Project helping disadvantaged children in Darlington by developing shared approach to pre-school education across town

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Less than half of early years children from low-income families in Darlington are at the expected standard for communication and language, compared to almost 73% of their better-off peers.

And the 22.9% gap between disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged children in 2021/22 is more than three times wider than it was in 2017.

Darlington has fewer than the average nursery schools attached to primary schools, meaning that many children attend private, voluntary, and independent (PVI) settings.

Achieving consistent approaches within the range of nursery settings is therefore a key aim across the town.

SHINE is funding a project designed to narrow the gap between disadvantaged children and their peers by developing a shared approach across all early years settings, from pre-school to reception.

Early childhood educators across the town are working together in triads, sharing good teaching practice, and identifying strengths and areas for improvement. The collaborative approach is helping the staff to refine their teaching practices and learn from each other, enabling them to provide better-quality learning experiences for young children.

The project’s main aim is that the improved interactions between adults and children will develop and increase expressive vocabulary among children and subsequently help to close the attainment gap for disadvantaged children.

Staff practitioners in each of the triads taking part in the project take turns to observe one of their sessions. They then meet to discuss what they saw and to reflect on the good practice and areas that could improve to support the children’s development, exploring what worked and what could be improved upon.

“We’re all equals,” explained project lead Amanda Jones, Foundation Stage Leader at Reid Street Primary School. “Everybody has their say, and you always come away from a session picking up at least one thing that you can use in your own setting.

“We see a real inconsistency in the children when they arrive at primary school, and a lot of that is down to the different ways they have been taught at nursery.

The aim is to support staff to continuously encourage children to: strive to extend their thinking; further develop their creativity; interact more effectively with adults and peers; think critically and most importantly, to speak coherently to others. The hope is that this will counter some of the negative impacts of screen time that can be so prevalent.

Amanda Jones Foundation Stage Leader at Reid Street Primary School

“Those of us based in a school can access lots of professional development, but this is more challenging for nurseries, particularly PVIs. The project seeks to support and develop all staff through genuine collaboration, sharing of knowledge and expertise and creation of lasting training materials.”

Amanda explained that the project emphasises the importance of high-quality, targeted interactions with children, tailored to their needs.

“It’s about improving grammar and developing a rich spoken vocabulary. Many of the children within these settings can flourish with exposure to engaging stories full of high-quality language.

“Today, for example, the story was The Three Little Pigs, and we asked the children how the pig was feeling at particular points in the story. That brings in words like ‘devastated’ and ‘heartbroken’ and then we practise creating sentences with these words.”

“It is important to have high expectations of these children who can thrive in a language-rich environment.

“A child with limited vocabulary or limited social skills may be reluctant to speak; it is our role to develop confidence through use of exciting language.”

For staff involved in the project, there is also a recognition of the responsibility to use high-quality language in regular interactions with children.

“The sessions are enabling practitioners to plan each day and to initiate structured, pre-prepared play that is based on themes, such as colour. Participants in the project explore how to take a story reading beyond the basic – with use of props, puppets and effective questioning. This enhances the engagement for children.”

As well as face-to-face observations, the practitioners are encouraged to film their interactions with children, thus enabling further discussion, reflection and development in practice.

These videos will also help with the development of training materials that will help the project to remain sustainable in the future.

“The aim is to support staff to continuously encourage children to: strive to extend their thinking; further develop their creativity; interact more effectively with adults and peers; think critically and most importantly, to speak coherently to others. The hope is that this will counter some of the negative impacts of screen time that can be so prevalent.”

Amanda hopes to ultimately change the situation where many children are arriving at school not ready to learn.

“We all need to be able to listen, to understand and to respond, whatever the subject. We need to be able to reason, to question, to be inquiring. Providing children with the vocabulary to be able to do these things is key.”

Through the project, early years practitioners are also embedding a daily structure – a broad timetable – so that each child is developing at a consistent level. By sharing the expectations in place at the beginning of the child’s education within the primary phase, children can be ready for the challenges and opportunities of the reception year. By involving parents and carers, the smooth transition to full-time education is supported and children are able to thrive within the consistent approaches created.

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