A team of highly skilled educators working to bring research and Froebelian practice closer together.
Sally Cave is the headteacher at Guildford Nursery School and Family Centre, a maintained nursery school in Surrey, where she leads a team of educators who are committed to working collaboratively; building positive relationships between children, their families and their educators.
Around 140 local children (aged between 2 and 5) attend this inclusive nursery school; nearly half of the children speak English as an additional language.
Sally has led on the development of Froebelian pedagogy at Guildford Nursery School since 2017 and has placed Froebel's Occupations at the heart of the school's curriculum; documenting and observing the difference this has made to all children's learning.
"We share Froebel’s view that children learn best through play, self-activity and talk – and that every child should be able to develop at their own pace."
Sally Cave, Headteacher, Guildford Nursery School
The team at Guildford Nursery School and Family Centre has shared their Froebelian knowledge and experience in a collection of recorded training workshops. These are free to watch and share. Each workshop introduces one of Froebel's Occupations and is packed with practical advice for educators working in all kinds of early years settings.
Froebel valued skilled observation by knowledgeable, nurturing adults. Adults need to observe, support and know when and how to extend.
Nursery World featured Guildford Nursery School in a special feature looking at Froebelian practice and reported on how children at the nursery are offered "...authentic, real-life experiences nurtured by knowledgeable and supportive adults..." (July 2024)
The Froebel Partnership
In 2021 Guildford Nursery School and Family Centre worked together with the Centre for Research in Early Childhood (CREC) in Birmingham and Seven Stars Kindergarten in New Zealand to create The Froebel Partnership. The partnership received a major grant of £500k from the Froebel Trust for a three year project to research and document the impact and benefits of a Froebelian approach on children, families and educators.
"As Froebel said, 'I wanted to educate people to be free, to think, to take action for themselves.' Has there ever been a time when Froebel’s principles have mattered more? His principles and pedagogy can guide us all as we build together a more equitable early childhood education for our young children, their families and ECE staff."
Sally Cave, Headteacher, Guildford Nursery School
The project team worked together:
- to develop and share original research that illustrates the characteristics of Froebelian education and demonstrates its benefits
- to offer Froebelian training to more educators.
The impact of this project will be reported in 2025 and is currently in its final reporting and evaluation stage.
In 2024, the team is launching Reflection with Guidance - a professional development package.
"A new professional development programme designed to support practitioners to reflect more deeply on their practice... (to) inspire people who are looking for something positive and optimistic in today's climate. It's decent, ethical professional development that gives educators dignity, hope and a sense of their ability to shape the future."
Prof. Chris Pascal, CREC
The programme was announced in Nursery World in March 2024. More details to come soon.
An academic paper based on the original research produced by the Froebel Partnership is being published in the next 2024 Special Issue of European Early Childhood Education Research Journal (EECERJ). More details to come soon.
Listen
You can listen to Sally Cave and Professor Chris Pascal, share their experiences in the first three episode of the Froebel Trust podcast - first broadcast in 2023:
If you would like to visit Guildford Nursery School, please do get in touch with Sally Cave and her team.
