Learning together: How student teachers enrich early years practice

A graduate of the Early Childhood Education MA, Georgina Trevor is now Director of Little Angels Day Nursery in London. The nursery is a placement setting for the Early Years Initial Teacher Training PGCE. Here, Georgina shares her views on how the partnership works in practice in the nursery setting.

Enriching early years practice

Georgina’s story

The UCL Institute of Education seems to really value and prioritise partnerships with educational settings.

As a placement setting for IOE student teachers since 2020, we have hosted several student teachers (through both GEB - Graduate Employment Based and GEM - Graduate Entry Mainstream routes). Our own staff have also benefited from undertaking the EYITT as GEB students. Having student teachers join our team gave rise to the opportunity to be their mentor, and it has been one of the most rewarding professional experiences I’ve been fortunate enough to have had during my career.

As educators, we try to evaluate our approach from different perspectives, but day-to-day trials and tribulations (of which there are many!) often hinder our ability to step back and gain perspective. Having students who are reflective, curious and genuinely engaged forces us to evaluate every pedagogical approach, every daily routine and every child’s experience.

So often, we fall into safe approaches and repetitive routines, and sometimes it takes a fresh perspective and new ways of thinking to refocus our attention to what really matters: the experience of the child.

Students observe and question, seeking to understand what we do, why we do it, how theoretical underpinnings translate into everyday practice and how we navigate the tensions that arise from the many influences and outside factors that affect the sector. It’s not a one-off inspection, or a snapshot - they join us in those “swampy lowlands” Schön speaks of. The programme leaders, lecturers and tutors skilfully guide them to observe, question, evaluate and respond to everything they encounter, and each student we have mentored has earnestly immersed themselves in their placement.

The students model new ideas and approaches, and there is a perceived permission to make mistakes, to fail and try again, much in the same way we encourage our children at nursery to learn. It creates a more playful and inquisitive atmosphere; other professionals in the setting take note and try new things themselves.

We are very fortunate to play a small part in supporting the next generation of early years teachers, and they, in turn, teach us a great deal before they have even graduated. This is the magic of transformational partnerships. They hold space for students and educators to co-create practice through a reciprocity of ideas and learning, and no one fosters these partnerships in quite the same way as the IOE and their brilliant, dedicated team of educators, academics and professionals.