Transition

Transition is part of the maturation process. Most children and their families find moving from one stage to the next seamless. Transitions need careful planning and will need sensitive handling for all children and families. Some children and families will find the change more problematic and will therefore need greater consideration. Having as many opportunities to visit the […]

Understanding the World and links with Communication, Language and Literacy

We know young children appear to be starting settings with less developed language than in previous years due to a range of reasons. Understanding the World can be a meaningful and motivating way to really extend the language development of young children, especially if the adults have a wide range of interaction strategies to support […]

Child-Centred Competences for Early Childhood Education and Care

Welcome to the e-book Child-Centred Competences for Early Childhood Education and Care. The book brings together four years of research undertaken by early childhood academics and educators to help articulate both what child-centredness means and what it looks like in practice . The e-book is divided into three chapters, each with two sections that help […]

Hundreds of school staff march on Downing Street to save nursery schools

Today (Tues 19 Oct), 150 representatives from maintained nursery schools in England will gather in London’s Parliament Square, alongside parents, campaigners and MPs, before marching to Downing Street to deliver a petition to the Chancellor, calling on him to ‘take urgent action’ over funding. The petition has been signed by over 2,000 school leaders, staff […]

Early Years Census 2021 update from DfE

The DfE have issued documents to support schools and settings to understand how to report to the Early Years Census in the context of the pandemic.  The guidance states: “The intention is to ensure parity of approach to counting of funded entitlements across both the School Census and the Early Years Census.” Coronavirus-related support for […]

Early years sector provides crucial help to families in poverty

In response to the growing concerns of its membership related to children and their families living in poverty we asked members,  in May last year, to tell us what they were doing in their settings which might be described as beyond their expected work around children’s learning and development.  This account, drawn from responses of […]

Settling children, crying children, by Cathy Gunning

There is no doubt about it, settling takes time for many children. For others it would appear it takes no time at all. If we are to hold children’s wellbeing at the forefront of our minds and consider their individuality and personality as most important we really must notice and tune in to what matters […]