Supporting Teachers with Incredible Beginnings® Program

Our incredible Mentor, Jane Davidson, has just completed her second Incredible Beginnings® Program course for Dorset County Council, and has shared her exciting experiences and great results with us.

Mentor Jane Davidson and Incredible Beginnings® course graduates

Jane and her co-facilitator, Clare Williams, worked with early years teachers and childcare providers from Dorset. These providers reported that it was very helpful to learn about early childhood development, communication, and attachment in the early years. They took on the use of descriptive commenting, social & emotion coaching, and praising the positive opposite and saw the benefits of these strategies pay off in their classrooms. Here is a sample of the amazing evaluations from participants in Jane and Clare’s Incredible Beginnings course:

“It’s making a massive difference – some children are practicing calming down and the staff feel like they have a strategy that gives them support rather than boxes and referral. Also have seen the staff using the blow out candles in stressful times – myself included!”

“It’s so powerful and rewarding to be able to discuss tricky children with such a knowledgeable and professional audience. Jane and Clare work very well together as a team and it was great to share Jane’s vast experience and knowledge of the Incredible Years programmes.”

“Really really loving this course and I think more practitioners should attend as it will transform their setting, their staff and most important the children’s early years experience”

“It’s great…to be able to discuss our children’s behaviour and devise strategies as a group. Fantastic group work on praising the positive opposites and using and sharing real examples – very powerful.”

“This course…makes you look at the child and what support they need, and gives you strategies…. Giving practitioners and parents ‘smell the flower, blow out the candle,’ turtle, etc. helps support the child, parents, and practitioners and especially helps children self regulate” 

“I have found the whole course quite emotional. I strongly believe I have looked at what we do and looked, really looked, at the children’s behaviour. Through constant praise and taking time to develop a close relationship with my target child, I feel everything can only improve. Both Jane and Clare are amazing, I have loved listening to you both, loved how down to earth you are and how genuinely interested you are in what everyone has had to say. You have celebrated our successes and I truly believe that all Early Years practitioners should take this course.”

The Chief Executive of Dorset County Council has been so impressed with the results that she highlighted the implementation of the Incredible Beginnings® Program in her end of year blog message to staff last month, giving her thanks to the early years providers participating in the Incredible Beginnings® Program for their commitment to supporting the emotional health and well-being of young children.

Jane continues her commitment to supporting early years providers, including offering refresher sessions for graduates, and finding ways to network new Incredible Beginnings course attendees with graduates to see the ways they are implementing IB strategies in their classrooms.

The third cohort of Dorset early years providers will complete the Incredible Beginnings® Program next month, with two more cohorts of providers set to be trained this spring and fall.

Thanks to Jane Davidson and her colleagues Clare Williams and Helen Shorrocks for making such a difference to early years teachers and childcare providers!

Please visit our website to learn more about the Incredible Beginnings® Program for working with early years teachers and childcare providers.