Community

Fife Froebelian Network

The Fife Froebel Network

One of the projects I am currently developing is the Fife Froebel Network. As part of my commitment to fostering professional dialogue, collaboration, and research-informed practice, the network will bring together educators, researchers, students, and others with an interest in Froebelian philosophy and its relevance for contemporary education.

Grounded in relationships, reflection, and a shared commitment to children's rights, play, inclusion, and holistic learning, the network will provide opportunities to connect, exchange ideas, and explore how Froebel's philosophy can inform educational practice today. Through professional dialogue, shared learning, and critical reflection, I hope it becomes a welcoming community where people learn with and from one another.

Whether you are new to Froebel's work or have been exploring his philosophy for many years, the Fife Froebel Network will offer a space to ask questions, share experiences, build connections, and contribute to an ongoing conversation about education, childhood, and social justice.

Further details, including events and opportunities to become involved, will be shared soon.

Froebelian practice is gaining growing recognition across Scottish early years provision — reflected in national guidance such as Realising the Ambition: Being Me and the advocacy of the Froebel Trust. Yet practitioners in Fife often find themselves without a local community of peers with whom to think deeply, share experience, and develop professionally over time.

The Fife Froebelian Network is being built to change that. It brings together early years practitioners, managers, and educators who share a curiosity about — or commitment to — Froebelian principles: play as the highest form of learning, relationships as the foundation of development, the whole child as the focus of care and education.

Who it’s for

The network is open to anyone working in or around early childhood in Fife:

  • Practitioners in nurseries, playgroups, and childminding settings
  • Lead practitioners and early years managers
  • Local authority early years and development officers
  • Students on childhood practice, education, or related programmes
  • Anyone who cares about play, relationships, and the whole child

You do not need to be a Froebel expert to join. A reflective, open practice is enough.

What the network offers

The network is in its early stages. As it grows, it aims to provide:

  • Practitioner gatherings — reflective conversation, experience-sharing, and peer support in a local setting
  • CPD and professional learning — events, reading groups, and development opportunities grounded in Froebelian principles
  • Community and connection — a network of people who take early childhood seriously as a field of thought and practice
  • Advocacy — contributing to local and national conversations about the future of early years provision in Scotland

This is a long-term project. The goal is not a one-off event but a sustained community of practice — the kind of professional home that Fife’s early years practitioners deserve.