We join David in the week before the proposed date of re-opening Childcare Provisions and Schools (Monday 1st June 2020) to look at his experience of leading his open provisions caring for the children of Key Workers and vulnerable children and how he and Anna are planning to organise opening up to more children, revealing the considerations and assessments that this will entail.
David reveals his ‘go-to’ resources (links are below) his thoughts on planning to support both children and staff, wellbeing as the main consideration moving forward, the question of ‘physical (social) distancing and how he will set up ‘friendship groups’ and the resources he will have available and how his settings may look, all of this is with the children at the centre; he also discusses his consultation with Parents and the Paint Pots Nurseries staff and how important this communication is.
In this short film, it is reassuring to see how David has considered all aspects of re-opening and how important it is that the children, staff and parents can view his provisions as safe and secure during the current times and also moving forward.
Additional Resources
Further reading, websites and links to resources
Simon Kidwell – Coronacast
Sharing recorded ‘Coronacasts’ available on YouTube organised and shared by Simon Kidwell, Headteacher & LA SIA. NAHT Cheshire Branch Secretary, National Exec & Early Years Sector Council. Founder member of the CCoT
Connect with Simon on Twitter
Coronacast 8th May 2020
Recording of Coronacast Webinar where the Simon and his team were joined by Dr Matt Butler (Twitter: @mjb302), a consultant from the COVID Assessment Unit at Cambridge University Hospitals.
Link
EYFS Coronacast 20th May 2020
Link
Coronacast 21st May 2020 With Dr Matt Butler
340 School and System Leaders met with Dr. Matt Butler to discuss how to minimise risk when more pupils return to school.
Link
Dr Bruce Perry – The ChildTrauma Academy
Website
Trauma and PTSD: Articles for Caregivers
Helping Traumatized Children – A brief overview for Caregivers
Tim Gill – Rethinking Childhood
Website
About David
About DavidDavid is an international speaker, writer, broadcaster and a trainer within the Early Years Sector, he is the National Rep to the World Forum on Early Care and Education and a Founder member of the Executive Board of the Early Years Academy. He is a co-owner of Paint Pots Nurseries a group of ten childcare provisions in and around Southampton.
“Paint Pots is a small family group of childcare facilities, currently comprising six day nurseries, three preschools and one out-of-school club all located in the Southampton area. My wife, Anna, started Paint Pots in 1994. Following a 25 year career in IT, I joined Anna in running Paint Pots 15 years ago, retrained as an Early Years Teacher and we have been working together ever since. We were joined by our son Joseph eight years ago, who also trained as an Early Years Teacher and more recently by our youngest daughter, Jasmine, who is an apprentice with the company. As a dad, I understand the immense privilege we have forming relationships with young children, as well as the awesome responsibility.”
David’s interests include Men in Early Years, Pedagogy, Understanding and Supporting Children’s Behaviour, Baby Room Practice, Adverse Childhood Experiences and Trauma Informed Care, Positive Relationships and the Role of the Adult.
For more information, please visit David’s profile in our Early Years Directory.