Babies have been described as 'the most powerful learning machine in the universe', yet in many nurseries their emotional and learning needs can be overlooked. In a drive to focus more on babies' individual care and development needs, Westwood Nursery, at the University of Bath, has embraced reflective practice and put self-evaluation at the heart of its practice.
The nursery first embarked on achieving the Bristol Standard (see box) and one year into the process was invited by its local authority - Bath and North East Somerset (BANES) - to embark on its newly launched Baby Quality Scheme.
Like similar evaluation tools, the Baby Quality Scheme requires a nursery team to reflect on current practice, identify areas to be developed and agree a series of targets over a manageable timescale. To help with the process, the BANES scheme provides a self-evaluation grid linked to the EYFS and requires nursery teams to keep a reflective journal.
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