspired to crawl to the tree and they put the men from Russia on the tree.

Well, I think it is traditional that I write a Christmas Tree blog now for the third Christmas in a row.  I have been reflecting on tradition. The dictionary tells us  it is the transmission of customs or beliefs from generation to generation, or the fact of being passed on in this way. And here we have been decorating the Christmas Tree all together. Look how much my grandchildren have grown. They get to help decorate. 

So... the tree isn’t looking so ‘adult’ this - maybe more eclectic than other years but in many ways much more traditional as we grow, share and transmit our memories.  Here we are talking about and revisiting through the prompts of the Christmas Tree decorations. We are  growing traditions by sharing memories, feelings for and with each other. We talked about; The heart your mummy made at Brownies - The time I was in Germany - squashed into beautiful little Christmas shop in Freiburg with my friends -  The ‘king’ star decoration Hawaiki remembered from last year - The time my nan and pop gave us some christmas tree lights when I was little - Pipiana’s best is ‘golden ball’ though I notice the dolls from Russia are interesting too - The elf from their great aunty Anna who loved their Nana so. 

Memories are shared and the decorations once again this year have the power to prompt  the ‘rememberings’ that now become the stories for another generation to revisit. The memories are shared in the stories and the memories are stored in the feelings.  Maybe it is not about the ‘red man’ or the ‘king’ or the ‘golden ball’ - maybe just maybe it is about being with a Nana who tells stories and trusts me to put the precious decorations high high up on the tree. Maybe one-day they will say ‘Remember when Nana Kathryn ...’.  Maybe just maybe it is all about love - the kind of love that is traditional. 

Wendy shared this quote from Maya Angelou with us “I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

Best wishes for many new memories and the opportunity to create ‘rememberings’ and traditions with your loved ones this year.

Kathryn

Marie Bell, Visionary Educator dies at 90

 

I was very sad to learn of the death of Marie Bell. She was an exceptional advocate for children and their families throughout New Zealand. Her work, initially with the establishment of Matauranga School in the 60's, and then in early childhood education, particularly as a lecturer of kindergarten teachers, made an outstanding contribution to education in New Zealand at many levels. She was totally committed to a democracy that ensured that children's rights were both protected and supported.

I have many warm memories of times with Marie, and one that stands out, is when we both shared time with Urie Bronfenbremmer beside the shores of Lake Rotoiti. They were both very tall ‘totaras’ in education, each making very important contributions to early childhood education. 

Later in life, Marie was an inspiration to us all in what it means to be a life long learner by completing a PhD while in her 80's. She presents to all of us such a powerful model of what it means to lead a full life and be a life-long learner. It is one thing to talk to others about the importance of life-long learning, it is another to powerfully enact in your own life.

My eldest brother’s family are also sad to be out of the country at this time as they also had a special relationship with Marie and also felt the power of her inspiration. For them, not only was she a wonderful educator, but she was also the guiding light and strength for her wider family. They will all miss her very much and the foundation she built for her grandchildren will give them the best start in life. We will all miss her.

Congratulations Tasshi Marie!

As you might know, here at ELP we love to celebrate! And what better occasion than our project administrator Marie Thom's recent success in achieving her Black Belt in Taekidokai!

Back in 2010, Marie wrote this for our newsletter: "I have risen to the dizzy heights of blue belt, (to match the bruises on my arms), in my future is a black belt. I followed my eleven year old son into the sport and now my fourteen year old daughter trains as well."

Many hours of training and a couple of bruises later (we have seen the most impressive shapes and colours of bruises here at the office), Marie went to Sydney in July this year to take part in a weekend of training (over 12 hours) followed by an exhausting grading process. In the spirit of true NZ-Australian competition, Marie was the only applicant to break her boards on the first go and even lapped all other students in the fitness line! Ka rawe atu koe!

So, at her return to Hamilton, we just had to throw her a little 'black belt' - party:

‘They should have personal masseuses’

Three days in the classroom gave comedian Rhod Gilbert a new-found respect for teachers.

Rhod Gilbert (comedian) spends time with children! It is clear, he is listening!

 Spending three days in a primary school for my television programme Rhod Gilbert’s Work Experience was among the most inspiring things I have ever done.

