Louise Lowings is the head teacher at Madeley Nursery School in Telford (www.madeleynurseryschool.co.uk) in the West Midlands of the UK. The pedagogical approach at the school is based on contextual relationships between children, their ideas and their encounters with the world. Together with the whole school community she has developed a place where educators and children are researchers. In 2000 she came across the work of the preschools in Reggio Emilia and continues to be inspired and delighted by their work. This led to encounters with other ideas and entangled influences. The most significant of which were the ideas of Gregory Bateson, initially through dialogue and professional exchange with pedagogues in Stockholm and more recently through The International Bateson Institute (https://batesoninstitute.org/). This line of professional enquiry has transformed her understanding of the place of learning, of children, of educators and of schools.
The school links their creative approach to the curriculum to the national requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. The school has achieved 4 consecutive ‘outstanding’ grading’s by Ofsted, the national regulator for England. The school was established by the working women of the local community in 1940 and became a local authority maintained nursery school in 1947.
As a member of the UK reference organisation for Reggio Emilia's preschools, Louise contributes towards CPD work that is run by Sightlines Initiative Ltd (https://www.sightlines-initiative.com), a not-for-profit company committed to empowering children to learn through enquiry, expression, imagination and curiosity.
| Theme of lecture / workshop |
A Creative Start in Early Childhood – nursery school education in England Madeley Nursery School is situated in the centre of England, within the UNESCO world heritage site of Ironbridge, the local environment to the school is rich with the heritage of the industrial revolution and surrounded by beautiful countryside. This presentation will examine how young children research the world around them in an early years setting in England. The presentation will show how the national and historical development of early education in England is enhanced through collaborative projects, the use of everyday encounters and the creative and expressive arts. Through examples of projects undertaken with the children in the outdoor environment and the studio space we will consider how do children build knowledge and create culture of their own. There will be a practical element to the workshop where delegates will examine the links between thinking and drawing. |
| Venue of lecture | campus Jette |
| Contact | louise.lowings@taw.org.uk |
