by Michelle Smith, Lead Mentor for Bristol Standard in Play settings

The Bristol Standard Development Day 2023 certainly was a grand day out.  Mentors and validators from Bristol, South Gloucestershire, Wiltshire and London came together at Engineers House in Clifton to celebrate achievements, share stories, reflect and learn together. In this way, we too can ensure that we are always improving and doing our absolute best. 

We started off with breakfast rolls and hot drinks and this was a delicious way to set up us up for the day ahead.  We were in a wonderful cool room, which was just like an oasis in the outside soaring heat.  The atmosphere was buzzing, making connections with people we mainly now only see on screen and looking forward to what the day had in store.

The theme of the day was ‘Belonging’, which really is at the heart of the Bristol Standard. Jane Smith and Rosie Coulstring set things off by talking about childminders and how the Bristol Standard can  help them feel that they belong and are a key part of the early years sector and community.  This is vital for a workforce that mainly work on their own.  We heard some wonderful quotes from childminders and it was very moving to hear about the impact the Bristol Standard has on their practice and how much they value it.  We also smiled and thought what a great idea ‘permanent puddles’ and pots and pans in trees are as we were shown photos of some of the amazing experiences and activities childminders are offering.  Experiences and activities that have grown from ideas gleaned from Bristol Standard reflective forums.

Liam Fehily, Deputy Manager at School’s Out After School and Holiday Club in Henleaze, was the next speaker.  He very passionately and proudly spoke about how the Bristol Standard is just simply part of what they do and that reflective discussions constantly happen.  He highlighted how it has brought the team together and ensures ‘everyone is on the same page’.  It was lovely to hear that a lot of the staff are actually School’s Out Alumni who started off going to the club, then did work experience or volunteering there and now work at the club.  Liam also said the Bristol Standard has helped them reflect on their communication with parents and ensure that the voice of the children is very much heard.  They make sure everything they do is for the benefit of the children, which is what the Bristol Standard is all about, and part of their success is in having really simple, achievable targets.  Ultimately, it has helped them try new things and make changes to improve.

Nicky then gave a review of the 0-5 re-write which is taking place.  People are working in pairs to review dimensions and Beth is busy collecting photos.  It is going to have a new format and is being launched in Bristol in November.

After coffee and more chatting, next on the agenda was a talk from Early Years Public Health.  Three wonderful people from the Bristol Children and Families Public Health Team, Charly Williams, Jessica Baugh and Caoimhe Gowran, spoke about the Belonging Strategy and in particular, Bristol’s strategy for families and children.  They focused on belonging in the early years, which has been given the title ‘Belonging from the beginning’ and shared the vision of reducing inequalities and everyone being able to thrive.  Within this, we heard about family hubs, Bristol infant feeding support, the Bristol Eating Better Award and the Healthy Start scheme.

Nicky then led us in an activity and on blank pieces of paper we worked in groups to represent how the Bristol Standard and belonging go together.  As ever, with the Bristol Standard team, creativity flourished and some amazing pieces of art were produced.  There were golden balls of wool, picnic baskets and lots of positivity.

A delicious lunch followed, eaten in the shade of the garden, and we were then refuelled and ready to start the afternoon.  Our very own Pat and Carol kicked things off with the absolutely fabulous ‘wheel of dimensions’.  We did a ‘just for fun’ activity first of all, writing down as many things as we could about belonging, connected to the dimension the wheel landed on.  Again we worked in teams and there was lots of healthy competition as people were definitely focused on ‘being in it to win it’. It became all about quantity and how many words we could write and there was most definitely a sprinkle of cheating.

The main activity was all about thinking SMART and coming up with targets and benefits for whatever dimension the wheel was spun to. This really made us appreciate the process that settings go through and the depth of their thinking, when completing this aspect of their Bristol Standard.

All too soon the day was coming to a close.  In true Bristol Standard fashion, we ended positively with lots of celebrations and Nicky telling us about some of the wonderful things that have happened this year.   The finishing slide said it all – Children are at the heart of the Bristol Standard. This is most certainly what makes it so great!