Following a recent takeover of this private nursery, the owner was keen to develop a more cohesive team approach.

Other nurseries in the Headstart group had a distinctive corporate ethos and approach that was well established. The owner was keen to bring the new nursery in Northampton in line with the group ethos whilst recognising the unique nature of the acquired nursery.

Anteros initially worked with the nursery owner and senior managers through a series of short consultations to reframe the key issues relating to the dynamics of the nursery team and the development of early years provision to a solution focused approach.

Fundamental to the success of the project was to establish the process that would meet the needs of the nursery and co-create with the nursery leadership team and the consultants from Anteros the initial steps required to achieve the desired goal.

The process of Appreciative Inquiry was adopted since a core principle is that issues are approached from a positive perspective. Also, people are placed at the centre of the change process which is genuinely participatory in nature.

Two training sessions were identified with an appropriate time interval between them. The first session focused on what was happening in the nursery when things were working at their best.

The feedback from the team was that they felt “listened to”, energised and motivated to make things even better. It was agreed to decide on a practical project which everyone would be involved in and that would focus on developing their individual and collective strengths.

The development of outdoor provision at the nursery was therefore the focus of the next session. The team was collectively involved in creating their outdoor environment and working parties established to deliver from the planning phase to completion. Everyone had a key part to play ! The outcome was a team working together at its best, recognising each other`s strengths as they worked towards a common goal.