What’s your “why” for education? What gets you up in the morning, gets you buzzing, gets you jumping out of bed and screaming “I can’t wait to get to school”?!
Let’s flip that - What doesn’t get you up?! What makes you want to pull the covers over your head and say, “Not today world!” What are those thoughts that bug you as you get home, invade your home life and personal space?
What if you had the power to flip that narrative? To choose your story, your journey, and more importantly, that of the children in your care? WHAT IF YOU COULD CHOOSE? And what if that was as easy as joining a caring, enthusiastic team of educators and world leaders who are pointing in exactly the same direction you are; who share your values, your ethos, your dreams for your fellow educators, students and families you serve.
Pasi Sahlberg answering our community's questions on implementing impactful play-based practice.
Hi I’m Kym, an established conference speaker, trainer and consultant in the field of early years education. I’ve been a passionate advocate of meaningful, authentic play experiences for 30 years now and have spent 20 of those years working in partnership with schools both in the UK and overseas, helping leaders grapple with effectively providing play based learning. My work has often taken place against a backdrop of fear, doubt and cynicism as to the value of play for children’s learning. The impact on engagement and outcomes always ends up speaking for itself!
Over the years I have seen it all - the peaks and the pitfalls, what works, what doesn’t, and what might! In every single instance, the power of play and what it can enable children to achieve has shone through. My very favourite moments are those shared thinking sessions with leaders and teachers, and the fulfilment of seeing the amazing influence of our collaborative problem solving on children’s learning
Every school is different and the beauty of this job is that there is no one straight pathway for introducing, embedding and maintaining high quality play based learning. Just like with children, my role is always to start with what the school already does, consider where they’d like to be, and help them find sustainable, manageable, impactful ways of moving forward. I view my role as that of trusted guide, someone who can point out hidden icebergs, help you keep on course, and negotiate obstacles with you along the way.
Just like Becky, I’m forever wanting to learn and explore ideas further - so as well as working with international schools across the world, I’ve visited countries like Finland, whose education system I admire, to develop my own thinking further by observing in their kindergartens and schools.
I’m proud of what leaders I have worked with say about me. Here is a sample:
‘She really challenged us and moved our practice on, but did it all in a way that left us feeling empowered, informed and enlightened.’
‘Her approach is utterly supportive and she gets results by creating a challenging but safe climate for improving practice. ‘
“A generous mentor with a wealth of experience who understands just how children learn."
Hi, I’m Becky, relentless optimist, lead learner and brave classroom practitioner.
Some cool stuff I’ve done:
Why me?
My husband says I am a “unicorn”. Wait for it. There is a method to this madness, some thinking behind this label (it’s not because I have a flowing rainbow mane and am followed by glittering rainbow dust!) I’m a committed, creative classroom practitioner, always seeking to improve my practice AND, I am constantly researching and collaborating with some of the world’s leading minds. These conversations and collaborations shape my thinking and this is fed directly into the conversations within our community. So, classroom practitioner and lead thinker- and it is from this stance that I co-“lead” and coach this amazing community. I’ve put “lead” in quotation marks because we are all leaders, we all shape the groups’ thinking and we all plot ideas together – Kym and I just guide this journey.
What teachers and leaders say about being lead by Becky in the Learning Pioneers' community and Masterminds.
"Intellectually curious, researched informed and widely experienced, Becky bring her logical, analytical and child-centred thinking to each and every Mastermind session. Becky supports the different approaches across the schools to unpick and refine what we want to create in our school. This is not an easy or straight-forward process. Time is given for struggle and grappling with concepts. She understands that through reflective practice and articulation of thoughts educators will implement the changes that will allow children in their care to thrive and flourish."
Robert Cleary, Head Teacher and Mastermind Member
"Becky pushes our thinking to the limits and, as Mastermind host, she gives us the space to dream, think and challenge ourselves as practitioners and leaders, no matter how busy our day is. She constantly encourages us to take that next step and the ‘what ifs’ that come out of each discussion point are endless. Our learning network has enabled me to hear from leading educationalists and Becky is always striving towards the next line of inquiry, allowing community members to have input and decide what collective next steps should be. Becky has an infectious thirst for learning and I am excited to be part of community she has created."
Rebecca Archer, Leader and Mastermind Member
"Being part of Becky’s Learning Pioneer’s learning community is quite simply the best professional learning I have received in my 30 years of experience. Becky is a hugely inspirational leader. She directs us as a group, along new pathways of thinking and under her guidance, we co-discover new elements which will make a difference to children’s learning. She has a network of leading educationalists at her fingertips who are invited to join Q and A sessions with us, and she is constantly posing new lines of inquiry for us. Becky’s energy and passion is contagious. Learning with Becky is an exciting, energising experience."
Fiona Chapman, Head of Teaching and Learning and Leadership Mastermind member.
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for educators committed to play-driven practice.
