Helping children with their behaviour

Children learn how to behave All children are individuals, because they are born with their own character. This is why even children within the same family do not react in the same way to similar situations. Even so, a great deal of young children’s behaviour is learned through experience. They learn from how important people […]

Helping children cope with change

Early childhood seems like a time of constant change to adults. Just as you’ve got used to a predictable daytime nap, your child decides that she would rather play and chat than sleep. And just when you’ve worked out how to change her nappy while she’s standing up (because she won’t lie down), she insists […]

Going out to play and learn

Why go outside? Big movers Have you ever been in an open space with young children? The first thing they want to do is to break away from your hand and run! They are born with the desire to move, and open space is exciting. Learning to move is not just about making muscles strong, […]

Children as artists

Young children are artists. They use all sorts of materials to show what they have noticed about the world. They might draw the rain falling onto the tent during a family holiday, paint a giraffe seen at the zoo, model a fish from clay and press patterns into its body. What they make can say […]

Babies – learning starts from the first day

Taking care of a baby is tiring work, with a lot of feeding, nappies and broken nights. When you are exhausted, it can be harder to notice that a baby is really alert to what you do and say. It can be even harder if you have been told, “Babies don’t do anything” or “They’re […]

Twelve links for supporting home learning: early years and primary

Here are twelve links with free ideas to support play and learning at home, suitable for early years, nursery, reception and school aged children in lower primary years  Growing and learning together from Highfield Nursery School, Children’s Centre and Daycare is a page with recipes, ideas and their new PDF leaflet “Activities to try at home” […]

Including families in your decision making

It is important to include families in helping to shape your decisions in relation to developments you want to make.  Families know their circumstances best and what types of support will work best for them.  Families are the child’s first and most enduring educator, this makes their input vital. Benefits Strategies are more likely to […]

Supporting families to support their child’s learning

Since the introduction of the EYFS framework in 2008 there has been a huge emphasis upon encouraging parents to become engaged in their children’s learning. Research has recognised that parents are children’s first and most enduring educators and that improving the home learning environment is an important role of the practitioner. In 2004 Kathy Sylva […]

It takes a whole world to raise a child by Professor Cathy Nutbrown:

The Duchess of Cambridge launched The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood on 18th June 2021 with a substantial report Big change starts small which identifies six areas which form an agenda for change. Described as a “golden opportunity” to make a difference to children’s lives towards a happier, more secure future, it identifies the estimated cost […]

Sharing home learning at a distance – loving home learning in lockdown, by David Yates

Entering the unknown It was extremely hard and emotional to say goodbye to the children and parents in my Reception class at the end of the day, before our school closed to all but a small number of children, due to the Coronavirus pandemic. We did not know when we would see each other again, […]