Clare Simpson: Supporting families in Scotland
Clare Simpson: Supporting families in Scotland
Author
As Director of Parenting Across Scotland, Clare Simpson was well aware of the support that was – or wasn’t – available for families of pre-school aged children.
The Scottish Government was expanding early learning and childcare, but Clare felt the framework of support itself wasn’t wide enough.
She wanted to see what was offered elsewhere, so in 2015 was awarded a Churchill Fellowship, travelling to Sweden, Norway, and Denmark.
“The Nordic countries had such a great reputation for their early years work, I wanted to find out what they were doing around childcare and if that linked to family support.”
Learning from Nordic countries
Clare visited early years settings and was interested to discover the open kindergartens – also called open pre-schools – of Sweden and Norway.
“These cater for children aged from nought to seven, but in practice they tend to focus on the nought to twos, as after that age many go into an early years setting. Everybody working in the open kindergartens had a professional qualification and they offered far more parental support, with a whole family approach.
“Some of the open kindergartens were standalone, but a number were part of a hub to link antenatal care, health nurses (we would call them health visitors), and early years provision.”
Impact of a Churchill Fellowship
Following her travels, Clare wrote a powerful blog which was widely shared on LinkedIn. She and another Churchill Fellow, Christine Puckering, held a joint presentation for Members of the Scottish Parliament.
Clare’s ambition, however, was to introduce the open kindergarten model to Scotland – and she succeeded.
“The Churchill Fellowship really gave me the chance to see something differently... When you go and see an alternative way of doing things, it’s inspirational – especially when you think you might make a difference.”
EU funding became available via the Scottish Government, and a partnership of Parenting Across Scotland, Children in Scotland, the University of Sterling, Midlothian Sure Start, and Edinburgh City Council was able to establish open kindergarten projects in two settings: Midlothian and Edinburgh.
“We set up a number of groups and it was very successful, because it enabled those parents who attended to ask for help. With very gentle observation, the trained practitioners would be able to see if there were issues and put in steps to address these.
“Stirling University carried out an evaluation and found a marked decrease in isolation and anxiety, and much better connections within families. Those parents involved set up WhatsApp groups, which were of huge help when the pandemic hit and everything shut down.”
After a four-year hiatus, funding is once again available to run a number of open kindergartens, and Clare sits on the advisory group for this new project. She also hopes to test the model in a rural setting.
Clare has now retired as director of Parenting Across Scotland, but she is as passionate as ever about the open kindergarten system.
“The Churchill Fellowship really gave me the chance to see something differently. People often talk about systems changes, but it’s doesn’t necessarily mean anything. When you go and see an alternative way of doing things, it’s inspirational – especially when you think you might make a difference.”
The Scottish Government was expanding early learning and childcare, but Clare felt the framework of support itself wasn’t wide enough.
She wanted to see what was offered elsewhere, so in 2015 was awarded a Churchill Fellowship, travelling to Sweden, Norway, and Denmark.
“The Nordic countries had such a great reputation for their early years work, I wanted to find out what they were doing around childcare and if that linked to family support.”
Learning from Nordic countries
Clare visited early years settings and was interested to discover the open kindergartens – also called open pre-schools – of Sweden and Norway.
“These cater for children aged from nought to seven, but in practice they tend to focus on the nought to twos, as after that age many go into an early years setting. Everybody working in the open kindergartens had a professional qualification and they offered far more parental support, with a whole family approach.
“Some of the open kindergartens were standalone, but a number were part of a hub to link antenatal care, health nurses (we would call them health visitors), and early years provision.”
Impact of a Churchill Fellowship
Following her travels, Clare wrote a powerful blog which was widely shared on LinkedIn. She and another Churchill Fellow, Christine Puckering, held a joint presentation for Members of the Scottish Parliament.
Clare’s ambition, however, was to introduce the open kindergarten model to Scotland – and she succeeded.
“The Churchill Fellowship really gave me the chance to see something differently... When you go and see an alternative way of doing things, it’s inspirational – especially when you think you might make a difference.”
EU funding became available via the Scottish Government, and a partnership of Parenting Across Scotland, Children in Scotland, the University of Sterling, Midlothian Sure Start, and Edinburgh City Council was able to establish open kindergarten projects in two settings: Midlothian and Edinburgh.
“We set up a number of groups and it was very successful, because it enabled those parents who attended to ask for help. With very gentle observation, the trained practitioners would be able to see if there were issues and put in steps to address these.
“Stirling University carried out an evaluation and found a marked decrease in isolation and anxiety, and much better connections within families. Those parents involved set up WhatsApp groups, which were of huge help when the pandemic hit and everything shut down.”
After a four-year hiatus, funding is once again available to run a number of open kindergartens, and Clare sits on the advisory group for this new project. She also hopes to test the model in a rural setting.
Clare has now retired as director of Parenting Across Scotland, but she is as passionate as ever about the open kindergarten system.
“The Churchill Fellowship really gave me the chance to see something differently. People often talk about systems changes, but it’s doesn’t necessarily mean anything. When you go and see an alternative way of doing things, it’s inspirational – especially when you think you might make a difference.”