The ToWe Project

Summary of the Progress Report

Transnational meeting 1:
Kick-off of the ToWe project started with the first transnational meeting in Barcelona. All partners participated and engaged in the planning and their respective roles in the project. The communication and dissemination strategies were agreed with partners sharing practice and agreeing on the importance of the project in supporting early years practitioners continuing professional development.

Preparation and Implementation of the Contextualisation of Wellbeing Training Event:
The training event went as planned with the intellectual output materials translated into Norwegian and Catalan. The Higher Educational Institute (HEI) partners presented the materials for discussion and implementation by the setting partners.

Website:
The website was setup and launched at the Contextualisation of Wellbeing Training Event. This is up dated regularly.  All partners are logged in to the private access web site.

Intellectual Output 7 – Focus Group 1 meeting:
The HEI partners carried out focus group interviews with the setting partners early years practitioners (EYPs). These have been transcribed and data analysis summarised.

Transnational meeting 2:
This second transnational meeting was held in London, where Setting Partners shared their experience and realities of the three countries using the Contextualisation of Wellbeing Training materials.

External Evaluation Liaison (EEL) group:
This group has been set up in each country to evaluate the ToWe project. To date they have evaluated the Contextualisation of Wellbeing Training materials providing constructive feedback. One member of the English EEL group was able to attend some of the training event.

Summary of the Interim Report

Achievements to date are:

• Kick-off Transnational Meeting –M1
  The impact of this meeting meant that that the partners developed a very good team approach which is evident in the mutual respect and commitment being demonstrated and how the project has met the targets and aims of the project defined at the outset.

• Contextualisation of Toddler Wellbeing training Event C1 on:
  • IO1: Translation and update of TODDLER Project Materials
  • IO2: Website
  • IO3: Toddlers’ Wellbeing
  • IO4: Toddlers’ Voices and Expressions
  • IO5: Toddlers’ Meal Times
  • IO6: Toddlers’ Early Languages
  • IO7: Case Study Impact Report
    The impact on setting partners is that they have really taken ‘on board’ the materials developed and implemented them within their settings.  They have really gone above and beyond the initial parameters set out for them engaging in videoing, reflecting and challenging their provision and practices. The materials have clearly supported the practitioners in their reflections and deeper level of thinking and this is evident in their feedback and changes to their provision.

• Focus Group 1 – IO7
  • England – through the FG1 the practitioners have identified that the project has enabled them to re-evaluate and reflect upon their practice, sharing what they have done with one another.  This has enabled them to support and upskills parents, in particularly, those families in need of support building relationships with hard to reach families.  Another impact has been the development and sharing of resources (making new resources) to support toddlers’ languages.  Practitioners have identified how the adaptation of the environment has positively impacted in supporting toddlers’ independence.  Even small changes have had a big impact upon the provision promoting toddlers’ independence with improvements in toddlers’ development.    Information and learning is starting to cascade within practice.
  • Norway – working with I05 the practitioners have identified the impact this project have on their own practice. Combining practical changes in different aspects of everyday-practice with reading manuals has supported their own reflections and acquirement of new knowledge on toddlers. The practitioners emphasize the impact on the understanding of toddlers’ independency, competence, the adult-role, and reflecting and sharing experiences with other practitioners in the setting.
  • Spain – in FG1, the practitioners discussed in detail the following ideas: the relevance and usefulness of the intellectual outputs chosen and the materials shared; the understanding of intellectual outputs as a framework which allows them to observe closely what goes on in their settings and then make situated decisions; how motivating it is to be members of this project (both for themselves and their teams); the possibility the project brings them to become reflexive practitioners (constantly observing, documenting and reflecting on practice). They also explained how they have organised themselves at the settings: in both cases, they have created groups of work to deal with the different IOs, as well as group meetings where they share and discuss it all. A further interesting point is related to the fact that, once the process has begun, they find it inevitable to make changes and improvements. The project and the training received in the training week and through the materials are the driving force for improving educational quality at the settings. To sum up their reflections, the practitioners chose the following words to define the ToWe project: self-assessment, reflection, eagerness, reflection, opportunity, work.

• Transnational Meeting 2 – M2
  Setting Partners reported effectively on how they had implemented the intellectual outputs written by the HEI partners. The positive energy and working together has motivated the partnership in implementing the intellectual outputs and sharing of expertise and experiences.  The collaborative approach has enabled all partners to work together in meeting the aims of the project.

• Website set-up and running in collaboration with all partners

• External Evaluation Liaison group (EEL) set up with first QA questionnaire completed

Setting Partners early years practitioners:

The impact so far on the practitioners has been that it has enabled them to up-date their knowledge and reflect on their provision for toddlers’ implementing changes to practice.  This has become part of their Continuous Professional Development as they have more frequent meetings to ‘enumerate, evaluate and adjust’ their practice.  Due to the good experience that practitioners have had in implementing the materials SK is rolling this out in all its 14 units.  Through the work that practitioners they are considering and discussing their daily practices to ‘rethink our own interventions’. Video recording are being made to observe and challenge practitioners attitudes and evaluate current practice.  This has also created an interest with families as practitioners discuss what they are changing and implementing within the settings, such as ‘changing and adapting the environment according to their group’.  Through discussions and meeting with staff and parents the practitioners have created visual representations and presentation on the ToWe project to support knowledge and understanding of wellbeing.  Practitioners have noticed that the changes implemented by the setting have been well accepted by the toddlers’.  An example of this is that there is an improvement in toddlers’ autonomy.  This has reinforced what practitioners were already doing well while supporting change both in the short and medium term.

Project Management

The project partners have demonstrated an outstanding commitment to the project, all being fully engaged and contributing in all aspects of the project.  They demonstrate a great enthusiasm, effort, motivation and engagement with all aspects of the project staying in communication with the PI and other partners.  They have contributed above and beyond the expectations of the project and this can particularly been seen from the setting partners feedback below in the Intellectual Outputs.

Quality Assurance

Quality Assurance (QA) questionnaires have been used at the following events to evaluate and gather feedback. A ranking scale was used to rank the quantitate feedback with a scale of 1 to 4, with 4= excellent, 3 = good, 2 = satisfactory and 1 = poor.  The majority of the results of the questionnaires have been ranked at 3 or above none at 1.

Quality Assurance questionnaires have been used for:

• M1: Transnational Kick off Meeting
• C1: Contextualisation of Toddler Wellbeing training Event
• M2: Transnational Meeting 2
• External Evaluation Liaison Group (EEL)

Dissemination

The dissemination planner has been used by all partners to record the dissemination of the ToWe Project.  They have disseminated within their own settings, to other settings and stakeholders.

The project results are still in production by the project partners therefore at the moment dissemination is regarding the project rather than any results.
The marketing leaflet has been produced and each partner is distributing these electronically or in print to relevant early year’s stakeholders and is being distributed by all partners to stakeholders and interested parties.  Each partner has disseminated information about the ToWe project in a variety of different ways:

• Information sessions were provided for staff and parents by the setting partners
• Information about the Project was published by partners accessing a variety of mediums such as newsletters, articles, Facebook, intranets, internet websites and the ToWe website
• Designed and managed ToWe website and domain www.toddlerswellbeing.co.uk
• Presentation at the Comenius Association International meeting

The HEI partners have been awarded a publishing deal by a UK publisher to produce a book with the working title ‘Supporting Toddlers’ Wellbeing in Early Years Settings: Strategies and Tools for Practitioners and Teacher’.

HEI partners to be authors of the book with setting partners providing supporting contributions. This is intended to be launched at the International Workshop in March 2018.

TBC