In this month’s Staff Spotlight we speak to Florence, our Content Manager for English and Early Years.
Tell us a bit about what you did before joining Learning with Parents
Before I joined LwP, I was a teacher and English Lead in a primary school in Cambridge. I also did a Masters in Primary Education in 2015, thinking about how historical fiction can be used to support children’s understanding of the past. One of my favourite parts of my curriculum lead role was thinking about the progression of English across the school, how to construct assessment and marking systems that supported learning for all children, and how to make connections between different year groups and across subjects.
What first drew you to Learning with Parents?
When I first came across the organisation in 2020, it was still called Maths with Parents. I had the exciting opportunity to build English with Parents from scratch, thinking about how to use what we already did for Maths and translate that into a new English programme. I really enjoy thinking about English as a continuum, from Early Years to Year 6, and how to provide progression through home learning activities. I was also excited by the opportunity to balance curriculum with other, broader kinds of learning which happen at home.
What’s the day-to-day of your role like?
My job is all about thinking about the key pieces of learning children can do at home with their families, being creative when inventing activities for them to do and really getting into how to promote positive interactions at the same time. I use our platform to turn the ideas into working topics – I enjoy learning new ways in which the tech can be used to make activities. I also go into schools to film videos to support topics and activities. With so much feedback and interaction from families, we generate a lot of data, and I use this to inform changes to activities and the programme, as well as looking at the broader insights it can give.
What’s the most exciting thing you are working on right now?
I am really excited for our partnership with Peeple, expanding our work in the early years. We have an amazing opportunity to make a really big difference by working with younger children, but I also think there is so much from the Early Years that can inform our work with older children and their families.
What’s your favourite thing about working at Learning with Parents?
I love how I can spend my time being creative and thinking about learning in English and Early Maths. I also have really fantastic colleagues who make coming to work a pleasure, and who are passionate about home learning and parental engagement.