Pete is an early years creative consultant, researcher, author, and artist educator based in the UK. He delivers training nationally and overseas and is also an endorsed Froebel Tutor. His work in school is centred around nurturing children's creativity and his practice is inspired by Froebelian principles and practice in Reggio Emilia. Pete is the UK’s leading authority on woodwork in early years education and has written several books and journal articles, including ‘Learning Through Woodwork’ (Routledge) and also books on outdoor learning. He is currently working his latest book – ‘Creativity in Practice: Nurturing creative and critical thinking in early childhood education’. He was awarded an honorary research fellowship from the University of Bristol and is currently researching the value of woodwork in early education and also 'Observing progression in children's creative development'. Pete was also awarded a Churchill Fellowship to undertake international research into best woodworking practices in education. Pete won the national award from the Creative Learning Guild for his work promoting creativity in education and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.
There is something really special about woodwork. The smell and feel of wood, using real tools, working with a natural material, the sounds of hammering and sawing, hands and minds working together to express imagination and solve problems, the use of strength and coordination: all go to combine captivating young children’s interest. It provides a truly unique experience. Woodwork is hugely popular with children, providing a rich source of enjoyment as well as learning. It is truly cross-curricular, embracing so many areas of learning as well as building children’s dispositions for learning. The impact is profound and long term.
This practical workshop will look at ways in which woodworking can be safely introduced in your early years setting. We will look at the theory and the associated learning and development relating to curriculum. We will examine the historical context and look at examples from other countries that have been working successfully with wood for many years. There will be explanations of the most suitable tools for children and instruction on how best to use them. We will look at the most suitable woods. The training focuses on the health and safety measures we need to put in place and provides an example risk assessment. There will be suggestions for activities, open-ended explorations, and longer-term projects, as well as explanations on how to set up a woodworking area. There will be practical sessions for delegates to explore the tools, gain confidence, and share the experience of making creations in wood.
A comprehensive set of handouts are provided with additional resources available online, and information on potential suppliers of wood/tools will be provided.
Aims and objectives
From this course you will:
This session looks in depth at the importance and value of play in young children’s development. Play is an integral part of being human – it is how we are programmed to learn and develop in a holistic and healthy way. Play helps children relate to their inner world of feelings, ideas and lived experiences, taking them to new levels of thinking as children make sense of the world around them, building skills that will empower them as life-long learners. Through play children relate to others, collaborating, negotiating, and constructing narratives. By referring to ‘the pedagogy of play’, Pete highlights how our approach as teachers is crucial in providing the optimal conditions to allow children’s play to flourish.
We will examine the theory and practice of their learning and explore the role of the adult. The training will delve into the theory, looking at pioneering theorists such as Froebel, Vygotsky, and Dewey and more recently the work of Tina Bruce, looking at the core elements of play. We will examine the many different modes of play we can see young children engage in, such as role play, physical play, and exploratory play. We will see how children apply and develop their creative and critical thinking skills as they express themselves and problem-solve. We will also get active and engage practically in play such as exploring socio-dramatic play, and play and exploration with open-ended materials. The session will also highlight the importance of the outdoor environment to support play and children’s healthy development.
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Photography is a powerful tool for communication and creative expression. It is open-ended and an extremely versatile medium. It is visual but it often becomes more about language – as it has so much capacity to stimulate and open up dialogue by allowing children to express their thoughts and their way of seeing the world, and then to talk about their images – all encouraging children’s voice.
We will look at the use of photography as a way of consulting with children and understand how photography can be used as a tool for self-evaluation. Photography is a holistic medium in that it can be seen to embrace all areas of learning and characteristics of effective learning. Cameras are a powerful addition to any classroom. In the training there will be information about the practicalities, looking at the best cameras for children, reviewing images, storage, software and how to successfully introduce photography to young children. There will also be practical activities so do bring a camera or smart phone!
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This session looks at the value of using intelligent materials. These are materials and objects through which children can explore a plethora of possibilities to express their imagination. The CPD will focus on materials that are open-ended and often lead to high levels of sustained engagement, thinking, and curiosity, and that have significant opportunities for technique progression and ideas development. Examples will include clay, woodwork, paper and fabric. We will examine ‘intra-action’, how materials have ‘agency’, also having an impact on us.
