There are moments in our professional lives that remind us just how connected we are across countries, cultures and contexts through a shared commitment to children, learning and possibility.
Attending the World Forum on Early Care and Education in Kuala Lumpur has been one of those moments.
Bringing together educators, researchers and leaders from across the globe, the Forum creates a powerful space for dialogue, reflection and connection. What stands out most is not just the diversity of perspectives, but the shared belief in early childhood as the foundation for everything that follows.
Throughout my time here, I’ve had the privilege of connecting with passionate educators deeply committed to their work, each bringing insights shaped by their communities and cultures. These conversations have reinforced something I have long believed: there is no single way to approach early childhood education, but there is a shared responsibility to remain curious, reflective and open.
A particular highlight has been contributing to the international panel, Unlocking the Magic of Play. This session explored the transformative power of play, not as an add-on, but as a driver of children’s learning, creativity and social development. It asked us to consider how the environments we design shape children’s thinking, and how those environments become active participants in the learning process.
Drawing on practice from Little Barn Owls and Atelier 21, alongside global perspectives, the discussion invited us to think deeply about the relationship between play, pedagogy and environment. What has been especially striking is how different countries interpret these ideas, from natural landscapes as classrooms to innovative uses of local materials. There is a shared intentionality running through it all. A recognition that environments are never neutral.
But, as always, it is the spaces in between that have carried the most energy.
Walking through temples in Kuala Lumpur with Jen Poulton, surrounded by colour, story, symbolism and centuries of human expression, we found ourselves in one of those generative conversations that you don’t plan for. The kind that starts with curiosity and quietly turns into something much bigger.
We began sketching out the beginnings of a new AI tool. Not AI for efficiency, not AI as a shortcut, but AI as a partner in thinking. A tool that could support educators to design richer, more connected, cross curricular experiences rooted in Playoneering. Something that helps teachers see possibilities, map curriculum with intention, and create projects that feel alive with real world relevance.
The idea is still forming, but the intention is clear. Technology should not replace the human work of teaching. It should amplify it. It should help us notice more, connect more, and respond more intelligently to children’s ideas.
Alongside this, the time here has also given me space to refine the future of the International Playoneering Studio. There are some important developments beginning to take shape.
We are exploring a membership model for partner Playoneers. A way for schools, settings and educators to access resources, training, events and courses that support the development of their teams over time. Not one off CPD, but something more sustained. Something that builds capacity properly.
And just as importantly, something that brings parents into the conversation.
One of the first parent courses we are developing is From Cradle to Career. An immersive experience designed to help parents understand what is actually happening in the first eight years of life, and why it matters so deeply.
Because this is the piece that often gets missed.
The developing brain does not need pressure, performance or premature formalisation. It needs autonomy, play, agency and environments that allow children to think, test, fail, imagine and rebuild.
When you zoom out and look at the future children are walking into, this becomes even more urgent.
We are raising Generation Alpha in a world where the pace of change is unlike anything we have seen before. It is estimated that millions of current jobs will disappear through automation, while millions more will emerge that do not yet exist. The stability we once associated with careers is shifting.
And alongside that, recruitment itself is changing. The value placed on grades and degrees is being challenged, with increasing focus on human dispositions. Creativity. Critical thinking. Empathy. Adaptability. The things that cannot be automated.
So the question becomes simple, but not easy.
Are we creating the conditions for children to develop those capabilities?
Because those capabilities are not taught through worksheets or delivered through content. They are built through experience. Through play. Through environments that invite thinking rather than direct it.
As I reflect on my time in Kuala Lumpur, I am reminded again that stepping outside of our own context matters. Not because it gives us answers, but because it sharpens our questions.
It reminds us that the work we are doing is part of something much bigger. That across the world, educators are asking similar questions in different ways. Trying to build something better for children.
Leadership in this space is not about certainty. It is about staying open. Staying curious. And being willing to rethink what we thought we knew.
There is something powerful about that.
And there is more to come.
Hayley