What’s key to teaching is the element that I loved the most: imparting knowledge and information to the children, watching them learn and, you hope, becoming a force for good in their lives.  It was incredibly inspiring, moving and the most wonderful privilege.

I got a taste of it for just a few days – after a very short period, kids were coming up to me and saying the most moving things, the most inspiration things, about the impact I’d had on them.  And that was me just dicking about and having fun with them, giving them time, listening.  I can only imagine what it’s like to teach them for years.  It must be mind-blowing.

In my time at the school, I learned that it is impossible to over-estimate the value teachers have in our society.  It’s priceless.  But, amazingly, teachers are fairly poorly respected.  These people are shaping the next generation, they are having a massive influence on what society will be like in five, 10, 15 years’ time.  It’s as much down to them as it is to parents.

Yet many teachers I know are tire, stressed, downtrodden, poorly rewarded, overworked, over-examined and league-tabled to within an inch of their lives, and we as a society, as parents, as politicians, have a duty to do something about it.

So I have come up with a radical solution.  All teachers should have government-funded personal masseuses, drivers and personal assistants to massage their shoulders on the way to school, rub their feet and grant them sexual favours.  All so that, when they do into the classroom, they are excited, motivated and fresh as a daisy.  The rest of us should be doing this…or, at least, the rest of us in society who are paid pointlessly large sums of money for doing sod all.

The teachers at the school where I was placed were committed down to their very last drop of energy and passion.  They were phenomenal and the school was awesome.  Despite the piles of paperwork, bureaucracy and nonsense that seem to do little more than destroy teachers, they were still incredibly enthusiastic and undaunted – a testament to how passionate they are about their jobs.

But my time in school wasn’t as simple as me walking in to the staffroom and falling in love with the profession.  The first day I spent just taking the mick because of all the happy-clappy, modern, funky teaching methods.

The main reason for my reaction was that it was so different form when I was at school in the 1970s.  Then, a jam sandwich was considered two of your five a day and schools were made up of teachers in classrooms, blackboards and rows of kids slumped over desks, learning by rote.

In Monnow Primary, near Newport, South Wales, where I was based for the programme, it’s all independent “zones”, including the “multimedia zone” and the “thinking zone”.  For example, they didn’t do maths in the classroom, they did it in a forest.  It was like something from The Mighty Boosh.

But then, over the three days, I saw how the school’s methods engaged the kids and how they loved it, and how much fun they had while they were learning.  I became convinced that teaching has really improved in terms of learning through play.

I dicked around a lot when I was in school.  I wasn’t bad, but I just wasn’t interested.  It wasn’t my teachers, it was just me.  If we’d had the teaching methods I saw in this school, I would certainly have been more engaged.

I was only at Monnow for three days, but I’m going to go back there and help out, because I felt like I had an impact.  It was sensational.  The best thing I’ve ever done.

Rhod Gilbert’s Work Experience: Teacher is on BBC iPlayer.

Times Educational Supplement Friday 11 May 2012

Trying Something new for 30 Days

I have been inspired by Matt Cutts http://www.ted.com after watching his TED talk on trying something new for 30 days, he says, “30 days is about the right time to add or subtract something from your life.”  I have heard that if you are going to try something new then 30 days is long enough for it to become a habit. Matt describes some of the things he did, which included; biking to work and hiking up Mt Kilimanjaro, with these challenges his confidence grew. He said,  ‘the days became more memorable’ and in one of his self set challenges which required him  taking a photo every day he remembered exactly what he was doing on each of those days.
With this inspiring short talk (it is only 3.5 minutes long) I had heard enough to try something new, the first of which was to cut out sugar from my diet, this was relatively easy for me, except the odd craving for chocolate, so one down on to the next. After a borderline cholesterol result I decided to give up as much saturated fat as I could. This was harder than sweet food for me as one of my instant gratifications is potato crisps! After a bit of label reading in the supermarket I have found bagel crisps are okay if I really need a snack.
My next thing for 30 days was a complete disaster, I decided to buy an Exercycle (luckily, cheaply on Trade me) as I have used it 3 times and I suspect shortly it will be on the road with a ‘free’ sticker on it!
My latest is to buy a bike and go out to ride, this is a very new interest for me and I am only up to day 3, so far I am really enjoying it. I have found the Western Cycle trail to be a great place to ride,  and today I managed 14 km! There is a certain agelessness about biking and I feel like a teenager again as I cycle along, I could say I am in my Element on the bike, but it is a bit early for that on day 3, but watch this space!
We talk about children being curious learners, trying something new, be brave and giving something a go, taking a risk, practicing and like a challenge, have you thought about how these apply in your own life? Are you prepared to give something new a go? Matt finishes his talk by saying, ‘the next 30 days are going to pass whether you like it or not so why not put into action something you have always wanted to try for the next 30 days.’

