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FSF articles and podcasts This month we have an article by children’s author and counsellor, Hannah Peckham, reflecting on how books can aid emotional literacy. There are three brilliant new podcast episodes to share with you in February. W…
FSF articles and podcasts In our March article, educator and researcher Sarah Holmes shares her experience of exploring spaces ‘in-between’ homes and settings as places to begin to connect and build relationships with children and families. You…
FSF articles and podcasts We have two new articles for you this month. Richard Waite shares thoughts on a long career in the early years. And Vanna Fossella, who is part of Tapestry’s Product Support team, writes about the impact of hearing Ker…
FSF articles and podcasts Our new article for June is by Caroline Vollans, who considers whether we have a narrow view of risk and risk-taking in the early years. We’re also highlighting content from our extensive library of articles – this tim…
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…
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…
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…
We have made a couple of changes here at the FSF and Tapestry HQ, and we have had a celebration too!  We are introducing a new Coffee Break item - short and sweet, updated regularly on the home page for you to dip into whenever you have a mome…
We have lots of news from FSF and Tapestry HQ this month!  We have recently moved offices - in fact it would be more accurate to say we are now in actual offices! We had a special day to open the new building at the beginning of June and we we…
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 …
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…
The Role of the Adult in Early Years Settings: Part 2 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 …
Objective-led Planning (Alastair Bryce-Clegg) Objective-led planning has to be the most effective way of taking teaching into children’s play that I have ever used. With objective-led planning you would still group the children by ability based o…
Characteristics of Effective Learning: creating and thinking critically The EYFS describes creating and thinking critically as when ‘children have and develop their own ideas, make links between ideas, and develop strategies for doing things’ (Df…
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…
Are You Ready for Your Joint Observation? Observing Practice under the OfSTED Inspection Framework Why does the joint observation element of OfSTED inspections cause us panic and anxiety? Providers and senior management are the people who have ove…
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 …
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…
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 …
On our forums it has been a very full month with staff beavering away to ensure they have everything ready for the ‘end of the year’ handovers. We constantly monitor our forums to ensure that threads are constructive and welcoming. We also use the …
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…
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…
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…
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…