We will explore the rich potential of loose parts, embracing natural, found, or recycled materials. Loose parts position the child at the centre of their learning as they use their imagination to create various arrangements/constructions/narratives as they combine the objects. We will look at examples from Reggio Emilia which has had a long tradition of working with natural and recycled materials and gain insights from Froebel (gifts), Nicholson (loose parts), and Goldschmied (Heuristic play). We will look at how placing and arranging meets many learning and development aspects within curriculum. The CPD will look at ways in which intelligent materials can be incorporated and developed within early years settings, in both the indoor and outdoor environment, and the role of the adult to support and extend thinking and learning.
Aims and objectives
From this course you will:
Outdoor environments provide children with some of the finest learning opportunities as they learn through play and their natural curiosity is stimulated by unparalleled experiences. Nature encourages them to explore and discover, to take on new challenges, and to learn new skills. Children have a wealth of opportunities to express their imagination, develop their creative and critical thinking skills, and to learn across all areas of the curriculum.
Children have the right to learn and play outdoors, to be active with their bodies and minds and to experience nature in all its wondrous forms. Research concludes that children can learn more effectively outdoors than indoors, and that they need to be active in order to learn best. When children are given unhurried time in an outdoor environment, their learning can have deeper meaning and create long-lasting memories. The importance of learning in nature has been embraced by many settings in recent years, with some settings successfully spending the majority (if not all) of their day outdoors.
In the training we will examine the value of learning outdoors, we will look at how we can create and make the most of outdoors environments, looking at the range of opportunities we can offer children. We will examine leading educational pioneers thinking in promoting outdoor learning and reflect on our own pedagogical approach. We will also look the value of embracing risk and challenge in a positive sense. Pete will provide many examples of outstanding outdoor environments from many countries that will offer ideas and inspiration.
Aims and objectives
From this course you will:
This CPD is designed to develop understanding of what creativity means and explore ways in which we can best encourage creativity. We will start by defining creativity and critical thinking and then look at the different aspects of children’s thinking that contribute to the process of developing ideas, including through the ‘Holistic Creativity Framework’. The training emphasises the importance of creativity as a fundamental skill that not only impacts on all areas of learning but also impacts on young children’s long-term outcomes to become resourceful and resilient adults. We will look at curriculum and see how creativity fits within the characteristics of effective learning and how it embraces all areas of learning.
The training will explore the many factors that facilitate children’s creative and critical thinking and role we can play, from creating a conducive environment to working together with parents. In particular, we will look at the role of the teacher in extending their thinking by looking at sustained shared thinking practice and how we can sensitively interact with children during the creative process. We will also consider ways in which we can observe children’s creative progression especially in relation to their developing thinking skills. The training highlights the importance of high quality documentation and reflective learning practice. It offers the opportunity to get hands-on with some inspiring materials to get creative ourselves and get a sense of the possibilities they afford.
Aims and objectives
From this course you will:
The impact that the environment can have on learning, development, well-being and creativity is profound. We will look at the aspects of the environment that enhance continuous provision supporting play and self-initiated enquiry. We will look at the influence of leading approaches and pedagogies which have influenced current practice focusing on the Reggio Emilia approach. In the Reggio Emilia they refer to the environment as the ‘Third Teacher’ – highlighting the importance placed on creating the right environment for learning and growth and for children to construct their own learning.
We will look at an in-depth environment audit – a resource that can be used to evaluate and reflect on your current learning environment and plan for possible improvements. We will consider the many elements that contribute to creating an outstanding environment from aesthetics, access to intelligent materials and open-ended resources, opportunities for enquiry-based learning to environmental factors and sustainability. We will discover how the environment impacts on wellbeing, health, and children’s learning dispositions. The training will also emphasise the value and importance of learning outdoors and how we can really enrich our outdoors space working within realistic budgets.
