How being a "stickybeak" benefits your practice

One of the very first events we offered when we started Inspired EC back in 2008, were "Stickybeak Tours". We'd book out a bus, fill it with passionate (and sometimes rowdy!) educators and visit a handful of education and care services. On the bus there would be lollies and prizes, which I'm sure were a highlight, but in between that were the rich discussions and reflections, the sharing of ideas, the wonder, the inspiration. And that was the real magic. 

Is comparison the thief of joy? Are we "stealing ideas"?

That's a saying right? Comparison is the thief of joy. I've heard educators over the years say "But we can't do that at my service" or "but they have more than us" or "if only we had bushland behind our service" (a specific reference to my former service Woodrising Natural Learning Centre!). And I get it. Sometimes we can look at other services and find ourselves comparing our own in a negative way. Sometimes we worry that educators will see something unique in our service and "steal" the idea.  But I think that more often that not, it isn't about making a comparison or about the theft of a really clever way of storing loose parts. More often than not it's about affirming our practice, or being inspired to think about our environments in a different way. It's about recognising the differences and the unique challenges in services, and celebrating them. 

Inspiration from the beautiful Allie's Early Learning in Rockhampton, QLD

Sparking Inspiration

Visiting another service provides you with the opportunity to see things in a new way, to gain new ideas or ways of working. It also provides you with the opportunity to reflect and converse with other educators. 

We haven't done a stickybeak tour for a number of years (the logistics and planning can be a lot!) But recently I was invited to speak at an event in Rockhampton, and had the pleasure of joining their "Educators on the Move" bus tour. And I LOVED it. I loved seeing different spaces, I loved feeling the energy and warmth in them, I loved talking to the proud educators who create the environments, I loved connecting with other educators and unpacking what we were seeing and how it could spark new ideas in their own spaces. I finished the day feeling invigorated (and a little like I wanted to go back to work in centre based care!!)

Finding Opportunities to "Stickybeak" 

Feel free to pester us if you'd like us to get some stickybeak tours off the ground again, but in the meantime, there are some other ways to get ideas from other services and educators: 

• Follow other services on social media (e.g. Instagram) - many are posting really engaging and interesting photos and videos of their environments and provocations 
• Organise with a local service to visit - just call them up and ask. 
• Take the opportunity to go to network meetings or events hosted at other services
• Join us on our 2026 Study Tour to Vietnam!! This is the ultimate Stickybeak tour - the chance to learn, share and connect in a completely different place. You can find out more about the tour HERE