This article has been brought to you by Slough Borough Council's Childcare and Workforce Lead, Children and Families Clare Thompson, for the attention of Early Years staff in schools, private, voluntary and independent settings and childminder settings.
A campaign to recognise those working in the early years as educators has been launched by the Early Years Alliance today (Wednesday).
"We are educators — not babysitters"
Despite a wealth of research showing the critical importance of the first five years of a child’s life to their long-term learning and development, all too often early years provision in this country is viewed and treated simply as ‘childcare’ to support parents to work, and not as vital early education.
For far too long, hardworking, talented and knowledgeable early years professionals have been treated as ‘babysitters’ by policymakers, rather than valued as the educators that they are.
That’s why the Early Years Alliance has launched the #WeAreEducators campaign: a positive, empowering campaign that aims to help those working in the early years highlight to parents, local communities and policymakers the unique importance of the early years, and the role that our fantastic workforce plays in shaping children’s lives.
Get the #WeAreEducators toolkit
To sign up to the campaign visit: https://www.eyalliance.org.uk/we-are-educators-campaign and get access to a free #WeAreEducators toolkit which includes:
- A mini-guide on how to highlight the early education being delivered at your setting when communicating with parents and carers
- Posters for your settings highlighting the vital role of play in early learning
- Digital campaign supporter buttons for social media
- Downloadable #WeAreEducators profile picture frames for social media
- Digital recruitment banner adverts and social media graphics for your setting's website and social media pages
- Template press releases to announce your setting’s involvement in the campaign in your local press
- Template letters to send to your local MP inviting them to visit your setting to view the education delivered in action PLUS a briefing sheet with potential discussion points for the visit itself.
We at the Alliance will also be contacting MPs and peers directly to ask them to voice their support for the early years sector, and their recognition of our workforce as educators, through their own communication channels, including social media.
If you have any comments or queries about the campaign, please contact feedback@eyalliance.org.uk, and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.