Thrilled to see positive action having an impact on the politicians - still clearly more work ahead.

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL WHO HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO THIS ONGOING CAMPAIGN TO DATE. THE COMMUNITY OF CORBY IS AN INSPIRATION TO EVERYONE!

 PLEASE FIND BELOW MARGY WHALLEY DIRECTOR OF PEN GREEN RESEARCH AND FOUNDING HEAD OF THE PEN GREEN CHILDREN'S CENTRES RADIO PRESS RELEASE ON BBC NORTHAMPTONSHIRE.

THIS IS IN RESPONSE TO THE NCC PRESS RELEASE STATING THE DECISION HAS BEEN DEFERRED!!!!!

Fairly shocked to receive a press release before we had a formal letter from county officers and there does seem to be a huge amount of county council confusion around when the decision to defer was made. Our MP was informed deferral was imminent before they even received our written submissions and this is not the worst news nor the best news.
All we have ever wanted to do was to be able to continue our work to provide the best possible service to children and families in Corby. Our governors and parents campaigned to save Pen Green from these cuts because they have personal experience of what we do and why it makes such a difference to their lives and their children’s success. We are not like other children’s centres/nursery schools; it has taken 27 years to grow this centre. It appears to be the case that the decision is deferred until July and that whatever decision is taken then it would not be implemented until 2012, which still leaves us very concerned.
Parents, governors, county councillors and staff are still committed to going to Schools Forum.
We keep being told that Schools Forum have a crucial role but they are highly dependent on information from county council officers. We need to be there and tell them how it really is. Our hope is that if the Schools Forum really has the decision making power, as set our in their constitution, they will hear us and make the right decision. County council officers have repeatedly told us that the decision rests with Schools Forum.

We know that the services we run are outstanding, Ofsted and HMI have repeatedly, over 27 years awarded the centre an excellent/outstanding rating. In 2009 they stated that “staff and governors managed the nursery resources well and provided outstanding value for money”. Few schools get these kinds of accolades and we’re proud of them, its a major achievement. We’ve provided a mass of information to NCC and are always willing to provide more although I am concerned that the decision was made before senior officers by their own admission had actually read the data!
In 2006 our services were thoroughly dissected and minutely disaggregated through county council committee and we were promised then that when we became a school and when our budget was put into the DSG that we would be allowed to get on with our job. Lets hope that in July they make the right decision.
I want to thank all our local families, our governors, particularly our chair of governors Mark Pengelly Deputy Leader of Borough Council, and Corby labour and liberal councillors for the cross party support we have received.
Now we have to plan for the future. Pen Green Research Base gained a significant grant last week from the DfE to lead a project around developing outstanding children’s centres as teaching and learning centres supporting the training and development of early years staff in their region. Pen Green children’s centre will be the first children’s centre in England to join this programme as it is the one children’s centre in England that already has extremely well embedded training roots from Diploma, to Foundation Degree to MA to PhD and we hope by next year to be able to offer EYP and teacher training.
At the children’s centre we plan to expand our provision for children under 5 this year. There is an enormous demand from parents for us to open our second baby nest for children under 3. We have a huge waiting list and this government and this local authority believe that parental preference should drive services.
Nursery schools no longer have catchments areas so we can service the whole of Corby and beyond. And this year we hope to be working with lots more Corby parents and children.
During the campaign we’ve offered some new services to say thank you to families, because at Pen Green we are committed to working with families as well as their children. We’ve had tea time play sessions called ‘Thank God Its Friday’, we’ve had Saturday cinema sessions and Sunday ‘Bring Your Family’ an intergeneration and drop-in and play sessions and dad’s group continues to run Saturdays and Sundays, so come and see our services and judge them for yourself.
I want to just finish by thanking Louise Bagshawe for what she’s contributed to the campaign. I’ve got one important message for her – we really do need to arrange that Pen Green governors meet with Michael Gove in Corby. At times over the last 27 years it just feels like Pen Green is a political pawn being manoeuvred buy county councillors who on the whole don’t have many votes in Corby. It’s time we got ourselves into a position where we could use the amazing energy and capacity of this organisation for the purpose it was intended which is to raise standard for children and offer really supportive services and their families.