 Aims and objectives
From this course you will:
The Reggio Emilia approach is a world-renowned educational philosophy originating from the preschools of Reggio Emilia in Northern Italy and was inspired by Loris Malaguzzi following the Second World War. Central to the philosophy is the importance of creativity and developing the child as a confident independent thinker. The Reggio approach is a body of pedagogical thought and practice – the result of many years of commitment to young children and their families and pedagogy builds on many previous educators such as Froebel, Dewey, and Vygotsky. There are several aspects of the Reggio early years school system that stand out. Central is a powerful image of the child – strong, competent, and naturally curious about the world and capable of constructing their own learning. Relationships are valued with children, teachers, and parents seen as being equally important – and development and understanding is viewed to be socially constructed. Teachers are viewed a co-constructors of knowledge whereby they research and explore the world alongside children.
Much emphasis is placed on developing children’s creativity and the importance of the environment to facilitate this. Over the decades, practice has developed with many innovative ways of working, particularly with their rich explorations of materials and phenomena with insightful reflection and documentation. During the session, Pete will share many examples from Reggio Emilia and we’ll also have opportunity to experience some of the media and investigations hands-on that they have found to be particularly engaging. A comprehensive handout and additional links to resources are included.
 Aims and objectives
From this course you will develop an understanding of:
This CPD looks at ways in which we can embed STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) subjects within early years practice. During the session, Pete will provide many examples of different media and provocations that can provide rich experiences of a STEM curriculum, in imaginative and creative ways. Â It includes reference to the arts that can be an integrating link between the separate disciplines that are often seen as being isolated and unconnected to the other areas (and is often referred to as STEAM). We will see how we can weave together the different disciplines within practice.
At the heart of STEM is children’s enquiry: building upon in their curiosity and posing new questions about the world around them as they begin to construct meaning. Play is central; playing with ideas and possibilities. In this sense Pete advocates a holistic transdisciplinary approach whereby children are enabled to express their ideas, develop working theories, hypothesise and problem solve. Children’s creative and critical thinking skills are central. It’s all about children developing their understandings, for example with using their emergent mathematical thinking to problem solve. We will look at how both indoor and outdoor environments can be utilised to support emerging thinking around STEM areas of learning.
The session will look at the theory that underpins practice and well as looking a wide selection of examples in practice such as looking at various types of construction such as blocks/woodwork/stick and pea, to the use of basic coding to program a robot, exploring pulleys and scales, embracing digital media – such as photography and webcams and much more. The day will also include practical sessions offering hands-on exploration of the various examples.
Aims and objectives
From this course you will:
Early childhood is the ideal time to establish a foundation of understanding around the environment. Sustainability education is often referred to as Education for Sustainable Development. UNESCO describes this as: ‘Education for Sustainable Development allows every human being to acquire the knowledge, skills, attitudes and values necessary to shape a sustainable future.’ This means weaving key sustainable development issues into practice such as climate change, biodiversity, and sustainable consumption of resources. ESD is all about improving our quality of life now and for the generations to come.
This session will explore what this looks like in early years. We will explore how we can help children form deep and meaningful connections with nature, from embracing all the elements nature affords us such as the wind and rain, observing the incredible beauty, the awe and wonder of nature, learning to care for our natural environment through planting, encouraging biodiversity such as with bug-hotels and ponds, or care for animals such as hens or a rabbit. We will look at developing an understanding of growth and life-cycles, as children begin to make sense of their world.
We will explore resources and materials that are themselves more sustainable and have a low or zero carbon footprint. Pete will give examples and hands on experience with natural materials that are more sustainable such as clay, charcoal, and wood. We will think about ways in which we can embed recycling culture and zero waste into the setting’s culture, as well as looking at ways in which settings can make larger commitment to the environment thought energy source choice, insulation, and furniture and resource selection.
Aims and objectives
This course is designed to deepen practitioner knowledge of the Characteristics of Effective Learning, focusing on the process of how young children learn. The Characteristics of Effective learning are fundamental to every child in becoming a lifelong learner. This session aims to raise their profile, to gain insights in current thinking, and to propose new ways in which we can monitor children’s progression in this vital area. The session will consider:
The session will consider ways in which we can observe children’s progression of the characteristics especially in relation to their developing thinking skills. There will also be an opportunity to reflect upon values and how these relate to the Characteristics of Effective Learning especially in terms of our view of children and their ability to construct their own learning.
Aims and objectives
From this course you will:
Pete also offers a range of other sample courses, including:
For the full course description for any of these courses, please get in touch.
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