Early years curriculum frameworks
UK early years curricula England The Early Years Foundation Stage statutory framework applies in England for early years provision for children from birth to 5. Read more Scotland The pre-birth to 3 age range is covered by Pre-Birth to Three: Positive Outcomes for Scotland’s Children and Families Children from 3 to 6 are covered by the Curriculum […]
Physical development in early childhood
Clare Devlin, Early Education Associate What aspects of physical development should we focus on within the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) and other early years curricula? In this article, I explore the importance of physicality at this crucial point in a child’s development. The article explores two key aspects, “moving and handling” and “self-care”. It […]
Reflecting on leadership development in the context of workforce crisis
by Kayla Halls, Early Years Research Fellow at Middlesex University & Mona Sakr, Senior Lecturer in Early Childhood at Middlesex University’ Leaders in the early years (EY) set the tone for the way settings run. Whether it’s nursery managers, pedagogical leaders or room leaders, leadership development is essential for improving how EY organisations work and […]
Families’ access to nature project
The Families’ Access to Nature Project was undertaken by the Froebel Trust and Early Education between October 2021 and January 2022. Children, their parents, and their early years educators talked to us about their access to nature and being outside together. The document below summarises key findings from the project for early years practitioners interested […]
Teaching in the early years
by Cathy Gunning Teaching in the early years is not easily definable. Early teaching and learning is about the process, the journey and the unique child. It is everything concerning every child that makes up their context for effective play and and learning. It is everything the practitioner does or does not do. It is […]
Sustained shared thinking (SST)
Sustained shared thinking: An episode in which two or more individuals “work together” in an intellectual way to solve a problem, clarify a concept, evaluate activities, extend a narrative etc. Both parties must contribute to the thinking and it must develop and extend. Siraj-Blatchford et al., REPEY, DfES 2002 “Sustained shared thinking” occurs when two […]
Settling children
Healthy settling for high wellbeing How can we best help children feel at ease so that they are secure and settled in their new provision? To hold children in mind and consider them as the person to put first means supporting their wellbeing as utmost priority. 10 pointers for healthy settling Children confidently leave their […]
Research on early years pedagogy
Early years pedagogy is the theory that informs the practice of teaching children in the early years. The pedagogical research has been carried out by academics and practitioners. Please pick and choose from the links below to read at your leisure… All these links are accessible and on the public domain. This is by no […]
Reflective practice
by Cathy Gunning What is reflective practice? Reading a book by Donald Schon early on in my career as a teacher opened my eyes to the world of reflective practice. I think that I had always been a reflective person – self critical, questioning, re-thinking things about my teaching day. But this practice modelled and […]
Picture books
The power of picture books How wonderful it is to enjoy children’s picture books and escape into their imaginative worlds reading them aloud with children. They open up such worlds of fascinations, awe, wonder, surprise and awakening. How much feeling and emotion can be portrayed through the characters and story. How much can the characters […]