Serendipitous; a chance meeting to remember, 13th January 2011

We recently received this an email from Julie Peal, an early childhood teacher at Wellington's Victoria University Law School.

Just had to share with you all an amazing bit of serendipity, as you may know I work in the old government building which is now the Victoria University Law School, it is open to anyone to walk through, with many tourists passing through the halls each day. As I walked out of my centre with some children (heading outside to our play ground) we met an elderly gentleman in the hall and sparked up a conversation with him.

His gentle and respectful conversations with the children led me to ask him if he was or had been a teacher, to which he replied “not really” I only work with masters students now. He said during his early working life he had taught in so called third world countries in Africa and the Philippines and now worked at the University of Sussex.

He said he was visiting from Britain but was born in NZ, he asked about the centre and was most impressed to know that we were located in such close proximity to the children’s families. He spoke at length on how important it was for woman to be supported to be educated and in work, while knowing their children were close by. This led to the story of his mothers struggle to be educated at a time when women were not expected to work outside the home. 

Not knowing who he was I innocently ask what it was like when he was a child to which he replied that his mother had been active in supporting early childhood education and had set up an early childhood centre in the 50s. Long story short the interesting and interested elderly gentleman was Anthony Somerset son of Gwen Somerset, who was a pioneer of Early childhood Education in New Zealand and wrote vital play amongst other thinks. 

We then had an amazing kororo about Piaget whom he thought underestimated young children’s ability to understand because he tested their knowledge out of the context of their lives.  Basically he said Piaget didn’t see things through the child’s eyes.

Vygotsky was our next topic, which led to how culture impacts children’s learning. Tony (as he asked me to call him)  then proceeded to tell me a story of recently looking after a young boy of just 3 years, they had gone for a walk and came across a tractor, climbing onto the tractor the young boy noticed a box attached to it and asked if they could open it. Tony’s reply was that the farmer may not like them to do that. The child noticing the box had writing on the lid pointed to it and said that says we are allowed to open the box.

On hearing this creative problem solving Tony agreed to the boy opening the box. Inside the box was a rope which the child use to fish with off the tractor. As this imaginary play came to an end, on his own initiative the boy packed the rope into the box and shut the lid, saying “now the farmer will be happy”. 

Tony then unpacked for me all the learning this little story held, as if he were writing a learning story.  It included allowing the child’s curiosity to lead their learning, understanding that written script could communicate meaning (although it was in Russian Cyrillic script) but most importantly the empathy for Tony’s feelings that the farmer would not like them to open the box. Tony felt by ensuring that the rope was safely returned to its place and saying the farmer would be happy, the child seemed to have shown an understanding of the ethical issues involved. He wondered what Piaget would make of this child’s ability to see this problem from so many different perspectives, his own, Tony’s and the farmers.

What an inspiration to hear this man (now well into his 80s) speak so knowledgeably and passionately on the role of woman and young children’s learning   As a person who has an interest in history and the way it shapes our learning and teaching this was a truly fortunate meeting with a person who is so closely connected with two people ( Gwen Somerset and her brother Riwi Ally ) who have played such significant and cutting edge roles in education. In sharing a little of his own Whakapapa it was treasured insight into just how far early childhood education has come and how important it is in this time of uncertainty to hold tight to what we have achieved.  

It was serendipitous that I happened to have Sunshine and Shadow , Gwen Somerset’s autobiography sitting on my desk at home waiting to be read, meeting Tony who is from this family of (and is himself) a great educationist provided a great incentive to make time to do it.


Just thought this was a story worth sharing with colleagues who make such a difference in the field of education for young children, such as yourselves. 
All the very best 
Julie