Welcome to the FSF April newsletter
Jumping straight in with an upcoming event: the APPG for Childcare and Early Education is meeting on Tuesday 16th May from 4.30-5pm (originally planned for April). This meeting will reflect on the Spring Budget and the implications for the sector with Minister for Children, Families and Wellbeing, Claire Coutinho MP, and chair of the APPG Steve Brine MP. There is more information, including how to email any questions, in this Forum post.
News about early years children, families and sector workers continues to be worrying. Earlier this month, the concern over food insecurity for more than a quarter of UK households with children under the age of 4 was highlighted by The Food Foundation. You can read their full report here.
Early Years Resources
Early childhood specialist Kerry Murphy has written A guide to neurodiversity in the early years, with the Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families. The booklet is designed to introduce the concept of neurodiversity in an accessible way, and to support educators to become neurodiversity-informed in their early years practice. You can download the guide from this link.
Brake is a road safety charity, and their annual road safety day Beep Beep! Day is on Wednesday 26th April. So if you’re quick you’ll have just enough time to sign up for some resources to help you teach the basics of road safety to your young children. This Forum post from the charity tells you how.
New Content
FSF articles and podcasts
This month on the FSF our new article explores research about men working in the sector, by early years educator and academic Clarissa Frigerio. We hear from the men Clarissa connected with as well as her own reflections on the social and political context. The recent official figures show that currently only 2% of practitioners working in early years are male – and shows a fall back to the percentage this was 25 years ago.
We also revisit a podcast episode with educator Naomi Clarke about outdoor learning, and share a new episode with nursery owner and co-founder of Early Years Equality, Claire Kenyon, discussing the need for respect and recognition about the early years. Check out all our podcast episodes wherever you like to listen, or from this link.
Tapestry news and resources
Over on Tapestry.info, we’d like to highlight the Social CPD page. Here we gather the thoughts and provocations shared by sector specialists on social media into regular bulletins. There are currently 10 volumes for you to explore and consider as part of your own learning.
And finally, the Tapestry team are excited to announce the upcoming release of Tapestry ‘Invoices’, aimed to be released in June. Invoices will join Booking and Registers, which are already available as part of Tapestry’s new Nursery Management System. Find out more on the Tapestry Invoices page.
Wishing you a safe and happy April
Helen, Steve and all of us at the FSF and Tapestry
From The Forum
The role of Ofsted
FSF articles and podcasts
This month on the FSF our new article explores research about men working in the sector, by early years educator and academic Clarissa Frigerio. We hear from the men Clarissa connected with as well as her own reflections on the social and political context. The recent official figures show that currently only 2% of practitioners working in early years are male – and shows a fall back to the percentage this was 25 years ago.
We also revisit a podcast episode with educator Naomi Clarke about outdoor learning, and share a new episode with nursery owner and co-founder of Early Years Equality, Claire Kenyon, discussing the need for respect and recognition about the early years. Check out all our podcast episodes wherever you like to listen, or from this link.
Tapestry news and resources
Over on Tapestry.info, we’d like to highlight the Social CPD page. Here we gather the thoughts and provocations shared by sector specialists on social media into regular bulletins. There are currently 10 volumes for you to explore and consider as part of your own learning.
And finally, the Tapestry team are excited to announce the upcoming release of Tapestry ‘Invoices’, aimed to be released in June. Invoices will join Booking and Registers, which are already available as part of Tapestry’s new Nursery Management System. Find out more on the Tapestry Invoices page.
Wishing you a safe and happy April
Helen, Steve and all of us at the FSF and Tapestry
Over the last week, the tragic news about Ruth Perry made the news. By all accounts, the inspection report that led to this situation highlights the flawed approach that is currently in place during inspections.
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