The Foundation Stage Forum Community
Welcome to the FSF – a community for early years professionals. Engage in conversations, offer and receive advice and support, make connections. Discover our library of education articles and podcast episodes to enhance your reflective practice. Working together to achieve high-quality early childhood education.
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Posts:470,318
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Members:53,506

Exploring oracy in early years and its links to literacy
by Sejal Payne
Independent Education Consultant Sejal Payne helps us take a closer look at oracy, why it is so important, and how it links to literacy.

Podcast: Telling the stories from the Early Years
Jules chats with Elly Roberts, Editor of Early Years Educator, about the importance of creating a community of practice, raising the status of the early years, and finding and telling the stories from the sector. (edited)
View the full articl…

Assistant Professor Carlyn Mueller shares her own experience and resea…
Carlyn Mueller recalls the books that played an important role in her own childhood, gathers research about the importance of representation of disability in children’s books, and suggests strategies for increasing representation in school and at hom…
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Podcast episode: Finding flexibility in education and school – what is possible?
Podcast episode: Finding flexibility in education and school – what is possible? We chatted with Sarah Sudea, founder of Finding the Flex. We discussed flexischooling – what it is, what the benefits may be to everyone involved, and what it can look like in a school. We also talked about other ways to be flexible with a child’s schooling, such as when they start in Reception. You can listen here. Sarah also shared some useful links for more information: Centre for Personalised Education for information leaflets and parent testimonies https://www.personalisededucationnow.org.uk/testimonies/ Relationships Foundation report on benefits of flexischooling 'Flexi-schooling children with special educational needs and disabilities' https://relationshipsfoundation.org/blog/flexi-schooling-must-be-a-widely-recognised-option-for-uk-pupils/ Flexischooling Families UK on facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/flexischoolingfamilies/ for leaflets and support for parents when approaching schools to ask for flexischooling Sarah’s website – https://www.findingtheflex.com/ Sarah’s linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-sudea b80138264/?originalSubdomain=uk -
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Childhood
I have been thinking a lot about childhood recently. Children are finding ways to be children in a world that is evolving all the time. At the same time, the struggles that many children face remain the same throughout history: oppression, prejudice, violence, poverty, injustice. How do these ancient struggles and new challenges shape childhood? This post is too small a space to do anything more than ask the question. But here is a collection of words about childhood that I have gathered together. Let’s begin with a definition of childhood from UNICEF: Childhood is the time for children to be in school and at play, to grow strong and confident with the love and encouragement of their family and an extended community of caring adults. It is a precious time in which children should live free from fear, safe from violence and protected from abuse and exploitation. As such, childhood means much more than just the space between birth and the attainment of adulthood. It refers to the state and condition of a child’s life, to the quality of those years. And then we can add to that the words from The Open University’s course on Childhood and children’s rights: As you consider characteristics of children, you need to recognise that every child is unique and special in its own way. There are, however, some common characteristics of the period of childhood, which should guide you in the way you look at and work with children. Three of the most important are: dependency, vulnerability, and resilience. Jean Piaget wrote that ‘Play is the work of childhood’ and Albert Einstein said that ‘Play is the highest form of research.’ The writer and poet Lemn Sissay describes childhood as a book: Ultimately, family is a collection of stories and childhood is an introduction to that book. As you live your life you come to realise the significance of that introduction. And finally, Maria Montessori: Children are human beings to whom respect is due, superior to us by reason of their innocence and of the greater possibilities of their future. And Friedrich Froebel: The plays of childhood are the germinal leaves of all later life. By Jules FSF and Tapestry Education Group -
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Do you make your pupils put up their hood?
I don't run my nursery anymore but when I did, we would encourage children to put their hoods up or wear hats, but we wouldn't enforce it. Could you maybe let him choose one when you next go shopping? The crazier the better! He might be more inclined to wear one then, if he's had the choice. 🙂- 1
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