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146 articles in this category

    Chris Randall, an EYP in Brighton, explains how he has worked to develop the relationships between his setting and the children's fathers.
    Paint is such a versatile and energetic medium for children to explore. It can be thick or runny, pale or bright. It can be layered up with other things and it can be dabbed, spread, brushed, flicked or squelched. This article is the third in a serie…
    How do we give effective feedback to children about what they have learned and what they might do next? Here, Sue Ridgway discusses how to involve children in evaluating their learning and planning future experiences.
    We continue our series on Art in the early years with a closer look at printing.
    Michelle Cottle is a senior lecturer in early childhood studies at the University of Roehampton. Her article discusses some of the issues that may shape early years practitioners’ understandings of ‘quality’ within the context of their particular se…
    Our aim as professionals is to achieve better outcomes for children, families and the community. We want to provide effective learning experiences for the children in our care, and strive for continuous quality improvement, but also want to ensure p…
    Here is the fourth in our series on Art in the Early Years. This time the focus is on Textiles. Fabric is a big part of children’s lives. They wear it, they sleep under it and they sit on it. The familiarity of textiles is what makes them so much fun…
    Janet Rose, Senior Lecturer in the School of Education at Bath Spa University, explores the many different ways in which adults interact with young children in early years settings.  Research demonstrates that the heart of quality practice lies with…
    Part 2 continues the journey of exploring our role in supporting young children’s learning and development.  It outlines the five remaining ‘selves’ of the ‘plural practitioner’ framework that encompass this role.  The ‘plural practitioner’ framewor…
    Here is the final article in the Aspects of Art series, looking at how children can be creative in 3D through sculpture. Working in three dimensions gives children the opportunity to practise skills such as planning and problem solving, fixing and j…
    Our new friend Iris Lark describes her return to reception class teaching, after a break of 10 years. Here she tells us about 'The Register'.
    The Great Reception Bake Off. The day that I cover in Reception is cooking day. I embrace the learning of this valuable life skill at such a young age, and clearly the children do too as it is a very popular activity: oversubscribed in fact. It is…
    This article, by Dr Janet Rose from Bath Spa University, draws attention to a growing base of research evidence which suggests that a ‘relational’ rather than a ‘behavioural’ approach to supporting young children’s learning and behaviour is likely t…
    In Part 1 we saw how Emotion Coaching offers a relational model for supporting children’s behaviour.  We compared Emotion Coaching to traditional behaviourist approaches and also to other styles of managing children’s behavior, such as a disapprovin…
    Iris attempts to master the SMART board...
    I teach in the Reception class on Wednesdays. This Wednesday I am in the middle of the usual early morning chaos in my house (me, a husband, two teenagers and a 9 year old all attempting to leave at approximately the same time – need I say more?) wh…
    This article is the second in our series on the Characteristics of Effective Learning, following on from Play and Exploration in Action which was published on the FSFin July 2013. Please refer to the article for the summary of the characteristics as …
    Iris tackles 'Show and Tell'....
    Staking a claim to the role play area...
    In 2014 the Department for Education published guidance on promoting ‘fundamental British values’ in schools to ensure that young people leave school prepared for life in modern Britain. These values were first set out by the government in their coun…
    Closeted in the home or watched by helicopter parents children lack much of the freedom they had 40 years ago. British children’s play has been transformed in the last 100 years. In the 1960's few children did not spend all their free time outdoors, …
    I am currently working towards Early Years Teacher Status as an Early Childhood Studies graduate. I am sharing my academic journey hoping to inspire those considering academic studies of their own.
    For those of us interested in such matters, the received wisdom is that the number of men actually working with young children as part of the Early Years workforce in England represents around 2% of the total. This figure, despite much hand-wringin…
    Narrowing or closing the gap has become a hot topic in education. This is perhaps not surprising as it would appear that how well children do both at school and later in their careers is a postcode lottery which reflects parents’ income. Politician…
    Practitioners do excellent work that goes unnoticed, leading many to feel disconnected and retreat in their field or even their classroom. So, then, many convince themselves that they are “just teachers”. When you are in the classroom, aren’t …