Educators make a difference
Skilled early years educators can have a powerful impact on young children's cognitive skills, social development, behaviour and wellbeing. This impact is seen not just during their time in the Early Years, but right through their education and adult life. Children who experience great early education and care:
- Have better early reading and number skills when they start school.
- Are better at understanding and controlling their emotions and behaviour when they start school.
- Are less likely to have low wellbeing in childhood.
- Are more likely to achieve well at GCSE.
- Are more likely to take academic qualifications after their GCSEs.
Because early-years educators are so important, we make it a priority to make sure we have great ones at tiney.
No two the same
Great early years educators aren’t uniform. No two children are the same and no two tiney home leaders are either. Even Ofsted recognises that there can’t (and shouldn’t) be a single approach to leading early learning.
Every child is unique and the people best-placed to make decisions about how to support them are those who work with them every day. We embrace this personalised approach because it places the unique needs of each child at the heart of everything an educator does.
The three tiney characteristics
Nevertheless, all tiney home leaders have certain things in common. When we recruit home leaders, we look for:
the Right Attitude the Right Approach the Right Skills
If a leader has these things, they’ll have the strong foundations to become fantastic tiney home leaders.
The Right Attitude
An educator’s attitude underpins everything they do.
First of all, we look for people who genuinely love being with children and love helping them to learn and develop. We look for a commitment to developing young minds that shines through in everything a tiney leader does, from setting up a nurturing environment to singing along with a child or cooking delicious meals.
We look for a proactive, imaginative outlook. With the right attitude, everything is an exciting learning experience - a rainy day becomes a science experiment or a box of recycling transforms into a castle.
We look for positive individuals who see every challenge as an opportunity to develop. All tiney home leaders see themselves as lifelong learners and are committed to offering the very best education to every child in their care.
The Right Approach
A tiney home leader needs to wear lots of hats. Not only are they an educator, they are a carer, a business owner and a partner with families. An enthusiastic and professional approach is vital for success in each of these roles.
As an educator and carer, a leader creates a unique space within their home that offers a safe, nurturing space for children to create, explore and grow.
As a business owner, they deal with their customers in a fair, transparent way to build trust and respect.
As a partner to families, a tiney leader builds strong relationships with parents and works in collaboration with them to ensure that children’s learning is reinforced at home and that their routines and boundaries are consistent.
The Right Skills
Expert training supports every tiney leader to develop their skills over time. But there are certain skills that a home leader must possess to join us in the first place.
Great communication, planning and organising are essential, as well as being able to think creatively and solve problems - along with the ability to remain calm and patient while doing it all!
A one-size-fits-all model doesn’t work for most children. Because tiney home leaders have the right attitude, approach and skills, they have the flexibility to use their judgement to adjust what they do to each child’s needs. That means each child gets the best, most personalised attention they need to unlock their potential.