Past and present Bournemouth & Poole College students attended a seminar hosted by an industry expert within the childcare sector.
The event was attended by around 40 people, and aimed to highlight the impact that SchemaPlay has on a child’s cognitive development.
SchemaPlay is a programme which helps to identify how children and adults interact through free flow play, and was co-founded by Professor John Siraj-Blatchford, who led the seminar as a leading expert in the Early Years education field.
It is the first time that Bournemouth & Poole College has hosted the seminar on SchemaPlay due to its partnership with the University of Wolverhampton, which Professor Siraj-Blatchford works with.
Free flow play offers children greater independence, progressing their learning at their own pace and boosting their decision making skills and physical wellbeing, by allowing them to move independently between different environments.
The College offers degree-level, part-time courses for people currently working in childcare who are looking to progress within the sector up to a management level or gain a more senior role.
The FdA Early Years Services course is equivalent to the first two years of a full degree, aimed at people working in day nurseries, pre-schools and schools, as well as childminders and family outreach workers.
Through this course, students can progress to the BA (Hons) Early Childhood Studies course, a Level 6 degree provided at Bournemouth & Poole College in partnership with the University of Wolverhampton, and then from this degree they can later enrol onto a teacher training programme or a Masters qualification in a more specialised field.
“Great potential”
Helen Kettley, programme leader and lecturer for FdA Early Years Services and Early Childhood Studies, said: “Professor Siraj-Blatchford’s talk was truly fascinating and captivated the whole audience. It really highlighted the great potential of SchemaPlay for our Early Years Services students, and the impact it can make.
“We aim to provide our students and other local Early Years practitioners with more opportunities to talk and engage with researchers and outside professionals to provide the most up-to-date approaches and information to support children’s learning and development.”
Helen went on to say that all students put their advanced learning into practice within the working environment and continue to work ‘tirelessly’ to improve the lives and outcomes of the children and families who they support.
For more information on courses available at the College, visit their website here. Or call 01202 205205.