21/11/16
Johanna Scott – an appreciation
Johanna has worked with my nursery as a tutor for several years. She has also provided training for my local childcare forum. In this capacity, she has introduced us all to the Reggio style of teaching. She has provided workshops, parents evenings and one-to-one tuition for each member of staff (we have 27), coming into the nursery every week for at least a year.
When working with individual staff, Johanna took them through the whole process of setting up the activity, recording the children’s comments and responses, photographing them during the experience and then how to display the photographs and the children’s work to best advantage. Each member of staff was given a grounding in the themes and ideas behind Reggio and were shown examples of how many Reggio nurseries were set up.
The staff found this interesting and inspiring. Many were very keen to set up further ‘Reggio’ sessions and extend the children’s experiences.
The parents were also very interested and participated enthusiastically during workshops and at the activity based parents evening.
The staff changed how they recorded the children’s activities and experiences, making the format much more user friendly for parents and outside observers.
Johanna arranged for me to visit Reggio Emilia on a study visit. We visited several reggio nurseries as well as the Loris Malaguzzi centre for education. It was an incredibly interesting and useful visit.
Several nurseries from my forum area have taken the Reggio style on board and have changed their practice as a result.
Johanna is an exceptional trainer. She has tremendous enthusiasm and drive. She is very passionate about her subject and communicates this in a way that inspires others to totally engage with the creative approach. The feedback we have received from every training session has been universally positive and has led to very noticeable changes in practice. Her sincerity and total commitment to her subject are commendable and are what makes Johanna such a unique and special trainer. I cannot recommend her highly enough.
Gillian Robertson
Head Teacher
Headstart Nursery
20 Lawrence Street
Partick
Glasgow
G11 5HQ
