PDA

View Full Version : Specialist Early Years Professional



butterfly
30-05-2012, 05:00 PM
Devon are offering their Early Years Professionals (EYPs) the chance to become SPECIALIST EYPs. The process involves first filling out a form suggesting what you want to be a specialist in, why you deserve it and what help you could offer other practitioners in that area. If you get through that stage you then have to be inspected by 2 people from the panel who visit to see your provision and check your knowledge and ability to help others.

If you are successful you are placed on a list of specialist EYPs which can be accessed by other practitioners who feel they need help. They can contact you and arrange a visit.

I think this is fab and am definitiely going to apply. My question is what should my specialism be?

I want to choose something that i'm passionate about but i'm also aware it needs to be something people will actually need help in! There's no point being a specialist if i can't actually support others.

Ideas so far:

Enabling Environments (supporting people in resourcing and planning experiences) - this is my biggest passion but do people actually need help in this?

Children under three - maybe get preschool workers who want to take 2 year olds. I wonder if this could go with the above?

Working with parents - I did my MEd dissertation on this subject and have a lot of advice to offer but i dont know if it's my absolute passion?

Speech and Language - everyone is suggesting this for me but i feel everyone will apply to do this as ICan and ECAT training have been big in devon.

What would you like to ask an EYP for help with? (if you didnt have access to the forum and therefore wouldnt need one!!!)

sarah707
30-05-2012, 05:02 PM
The subjects I get the most enquiries about are the SEF, play and the under 3s, outside play... and learning journals.

If that's any help! :laughing:

You'll be brilliant whatever you choose! :D

Mouse
30-05-2012, 05:07 PM
Would you be able to sell yourself to potential practitioners, or would it be a case of them waiting to come to you when they think they need help?

If you could advertise your area of expertise to attract potential people to support, I would go for enabling environments. It's an area I think a lot of people have an interest in & are curious to find out more. But it's not something they would probably think of asking for help in without a bit of prompting...if you see what I mean :p
I also think it's something that once you start looking into, you realise how important it is & how easy it is to make changes. Any changes can have very quick results as well, so encouraging people to carry on with it.

That probably doesn't make much sense. I know what I mean, but the heat has frazzled my mind :p

butterfly
30-05-2012, 05:19 PM
Thanks Sarah and Mouse! I do really like the idea of Enabling Environments as it fits well with my PhD. I think lots of people are concerned about the under threes - I know playgroups were concerned about taking on two year olds and people who were doing their EYPS were most concerned about working with babies.

If I could put both together I think that would be fab!

Mouse - I'm not sure exactly what information will be available on the list or how people will access it. I think the Devon Early Years Team will know about us and so can point people in our direction if they found they were having difficulties when they go for their setting visit.

Successful applicants will get a certificate so I'm assuming we'll be able to use it in advertising - how we'll get that out to other practitioners I'm not sure.

I also need to put together a plan of what will happen when a practitioner visits me for support - what i will do, what resources i'll use, how long it will take, whether they'll need time to observe etc.

The coordinator did say to emphasis the fact that i'm a childminder as well as obviously there are less CM EYPs and a cm would rather to speak to another cm.

Mouse
30-05-2012, 05:25 PM
I know our childminding group would really welcome the idea of someone coming in to share their expertise. Shame we're at the other end of the country :p

We've had a visits from people talking about outdoor play, play for under 3s, encouraging imaginitive play etc and they've always been successful.

Perhaps you could do a tour of childminding groups in you area :thumbsup:

miffy
30-05-2012, 07:38 PM
I would have thought enabling environments would fit beautifully with your blog.

Good luck with it all

Miffy xx

Bluebell
30-05-2012, 07:46 PM
I'm from Devon and would love your advice - I've been childminding for a year and have endless questions and would love support from someone with your expertise. I get quite a lot of advice from other local childminders but I was just recently considering whether one of them would be a kind of 'mentor' for me so I could really pick their brains and gain from their experience. I think it is a fabulous idea.
Is the list what you can choose from or your own ideas?
I would particularly love advice on enabling environments - I plan loads of things but probably not in a 'I want to see this out of it from the children' type way and also I tend to go with the flow a bit too much and realise I haven't done anything I planned to do! I think this would be a real benefit to the children I care for.
The other thing I am personally interested in are CPD and training opportunities - getting information seems to be like getting blood out of a stone. Non-commital answers on which courses are advantageous, where to go for funding, and generally getting passed round to other people! I would love to get more in-depth understanding of EYFS and giving children opportunities for learning.
Good luck with whatever you decide to do!

butterfly
30-05-2012, 08:01 PM
I'm from Devon and would love your advice - I've been childminding for a year and have endless questions and would love support from someone with your expertise. I get quite a lot of advice from other local childminders but I was just recently considering whether one of them would be a kind of 'mentor' for me so I could really pick their brains and gain from their experience. I think it is a fabulous idea.
Is the list what you can choose from or your own ideas?
I would particularly love advice on enabling environments - I plan loads of things but probably not in a 'I want to see this out of it from the children' type way and also I tend to go with the flow a bit too much and realise I haven't done anything I planned to do! I think this would be a real benefit to the children I care for.
The other thing I am personally interested in are CPD and training opportunities - getting information seems to be like getting blood out of a stone. Non-commital answers on which courses are advantageous, where to go for funding, and generally getting passed round to other people! I would love to get more in-depth understanding of EYFS and giving children opportunities for learning.
Good luck with whatever you decide to do!

I'd be interested in being your mentor - it would probably work best if we were close by though as then you could come and visit my setting and vice versa. Pm me where you are!

We can choose absolutely anything but have to prove to the panel that it really is an expertise. Suggestions on the invitation were speech and language, forest school, and leadership and management.

The Juggler
30-05-2012, 09:15 PM
I'd go for enabling environments/learning hon. My passion is what I learned the most myself. Teaching other practitioners how to support children to play independently and manage their own learning - and to explain to groups of minders locally that this does not just mean leaving them to their own devices :laughing:

I'd like to support other to support and interact with children to become independent through understanding their emotions and behaviour and how to manage the environment in a way that means they can demonstrate or explore their independence. How to interact with children during play without interrupting their play and how we can understand their emotions better so to support them to become the independent learners they can be.

I know how much impact knowing all this has had on the children in my care since I learned so much more about it and it's the knowledge I'd most like to impart to others :)