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83 News items in this category

    ‘Coffee Breaks’ are here to offer thoughts, pull strands of events together, acknowledge difficulties and celebrate good practice; a place to stop and think as you dip your biscuit into your cuppa.  So, this week’s offering is a poem…
    ...and could do well to listen to ourselves. Taking a moment The other day I was re-reading Joanna Grace's article about using the 'settle jar' sensory resource to support a child to regulate their emotions and feel calm. In it, Jo…
    Food. One of the most important parts of growing and surviving as a human. Our relationship with food begins from a very young age, watching those around us carefully as they move this mysterious substance towards their mouths and then ope…
    The new EYFS framework... When the new EYFS Framework was released, it brought in some changes; some were widely accepted, others have caused many discussions amongst practitioners and advisors. One thing that almost everyone who works…
    If you work in early years, you will know that the new Development Matters non-statutory guidance document was published on Thursday last week. The guidance accompanies the new EYFS Framework, allowing early adopters can use both this year…
    This year, we've all heard the question: 'Are you adopting Birth to Five Matters or Development Matters?' A more pointed query might be 'how exactly are you using the non-statutory guidance' Both documents, written by the Early Years C…
    Last Tuesday (19/3/22), the government released their long-anticipated SEND review green paper entitled: ‘right support, right place, right time’.  I was aware this date was coming and was asked to prepare some opinions on its content…
    It seems timely, as we begin another new learning year, to reflect on the link between the early stages of a child’s learning and the impact this can have on their outcomes as school leavers at 16. Here we bring together a research repor…
    It was the 25th anniversary of World Book Day recently. With the wonderful offer of a book token for every child, at the heart of this celebration of reading is a mission to make reading together and reading for pleasure a habit for life. …
    The government’s own news item on the recent Spring Budget opened with the words ‘A revolution in childcare’. Here we take the Chancellor’s announcements and suggest 5 revolutionary ideas. 1.       Putting children at the …
    Discussions around the widening achievement gap in this country have been predominantly about how best to support schools in helping disadvantaged pupils. However, research shows that the home learning environment is most important, and t…
    Mother’s Day is coming up this weekend, and in settings and schools there may be a focus on Mummies. Perhaps cards will be made, or paper flowers, and perhaps there will be lots of conversations about what our Mummies do for us and why w…
    Last November, during the campaign trail, Boris Johnson painfully mumbled his way through 'The Wheels on the Bus' while on a visit to a primary school. At the time my colleague Ben wrote a brilliant short piece in Nursery World about the f…
    We have a great responsibility as educators: to our children, their families and our colleagues. And beyond that, to our communities, and to society. The role of the early years professional, and of school staff, is far reaching. But t…
    Stephen Kilgour reflects on getting 'back to basics' in the way we approach observations and assessment.  Although you might not believe it, and 5 minutes on social media would certainly encourage you to think otherwise, there have b…
    Prior to the EYFS 2021, reception teachers would examine the mountain of evidence they had collected on the children and use the exemplification materials to compare attainment, before making a judgement for each ELG. The new exemplifi…
    Admittedly, the slightly sensationalist title suggests that children don't climb trees anymore.  This is not actually the case.  There is a brilliant tree in my local park and children form an orderly queue to get their turn on it.  It'…
    How connection before correction might work for you: Calm your own expectations or fears (remember your child is imperfect just like you). Enter into your child's world, think about the experience from their point of view. Listen to wh…
    Nichole Hughes, Early Years and Key Stage teacher, education consultant supporting parents, and a parent herself, shares her reflections on encouraging play at home.   ‘Play? Play is not learning! How are you learning? It’s j…
    Emily Lees has created a resource to support educators to understand and reflect on ableism. Emily is an autistic Speech and Language Therapist (SLT) based in Manchester. She advocates and campaigns for Autism Acceptance through public s…
    As a few countries begin to reopen schools and nurseries, cautiously moving forwards into a new way of life alongside COVID-19, there has been speculation about what a return to learning in a setting will look like in the UK. The wellb…
    Gaming and eSports were in the news last week after a survey conducted by gaming accessory company, HyperX, revealed over half of children would like to see gaming on their curriculum. Now, I am going to ignore the blatant bias of the…
    I was interested to read an article a few days ago about a research project teaching teenagers the science of babies’ brain development. Secondary school pupils attended science lessons designed by researchers from the University of Oxfo…
    At the end of March, The Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities Report, led by Dr Tony Sewell, was published. Before going any further, we should remember that as an education team here, we are a small group of white people. Our lived e…
    I had the privilege of attending the most recent meeting of the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Childcare and Early Education at Westminster on Wednesday 29th June. The theme of the meeting was 'a levelling up opportunity' and we …