When I last visited Vivian, two months ago, she asked me, ‘With all the changes that are happening in the world, with all the advances in technology, have things got any better for the children?’ It was a hard question to answer, and it summed up to me the importance Vivian still placed on making the world a better place for the youngest among us, even though she knew she was dying.
But what could I say? Almost one-third of children in the UK are living in poverty, and less than 50% of under 5s ever hear a bedtime story. Baseline testing is being piloted in many Reception classrooms and there is a growing push towards a more formal approach in the Early Years despite all the evidence to the contrary.
It was hard to respond.
But there was a positive, one that I was able to share with Vivian, one that I believe with all my heart.
So, I told her. There are still hundreds and thousands of us who work in the Early Years, who believe in the value of play, and that Vivian’s work and the work of others like her, gives us the power to fight what we know is wrong. I told her that for the children who regularly have access to Storytelling and Story Acting, or Helicopter Stories, I believe things do change for the better. For Vivian’s approach means these children are valued, listened to, and nurtured and as a result their stories and their confidence grow.