Sightlines' people

In 1995 I took a research year off from my job as a nursery teacher in a Newcastle nursery school, in order to make a proposal for a new early childhood centre. The values of this proposal were researchfulness, enquiry, co-construction of knowledge, creativity – of all participants – children, educators, community. During this 'sabbatical year' I read and heard more about Reggio's preschools. "Robin", said one of our steering group wistfully, "you can't talk like this about exploration, listening and imagination as a value, you have to talk about targets".

However, excitingly, we found this was not the case. Instead, we hosted the first English showing of the Hundred Languages of Children exhibit, and Sightlines was formed. With many others, we are still researching, learning and making. I continue to be inspired to meet and work with others in the work of forming listening pedagogies in UK educational settings.

After training as an early years educator I taught in both nursery and infant schools in the state sector. I then had an opportunity to run my own private nursery for 20 years, which gave me more freedom to explore what my educational values were and to work with people who shared those values and wanted to find a way to put them into practice. The nursery became part of the 5x5x5=creativity project action research project and it was through this that I was introduced to Sightlines Initiative and came to encounter Reggio Emilia.

Since 2006 I have worked with local nurseries, schools, and education authorities as a project mentor and in professional development as part of the 5x5x5=creativity team in the South West.

My involvement with Sightlines Initiative has continued over the last 10+ years through seminars, conferences, workshops, the advisory group and supporting development projects with schools and nurseries. I have been involved in the Environments of Enquiry courses since their conception and am interested in how we progress together through professional learning groups and action research. How we embody our values and undergo transformational change remains a fundamental question for me.

I have worked in Early Years education for over forty years, from playgroup supervisor to primary headteacher. During that time I worked as Assistant Principal of Zurich International School with responsibility for Early Childhood which introduced me to a whole new world of international education and inquiry based practice. I chaired the European Council of International Schools Early Childhood committee helping to organize, and running workshops at their Early Childhood conferences. Since returning to the UK I have been lucky enough to continue to work with International Schools around the world. I have also worked in UK local authority Advisory & Inspection Services as an early years specialist and as an additional Inspector leading OFSTED inspections with SERCO as well as doing freelance consultancy and training in the UK and abroad.

I have been associated with Sightlines Initiative for many years and have enjoyed numerous study weeks in Reggio Emilia including ones focusing on environments with the Domus Academy in Milan and celebrations of the work of Remida. These visits sustain my enthusiasm and feed my belief in the capabilities of young children. Alongside colleagues I have delivered 'Introduction to Reggio Emilia' sessions  and worked as part of the Developing Environments of Inquiry programme. In my free time I am the Chair of Governors of a nursery school and work with school governors on a range of issues. 

In addition to working as an early childhood educator with children and parents for several years, I was a faculty member in the ECE program at Mohawk College and in the Bachelor of Early Childhood Studies program at Charles Sturt University for a total of 30 years.

Since 1997, I have been exploring the philosophy that has guided the early education programs in Reggio Emilia, Italy. I co-founded and coordinated the Reggio-inspired Artists at the Centre – Making Thinking Visible project throughout its 15 year history. I consulted with Totonto's Ministry of Education as they developed the “Think, Feel, Act” and “How Does Learning Happen?” education vision documents.  I am president of the Ontario Reggio Association, a board member of the North American Reggio Emilia Alliance, and represent Canada on the Reggio Children International Network. 

Wendy Scott is an early years teacher with extensive experience in the PVI sector as well as schools. Headship of a demonstration nursery school was followed by a senior lectureship at Roehampton University, where she co-ordinated the original advanced diploma in multi-professional studies.

Wendy has been an early years and primary inspector in London, and has worked across England as an OFSTED Registered Inspector and trainer. She led The British Association for Early Childhood Education and chaired the national Early Childhood Forum before becoming a specialist adviser to the DfES, and working abroad with the British Council and UNICEF. She is has been President of TACTYC, the Association for Professional Development in Early Years, and has judged the Nursery World Nursery of the Year competition since 2008. She was awarded an OBE for services to education in 2015.

I am a writer, a hiker, a lover of Earth's nature. All this brought me travelling in Europe. I encountered the Reggio view by chance, through an Emmi Pikler’s group for children and parents in Germany. That was the beginning of a long journey of readings, discovers and learning.

I am fascinated by the endless diversity of life on Earth. This interest, together with the evolution of my personal life, has brought me to re-think in a wider perspective the responsibility of each individual in its daily life and thus the importance of education in our society. Coming to UK, I felt the necessity to be in connection with other people with similar values, with the common effort of realising something valuable for us as a society and thus for the planet Earth.

This is why a constant question goes along with me in my daily life: what could education be if we encouraged the innate human desire of inquiry, expression, creation of new knowledge? All this brought me to meet Sightlines Initiative and be involved with it.

I have been a core member of Sightlines Initiative for many years.

I have been a qualified nursery-infant teacher for forty-seven years and have had may roles in nursery classes and schools, including managerial and governance.

I had rather hoped that on retirement I would be leaving the profession in a better place, buoyant and looking positively to the future; sadly that does not appear to be the case and it was this that encouraged me to complete a Masters in Early Childhood to understand what has gone so dreadfully wrong and how can it be corrected.

I am so dismayed by the loss of autonomy and professional status I once had as a young teacher. It seemed to disappear with the implementation of a National Curriculum, EYFS and Ofsted.

The study visits to Reggio Emilia have brought a breath of fresh air over the years; in our setting we could see a slight glimmer of hope that even within the restrictive demands of our national policies, we still could choose to implement a relational pedagogy that created environments of inquiry supporting autonomy and collaboration at the children’s own pace. Pedagogical documentation and reciprocity amongst staff and parents provided the opportunity to analyse rather that narrate children’s learning, and it was transformative. Having had this experience first hand, I am eager to encourage other settings to begin/continue a journey with this relational pedagogy. Sightlines Initiative offers focused guidance for settings in Focus groups as they work with the values of this pedagogy to inform their principles of practice; my role is to offer analysis of the evolving practice of each setting  within Focus groups.

If you want to have a voice in the future of Early Childhood Education and Care, then please join many others and complete our ‘Be a Champion!’ form.

Thank you, Gillian