TRAINING

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How can we support you?

Richard Knight, early years development manager at the Alliance, explains how the Alliances bespoke training offer could help you

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Richard is an early years development manager at the Alliance. He is responsible for writing workshops and developing bespoke training packages for providers.

Working in the early years is joyful and a privilege. But it is also very busy and can be challenging. As educators, we are devoted to working in partnership with families and other professionals and are passionate about giving children the best possible start in life.

The every changing landscape and new challenges we face has made it more important than ever that we keep our knowledge and skills up-to-date so we are able to respond to the needs to our service users and join the fight to be seen as the professionals we are.

Continuous Professional Development (CPD) plays a vital role in motivating and inspiring reflective early years practice.

The Alliance has been a trusted provider of high-quality training for more than 30 years. We offer everything from workshops, webinars and networking events through to full and relevant Level 3 qualifications and Apprenticeships.

If you can’t find what you need amongst our offer, talk to us and let us work with you to develop a session tailored to you and your provision. Designing and delivering bespoke in-house training for individual teams and partners is a huge part of the Alliance’s work.

We have been working with Kirkless Virtual School since 2021, to help them prepare for the new Early Years Foundation Stage 2021. The school needed detailed knowledge about the children on its roll and early learning they were accessing. The then use this information to support children and raise outcomes for looked after children. We created a bespoke package for these needs.

Through regular meetings, we worked closely with the team to crated new materials for the virtual school. We learned that some aspects of the EYFS can be a potential trigger for some looked after children, such as work around occupations including emergency services which is upsetting for some families. This insight reminded us how flexibility should always be considered when working to meet children’s needs.

Soon after we delivered a bespoke EYFS training offer for Kirklees Virtual School, the same team requested training to help them support the learning and development of two-year-old children. Again, we worked with them to create a unique package for the Virtual School.

“The Alliance training team devised and facilitated bespoke packages around ‘the EYFS reforms’ and ‘Understanding the needs of 2-year olds’ that took account of our specific needs and supported us to reflect together on our practice.

The early years team at Kirklees Virtual School said: “As a Virtual School we have a statutory duty to improve the educational outcomes of our children in care. As a team, we do not undertake direct work with our cohort but work closely with educational providers and other professionals to ensure these children have the maximum opportunity to reach their full educational potential.

“In terms of training needs, the challenge for the Virtual School team has often been finding training that equips us with the knowledge and skills to provide effective support and challenge.

“The Alliance training team devised and facilitated bespoke packages around ‘the EYFS reforms’ and ‘Understanding the needs of 2-year olds’ that took account of our specific needs and supported us to reflect together on our practice.

“As a result, we feel that we are better equipped to understand the needs of the youngest children in our cohort and to work effectively with our Early Years Settings, parents/carers and other professionals to improve outcomes.”

We are all here to make a difference to children’s lives and give them the best start in life. The Alliance is passionate about collaborating with providers, organisations and local authorities in creating resources that help make that difference. We aim to create quality training and networking opportunities that are affordable, flexible and fun. So how can we help you?

Find out more
To find out more about our bespoke training offer, and get in touch with our team, visit eyalliance.org.uk/bespoke-training-your-team