Empowering collective reflection: realistic evaluation of video enhanced reflective practice (VERP) in an early childhood setting in England

Within professional development (PD), reflection is recognised as a key ingredient to developing high quality practice, however less is known about the context and mechanisms needed to enable this in early childhood education and care (ECEC) settings. This article explores video enhanced reflective practice (VERP), an innovative model of professional learning, which enables staff reflection on their interaction and practice with children, students and other members of staff in a day nursery in England. The study utilises realistic evaluation as a framework to explore the key features of the context, the mechanisms, which are the central aspects of VERP, and the outcomes for the staff through analysis of semi-structured interviews with five of the six staff involved. The research highlights the importance of the individual choosing their focus for the videoing, good working relationships between staff, the support of the manager and the nature of the organisation as key to enabling the outcomes. The outcomes from VERP included reflection, improved confidence, collaboration and understanding of children.