Weeknotes & Working in the open
By Ned Younger & Beck Crowhurst
We’re doing weeknotes and they’ll be shared on our Medium here.
As we build out the Centre for the Children’s Workforce, we’re conscious of the value of reflecting on and sharing our work in a way that helps us clarify the project and our approach to it.
I (Ned) have always enjoyed Weeknotes as a format (mostly as a reader rather than a writer) and think they’ve always seemed to be particularly valuable in the early stages of something, when decisions and values are shaping and influencing the shape of the work to come.
This a new national initiative, but it’s not starting from scratch, building on a decade of place-based innovation at the Reach Foundation, the success of the Early Years Foundation Degree in Feltham, and years of work connecting schools, families, and services. Together, those foundations have shown the power of learning, reflection, iteration, and curiosity in developing collective approaches to this work.
As we now scale this into something bigger, both in terms of the specifics of the Degree programme launching in 2026, and the broader workforce mission, we want to continue to build in a way that reflects the kind of workforce we’re aiming for: connected, reflective, open, and collaborative.
In that context Weeknotes feels like a good shout, as a deliberately lightweight format sharing short, regular reflections on what we’ve been working on, and what we’ve been learning. They should help us make sense of our own work, and they open the door for others to see and shape the journey with us, as well as connecting where that feels relevant and interesting.
Across the first few posts, we’ve been sharing: early conversations with potential delivery partners; the practical realities of shaping a national degree with UEL; the thinking behind our brand and how we communicate the idea of a children’s workforce; reflections from events and meetings around the country; curriculum design questions, and the structures and rhythms of building a new organisation.
So that’s the plan. Each week, more or less, one or more of us will publish short reflections on Medium, charting the development of the organisation, the Foundation Degree, our partnerships and project,, and the wider ambition for a more coherent children’s workforce. You’ll always be able to find those collected on our Medium.
Thanks! And please get in touch with us to pick up a conversation!
