The way you look at your QIP can have a huge impact on the way you write. I love a good analogy, so take a moment to think; if your doing major home renovations and completely re-designing your kitchen; this is a huge hindrance as it’s taken much longer than expected, your run off your feet and so sick of eating microwaved food! You choose neutral colours, a standard design and appliances you know will work. When the kitchen is complete you have a nice, functioning kitchen... great. What about if this wasn’t a hindrance but your opportunity to build your dream kitchen. You colour swatch and then swatch some more. You choose bold adventurous colours that represent you. You plan awesome features that will make your life easier like a sliding pantry, big storage draws or maybe a butlers pantry! Who knows the opportunities are endless. Finally you choose appliances that suit you and your needs; maybe a two draw dish washer to save water or maybe you have a double gas oven to finally be able to cook that Christmas dinner. When it’s complete you have this amazingly unique space that has been tailored to suit your needs! And this is how we need to see our Quality improvement plan!‘Amazingly unique and tailor made for you!’
Cassandra once asked me a loaded question “quality improvement plan or quality inclusive play?”which got me thinking. Because it’s both right? You can’t have quality inclusive play with out encompassing the values that are a QIPset goals, progress and reflection. Goals - these don’t have to be huge elaborate missions but can be the small steps you take to achieve that big goal (big goal = to be more sustainable, small steps, replace paper towels with reusable washers, install a water tank, create a culture of composting. Each of these little steps is now a goal that can be set, implemented, documented and achieved!)Progress notes - these do not have to be another job on your many lists! If someone has documented the progress as a learning story or in any other way. Simply copy and paste (maybe tweak) and pop it in the progress section. You can even pop a side note saying *refer to learning story 2/6/19* to show your cycle in action! Reflection - this is not a scary word! Just take a moment to look back over the goal and progress, did you achieve your goal in the time you’d set? Why/why not? Did you overcome any hurdles? Did the children (families, educators, staff, community) embrace the changes? How do you feel? Proud, accomplished, disheartened? It’s all relevant! Now to ensure your QIP is a working document, that you and your team contribute to frequently and you’ve done it!
Take a moment now to think of how you treat, or react to your QIP, do you have a positive relationship? Is it time to rethink your approach? Let’s work smarter not harder and take the chore approach away from one of our most precious assets. If QIP planning, writing or enagement feels daunting, overwhelming or you've left it until the last minute; reach out to one of our mentors.