Engaging and Empowering Teachers to Improve Early Years Literacies: Shaping Networks for Professional Growth and Advocacy

Female teacher showing nursery children a book

The Reception Class Teacher Network (RCTN) was initiated at the launch event of the Joyce Morris Early Years Literacies Forum at the University of East Anglia.

Its purpose is both simple and radical: to centre the voices, expertise, and experiences of Reception Class teachers and build an ethically-grounded, research-informed professional learning community. The RCTN is coordinated by Eleanor Milligan (University of East Anglia), Viki Veale (St Mary’s University Twickenham), Lorna Williams (University of Worcester), and Janet Morris (University of Greenwich). It brings together teachers, researchers, and educators committed to high-quality, developmentally appropriate education for four- and five-year-old children.

The network has built two interconnected aims:

To explore ways of bringing teachers and researchers together to develop professional knowledge and confidence in ethical, high quality, inclusive teaching practices in the Reception classroom.
To raise awareness of the unique challenges and systemic pressures experienced by Reception teachers, making these more visible to school leaders, policymakers, and the wider education community.

Enabling Developmentally Appropriate Practices

The theoretical grounding of the RCTN rests on the critical importance of play-based and developmentally appropriate pedagogy in early childhood education. This principle is well established in research (Wood, 2020; Moyles, 2015), yet increasingly contested in practice. Reception teachers often find themselves caught between the ethos of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) and the more formalised expectations of the primary school system. These teachers are, as Osgood (2006, 2010) and Veale (2023) describe “liminal professionals”—working at the threshold of early years and school-based paradigms.

This professional positioning creates a site of tension. Although there is substantial evidence in support of child-led, play-rich environments that promote deep learning (Whitebread et al., 2012), policy and accountability pressures push teachers towards didactic, assessment-driven practices more suited to Key Stage 1 (Sachs, 2016; Veale, 2023). The result is often cognitive dissonance (Festinger, 1957), where teachers’ pedagogical beliefs are at odds with the structural demands placed upon them.

Pascal and Bertram (2023) argue that professional development models that promote advocacy and criticality can empower educators to challenge these systemic pressures. Their work underpins the design of RCTN, where teacher agency is fostered through research-informed dialogue, reflective spaces, and peer-led professional learning.

Creating Space for Reflection and Research

The RCTN engages participation from within the network and follows action research cycles (McNiff, 2016), co-constructing knowledge through dialogue and developing practice through inquiry rather than top-down models of training. Rooted in the notion that educators are capable of generating and analysing data from their own settings, the network provides a space for teacher-led reflection and collaboration.

Each half-termly meeting centres on a theme—such as continuous provision, wellbeing, or curriculum design—offering provocations from researchers or experienced practitioners. Breakout discussions enable sustained shared thinking, while whole-group synthesis encourages collective meaning-making. Using Giddens’ (1993) double hermeneutic, data gathered through conversations is analysed by both participants and researchers, creating richly contextualised understandings of practice.

This approach aligns with Wenger’s (1998) theory of communities of practice, where identity, belonging, and professional knowledge are shaped through participation. Teachers are not passive recipients of research, but active contributors, shaping the network as it grows.

Looking Ahead to the Conference Workshop

Over the past year and a half, the RCTN has grown significantly. Alongside its regular online meetings, local hubs have emerged across England, offering face-to-face gatherings that deepen relational trust and collaboration. A network of “Allies of the RCTN”—academics, advisors, leaders, and teachers—has formed to amplify and support the network and opportunities have presented themselves to advocate for this group of teachers.

In our interactive workshop we explore how collaborative networks can empower educators to overcome challenges, amplify their voices, and foster professional development. We will share with you RCTN’s journey before offering hands-on activities and discussion, where participants will:

Consider the vital role that professional networks play in bringing about professional identity and retention in their profession.
Explore spaces and strategies for collective reflection and professional development
Explore impact stories, discovering how RCTN has transformed teachers’ practices and engage in sharing insights from their own networks.
Consider ways that advocacy can elevate the voices of professional network participants.
Shape the future of RCTN’s professional development themes and guest speakers to ensure they align with emerging needs.

This workshop is designed to spark creativity and collaboration, offering participants the chance to share expertise, develop ideas for their professional networks, and influence the direction of RCTN. Whether you’re passionate about early years education, network-building, or advocacy, this session provides a unique opportunity to connect, contribute, and inspire change.

To find out more about the RCTN visit our webpages https://bit.ly/ReceptionCTNetwork

References

Festinger, L. (1957). A theory of cognitive dissonance. Stanford University Press.

Giddens, A. (1993). New rules of sociological method (2nd ed.). Polity Press.

McNiff, J. (2016) Action Research for Professional Development: Concise advice for new and experienced researchers (2nd edition). Poole: September Books

Moyles, J. (2015). The excellence of play (4th ed.). Open University Press.

Osgood, J. (2006). “Professionalism and performativity: The feminist challenge facing early years practitioners.” Early Years, 26(2), 187–199.

Osgood, J. (2010). Narratives from the nursery: Negotiating professional identities in early childhood. Routledge.

Pascal, C. and Bertram, T. (2023). “Transforming professional development in early childhood education: Leadership, agency and change.” European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 31(2), 175–189.

Sachs, J. (2016). Teacher professionalism: Why are we still talking about it? Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice, 22(4), 413–425.

Veale, V (2023). Right from the start: an exploration of the lives experiences of qualified teachers in maintained early years settings. Available at: https://research.stmarys.ac.uk/id/eprint/6189/1/Viki%20Veale%202023.pdf

Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of practice: Learning, meaning, and identity. Cambridge University Press.

Whitebread, D., Coltman, P., Jameson, H. and Lander, R. (2012). “Play, cognition and self-regulation: What exactly are children learning when they learn through play?” Educational and Child Psychology, 29(2), 44–52.

Wood, E. (2020). The Routledge reader in early childhood education. Routledge.

Eleanor Milligan, Viki Veale, Lorna Williams, and Janet Morris