Developing early years leadership through digital professional learning

This project will examine how digitally mediated professional learning (DMPL) can improve leadership development in the English early years sector.

Research has demonstrated the link between the quality of early years leadership and children’s outcomes. Strong leadership improves the supportive interactions and relationships that enable children to flourish as confident learners. Despite this established link, there is a lack of high-quality early years leadership development opportunities in England. Many of the early years workforce are formally qualified to Level 3. Compulsory training (such as first aid and safeguarding) is the only opportunity for further development in around a third of early years settings.

DMPL creates new possibilities for advancing leadership development in the early years sector at a lower cost and with improved accessibility. The COVID-19 pandemic increased people’s willingness to use online resources, but it is still unclear what opportunities exist. The project team will be addressing this information gap in three ways:

1. Systematically reviewing published research from the last 10 years, focusing on literature which covers general early years leadership development and DMPL in early years.
2. Investigating developments in DMPL that emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic, gathering diverse accounts of those delivering the programmes as well as participants in the training.
3. Accounting for the outcomes of first two objectives, the project team will work collaboratively with sector leaders to develop recommendations to improve DMPL for leadership development in the early years sector. Two workshops will bring together stakeholders to identify ways training providers, including the Department for Education, can improve their current early years leadership development options.

The project aims to increase awareness and dialogue in the sector around leadership development; increase knowledge and understanding of effective leadership development delivered through DMPL; and improve cross-sector support for DMPL.

A report to summarise the findings and a workshop briefing with practical recommendations will help raise awareness and knowledge on the role DMPL can play in leadership development. A full report will be published and shared via social media, publications, and sector conferences. Individual meetings with stakeholders will be organised to elaborate on the steps they can take in the short and longer-term to make use of the project’s findings.