Welcome to the FSF November newsletter.

COP26 has been at the forefront of the news, and Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi gave a speech at the Glasgow conference announcing the ways in which children in the UK, including those in the early years, will have climate change at the heart of their education. Early years professionals know that learning about, caring for and understanding the natural world have long been a part of early education. There is much to build on, and much to do.

On 9^th November, Julian Grenier, author of the new Development Matters, and Ofsted’s Gill Jones and Wendy Ratcliff, along with special appearance from Rahima Begum, took part in a webinar hosted by the Early Years Early Adopter Schools 2020 Facebook group. They answered questions about the changes to the EYFS. You can watch it on the Tapestry YouTube channel.

We'd like to welcome back members from the following authorities, who have renewed their LA subscription. Members from these authorities need do nothing; their individual accounts will automatically be re-subscribed:

Brighton & Hove 15th year

The most recent Tapestry Education Conference took place on 4^th 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 who attended this important conversation. You can find out more, watch a recording of the presentation and access downloadable versions of the speakers’ presentations here. 

In this month’s articles Kulvinder Kaur Johal explores primary science through cross curricular topics and the outdoors, Adam Marycz reflects on his Early Years leadership role, and Dr Chandrika Devarakonda discusses two models that can support our understanding of inclusion and diversity. You can read all our articles on the FSF articles page.

We have podcast conversations with Tilly Brown about how she has implemented a much-reduced assessment system to monitor children’s progress; Stephen chats with the owners of three companies who create resources for young children with the aim of increasing diversity and representation; and we talk to Dr Stella Louis about Froebel and what we can learn from him.

We also celebrated our 100^th podcast episode in a very special recording with all of the education team together looking back at some memorable podcast moments. Thank you to all our guests, we have learned so much from these conversations, and we look forward to many more. You can listen to all our episodes here or wherever you listen to your podcasts.

Happy November,

From Helen, Steve and all of us at the FSF and Tapestry.