There is a power in new beginnings. As we head into spring, it feels like the perfect time for a clean. Before you stop reading, let me reassure you. The spring clean I’m thinking about is more fundamental.
The past two years have been a whirlwind, professionally and personally; everyone in our lives experienced something out of the ordinary. The ripple effects are still being felt across our sector, and having slid straight from restrictions into ‘the great resignation’, the pressures are still real.
In the whirlwind’s aftermath, can we create the same power that we experience in new beginnings through a spring clean of our own? Reflective practice has been at the heart of great provision for years. Reflecting on what our children, families and teams need next drives us forward and builds responsive quality provision. There is a downside, though. We are always adding to our offer, layering on top; spreading our limited resources over more ground.
Maybe we can’t keep adding. Maybe we have to strip back. There is a lot to be said for narrowing focus, doing one or two things exceptionally well rather than lots of average things. What could you stop? I was chatting to a nursery owner recently about tours. They stopped face-to-face tours during the pandemic and have no plans to restart. They found another way that works, and they are sticking to it.
I spoke to a nursery group the other day planning to stick with virtual training. I wonder whether some who have had to offer less flexibility on children’s attendance due to staffing might carry that on even when staffing improves.
In a world that always wants us to do, be and offer more, it takes bravery to offer less – but what if the quality were higher? I remember a debate with some managers last year about removing written observations from an internal process. The debate settled in the end on removing them. It was a success and left me wondering, what else can we clear away? What isn’t serving us any more?
Maybe there is something that you do out of habit. Take a day to actively observe everything you do; notice, rather than go through the motions. Question why you are doing it.
The power of new beginnings is real, but it is also a perceived power that we create. Why not create our own new beginning not by starting something new but simply by stopping something old?