Talking about touch
A report from the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Fit and Healthy Childhood explores the importance of touch for children’s physical and emotional growth – even in our new, socially distanced world.
Features
Early years SENCOs – linking practitioners, partnerships and provision
Find out how special needs charity nasen can support the early years workforce, in all its diversity, to achieve a consistent approach to identifying special educational needs.
How technology can help to safeguard pupils as the full effects of lockdown are revealed
Identifying and responding to safeguarding issues must take priority as all children return to school.
‘Revoke the high pressure reforms. Young Children need real learning not rote learning' – #Rightfromthestart ups the ante
Dialogue between the DfE and #Rightfromthestart campaigners about reforms to the EYFS is heating up. Campaigners refute the Government’s claim that ‘We have transformed early years learning and development’ – only skilled practitioners can do that, they say.
Help to prepare children for the arrival of a sibling
While the birth of a new family member can be the biggest and most exciting transition a child will experience, it can also be daunting. Sonia Mainstone-Cotton provides practical advice on supporting children and parents to make the experience a positive one.
Time to innovate as children return
The latest Government guidance for children returning to nursery and pre-school contains reassuring steps in the right direction and provides scope to think about new ways to operate, says Sian Marsh of Best Practice Network and Gill Mason of Kids Planet Day Nurseries.
To act, or to act, that is the question
Professor Rupert Ward explores some of the key issues underpinning his book, Personalised Learning for the Learning Person. In it he discusses the roles of learning habits and technology in supporting a new and more personalised approach to learning.
Eight reasons why the ‘reformed’ EYFS Statutory Framework is unfit for purpose and two reasons to review the EYFS
As Early Education (The British Association for Early Childhood Education) invites practitioners to join its experts for a free webinar on the revised EYFS today (15 July), Helen Moylett and Nancy Stewart outline the new framework's inherent failings and challenges.
Revisiting the Education Inspection Framework
While routine inspections have been put on hold until the beginning of 2021 it is important that early years teams continue to build their understanding of the relatively new Education Inspection Framework. The role of leadership, and how it is demonstrated to Ofsted, will be key in the wake of the pandemic.
'Moving on to the next chapter of successfully reopening our settings'
During lockdown, everyone at Bright Horizons collaborated to find the best ways to support its families as they adapted to new dynamics in their work and home lives. This track record is standing the nursery group in good stead as it now reopens its doors, says director Heidi Falconer.
Young children’s maths learning in danger of taking a backwards step
Changes to the Early Learning Goals for mathematics in the revised EYFS do not reflect the input from experts and research, and will not support children to develop a love of the subject, says the Early Childhood Mathematics Group.
‘Providers will need funding to cover the cost of vacant places’
The economic fallout from coronavirus will bring families in and out of eligibility for the two-year-old and 30 hour entitlements. This will profoundly affect provider models as demand shifts and changes impacting on place sufficiency, capacity and use. Parental use of childcare has changed for a very long time, believes James Hempsall.
Creating an Anti-Racist Culture in Early Years
We live in one world made up of differences and these should continue to be celebrated in early years provision as they currently are. But this celebration of diversity must also address the very existence of racism and never leave it unchallenged, says Sandra Smidt.