This month on the FSF we have a much needed article by Jenny Barber exploring the ways you can offer CPD for your staff even when the budget is tight. Sarah Ottewell inspires us with her piece about the continuing journey her setting has embarked …
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…
On the FSF for January we have an article by speech and language therapist Ruth Jones, considering how the early years sector can ensure inclusive practice for neurodivergent children. Browse through all our articles from this link.
Ruth also…
FSF articles and podcasts
In our May articles, Early Years teacher Ann-Marie Piper shares her experience of cultivating curiosity in young children. And book confidence coach and bestselling author Winsome Duncan shares tips and support for par…
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 …
We have published an inspiring article this month by June O'Sullivan who is the CEO of the London Early Years Foundation (LEYF). June was very recently listed on the Debrett's '500 people of influence 2017' list for her work with LEYF. June's article…
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, …
Since our last newsletter, we have published articles written by Alistair Bryce Clegg and by Penny Tassoni. Alistair asks us to think about how we prepare and present our setting to ensure that we are encouraging children to be ambitious, inquisit…
Safeguarding for managers
We have recently published a series of articles about safeguarding for managers. They are aimed at new managers undertaking the management responsibility for the first time but would also be very useful as refre…
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 articles this term. John Blaney (Forest School Pioneer) wrote for us about encouraging 'Street Play' in young children. Michaela Machan wrote us a 'beginners guide to observing children' article. Finleysmaid wrote for us abo…
In this month's article we have been thinking about the managers who struggle in the first few months of their role. It can be hard to 'manage' colleagues who you have worked alongside as an 'equal' for some time - in her article, Anni McTavish tal…
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 …
This half-term we published David Wright's article Men in childcare, an ongoing debate which discussed the perceptions that people have about men who work in early years. You can comment on the article from here and see David's response to questio…
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…
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…
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 …
Resilience and early years experience: child, family, community
Kate Cairns invites us to consider the interaction between resilience and trauma, the key aspects of resilience, and the links between resilience and experience in the early years…
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…
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 …
A Reception Teacher's Blog (4)
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…
The Education Team at FSF and Tapestry HQ have been recording more podcasts this month. We have one on Self Regulation, a topic that has been the focus of much discussion since its appearance in the proposed new ELGs. We also have a couple of ligh…
We've been very busy this half term writing and commissioning articles to extend your knowledge and to challenge your thinking. We have brought you details from two masterclasses held at the Nursery World South show. Kate Cahill reported back to u…
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…
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 …
