On the FSF we have new articles by Greg Bottrill who shares reflections on play and the magic of childhood; Stephen Kilgour from our education team explores a new programme called Mini MOVE designed to support children with physical needs in mains…
New things and change can be challenging. Remember the Forum is a place where you can ask questions and offer advice.
Here on the FSF we have an article by Helen Edwards about making observations, one by Varinder Kaur Johal about writing in t…
Registration is now open for the next free online Tapestry Education Conference: Reflecting on CPD in the Early Years, which will take place on 4th November 6-8pm. You can find out more here.
As always, we have new articles and podcasts for y…
The most recent Tapestry Education Conference took place on 4th November. The theme was Reflecting on CPD in the Early Years, and we were joined by speakers Iram Siraj, Annie Richardson, and Emily Lees. We are grateful to our guests and all those …
This month on the FSF we hear from Alicia Wilkins, who shares her experience of connecting with families and children through her home nursery/childminding business. Alicia opens her article with what it's like for herself as a parent connecting w…
This month on the FSF we have an article from Adam Vasco, who leads on the 3-7 Early Years Post Graduate Route at Liverpool John Moores University. Adam reflects on education through the question ‘decolonise or diversify?’ and includes some resour…
On the FSF we have a thought-provoking article by Caroline Vollans taking a closer look at compliments and the impact they can have on young children, and a short reflection on a research project where teenagers are taught about how babies’ brains…
On the FSF this month you will find an article by Nancy Stewart exploring how the new Birth to 5 Matters guidance can work for you in your setting. There are also articles by Caroline Vollans, who shares one setting’s approach to rethinking suppor…
Our Coffee Break on the FSF this month considers the SEND Green Paper, and the deeper need for a shift in mindset - identifying the barriers to education and learning for children with learning differences and disabilities, and what adjustments we…
Speaking of responding to the proposed changes to the EYFS, the education team here at the FSF have added our views. We discuss our thoughts and responses in our latest podcast, coming out on Thursday 16th January. You can find our podcasts on App…
Aspects of Art: Printing
We continue our series on Art in the early years with a closer look at printing.
Exploring practitioners' perspectives on 'quality' in early years services
Michelle Cottle is a senior lecturer in early childhood stu…
Choosing 'Next Steps' from your observations
One of the biggest concerns when the EYFS was first published was about doing observations of children. How will there be enough time? How could you observe every child? How much paperwork was this goin…
Child Development: fact or fiction?
Knowledge about child development is an important tool which enables practitioners to make appropriate provision for young children; but if we are not careful it can also be a dangerously limiting illusion that…
Twenty top tips for helping to develop self-discipline for positive behaviour management in young children
With increasing numbers of children being diagnosed with special educational needs such as ADHD and autism, managing challenging behaviour i…
Ofsted Inspection Reports for Childminders (Part 2) In this article we look at the quality and standards of the early years provision and outcomes for children.
The Practitioner as an Explorer: Effective Observation Techniques Observation is …
The New Ofsted Inspection Framework
Summarising the revised inspection framework documents, we include reflective questions and some useful proformas for you to use in evaluating your provision in the light of the new framework.?
Characteristics …
Using the Mosaic Approach to Listen to Young Children Developed at the Thomas Coram Early Childhood centre, the Mosaic Approach uses children's photographs, tours and maps to gain an in-depth understanding of children's lives and what is importan…
After our popular articles covering recent Ofsted reports last year we've brought out a new series, updated after studying over 100 new Ofsted reports from the last three months. We can see certain recurrent themes and in the reports we outl…
This half term we have kept our courses and events page up to date with details of CPD being offered around the country as well as online. There is sure to be something that interests you! Some courses are completely free, others are more pricey, …
Positive Behaviour Management
What do we mean by "good behaviour"? We are often quite clear about the behaviour that we don't want to see in our settings! Can we be proactive about this and plan consistent positive behaviour strategies where a…
We have published several excellent articles recently. Nancy Stewart, who co-authored 'Development Matters', wrote a fantastic piece about why it is so important that practitioners do not use the Development Matters document as a 'tick list'. You …
Here at FSF and Tapestry HQ we have been looking outwards in more ways than one!
Earlier in October, Emily and Jules went to Devon to do some training for Ventrus MAT. This was a new experience for us - we don't get out much! Thank you to the …
Since Christmas we have published two articles by extremely prominent Early Years folk. Our first article, Being 'Outstanding' - Passion, with bucket loads of enthusiasm and commitment thrown in, by Jenny Barber was very well received with members …
How do young children learn to make decisions?
Babies and young children are able to make decisions that are relevant to their lives. This article examines what kinds of decisions children can make at different stages of their development and …
We have published an inspiring article by Alistair Bryce Clegg this half term. In it, he discusses the ways in which different theorists impact on our practice. At FSF HQ the practitioners amongst us agree we are probably all 'magpies' lifting lit…