Leading the way in early education at St Agnes’ Catholic Parish
Across St Agnes’ Catholic Parish, our leaders are helping shape best practice in their fields.
That includes educators at St Joseph’s Family Services, whose expertise was showcased in the latest edition of Pedagogy+, a national early education magazine that features critical thinking and real-world insights.
Abigale Lampard and Shannan Unsal’s article From Concern to Curiosity: Exploring Gun Play in Early Education explores imaginative play and the role educators can play in guiding children’s learning.
The idea for the article came after Abigale observed a group of children at St Agnes’ Early Education Centre becoming increasingly absorbed in ‘gun play’ as part of their imaginative play.
Drawing on her own experience, Abigale looked at how engaging children in conversations about play and safety, rather than relying on outright bans, helped encourage more positive interactions.
The article says: “As we have engaged in deeper conversations about gun play and safety, rather than enforcing outright bans or simple ‘no’ responses, we have noticed a decrease in imaginary violence within their play.
“By redirecting the gun play from aggressive themes, it gradually became more positive and playful, imaginative role play.”
Pedagogy+ is published by Semann & Slattery, recognised specialists and innovators in education.
Last month, Anthony Semann visited St Agnes’ Early Education Centre to present Abigale and Shannan with a signed copy of their published article.
Anthony also led a training session with the centre managers on leadership, as well as spending time with room leaders and educators to support their inquiry-based learning journey.
Through St Joseph’s Family Services’ ongoing partnership with Semann & Slattery, centre managers Danielle Wotherspoon, Tanya Tucker and Shannan Unsal recently attended the national Inspire X conference, providing an opportunity to further develop their skills and bring new ideas and insights back to their centres.
Shannan also appeared on national podcast Learn Play Thrive, where she discussed the article and how Anthony had been inspired by Abigale’s outlook on gun play.
By continually building their expertise and expanding their knowledge, St Agnes’ educators are helping to ensure that children across the Parish’s early education centres receive the best start in life.
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