A major project based in Scotland which ran from 2021 to 2024 developing Froebelian practice, theory and networks in early childhood education.
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Froebelian Futures was a three year Froebel Trust funded project based in Scotland. A team of researchers and practitioners were awarded £500k by the Froebel Trust in 2021 to foster collaboration in the early years sector and provide Froebelian training for more early years educators.
In Scotland, the Froebelian Futures team was led by Dr Lynn McNair (University of Edinburgh) and Lian Higgins (Cowgate Under 5's Centre in Edinburgh).
The team worked in collaboration with local authorities across Scotland and early years colleagues in the Czech Republic and Greece - with a particular emphasis on the development of Froebelian leadership in early childhood education.
The project offered educators, schools and early years settings:
At the end of the three year project, the team produced a short film documenting the spread of Froebelian practice and networks across Scotland in recent years – from Orkney to the Borders – celebrating its history, impact and future:
Froebelian Futures created a series of six themed films about Froebelian practice at Cowgate Under 5's Centre in Edinburgh:
Froebelian Futures also introduced play cafes - a community outreach project. These are child-led Froebelian play spaces for families with children under the age of three set up for communities in and around Edinburgh.
The team worked on a number of research papers which are due for publication; covering topics including:
- child-led research
- practitioner inquiry
- Froebelian leadership
- inclusion and decolonising play.
The impact of this project will be reported in 2025 and is currently in its final reporting and evaluation stage.
Listen
You can hear the project leaders, Dr Lynn McNair and Simon Bateson, discuss their work in the first three episodes of the Froebel Trust podcast:
